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324 THE MARINE REVIEW FIG. 7—CUTTING OUT PLATES FOR RESCUE PURPOSES WITH AN OXY- ACETYLENE TORCH fill the second and third tanks on the star- board side. The engineer sent Mr. Snow to the valve at the seacock and I opened the valves at the manifold, from which lead pipes to all of the tanks. Question. — ‘Tell what happened then. Answer.—Well, I opened Nos. 2 and 3 and stood there waiting for further orders. It listed a little more and finally went quite a little. Then the list stopped. The engineer Said: ‘Well, I guess we’ve got her.” ’ Question.—Did you ever use the port tanks as ballast to tip the starboard gangway up nearer to a level with the docks? Answer.— Yes, often. Owing to the fact that they have been recommended for _ indictment, Capt. .Pedersen and Chief Engineer Erickson have not given any formal testimony as yet. Erickson, however, is reported to have made the follow- ing statement: “We were listing for 17 minutes before we- started. 1 was flooding the right side of the boat. I had five water ballast tanks on each side of the boat. I was working only through two tanks on each side. I thought two were enough.” Robert Reid, Grand Haven, Mich., steamboat inspector, testified that Eastland had two rows of ballast tanks in the hull with five tanks on each side. These tanks are separated by longitudinal and transverse bulk- heads. Mr. Reid and other members of the steamboat inspection § service testified repeatedly that the law- does not permit them to examine the sta- bility of vessels. Eastland Listed in 1904 Capt. Frank A, Dority testified be- fore the federal board as_ follows: “[ was in command of EastLanp during 1903, 1904, 1905 and 1906. I have been a master 26 years and am now in command of City or SoutH HaAveEN.” Question. — State your experiences with the steamer Easttanp while you were its com- manding officer. Answer.—In July, 1903, Capt. John Prugh brought out the steamer EastTLanp. I took charge about the middle of the sea- son. I had no trouble with it until about the middle of 1904, when in trying to cross the South Haven bar without water ballast it careened, and we arrived in Chicago 40 minutes late. I consider EastLanpd a safe vessel under all circumstances if it has water in its ballast tanks and if it is properly distributed. Question.—Was not it a fact that EasTLanp was a cranky boat when you were captain? Answer.—Yes, she was cranky, but only when her water ballast was improperly handled. The witness stated that in his opin- ion the practice of increasing a boat’s capacity on an affidavit of the ship’s September, 1915 master that the proper equipment was on board is not an evil practice. “It is an accommodation, and a personal examination by the inspectors usually follows immediately,” he said. In the examination under the aus- pices of Secretary Redfield, Capt. Niles B. Nelson, supervising inspector of the ninth or Cleveland district, tes- tified as follows: ‘“The EAsTLAND was in my district in 1907, 1908, 1910, 1911, 1912 and the spring of 1913. On June 4, 1907, more than 2,300 newsboys went for a trip out of Cleveland on the boat. They nearly all climbed to the top deck, and I concluded during the trip with them that the boat was a good one and was carrying a good load. I had persons say to me, how- ever, that the boat was a ‘cranky’ one, although there was no formal com- plaint.” Capt. Nelson said that the first excursion certificate issued to the Easttanp allowed her to carry 2,200 and that, after observing the boat, both at dock and in the lakey#die in- creased her excursion capa to 2,400. Later the boat’s capa was reduced to 2,200, where it remained un- til:1912, when it was decreased to 2,000. ie ‘Necessary to Use Ballast Tanks “T would never have granted the boat 2,000, 2,200 or 2,400 if I had thought the water ballast tanks would not be used. A boat which is: pro- vided with ballast tanks should use them. I talked with the two chief engineers of the EAsTLAND who were employed while she was in my dis- trict—Grant and Donaldson—about the use of the tanks and cautioned these two engineers along with her FIG. 8—-DIVER EXPLORING INTERIOR OF WRECK IMMEDIATELY AFTER ACCIDENT