The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

September, 1915 other officers to use the ballast tanks, and they all agreed with me and prom- ised me to use the tanks.” Question.—Was the boat safe for 25 years, do you think? Answer.—I not only think so, but I know so. Question.—Another genius the Easttanp had no keel. him? Answer.—No. Question.—Captain, do you mean to say that the only method you use to determine the capacity of a lake steamer is to load a certain has found that Do you agree with number aboard and then observe them? Answer.—Personal observation is what I rely upon. Question You knew that the- Easttanp was unsafe for 2,400 if the ballast tanks were not used. Did you tell the owners of your belief as well as the captain and the chief engineer? Answer.—No. Question.—When you granted the increase to 2,400 did you grant it provided that the ballast tanks were used? Answer.—No; I would not think of granting the increase on those grounds any more than I would have granted it on condition that the boat’s safety THE MARINE REVIEW dock at about the center of the vessel the depth was 17.2 feet. “Do you think the boat could have grounded?” asked one of the exam- iners. “T think it unlikely,” answered. “What is the depth of water at the stern?” “About 23.4 feet.” The testimony regarding the num- ber of passengers admitted to Easr- LAND is exceptionally clear and it is evident that not more than the legal limit of 2,500 was on board at the time of the accident. Robert H. Mc- Creary, 47 years old, deputy collector of customs, Chicago, in’ charge “ot navigation inspectors, testified as to the number of people aboard Easr- LAND. He explained that the naviga- Col. Judson tatnacars tat ae ct a sl) We, “Gueceuen ator, Hal 325 the only one of the numerous inves- tigating bodies examining the EAsTLAND affair that has made any definite re- port was the Cook county coroner’s jury operating under the direction of Peter Hoffman, coroner. The finding of the jury is as follows: “The drowning was the result of the overturning of the steamer EAstTLAND while tied to the dock on the south side of the Chicago river immediately west of the Clark street bridge. “We recommend that the following persons be held to the grand jury on the charge of manslaughter and for such other offenses as the facts may watrant: WILLIAM H. HULL, vice president and general manager of the St. Joseph-Chicago Steamship Co., owner of the steamship EastLtann, St. Joseph. CAPTAIN HARRY PEDERSEN, St. Joseph, Mich., of the steamship EasTLanp. JOSEPH N. ERICKSON, St. Joseph, Mich., chief engineer of the steamship EastLanp. FIG. 9—WM. C. REDFIELD, SECRETARY OF COMMERCE AND GEORGE UHLER, SUPERVISING INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE STEAMBOAT INSPECTION SERVICE DISCUSSING THE ACCIDENT WITH CAPT. N. B. NELSON, SUPERVISING INSPECTOR FOR THE CLEVELAND DISTRICT lights be kept burning at night, or that water be kept in the boilers. Question.—Capt. Nelson, could you, were ordered by the government, the metacentric heights of vessels in your dis- trict with your present force? Answer.—No, we could not do it. It takes too long a time. Ouestion.—Has it ever been suggested to you that it should be a part of the govern- ment’s inspection functions? Answer.—Yes, and I think it should be, With regard to the contention that EastLanp may have grounded, the fol- lowing testimony was introduced at if you calculate the federal hearing by Lieut. Col. Wm. B. Judson, United States engi- neer. Col. Judson presented a draw- ing showing the depth of the Chi- cago river about the sunken EASTLAND. The smallest depth recorded on the chart was 10.7 feet; 15 feet from the tion inspection is an entirely different service from the steamboat inspec- tion. “T went on the boat about 7 o'clock on Saturady morning,’ Mr. McCreary said. “There I, saw my two men, Inspectors Oakley and Lobdell, in charge on the gangway. I watched them until they had reached ° 2,450. W. K. Greenebaum was there and he asked me about the count several times. When the count reached 2,450, I took Odakley’s place and counted to 2,495. Then we shut off the gang- way until only one could come aboard at a time, and I told Inspector Lob- dell to let on five more. Four women and a babe came aboard and I count- ed the babe.as the two. thousand five hundredth person to come aboard EASTLAND.” Up to the time of going to press Courtesy of The Chicago Tribune. WALTER K. GREENEBAUM, Chicago, IIl., general manager of the Indiana Transporta- tion Co. ROBERT REID, Grand Haven, Mich., United States local steamboat inspector. CHARLES C. ECKLIFF, Grand Haven, Mich., United States local steamboat inspector, “Nothing in the ‘testimony of- fered before this jury indicated that the passengers were guilty of any unusual act that contributed to the disaster, and we are of the opinion that no act of the passengers was responsible for the disaster. “In the absence of evidence of undue acts on the part of the pas- sengers or violent physical causes, such as explosions, fire or collisions, the fact that this vessel overturned is proof .either that it was improperly constructed for the service employed or that it was improperly loaded, operated or maintained, or that sev-