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Pr LICENSED OFFICERS ON SMALL MOTOR[BOATS. The Other Side Discussed by a Steamboat Inspector—Pros and Cons of an Interesting Controversy. Nothing that the Review has ever said on the subject of tne bill requiring gasoline launches and motor boats to carry engi- _neers and pilots should: be construed to mean that the operators ~of these boats should not conform to.the common laws of cour- tesy any more than that an individual should not conform to them. A man is expected to be a gentleman wherever he may be. If he is not by nature no amount of legislation will ever make him one. Therefore it goes without saying that motor ‘boats and gasoline launches should observe the common rules of navigation precisely as a pedestrian on the sidewalk should re- - spect the rights of those who, like him, are threading their. way in and out. Of course motor boats under 15 tons do not now come under the supervision of the steamboat inspection service, -Tequiring inspection of machinery and boilers and the carrying of licensed officers, and it is only human nature that that circum- stance should rub. Certain inspectors have taken issue with the articles that have beén published in the Review concerning the -Grosvenor bill. A communication is published below from one of them whose name is at his request withheld. The point which he makes in his first paragraph is that these craft are not subject to the rules of the road in their navigation the same as steam vessels. It is strange that he should fall into this error, for the ’ law expressly provides that any motor craft, regardless of its tonnage, shall be subject to. the regulations which govern steam 'vessels in passing each other and to ‘the rules relating to lights, fog signals and steering. For his information the act, therefore, approved Jan. 18, 1897, governing these craft is published in full _as follows: Agia “An act providing for certain requirements for vessels pro- ‘pelled by gas, fluid, naphtha or electric motors. : “Be it enacted by the senate and house of representatives of the United States of America in congress assembled, That all vessels of above 15 tons burden, carrying freight or passengers for hire, propelled by gas, fluid, naphtha or electric motors, shall be, and are hereby, made subject to all the provisions of section 4426 of the revised statutes of the United States, relating to the regulation of hulls and boilers and requiring engineers and pilots; and all vessels so propelled, without regard to tonnage or use, ‘shall be subject to the provisions of section 4412 of the revised statutes of the United States, relating to the regulation of steam vessels in passing. each other; and to so much of section 4233 and 4234 of the revised statutes, relating to lights, fog signals, steering -and sailing rules, as the board of supervising inspectors shall, by navigation.” their regulations, deem applicable and practicable for their safe The only difference between this measure and the Grosvenor — bill is that the Grosvenor bill requires launches under 15 tons to “carry engineers and pilots, but the provisions concerning’ the ob- ‘servance of the rules of the road are not altered. The only issue. _ therefore involved is to require these little craft to carry engi- ‘neers and pilots. Sailing vessels under 700 tons are not required ‘to carry licensed officers and are therefore no more responsible ‘to the inspectors of steam vessels than power boats under 15, tons. Does any one pretend that a sailing vessel of 700 tons is a less: ‘menace to navigation than a little power boat? The power. ‘boat -is..certainly always under.control, which surely cannot always | be said of a sailing vessel. In the second paragraph the inspector makes the point. that Owners of small steamers may, under certain conditions and ~ ‘after an examination, be licensed to operate his own steamer. .He infers that the same privilege would be extended to the own- ers of motor boats. Undoubtedly it would; but that is the very necessity that the owner of the motor boat desires to avoid. Con- Sider the domain of this country and its magnificent distances. It covers a whole continent and it is very sparsely settled. A thousand miles of space may intervene between the owner of a motor boat and the man who is to examine into his qualifications ‘to operate it. Is the farmer who uses this little vessel, scarcely bigger than a rowboat, to carry his produce to some convenient distributing point, to journey periodically over hundreds of miles in order to be examined as to his competency? It is the adapt- ability of these little boats as personal beasts of burden that has so extended their usefulness. Formerly a farmer toiled wearily with his horse and cart through miles of mud or rowed labori- ously along the river; now he has a perfectly reliable and easily _understood motor to do the work for him. There is absolutely no reason why he may not have such a craft and why he may not run it. Is it not a curtailment of personal liberty to say that he shall not operate such-a vessel? . He has as much right.to do so as he has to breathe; and the same is true of supply houses engaged in chandlery business along water fronts. _ In the third paragraph the inspector says that after being granted licenses to run their boats. the owners, would know and abide by the rules laid down for the safe navigation of vessels. ‘They are now required to abide by these rules as. the following circular, issued by the board of supervising inspectors, will show: “All the rules relating to lights, fog signals, steering and sailing contained in section 4233, revised statutes, and applying to steam vessels, shall also apply to all vessels propelled by gas, fluid, naphtha or electric motors, and between any. of such vessels .and steam vessels, on the Atlantic and Pacific coast inland waters; with the exception that the red and green lights on open vesseis of 10 gross tons and under propelled by gas, fluid, naphtha or electric motors, may be exhibited from a combined lantern show- ing a red light and a green light, as described in rule thirteen a ESS SSE: SEE A a eee Cee ae 2 2 le ea _ MARINE REVIEW of said section 4233, in lieu of all other lights required for vessel under. way. When the range and side lights are carried on such vessels of ten gross tons and under, the after range light shall ba” carried at an elevation of at least 7 ft. above the light at the head of the vessel. ‘Such vessels of 10 gross tons and under, if provided with a bell-of 6 in. in diameter, of good tone and quality, to be rung ‘by hand in fog or thick weather, shall be deemed to be properly equipped in that respect.” Concerning the remainder, if the inspector will inquire, he will find that licensed officers of western rivers have been ‘ver insistent for the passage of the Grosvenor bill, though the Re- _ view quite agrees with him that no competent officer would want such.a position. The communication follows: fa “The present system of inspection of steam vessels and: the examination .and licensing of persons intended to be placed in charge of them, was instituted primarily as a measure for the safety: of the public at large. From its small commencement, it has gradually been’ enlarged, as the need became apparent, to include every class and size of steam craft. The changes that — ‘have been made, have been made only after due consideration by a body of practical men who have had years of practical experience in the handling of water craft of all kinds and in the management of men who have been employed to assist in the navigation of such craft. Every change thus made has been proved to be just and wise and, although there are at present points in the steamboat inspection laws that are susceptible of improvement, the present code is a vast improvement over the older ones, or none at all. “Since these motor vessels’ have increased so rapidly in number and are navigating the same waters used by steam vessels, does it not stand to reason that they should be subject to the same laws that govern the stear craft? Why should a person who owns and handles a steam launch be subjected to certain laws while his neighbor who ow : and operates a gasoline launch of exactly the same size and character as the steam craft, be perfectly free from all law and regulation. There are a large number of vapor launches navi- gated currently during the open season of navigation, engaged in both business and pleasure, carrying passengers and freight for hire, towing, carrying supplies to steamers and carrying persons for pleasure, directly in the same waters as steam craft, and these launches are provided in the majority of instances with neither lights, sound signals or life saving appliances required by law.to be upon the steam craft. He will find, upon further in- vestigation, that the fact of not being under the jurisdiction of the United States steamboat inspectors, tends to cultivate a spirit .of aggressiveness and audacity towards the persons navigating the steam craft, which causes more or. less friction because of the utter disregard of the pilot rules by those tavigating motor vessels, and this disregard of the regulations established is cloaked under the excuse, ‘Well, what are you going to. do about it? We are not required to observe the pilot rules.’ Have you forgotten so quickly the accidents resulting in loss of life that this. very thing has occasioned? Have you forgotten the experience of that launch full of young people at Toledo, O.,. which, carrying neither lights or life-saving’ appliances, dashed out into the rivér- full in the face of a steam tug properly equipped and running in com- pliance with all the laws of the United States, whereby some of the young people were never brought’ to shore alive? Have you also forgotten the experience of that launch full of people on Pine lake only last summer that dashed full speed into a steamer, whereby three of the occupants of the launch were killed outrigat — and others drowned? Do you, in the face of these facts, still - cling to your assertion that the proposed bill is a direct infringe- ment on personal rights? Would you have taken that stand if some member of your own family had been in one of those launches run by a person who either was grossly ignorant or grossly careless in regard to the common, every-day pilot rules 4s adopted by those placed in charge of the steamboat inspection service? Did this question ever come home to you at all? The above citations are simply instances, and as is’ well known, do not cover the list of fatal and serious accidents due to carelessness or ignorance in the handling of motor vessels. After a numbet _of years experience as a licensed officer upon the great lakes, dur- ing which time the gasoline launch has become popular, many incidents have come under the personal observation of the writer hereof, wherein serious consequences involving loss of life and damage to property were narrowly averted. It seems to be the habit of: the persons operating small gasoline boats to get them- selves directly in the path of large steam vessels and then attempt to dispute the right of way. The steamer is handicapped by reason of the gasoline boat ‘being in many instances unprovide with a sound signal of any kind and thus it is impossible to ex change the proper signals for meeting and passing, even if the person*in the launch understood what those signals meant. “In cases where a:sound signal is provided in the gasoline boat, ‘cross Signals’ are more often used than not, thus resulting in confusion that might result seriously, and at the very least, results in the large steamer losing time until the course and intention of: the gasoline vessel has been discovered by her actions, It must be remembered that a large steamer cannot be stopped, started Of controlled so easily and quickly as a small vessel, and when, through misunderstanding on one part and ignorance or neglect on the other, a large steamer and a small gasoline vessel come together, the steamer is invariably blamed while the oftentimes incompetent or ignorant person in charge of the gasoline vessel 18 indignant at what he considers the antagonism of the steamboat — man. While it may be readily seen into what complications am ~ ignorant ‘person in a gasoline vessel may. fall, how much is this” possibility increased at night or in fog or any kind. of thid