THE REGULATION OF ICEBERGS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LIII, Issue 5950, 22 March 1880, Page 3

THE REGULATION OF ICEBERGS.

(From the New- York Times.)

, Whenever any disaster happens , to jan ocean- steamer, suggestions -for-the -proven Son of any further of the same sort become as plentiful as blackberries when the ■ifiarketf Is full 1 of them: The collision between the Arizona and an iceberg has induced the public’ to remark’with immense unanimity that all steamers ought to be: compelled, to carry electric, lights,, which, it is assumed, would do away with the' danger of collision. In faetjso strongly is this suggestion urged I that-there is danger that some steamship [company more anxious,to please the public than to avoid danger, may adopt the electric light, in spite of the fact that it is rather worse, at sea, than.no h’ght whatever. While there is no question 1 about the power of the electric light, experience has shown thab.when used at sea it increases the very dangers against which it ia supposed to be a protection. Its excessive glare renders the lights of Other -vessels invisible, deepens 1 by contrast the darkness in every direction except immediately in-front of the, and dazzlesthe eyes so that vessels or icebergs that in other circumstances would be easily .seen ;are invisible until it is too late to avoid;!them* The English Government -placed an electric light in the Dungeness Lighthouse, on the coast of the British Channel, but were com!--polled to remove'it because >f the greatlyincreased number of collisions w hich occurred in consequence,of the blinding glare of the light.: An electric light is still in use ;at The Lizard Point, further down the channel, and the steamer captains who pass' near it complain so loudly of the, difficulty which they find in avoiding collisions.while in the glare of the light, that the Government will soon remove it. The French line of transatlantic steamers-gaye the electrio light a thorough trial soihe'ybars'since, and only discarded it when it’s worse than uselessness was proved. ' As'to collision with icebergs, the trouble is not ■so much with the as with the iceberg. It is the latter which is at fault, and which needs to be severely dealt with. The ship carries a light, sounds a whistle or a horn, and usually keeps a bright look-out. The iceberg takes none of these precautions, bub thrusts itself in the path of vessels with a stupid recklessness which cannot be ; too severelycondemned. The captain: of one of the White Star steamers, who was reported the other day to have said that it. would be a good plan to anchor a steam-tug near every iceberg, so that the whistle - might give warning to approaching vessels, evidently saw that the blame of collision rests with the icebergs, and not with the ships .that run into them. This plan; however, is hot altogether perfect, since it requires an immense consumption of steam-tugs. What is needed is that every iceberg should carry a bright light at night, and,should be‘ compelled (jo sound.a whistle or fog-horn in thick weather. It will hot do for objectors to remark that the scheme is impracticable. Almost the entire West believes that Congress can create wealth out of-nothing,- by pissing a law requiring the unlimited printing and issuing of paper dollars. The great majority of i our workmen believe that the State Legislatures oan -make eight houra precisely as long as 10 hours by passing what is popularly called the “ Eight-hour law.’', - Perhaps a largo majority of : the American people beuevo' that Congress oanmakethecountryrich and prosperous by compellingevarybody to pay 2 .dpi instead of -I dol for.clothing, fuel, and almost all- mannjfactured articles. ; If-these things can be accomplished by law, surely icebergs can bo compelled to carry lights and fog-hornt by law. How the lights shall .be trimmed.and the horns sounded are mere matters -detail. It is surely quita as easyto foroa jee,bergs to take precautions against ..collision' as it is to make people-rich and-prosperous by unlimited greenbacks, indiscriminate “protection,” and eight-hour laws. If the Greenback-Labour Party/wishes a new plank for its platform, the regulation of icebergs, as well aa railways, by law, is just the thing. Is it tolerable (hat these bloated monsters of unfeeling ice sink ships laden with intelligent immigrants P Let this question be properly put before the people and the entire Greenback-Labour Party will vote unanimously to compel icebergs to carry lights and fog-horns. Possibly another plan, suggested by the same captain already mentioned, may; he , viewed with favour. by practical men, ,He suggested that men-of-war might be sent put to cannonade icebergs, and knook them- to pieces. A better plan would be to mslt the ice. This might be done either by placing on the icebergs with a hot-water fire-engine, or by-surrounding the'with a floating and blazing petroleum. ; Or steam tugs might be 1 employed to tow all icebergs that venture in the tradk of transatlantics down into? the gulf stream; where- they would soon melt and vanish. Thera iS yet another method which o'ughtnot to be overlooked. Steam tugs might be kept cruising just north of the Banks, with instruotioiiß.to arrest all vagrant icebergs; and to tow them to safe and out-of-the-way anchorage; If all; the 1 wandering icebergs were' to be thus comled, the danger of collision with ice would he ended, Surely, with such a wide choice of different methods, measures ought to-be taken to render a repetition of the Arizona collision impossible.