THE MORRO CASTLE TRAGEDY.

Taranaki Daily News, 11 September 1934, Page 6

THE MORRO CASTLE TRAGEDY.

The disastrous burning of the luxury liner Morro Castle, with its attendant serious loss of life, comes as a shock to the whole world., " It illustrates once again hqw slender' is the hold of man on life, and how impossible it is for any human being to enjoy complete security against mischance. Who of that gay company setting out on its holiday cruise to Havana imagined that he would never return? Only four hours from home, and tragedy descended on the ship like a thunderbolt. The horror of being trapped on a blazing ship at sea is indescribable, and one can hardly bear to think of the agony of mind and body suffered by those on board the ill-fated steamer. In the face of such tragedy ordinary judgment is submerged in a wave of sympathy, though public opinion when the first horror of the tragedy has subsided is sure to demand the most searching inquiry into the reasons that' made possible so awful a happening. The only good that can accrue from such a catastrophe is that it may lead to such fresh application of skill and science as to make its recurrence impossible. That is pooi- comfort for those who suffered in this most recent maritime disaster, but if from the bitter experience of the few greater safety for the many is achieved, at least something has been saved from circumstances that in themselves are sheer horror. The only other reflection that brings any satisfaction is that by land and sea and air rescue forces were available promptly, and that no regard of personal risk prevented them from rendering all the aid in their power to those upon whom catastrophe had descended.