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ANNAN TNAATAT ni INTATUM TATA lo Ee HUIIUVIINUVIUIIU oc UNITE i il LT (ili) 1 2 | UUDUNTTOOUUUOVUUTUUTUUUT UU eee IUULTLLL SAL TRCAGTLALIALGLAy ALLLLGLGAULUELILIRALITECRGLEALEEE VOL. 46 CLEVELAND DECEMBER, 1916 NEW YORK er 12 SS Ss SS SS < — q SS co ‘Black Friday's Storm on Lake Erie Will Give New Impetus to Safety Move- ment—Greater Disaster Averted only Through Exercise of Disciplined Courage T IS to the mind and energy of Jasper H. Sheadle not yet in sight. The record is clouded. As _ if that the safety-first movement on lake steamships defiant of the years of patient effort spent in building largely owes its impetus and among the many up a_ safety spirit, disaster stalked on the waters principles for which he fought, and it is not too much on “Black Friday”. Four vessels and 51 men were to say, died, this great. cause stands pre-eminent. lost. That the loss of these lives may not have He was one of the little group of Americans who, been in vain, the work so powerfully promoted by working through the Lake Carriers’ Association, broke Hera ge Sheadle and his associates must -go on until down the old barriers of indifference and made _ it is finished. And it will not be finished-until fatal safety-first a living reality on the Great Lakes, long disasters are forever removed from the experience before the Trranic disaster stirred Europe into action, of lake navigation. resulting in the famous London conference on safety This ideal is not too. high, nor is it impossible of at sea. He died in Syracuse, N. Y., on Sept. 22. achievement. A few days before “Black Friday” on Scarcely a month later, on Friday, Oct. 20, the Lake Erie a great safety congress, attended by over effectiveness of his life’s work was tested to the utter- a thousand delegates from America’s leading indus- most in a sudden storm that swept with unprece- tries, convened in Detroit. At this meeting the full dented violence over Lake Erie, leaving a trail of sweep of the safety- first movement was outlined. wreckage and disaster in its wake. Industrial managers from all over the country pledged their faith to wage war on accidents until fatalities are eliminated from American factories. Is the “ Now that the events of “Black Friday” are suff- American merchant marine any less vitally concerned ciently removed to permit of a proper perspective, in the results of accident prevention? Are its ideals it is evident that a disaster of much greater pro- placed any lower in the scale of achievement? The portions was averted only by strict adherence to safety answer rings clear and unmistakable. recautions that have become fundamental rules of a oe on the Great Lakes. All along the broad Facts Should be Faced Fearlessly highway from Buffalo to Duluth steamers sought The disasters of Oct. 20 should double the deter- shelter and lives were saved at the expense of mination to prevent casualties in the future. Causes dispatch. This splendid exhibition of disciplined cour- . should be probed deeply and fearlessly. The little age is all the more creditable when the tremendous schooner-barge D. L. Fiver was 45 years old; But- pressure for tonnage is considered. There was every TERS had buffeted the waves for 34 years; COLGATE business reason to proceed in the teeth of the storm. had seen 24 and Meripa 23 years of service. These» That virtually the whole great fleet of over 1,000 figures raise questions that should be settled definitely vessels came to a dead stop, resulting in an almost by responsible experts. Meripa with her 3,829 gross incalculable loss in freight carried, and therefore in tons had 1,700 indicated horsepower. Ruru, a suc- earnings, is proof positive that safety does stand cessful Atlantic coast freighter of 3,102 tons, has first on the Great Lakes. Credit for this achievement only 1,200 horsepower; JEAN, another salt water ves- properly belongs to the Lake Carriers’ Association, sel of 3,125 tons, has 1,300 horsepower. The advan- in whose behalf Mr. Sheadle gave unstintingly of his tage in this case patently lies with the lakes. But time and energy. the whole question should be investigated and _ all But in spite of all that the safety movement on possible or probable causes for disaster eventually the lakes has accomplished, the end of the voyage is eliminated. 407 Disciplined Courage in Action