LIFE-SAVING SERVICE 



3420 



LIFE-SAVING SERVICE 



unsinkable. When the sea is so rough that a 

 boat cannot be launched a small bronze can- 

 non is. used to shoot a projectile to the vessel 

 in distress. The range is from 400 to 700 yards. 

 The projectile is a long bar, to one end of 

 which is fastened a strong line. Over the rope 

 thus stretched a breeches-buoy can be pulled 

 from the vessel to the shore and passengers 

 and crew may thus be rescued. The breeches- 

 buoy is a circular life-preserver with a diameter 

 of about three feet, to which stout canvas 

 breeches are attached. It holds one person. 

 See Life Boat and Life Buoy, below. 



Until 1874 the life-saving organization was 

 a division of the Revenue Cutter Service, and 

 from that year until 1915 it was a bureau of 

 the Treasury Department. The system was 

 again reorganized by act of Congress passed 

 on January 28, 1915, containing the following 

 provision: "There is hereby established in lieu 

 of the existing Revenue Cutter Service and 

 the Life-Saving Service, to be composed of 



LIFE-SAVING SERVICE 



A lifeboat and light track by which it is easily 

 and quickly put into the water. This is the most 

 modern development in the mechanics of the 

 service. 



those two existing organizations, the Coast 

 Guard, which shall constitute a part of the 

 military forces of the United States and which 

 shall operate under the Treasury Department 

 in time of peace, and operate as a part of the 

 navy, subject to the orders of the Secretary of 

 the. Navy, in time of war." The officers of 

 the Coast Guard are on the same footing, 

 with respect to rank and pay, as the officers of 

 the army and navy. The Coast Guard sta- 

 tions are divided into thirteen districts, em- 

 bracing the Atlantic, Gulf, Great Lakes and 

 Pacific coasts, including Alaska. There are 

 279 Coast Guard stations and houses of refuge. 



One of these stations is located at the Falls of 

 the Ohio, near Louisville, Ky. The following 

 table shows the extent of service rendered for 

 the fiscal year ending June 30, 1916: 



Lives saved or persons rescued from 



peril 1,507 



Persons on board vessels assisted.. 10,952 



Persons in distress cared for 813 



Vessels boarded and documents ex- 

 amined 24,817 



Regattas and marine parades pa- 

 trolled in accordance with law. . . 37 



Vessels to which assistance was ren- 

 dered 1,504 



Instances of miscellaneous assistance 556 



Value of vessels assisted (including 



cargoes) $ 10,927,730 



Derelicts and obstructions to navi- 

 gation removed or destroyed 26 



Value of derelicts recovered and de- 

 livered to owners $ 161,000 



Total expenditure for maintenance 



of Coast Guard $5,027,752.71 



In Canada. In the Dominion the life-saving 

 service is an important arm of the govern- 

 ment. Canada has a coast line of great extent, 

 but protection is required along only a small 

 portion of it, as there is no navigation along 

 the entire northern boundary, and the barren 

 coast of Labrador, comprising a large part of 

 the eastern boundary, has no maritime inter- 

 ests. The western coast of British Columbia, 

 however, is becoming increasingly important, 

 and the Great Lakes present practically the 

 same life-saving problems to Canada as to the 

 United States. The most important maritime 

 sections of Canada center around Prince Ed- 

 ward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and 

 for a distance up the Saint Lawrence River. 



The Canadian service is a branch of the 

 Dominion Department of Marine and Fisher- 

 ies, under the direction of a General Superin- 

 tendent of Life-Saving Stations. Halifax and 

 Montreal are transatlantic shipping centers; 

 the coasts adjoining are well patrolled. Vic- 

 toria, Prince Rupert and Vancouver are west- 

 coast centers of importance. Stations of the 

 life-saving service are distributed as follows: 

 New Brunswick, 3; Nova Scotia, 16; Prince 

 Edward Island, 4; British Columbia, 4; Great 

 Lakes, 11; at Victoria, B. C., the service is 

 maintained by a private organization, the Vic- 

 toria Life-Saving Association. 



In England. The Royal National Lifeboat 

 Institution was founded in 1824, and has sev- 

 eral times been reorganized, each time with 

 increasing efficiency. Its patrons include the 

 king and other members of the royal family, 

 and the highest dignitaries of the realm. The 



