RULES ADOPTED AT INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE. 11 



so overload the conference that much less satisfactory conclusions as to passenger 

 steamers could be reached. This difficulty was particularly serious in the matter 

 of hull construction, where the problems connected with cargo are somewhat dif- 

 ferent from those connected with passenger steamers. Furthermore, an interna- 

 tional conference is to be held at London later this year to consider uniform load 

 lines and deck loads, and Congress has provided for American representation at 

 this conference which will consider more particularly cargo vessel problems." 



The vessels affected by the Convention are divided into "new vessels" and "ex- 

 isting vessels." 



According to Convention Article i6 — 



" 'New' vessels are those the keel of which is laid after July i, 191 5." 

 "Other vessels are considered as 'existing' vessels. Existing arrangements on 

 each of these vessels shall be considered by the Administration of the state to which 

 the vessel belongs, with a view to improvements providing increased safety where 

 practicable and reasonable." 



Summary. — Therefore the vessels to which the convention articles and regu- 

 lation articles apply are United States existing or new passenger vessels which are 

 or will be engaged in trades between the United States and the ports of any of the 

 High Contracting Parties of the International Convention on Safety of Life at 

 Sea, between the United States and the Philippines and between the United States 

 and the Canal Zone. 



The existing vessels actually affected will be a few steamers trading between 

 the west coast of the United States and the Philippines, a few in the transatlantic 

 trade and the foreign steamers that may be registered under the new act approved 

 on August 18, 1914. These vessels will have their existing arrangements consid- 

 ered by the Administration with a view to make them conform to the Convention 

 requirements "providing increased safety where practicable and reasonable." 



The Convention requirements will be applied to all "new" passenger vessels 

 which will be built for the foreign trade. Unfortunately there are none building. 

 The United States is therefore in the position of having safety rules ready at the 

 beginning of the upbuilding of her merchant service in the foreign trade. 



APPLICATION OF CONVENTION RULES. 



We now come to the point in this paper where the effort is to be made to apply 

 the Convention rules to actual designs. 



As the few existing United States vessels in the foreign trade are all of differ- 

 ent design and fall short of the Convention requirements it would not be possible 

 within the limits of such a paper to deal with each case, even if the information were 

 available. It rests with the Administration to consider each case so as to ensure 

 increased safety where practicable and reasonable. 



