INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION SAFETY OF LIFE AT SEA. 287 



sideration as to form and others as to substance, while still others may be met by adminis- 

 trative action. Thus in revising the rules for preventing collisions it is deemed necessary 

 to take up lights on sailing vessels, signals indicating courses in fog, rules for war vessels 

 navigating without lights, rules for other vessels when in the vicinity of war vessels, regula- 

 tions to meet the increasing number of submarines, and more rigid requirements as to the 

 power of lights and sound signals to meet the speed and size of modem vessels. (See 

 recommendations 2 and 3 after final protocol.) 



SUBMARINE BELLS. 



While the American delegation was convinced of the value of submarine bells, it did 

 not press their compulsory use, as this bell is patented and sold by only one company. In 

 the final recommendations (No. 5) the use of this bell is recommended on lightships on 

 important outside stations where fog is frequent. Congress has appropriated money for this 

 purpose in the United States. 



SEARCHLIGHTS. 



Searchlights on large passenger steamers for rescue work and other urgent purposes 

 are recommended in recommendation 6, but the opinion of trained seamen was against their 

 compulsory use for purposes of navigation. 



LOOKOUTS. 



There was no dissent among delegates trained to the sea that more harm than possible 

 good would result from providing binoculars to lookout men. (Recommendation 7.) The 

 need of testing the eyesight and color vision of lookouts as well as of officers, in so far as 

 not already provided for, is impressed in recommendation 8. 



Chapter IV. 



SAFETY OF CONSTRUCTION. 



To the committee on safety of construction were assigned all subjects involving hull 

 subdivision, structure, and fittings, as indicated in the following extract from the official 

 "Questions before the conference" : 



"5. Bulkheads and water-tight compartments. — 'A special study of this question has been 

 recently made by some of the Governments concerned. It may therefore be desirable that 

 a special subcommittee of the conference should be appointed to examine and compare results 

 arrived at, with a view to determining (a) whether the study of the question is sufficiently far 

 advanced to enable principles of international applicability to be laid down in the case of new 

 ocean-going passenger steamers; and if so, what those principles should be; {b) whether it 

 is desirable and practicable to lay down any general principles with regard to existing ocean- 

 going passenger steamers. 



"6. Arrangements for surveying passenger steamers. — In view of the difference in con- 



