FIREPROOF PASSENGER STEAMER. i8i 



Island Sound, which you may remember was struck by a schooner — in that district 

 the government records show that over 2,960,432,640 passengers were carried, 

 and the loss of life, including these dreadful casualties, from all causes in that 

 district in that period, was one in 1,611,998 passengers carried, and for accidents 

 one in 1,905,857 carried. So it seems to me, gentlemen, notwithstanding our old 

 excursion steamers, the government records of these various ports, taking our own 

 port where there is a tremendous excursion business done, it a remarkable record for 

 the old present-day excursion steamers. 



Mr. Bishop's own company, the Iron Steamboat Company, in the thirty sea- 

 sons that they have run their vessels, have carried over sixty million of passengers. 

 This company, I may say, operates the Grand RepubUc referred to in Mr. Donnelly's 

 paper. Mr. Bishop states: "In thirty seasons we have carried over 60,000,000 

 passengers between terminal points without the loss of one life, and this in view of 

 the fact that in the season of 191 1 alone the steamers made 2,974 trips between 

 Coney Island and New York, 328 trips between Rockaway Beach and New York, 

 178 trips between New York and various groves with chartered parties and special 

 excursionists, and about 250 trips to the fishing banks." 



There are, no doubt, excursion boats in the harbor that should be rebuilt or 

 replaced, but, nevertheless, the government records we cannot go back of. Some 

 frightful accident may happen next year or at any time. 



I believe the safety of passengers, provided the vessel fully complies with our 

 Government Steamboat Inspection Rules, largely depends upon well-organized 

 and efficient crews managing the vessels. 



(Vice-President W. h. Capps in the chair.) 



Mr. Warren T. Berry, Member: — While I admire the Hudson River pas- 

 senger boats and have the greatest respect for their designers, I do not think they 

 represent the highest skill in naval architecture to which man has attained. Many 

 of our lake, river and sound steamers which provide hotel accommodation, to say 

 nothing of battleships, and vessels like the Lusitania and others, certainly represent 

 infinitely more skill on the part of the designers. 



Regarding the necessity for fireproof steamers the authors state that it is 

 "almost beyond comprehension why the problem has not received more careful 

 consideration long before this." 



If they will refer to the Proceedings of this Society for 1906, Volume XIV, pages 

 I to 29, on " The Construction of a Fireproof Excursion Steamer," by Mr. Wm. Gate- 

 wood, and " A Fireproof Ferryboat," by Mr. F. 1,. DuBosque, and the ensuing discus- 

 sion, I think they will admit that the problem received considerable, careful attention 

 and consideration at that time, and I fail to find that the present paper overcomes 

 many of the difficulties of fireproof construction advanced then, such as the discom- 

 fort to passengers and crew from heat in the summer in structures entirely of steel ; 

 the objectionable springiness of light steel decks ; the additional weight and cost of 



