THE SAFETY OF PASSENGER SHIPS AT SEA. 29 



The air lock doors into the central passage would be self-closing, balanced 

 doors, easy enough for a man to open but certain to close after him, and it would 

 hardly be possible to conceive of any damage to this passage even from a collision 

 with a very large ship. At both ends of this passageway would be stairs in a water- 

 tight well leading to the shelter deck. 



The compartment forward of the forward boiler compartment would contain 

 the main ventilating fans with cooling and heating chambers for the air. These 

 ventilating fans would be supplied from trunks extending well above the weather 

 deck, and their capacity would be such as to insure thorough ventilation throughout 

 the ship. The compartment aft of the main engine room would be the electric gen- 

 erating room, where a sufficient generating plant would be installed to insure perfect 

 lighting, heating and ventilation. 



I have not, of course, tried to work out all the details for such a ship. What I 

 have done is intended to be suggestive. A vessel built to carry out correctly such 

 a suggestion would, I am sure, be practically an unsinkable ship and, with all her 

 fire mains controlled from the interior of the upper deck, it would hardly be pos- 

 sible for a fire to gain great headway. We have just heard by wireless that a fire 

 had broken out on the Imperator in New York harbor. This would indicate an- 

 other form of possible disaster to the great modern passenger liner. The double 

 upper deck would oflfer many advantages in case of fire. The fire mains, probably 

 six in number, would all be installed between these decks, and vertical pipes from 

 these mains would extend up to every room, in size and number proportionate to 

 the size of the room. By means of these numerous rising pipes, any room in the 

 ship could be immediately drenched with water, and these pipes could be arranged 

 to be operated either from the room where the fire occurred or from between the up- 

 per decks. By this means water would be applied only where there was fire and no 

 damage would result outside of the place where the fire started. As a fire could 

 not possibly occur between the upper decks and as this space is well ventilated, no 

 part of the ship would be beyond direct control of the fire mains, and much of the 

 unsightly attachments for fire hose in the living quarters could be done away with. 



With a vessel so constructed would it be necessary to carry the great load of 

 boats and gear for handling them that, under present conditions, is considered so 

 necessary? 



In bringing this subject before the Society, I do not wish to present it as a com- 

 pletely worked-out scheme. I would have liked very much to have worked the whole 

 matter up in detail and presented complete plans of such a ship, but there has only 

 been time for the simple presentation of the idea of a double deck immediately above 

 the load water line and an arrangement of subdivision below that would permit of 

 the displacement provided between the upper decks, rendering the vessel unsinkable 

 under any of the known accidents that overtake vessels at sea. The more I think of 

 it the more I am convinced that, along the lines I have indicated, a ship can be de- 

 signed as a commercial problem that could confidently be considered as practically 

 an unsinkable ship. 



