its name implies, for the purpose of inspecting steamboats, modern development of the means of propelling vessels has brought to the front the gasoline engine, and with it the motor-boat, and while for certain purposes the service is required to inspect gasoline motor-boats of a certain class the service comes into close contact with the motor-boat situation through the licensing of operators of motor-boats carrying passengers for hire. Furthermore, this service is charged by the Department with the responsibility of passing upon the buoyant cushions used in motor-boats for pleasure purposes, and this has entailed no little work upon the central office as a result of the tests that have to be conducted of cushions submitted, and of the numerous questions that have to be answered in regard to the life-saving equipment of certain classes of motor-boats.

As the manufacture of dangerous articles has developed, the number of questions asked with regard to the application of section 4472, Revised Statutes, relating to the transportation of dangerous articles on vessels carrying passengers continues to increase, and there are no more important rulings than those relating to the transportation of dangerous articles under section 4472, Revised Statutes. As the gasoline engine. has brought into prominence the motorbcat, so it has also brought to the attention of the Service the transportation of automobiles, a matter also covered by section 4472, Revised Statutes, and it becomes more apparent every day that the masters and owners of vessels must strictly enforce the law with reference to the transportation of automobiles.

The work being done by this Bureau for other departments of the Government and for other bureaus of this Department is constantly increasing. This work consists of investigations made by this Bureau of disasters affecting vessels owned by other bureaus of this Department; the Bureau has also to do with the inspection of material for boilers used in the vessels of other departments of the Government; and numerous requests are received for the inspection of boilers in vessels owned by other bureaus of this Department, as well as boilers in public buildings.

For purposes of description and presentation, the activities of the service may be regarded as falling under the following heads;

I. Inspection of vessels-their construction and equip

ment.

2. Examination and licensing of marine officers.

3. Examination and certification of seamen and lifeboat men.

4. Determination of necessary complement of officers and crew and accommodations therefor.

5. Conduct of investigations of marine casualties and violations of the inspection laws.

6. Establishment of regulations to prevent collisions. 7. Regulation of the transportation of passengers and merchandise.

Inspection of Vessels. The annual inspection of the hulls, boilers, machinery, and general equipment of vessels subject to the steamboat inspection laws may be said to constitute the major activity of the Steamboat-Inspection Service. A large portion of the field force is constantly engaged in this work, and it was primarily to perform such work that the service was first instituted in 1838. The law provides that "all steam-vessels (including every vessel propelled in whole or in part by steam) navigating any waters of the United States which are common highways of commerce or open to general or competitive navigation, excepting public vessels of the United States, vessels of other countries, and boats propelled in whole or in part by steam for navigating canals" shall be subject to the inspection laws. By the act of August 7, 1882 (22 Stat. L., 346), as amended by the acts of February 15, 1902 (32 Stat. L., 34) and March 17, 1906 (34 Stat. L., 68), "all foreign private steam-vessels carrying passengers from any port of the United States to any other place or country," are made subject to the inspection laws, exceptions being allowed, however, in certain cases, by permission of the Secretary of Commerce. Further, by the act of March 3, 1897 (29 Stat. L., 687), the Secretary of Commerce is authorized "to direct the inspection of any foreign vessel, ad

mitted to American registry, its steam boilers, steam pipes, and appurtenances, and to direct the issue of the usual certificate of inspection, whether said boilers, steam pipes, and appurtenances are or are not constructed pursuant to the laws of the United States, or whether they are or are not constructed of iron stamped pursuant to said laws." 1 By an act approved October 25, 1919 (41 Stat L., 305), all steam vessels owned or operated by the United States Shipping Board or any corporation organized or controlled by it are made subject to the laws for the regulation of steamvessels.

Inspection of Hulls. The inspection of the hulls of steamvessels was first authorized by the act of July 7, 1838 (5 Stat. L., 304). Frequent changes have been made in the law since that time increasing the scope of this particular activity of the service. The law in force at the present time provides that :

The local inspectors shall, once in every year, at least, carefully inspect the hull of each steam-vessel within their respective districts, and shall satisfy themselves that every such vessel so submitted to their inspection is of a structure suitable for the service in which she is to be employed, . . . and is in a condition to warrant the belief that she may be used in navigation as a steamer, with safety to life . . . The local inspectors shall, once in every year, at least, carefully inspect the hull of each sail vessel of over seven hundred tons carrying passengers for hire and all other vessels and barges of over one hundred tons burden carrying passengers for hire within their respective districts, and shall satisfy themselves that every such vessel so submitted to their inspection is of

1 By Sec. 2 of an act entitled "An Act To provide for the admission of foreign-built ships to American registry for the foreign trade, and for other purposes," approved August 18, 1914 (38 Stat. L., 698), the President is authorized "whenever in his discretion the needs of foreign commerce may require, to suspend by order, so far and for such length of time as he may deem desirable, the provisions of the law requiring survey, inspection, and measurement by officers of the United States of foreign-built vessels admitted to American registry under this act."

...

a structure suitable for the service in which she is to be employed . . . and is in condition to warrant the belief that she may be used in navigation with safety to life. . .

The hulls of all ferry-boats, canal-boats, yachts or other small craft of like character propelled by steam, of all vessels of above fifteen gross tons carrying freight or passengers for hire, but not engaged in fishing as a regular business, propelled by gas, fluid, naphtha, or electric motors, of all seagoing barges of one hundred gross tons or over, and of all tugboats, towing-boats and freight-boats, are made subject to inspection, as provided for in the section quoted above, by subsequent acts. By statutory enactment, the board of supervising inspectors is authorized to establish all necessary regulations required to carry out in the most effective manner the inspection of vessels. Consequently, the board issues general rules and regulations for the guidance of the local inspectors. In accordance with these regulations, local inspectors are authorized to make annual inspections "only on written application, presented to the United States local inspectors by the owner, master, or authorized agent of the vessel to be inspected." Section 4 of the General Rules and Regulations prescribed by the board in 1920, concerning the inspection of vessels, provides:

In the inspection of hulls of vessels, the inspector of hulls shall carefully inspect every accessible part of the hull, and carefully examine the wood or metal of which the hull is constructed to determine the condition of same, making all necessary hammer tests of hulls constructed of iron or steel. If the inspector shall not have satisfactory evidence otherwise of the soundness of the hull of a wooden vessel, he shall not give a certificate until the same shall be bored or opened up to his satisaction.

Section 8 provides that the owner of every new vessel of over one hundred tons, when making application for the first

inspection, must furnish the local inspectors with a drawing or blueprint in plan and section, showing fully the general construction of the vessel, the kind of material used, the construction and location of bulkheads, and all details which bear upon the safety and durability of the ship.2 This regulation was established by the board of supervising inspectors at their annual meeting in January, 1911, at the instance of the Supervising Inspector-General, who in his annual report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1910, urged some such measure in order to give the local inspectors information as to the original construction of vessels. In his annual report for 1912, that officer declared that the result of the regulation thus adopted had been most beneficial, since inspectors had in their possession certain valuable information of which they were in complete ignorance prior to the passage of this rule. A defect was apparent, however, in that the blue prints were submitted to the local inspectors, not for approval, but merely for their information.

In the same report, therefore, it was urged that the board of supervising inspectors formulate rules for a definite American standard of hull construction, possibly adopting the rules of the American Bureau of Shipping, with certain advisable changes. The board concluded, however, after due deliberation and discussion, that sufficient authority did not exist for the approval of hull construction and for requiring certain detailed tests in regard to the same. Consequently, in his annual report for 1914, the Supervising Inspector-General urged that a corps of experts be stationed in the central office of the service to approve blue prints of proposed hull construction. Approval by such a body, in place of the local inspectors, was thought advisable “(1) because it would enable the Department to employ experts who are more familiar with

2 The act of 1871, as amended by act of July 9, 1886 (24 Stat. L., 129), makes certain requirements as to the number, position, and construction of bulkheads on every seagoing steamer, and every steamer navigating the great northern or northwestern lakes, carrying passengers.