The Bismarck Tribune Newspaper, February 11, 1929, Page 10

: By RODNEY DUTCHER : \ (NEA Service Writer) * Washington, Feb, 11—When the first Internaticnal Conference on Safety of Life at Sea met in London 15 years ago the assembled maritime experts were thinking in terms of icebergs and the Titanic disaster. The second such conference begins in London on April 15th, with mem- ory of the Vestris tragedy and the need of preventing a repetition fresh in the minds of its members. eres Beenie Dao establishment of the International Iceberg Patrol, operated by our coast guard, and there has since been no Py loss of life due to the crash of a ship ; against an iceberg in the Atlantic. | But the Vestris disaster and perilous | experiences of ships in that ocean | during the last month have demon- | a strated that higher standards of sea- | worthiness and safety ought to be at- tained if possible. xk * Pending departure of the American delegation of 11 men, an interesting | row has broken out between the State | department and the Treasury depart- | ment over the fact that the latter | has not named any representative ‘3 of the coast guard to the delegation. * The coast guard is sore. Secretary Mellon wrote a letter of protest to Secretary Kellogg pointing out what seemed to be an error and Kellogg replied that there was neither room nor need for the coast guard on the delegation. . The convention won't pay any par- ticular attention to icebergs and it appears that the coast guard, by its ri) efficiency alone, has worked itself off : the delegation. Nevertheless, it is 5 charged by law with rendering assist- ance to vessels in distress and saving life and property as well as the en- forcement of navigation laws. Three or four naval officers are on 4 the tentative list, with representatives of the Shipping Board, Commerce De- partment, State Department and pri- vate shipping concerns. ~ The chief items on the agenda of the convention will be collision regu- The first conference resulted in the | PMA IE ORONO IE Re ing appliances, radio and fire extin- guishing. * * * The Vestris was designed in 1912 and completed just before the adop- tion of safety rules set up by the first international convention. Shipping interests have generally fallen in line with these rules, but are profoundly interested in the second convention, because, as the latest bulletin of the | American Bureau of Shipping admits: “This great calamity has had a de- pressing effect on the shipping busi- ness throughout the world and the present state of mind of the traveling Public engendered by the loss of the Vestris will undoubtedly result in se- vere financial losses for some years to come.” As the size of ships increases, more and more attention is being given to life-saving equipment designed to enable passengers and crews to escape in case of disaster. The rules adopted at London provided for boats for all, with an understanding that as high as 25 per cent might be taken care of with life rafts. Since the develop- ment of radio, with which all passen- ger ships are now equipped, attention has been paid especially to the matter of keeping all hands afloat until aid reaches them, without much bother about facilities for extensive naviga- tion. Lifeboats so often have been smashed against the sides of ships or dumped over in the water during shipwrecks, as in the case of the Vestris where many women and chil- dren were drowned before the boats got clear of the ship, that strong sen- timent has arisen for more life rafts, those have a better chance of land- ing safely in the water. The British Board of Trade, whose carefully studied program the conven- tion will consider, has put the prob- lem of subdivision of ships at the head of its list. The experience of the Vestris assures ample attention of the matter of openings in the hull as well as the division of ships into watertight compartments. Proposals for elimination of doors in watertight lations, subdivision of ships, life sav- bulkheads probably will be made. Before Harry Blaine drove away in Nils Johnson’s car to telephone for an ambulance to take the sick and wounded girl to a hospital, Crystal had told him everything—how she had made the ransom letter, from the front page of The Star, the time and method of mailing it on Monday night; how she had left trails of footprints, in Peter Holliday’s old boots, around the shack cnd to and from the brook. ‘When the story was finished, the reporter made a painstaking tour of both rooms of the shack, carefully wiping the girl's fingerprints from verything she had touched. As he packed her scattered belong- ings into her suitcase, the reporter butlined the story he intended to tell the police: “This is your story, and no matter what happens, you've gct to stick to it. It’s simple enough: When you left the Plimpton’s car you intended to go back to Stanton. Two men ina Ford roadster tried to pick you up. It frightened you. You decided to telephone to Stanton, and turned off the main highway into a lane looking for a farmhouse. You came to this shack. You saw a light and smoke trom the chimney. You knocked. A man’s voice asked who it was, and what was wanted. You answered: T'm Crystal Hathaway of Stanton. I've Jost my way and I want to telephone to Stanton.” Crystal started to speak. “You keep quiet honey. Let me do the hard work,” Harry Blaine com- “You waited on the front without a suspicion of danger. the door was opened, you saw the light had been put out in H MILLARD FILLMORE, 1850-53 By ALEXANDER BR. GEORGE of There was the ghost of a giggle from the cot. “That's a fine way to treat this swell scenario I’m writing!” Harry chided her, relief surging in his heart. The kid might get well, if she could still giggle! “You see, hcney, the tramp who'd broken in here was familiar with Stanton names. When you said you were Crystal Hathaway, he either remembered seeing your name in the society columns, or had heard of the eminent young architect, Robert J. Hathaway, and made up his mind on the instant to seize the good thing that had come his way. See? Well, you heard him strike a match. Before you realized what he was doing, he’d bound your hands behind you. You couldn't see his face, because of the coat, you know. But he went through your handbag and suitcase, getting your address and Bob's name from a letter in your handbag. It was addressed to ‘Miss Crystal Hathaway, care of Robert J. Hathaway, 3518 Serenity Boulevard, Stanton.’ He burned the letter, so that’s that. You were running blindly around the room when he seized you and bound your feet together, and flung you on the cot. Then he put out the light, took the coat off your head, blind- folded you and gagged you with some of your own handkerchiefs knotted together, lighted the candle again and fixed up the ransom letter. He didn’t talk, you didn’t know what he was doing. Get that? “Yes,” Crystal answered. “Give me time!” Harry urged cheerfully. “I'm going great. Of course I've got to account for the scream Lon Edwards heart. That was after you had mailed the ran- som letter, wasn't it? ... Let's see...” “But—” NEXT: Explaining the scream. (Copyright, 1929, NEA Service, Inc.) he walked, holsters on saddle and dence in the White House in a “quiet and unostentatious manner.” temporary admirer said of him: “I think it will be conceded by every- body that he is the best looking of . 7 THE CANS.I'D LIKE YO IE To. NIM = WHAT A BANG I'D LIKE To START HIM OFF WITH — HE'S SO IN LOVE WITH HIMSELF WHY DON'T HE GET MARRIED WD. HIMSELF AND NOW. FO LIKE To START YHEM ON THEIR HONEY MOON — 110 SEND THEM ACROS! THE GREAT ,SAHARA DESERT mA EEL : ~ ] ; 1 WANT YOU TO SAVE ALL THE OLD SHOES AND TIN CANS FROM Now ON — 1 WANT TO START THAT WEDBING COUPLE OFF WITH A ' BANG : on! THE GARBAGE NAN 1S NERE= ANY OLD CLOTHES OR OLD RAGS TODAY 4 ne wneaescrniet | Freckles and His Friends : ‘The Surprise! By Blosser « ‘AW, CONE ON AND TELL ME WHAT THIS SURPRISE IS THAT YoU WANE FOR THAT, FRECKLES =ALL ents YouR EYES, WE CAN TELL YOO y iS THAT IT'S TWO OLD FRIENDS OF yours were mey CONE= HERE, ; TREY COME -! VYybe / GIVE ME ABOUT FIVE LOLLIPOPS, A COUPLE OF STICKS OF THAT DEANUT CANDY AND- LETS SEE- HOW MUCH ARE THOSE. / CHOCOLATE CREAMS ? NO,YOU CANT HAVE ANY CANDY UNTIL YOU'VE EATEN THIS MILK TOAST AND SOFT-BOILED EGG. NOW BE A GOOD GIRL-- . 1 WANT. SOME, CANDY ! x UTTLE SENSE-LOLLIPOPS PEANUTS FOR A'SICK CHD! JUST LIKE (Gee, euT (T FEELS Go0D TA Ge Back IN TH’ BLIMP— PLENTY 0’ GAS (N "TH TANK, AN’ ALL I GOTTa 00 Is Sema late! Cookit ‘eR Go! Now Ta FLY Back Ta Gu2ztem's store — WONDER (€ G22 WONDERS WHERE StRT He ENGING = I've BEEN ALL THs TIME 2 | CAMEL Z W \ Ne! SINCE BOOTS STARTED HER BUA) SHOPPE ,L HANENT HAD, A MINUTE ALONE WITH HER—TH’ WHOLE GANGS ALWAYS HANGIN’ AROLND THERE ! we *ACATAY 22 WELL-1 BET 1 FIX'EM THIS PM. AY "WANNA RESERVE EVERY | = sy