Washington Herald
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Description: Marine Safety Page 10
Newspaper published in: Washington, D. C., USA
Washington Herald June 24, 1907 Marine Safety Page 10
NEW DEVICES FOR SAFETY.
Government Installs Recent Inventions on Its Transports.
Several additional devices for the safety of the passengers and members of the crews of the transports of the government have been decided upon by Quartermaster General HUMPHREY, and the work of equipping the different boats with the systems will begin in the near future.
The first of importance is known as the automatic device for lowering lifeboats at sea. Eighty of these machines have been ordered by the War Department and will be attached to all of the transports now in the service of Uncle Sam. Tests have shown that lifeboats holding from thirty to forty-seven people can be lowered by the automatic device to the water by four men in a minute’s time.
With the ordinary means at hand, it usually takes from ten to fifteen minutes to get the lifeboats into the water and requires nearly as many men.
The submarine telephone is also to be attached to the transport service. This is practically a new invention, and makes it possible for the officers of the ship at sea to locate other vessels, as well as buoys, &c., at distances varying from ten to fifteen miles.