GIANT RAFTS
The shipbuilder asserted that he still thinks that vessels will be built with the upper after structure constructed after the fashion of a giant raft. He said that from what he had read there seemed to have been ample warning in the instance of the latest disaster to have prevented the crash if proper precaution had been taken.
“With every loss of a vessel we look for lessons, find them each time, and then ignore them,” said Mr. Nixon. “The Titanic had one weak spot, the edge of a berg struck the vessel exactly there, a combination against which the odds were almost infinite. This lesson, it is true, was heeded, and later vessels will have double bottoms to above the water line.
“But the slowness with which she sank misled in other directions. It is true more boats are now carried because the passenger is entitled to his chance, even if the combination of slow sinking and calm is not in the doctrine of probabilities likely to occur frequently. But more boats if they cannot be launched are an aggravation in a heavy sea and on a vessel with a heavy list.