hereto annexed, of all the life-saving establishments of the society up to January 1, 1889. I am able to furnish statistical data only as to some of the particulars indicated in your letter, touching the operations of our life-saving establishments for the last year, viz: The number of persons rescued during the year by the summer stations on seas, was 159; by river and lake stations-summer, 48; winter, 76; by substations, 20; by posts and refuges, 45; in all, 348 persons. The number of days of assistance afforded by sea-stations proper was 25,038. As regards the total number of disasters, persons imperiled, and lives and vessels lost, I have to state that the information received by the principal board is incomplete and fragmentary. As to the value of property involved, saved and lost, no information reaches the board, inasmuch as the saving of property is not only outside of the proper duties of the life-saving establishments of the society, but is expressly prohibited. The total number of persons saved by the establishments of the society during the period of its existence up to the present year was 6,378. Accept, dear sir, the assurance of my perfect consideration, The SUPERINTENDENT OF THE U. S. LIFE-SAVING SERVICE. [Translation.] The organization of the crews of life-saving stations within the jurisdiction of the society, and the system of compensation for the performance of the duties assigned to such crews, are subject to some variation, according to local circumstances and the degree of interest in the work of life-saving which may be awakened among the inhabitants of the various localities along the coasts and shores. At all stations the keeper (atamàn) has full charge of the property, and full command over the crew, invariably recruited by himself. The keepers direct the use of the boats on all occasions and take the helm or steering oar. As a general rule the keepers, whether of boat stations or of rocket stations, call out the crews and direct all their movements at drills, inspections, firing of rockets, and life-saving operations. Under the existing rules the compensation of life-saving crews is determined by the district boards. At present the keepers at most stations receive a salary at rates varying from 36 to 60 rubles per annum. Higher salaries are allowed to keepers of such stations only where the whole crews are salaried. In the Estland district, however, no fixed compensation is allowed either the keepers or the oarsmen, who do the work assigned them from an exalted sense of Christian duty. With very few exceptions the stations in that district are well kept and work quite satisfactorily; still even in that district two or three crews are found that perform their duties with indifference, if without protest—a fact which shows the impossibility of relying in all cases solely upon appeals based upon the exalted nature of the work of saving the life of fellowmen, and seems to prove the necessity of securing a definite pecuniary compensation both to the keepers for their continuous labor and care and to the oarsmen when on duty. The most effective system of compensation is that adopted in the Liefland district. There the keepers are allowed from 36 rubles (winter stations) to 60 rubles (sea-board stations) per annum. For every drill or inspection the oarsmen, the keeper, and the assistant keeper receive 2 rubles each, and for every rescuing expedition 5 rubles each, and in addition thereto a premium of 10 rubles to be equally divided among them all for every person saved. Since the first organization of this society the stations of the Liefland district have always worked quite successfully and have been kept in examplary order. In the Courland district a similar scheme of compensation has been adopted for boat stations, while at the rocket stations, the crews of which are fixed at four oarsmen and one keeper, a premium of 10 rubles, to be divided between them, is allowed for each working of the apparatus, whether on drill, inspection, or rescuing service. In cases of especially successful life-saving performances, the amount of the premium may be increased by the district board, or a recommendation be made to the central board for special reward. In this district the stations are kept in good order, improving from year to year, and operate quite satisfactorily. In most of the districts along the coasts of the White, Black, and Azov Seas, and also along the shores of the great lakes, the rates of compensation of the crews are not definitely settled, and even in those localities where compensation has been fixed the amounts allowed are wholly insufficient. Thus, for drills each man is allowed from 30 to 50 copecks, and in no case more than 80 copecks, and for life-saving expeditions not more than 2 rubles, without any premium for lives saved. While the men at these stations not unfrequently display heroic zeal, they sometimes fall short of the mark. At the Ansheron station, on the Caspian Sea (originally established by the local board of Baku, under the supervision of the Caucasus district board, but at present wholly within the jurisdiction of the Baku district board), a station situated in a locality destitute of popu lation, where it was found necessary to build a house for the crew and to keep a horse for the hauling of fresh water, fire-wood, and provisions, the keeper and his six oarsmen receive a salary all the year round; the keeper about 25 rubles and the men about 15 rubles per month each. The keeping of this station costs the society about 2,500 rubles a year. Its life-saving exploits often deserve high commendation. The Poti station, which also belonged until last year to the jurisdiction of the Caucasus district board, was managed upon nearly the same plan as the Ansheron station. The keeper and the oarsmen received fixed monthly salaries all the year round. The cost was about 2,000 rubles a year. No satisfactory account can be given of the workings of this station. In regard to its present organization under the management of the Kutais district board no reports have as yet been received by the central board. From the above data, and an examination of the reports of district and local boards, as well as from information furnished by the corps of inspectors, the following general conclusions may safely be drawn: That the character of the men employed at the life-saving stations must be recognized as the principal factor in the problem of bringing such establishments into a state of due efficiency, and that fixed compensation in amounts corresponding with the labor and risk involved must be acknowledged as the best means of securing the right kind of men. It may be noticed, in this connection, that the risk incurred by the life-saving crews is in a certain degree lightened by the provisions of the existing regulations for mutual insurance. Unfortunately, some of the district boards fail to forward to the central board the requisite assessments or insurance premiums, and, as a consequence, the chief officers of the service find it possible in only very few cases to call to the attention of the crews the existence of a right to insurance. This uncertainty can not fail to detract in some measure from the efficiency of the service. N. SOUSLOV, Central B. Inspector. SPAIN. Spanish society for the saving of the shipwrecked. S. I. KIMBALL, Esq., MADRID, October 3, 1889. General Superintendent Life-Saving Service, Washington: SIR: I have received your letter dated 2d of August, and I have the honor to send you the information that this society can give in reference to maritime rescue in Spain. As the purpose of the institution is only to save life, it does not collect statistics of the value of the cargoes of the vessels either lost or saved, and, though we have tried to obtain such data, we have been prevented by the fact that no statistics exist in the ministry of the navy, to whom the captains of vessels transmit the information of the disasters. I am, with the highest consideration and respect, your devoted servant, FRANCO DE PAULA PAVÍA, [Translation.] "The Spanish Society for Saving the Shipwrecked," founded in 1880. 1st. In Spain the life-saving service is composed of "The Spanish So ciety for Saving the Shipwrecked," whose superior council and central board reside in Madrid, and the "Guipuzcoa Maritime Life-Saving Society," which has its chief bureau in San Sebastian. The latter society was merged into the Spanish Society in December, 1880. 2d. The organization of the society is described in detail in chapter second of the statutes approved in general session July 12, 1885. The superior council is constituted as follows: Honorary Presidents, Hon. Ministers of the Navy, of Public Works, War, and the Treasury, and the Hon. Admiral of the Navy. The Active President, His Excellency Sor Don Francisco de P. Pavia, Vice-Admiral and Senator. Honorary Vice-Presidents, Matritense, President of the Economical Society, and His Excellency, Señor Don Juan Romero y Moreno, Rear-Admiral. Active Vice-Presidents, His Excellency, Señor Don Eduardo Saavedra, Engineer and Academician; His Excellency, Señor Don Hilario de Nava, Inspector-General of Naval Engineering and Deputy to the Cortes; His Excellency, Señor Don Francisco Coello, Colonel of Engineers and Academician; His Excellency, the Duke of Victoria, Senator and Director of Railroads in the South. The duties recommended to the central and to the local boards are defined in the respective regulations. 3d. The society is founded on national charity, and being declared by law, on the 12th day of January, 1887, to be of public utility, the Government granted it a subsidy of $8,000 for the maintenance and preservation of the material which by the said law was given into its charge. In October, 1888, on account of economy in all public expenses, the subsidy was reduced to $7,200 per annum. 4th. The society has the following stations: Supplied with life-boats and apparatus for throwing ropes: Guipúzcoa, two boats and four apparatus for throwing rope; Portugalete, one boat and one apparatus for throwing ropes; Barcelona, Idem, Idem; Cádiz, Id., Id.; Vinaroz, life-boat, -, and apparatus for throwing ropes; Torrevieja, boat and apparatus for throwing ropes; Algeciras, Id., Id.; Laredo, life-boat and apparatus for throwing ropes; Sanlúcar de Barranceda, boat and apparatus for throwing ropes; Arecibo, Id., Id.; San Juan de Puerto Rico, Id., Id.; Palamós, Id., Id.; Tarragona, boat, life-boat, and apparatus for throwing ropes; Denia, boat and apparatus for throwing ropes; Gijón, Id., Id.; that is to say, a total of fifteen stations with boats and rope-throwing apparatus. Supplied with one boat: Station at Cape Palos, station at Correpedo, Rosas, Villannera and Settin, Puerto de la Selva, Cadaqués Ybiro-Ria del Barquero, Candás, one life-boat. Serilla, Id. Pending an application, two boats. Total, twelve. Supplied only with apparatus for throwing ropes: Santander, two apparatus; Rivadeo, one; Blanes, one; Tarifa, one; Cartagena, one; Rivadesella, one; Palma de Mallorca, two: Alardia, one; Felanitz, one; Soller, one; Torredembarra, one; Cambrils, one; Ceuta, one; San Felix de Guixols, one; Coruña, two; Corcubión, one; Garrucha, one; Llanes, one; La Escala, one. Total, twenty-two. There are, besides, an unlimited number of guns, large Torres lifebuoys, ropes, cables, Legrand hooks, and life-preservers at the stations of Ferrol, Huelva, Puerto de Santa Maria, Santurce, Toledo, Vigo, and at the light-houses of Estaca de Vares, Islands of Lisaigas, Finisterre, Alboran, Columbretes, and Buda Island. STATEMENT OF SERVICES RENDERED BY THE STATIONS DURING THE YEAR 1888. The subject of questions 1 and 5 of this part of the interrogatory do not relate to the society, whose only object is to save lives, and the data comprehended by them do not exist at the ministry of the navy which keeps no record of them. Number of persons saved by the society directly Saved by the apparatus of the society... Number of persons who perished of those rescued by the society Number of vessels totally lost not known but about usually 187 173 SERVICES RENDERED BY THE STATIONS SINCE THE CREATION OF THE SOCIETY. Number of persons directly saved by the society Saved without the apparatus of the society Number of persons who perished of those aided by the society. Number who perished not rescued by the society 571 841 0 148 571 57 25 FRANCISCO DE P. PAVÍA, UNITED STATES. Besides the service maintained by the Government, an account of which will be found in Appendix E, there is the Massachusetts Humane Society, supported by voluntary contributions. This society was founded in 1786, and has seventy-eight stations on the coast and rivers of Massachusetts, besides some twenty stations at which minor apparatus, such as life-buoys, ladders, and lines, are kept. During the last year they saved 123 lives and assisted 5 vessels, besides giving 111 rewards and 26 certificates for brave service. |