Page:Walker - An Unsinkable Titanic (1912).djvu/62

AN UNSINKABLE TITANIC sage, with porthole glasses broken, windows smashed, and rails and other light fittings carried away; but these are minor damages which in no way affect the integrity of the ship as a whole.

If, then, the shipbuilder has made such wonderful strides in the strength of his construction and in the development of engine power, is it not a strange anomaly that he should have so far failed in his attempt to provide against sinking through collision, as to be under the necessity of advertising the fact, by crowding the topmost deck with appliances for saving the lives of the passengers when the ship goes down?

But it will be objected that, even if the ship were made so far unsinkable that she might act as her own lifeboat, there would yet remain the risk of her destruction by fire, and that, if a fierce conflagration occurred, the passengers would have to abandon ship and take to the boats. The objection is well made, and if it be possible to introduce structural features which will render ships both fireproof and unsinkable, the thing should be done.

It is sincerely to be hoped that one outcome [ 40 ]