CONGRESS, GAS SERVICE, ISLAND OF OAHU, HAWAII. APRIL 5, 1916.-Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be printed. Mr. HOUSTON, from the Committee on the Territories, submitted following REPORT. [To accompany H. R. 3085.] The Committee on the Territories, having had under consideration the bill (H. R. 3085) to ratify, approve, and confirm an act duly enacted by the Legislature of the Territory of Hawaii amending the franchise held by the Honolulu Gas Co. (Ltd.) by extending it to include all the island of Oahu, Territory of Hawaii, reports the same to the House with recommendation that the bill do pass with the following amendments: On page 3, line 3, after the words "Public Utilities Commission," insert a period and strike out all the balance of lines 3, 4, and 5. On page 3, after striking out the language on lines 3, 4, and 5, insert the following: SEC. 3. The Public Utilities Commission of the Territory of Hawaii is hereby granted the power to order the Honolulu Gas Company, Limited, its successors or assigns, to make extensions of its service lines within the island of Oahu whenever it shall be made to appear that said extension is a public necessity and that said extension or extensions can be made to earn a reasonable profit on the cost and maintenance of the same: Provided, That all orders of the Public Utilities Commission herein provided for shall be subject to review by the courts of said Territory. On page 3, line 6, change the number of the section from section 3 to section 4. This is a bill to authorize the company to extend its service lines beyond the district of Honolulu, and to distribute and supply gas to any other point situated upon the island of Oahu, on which island the city and district of Honolulu is located. Demand for gas for cooking purposes already exists at two of the United States Army posts located on this island, Schofield Barracks, and Fort Kamehameha, and at the United States naval station at Pearl Harbor, all outside the district of Honolulu, to which district the company's original franchise is restricted. The committee has had amendments made and offered to the original act passed by the Hawaiian Legislature in 1913, authorizing the Public Utilities Commission of Hawaii to order extensions of the company's service where the same shall appear a public necessity and can be made to earn a reasonable profit to the company. The bill, as passed by the Hawaiian Legislature, and as now reported by your committee, provides for the regulation of rates by the Public Utilities Commission. As gas would be a desirable and proper convenience both for the Army posts, the naval station, and the public in the community outside of the district of Honolulu, the committee recommends that the bill do pass as amended. O APPEALS FROM DECISIONS OF BOARDS OF LOCAL INSPECTORS OF VESSELS. APRIL 5, 1916.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered to be printed. Mr. SAUNDERS, from the Committee on the Merchant Marine and Fisheries, submitted the following REPORT. [To accompany H. R. 13223.] The Committee on the Merchant Marine and Fisheries, to whom was submitted the following bill: A BILL To provide for appeals from decisions of boards of local inspectors of vessels, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That whenever any person directly interested in or affected by any decision or action of any board of local inspectors of vessels shall feel aggrieved by such decision or action, he may appeal therefrom to the supervising inspector of the district; and a like appeal shall be allowed from any decision or action of a supervising inspector of the Supervising Inspector General, whose decision, when approved by the Secretary of Commerce, shall be final: Provided, however, That application for such reexamination of the case by a supervising inspector or by the Supervising Inspector General shall be made within thirty days after the decision, or action, appealed from shall have been rendered or taken: And provided further, That in all cases reviewed under the provisions of this act where the issue is the suspension or revocation of the license of a licensed officer such officer shall be allowed to be represented by counsel and to testify in his own behalf. SEC. 2. That whenever there shall be a disagreement between the local inspectors in regard to any matter before them for decision they shall report the case to the supervising inspector of the district, who shall investigate and decide the same; and any supervising inspector may within thirty days thereafter, upon his own motion, review any decision or action of any board of local inspectors within his district; and in like manner the Supervising Inspector General may within thirty days there after review any decision or action of any supervising inspector or board of local inspectors, and the decision of the Supervising Inspector General in such case shall, when approved by the Secretary o. Commerce, be final. SEC. 3. That any decision or action reviewed by the Supervising Inspector General, or by any supervising inspector, as provided in sections one and two of this act, may be revoked, changed, or modified by such reviewing officer, who shall have power to administer oaths, and to summon and compel the attendance of witnesses by a similar process as in the district courts of the United States; and the disbursing clerk, Department of Commerce, shall pay, on properly certified vouchers, such fees to any witness so summoned, for his actual travel and attendance, as shall be officially certified to by the officer reviewing the case, not exceeding the rate allowed for fees to witnesses for travel and attendance in the district courts of the United States. SEC. 4. That the Secretary of Commerce shall make such regulations as may be necessary to secure a proper enforcement of the provisions of this act. SEC. 5. That section forty-four hundred and fifty-two of the Revised Statutes, as amended by section six of the act of March third, nineteen hundred and five, is hereby repealed respectfully reports the same back to the House without amendment, with the recommendation that it do pass. The reasons for the enactment of this measure may be found in certain facts ascertained in the investigation of the Eastland disaster at Chicago in July, 1915. It developed in the course of that investigation that the action of the local inspectors was final under existing law, with relation to various situations vitally affecting the public interests. In connection with this investigation the Secretary of Commerce secured the aid of several prominent men in Chicago who acted as an advisory committee. At the conclusion of the hearing these gentlemen made a number of recommendations. One of these recommendations was to the effect that in all cases where the power of decision of the local inspectors was final under existing law, an appeal shall be provided for all the parties directly concerned. The primary purpose of this bill is to afford this appeal, the course of the same being from the local inspectors to the supervising inspector, and from the supervising inspector to the supervising inspector general. The provisions of this bill would allow an appeal to an officer convicted by the local inspectors of dereliction of duty, and in case of acquittal a like appeal is provided for the department. Again, the local board of inspectors might make an entry in a certificate of inspection allowing the use of a less number of officers than the considerations of safe navigation for the vessel inspected would suggest as necessary and proper. Under these circumstances the owners of the vessel from motives of selfish personal interest might not take an appeal, but would be willing to abide by the action of the inspectors. This bill provides in such a case not only for a review on his motion by the supervising inspector of any action of the local inspectors, but affords in addition an appeal from the decision of the local board, to any person directly interested in, or affected by its decision. The reasons for the passage of this measure, are both obvious and impelling. Appended will be found the letter of the Secretary of Commerce to the chairman of this committee, with the accompanying documents. DEPARTMENT Of Commerce, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, MY DEAR JUDge AlexandeR: I shall be glad if you will attach this letter to that which I have heretofore written you respecting H. R. 4783. The inclosed is one of the regular accident reports made to me by the SteamboatInspection Service. Attached to it is a copy of the letter I have sent to the service in the matter. The penalty of 30 days' suspension of license for such violation of regulations as has resulted in this case in the sinking of the steamer and the loss of two lives is absurdly inadequate. Nothing can be done about it, however, by the depart ment. There is no appeal. I can write the letter of which copy is herein, but if the inspectors see fit they can do the same thing again. The suspension should have been for at least six months. It is wholly wrong that the Government should find its hands tied in matters of this kind, and it is subversive of the discipline which the service exists to preserve. Yours, very truly, Hon. J. W. Alexander, House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. WILLIAM C. REDFIELD, Secretary. The SECRETARY OF COMMERCE: DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, STEAMBOAT-INSPECTION SERVICE, Washington, December 8, 1915. Pursuant to instruction, you will please find below report of accident in which a vessel subject to the inspection of this service was concerned: Names of vessels: Towing steamers Lackawanna and Triton. Line or owner: Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Co., New York, N. Y., and the Independent Pier Co., Philadelphia, Pa., owners, respectively. Officers in charge of vessel: M. Brophy and Thomas O. Moon, masters, respectively. Local district in which accident occurred: Boston. Place of accident: Handkerchief Light Vessel. Date of accident: August 15, 1915. Nature and extent of accident: Collision, causing the towing steamer Lackawanna to sink. Cause of accident: Violation of regulations governing tows of seagoing barges on inland waters. Number of lives lost: Two. Vessels were last inspected at Hoboken, N. J., and Philadelphia, Pa., respectively, on September 17, 1915, and May 18, 1915, respectively, by C. Smith and H. McPherson, assistant inspectors of hulls, and W. G. Fenwick and C. A. Mattson, assistant inspectors of boilers. Action taken: Case investigated and the licenses of the masters of both these vessels were suspended for a period of 30 days. Remarks.-The barge Nanticoke in tow of the tug Triton collided with the tugboat Lackawanna, causing the latter to sink soon after. The mate and the cook of the Lackawanna were drowned, and the remainder of the crew of the Lackawanna, 14 men, were rescued in their lifeboat. This case was investigated by the local inspectors at Boston and charges were preferred against the masters of these vessels. M. Brophy, master of the Lackawanna, was tried and found guilty of violation governing tows of seagoing barges on inland waters and his license was suspended for 30 days. Thomas O. Moon, master of the tug Triton, failed to appear at his trial on the dates he was directed to do so, and upon his failure to appear the board convened for trial and entered a finding of guilty by default and his license was suspended for 30 days, said suspension to begin on the date of the receipt of his license by the local inspectors. The matter of the short period of the suspension of these men's licenses was taken up by this office with the local inspectors. The local inspectors advised that in arriving at the term of suspension they did not consider any extenuating circumstances, although certain conditions existed that might be considered extenuating. GEO. UHLER. DECEMBER 21, 1915. SUPERVISING INSPECTOR GENERAL, STEAMBOAT-INSPECTION SERVICE: I am sending to the chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries accident report 71663 of December 8, respecting the loss of the towing steamer Lackawanna, and with it goes a copy of this letter. I am using this example to urge the enactment of H. R. 4783, which would give the department. the right of appeal from such absurd decisions as that in this present case. Here is a case in which it is admitted that the captain of a towing steamer so acted that a collision ensued causing the loss of the towing steamer Lackawanna with two lives. The penalty is a suspension of license for 30 days. It is hard for me to con· ceive the condition of mind in which so trifling a penalty is imposed for so serious an offense. The regulations intended to save life and property were broken and loss H R-64-1-vol 2—16 |