I have brought with me today from Pittsburgh, Pa., two qualified witnesses, one of whom holds a pilot's license for the entire length of the Mississippi and the Ohio Rivers, from Pittsburgh to New Orleans, La., and is recognized as one of the most successful long-trip pilots in the country. This man, Capt. John Hottell, has some 35-years' experience on commercial towboats, and had an outstanding record for moving warships down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers to the Gulf during World War II. The other witness, Capt. Guy Smith, is a crack Monongahela River pilot, who has an equally successful record in handling commercial tows on the Monongahela and Ohio Rivers in the Pittsburgh district. You will find that these two witnesses have been especially interested in the proposed changes in the pilot rules, and are qualified in every respect to give to you their reasons for protesting certain revisions and the effect such revisions would have on both local and long-distance river traffic. I might also state for the record, Mr. Chairman, that I am not a qualified pilot. My duties consist of maintaining and running the office for our organization. After Mr. Thompson is through with his witnesses, I respectfully request that you give both these men, whose names I mentioned, a chance to be heard. Senator REED. We will hear them now. NATIONAL ORGANIZATION, MASTERS, MATES, AND PILOTS OF AMERICA, LOCAL No. 25, Subject: H. R. 3350, an act relating tho the rules for the prevention of collisions on certain inland waters of the United States and on the western rivers, and for other purposes. CHAIRMAN, Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, United States Senate, Washington, D. C. DEAR SIR: My name is W. H. Griffith. I am secretary and business representative of the National Organization of Masters, Mates, and Pilots of America, Local No. 25, with headquarters at 649 Wabash Building, Pittsburgh, Pa. Our organization consists of some 300 federally licensed masters, mates, and pilots who are employed on towboats, both steam and Diesel, on the western rivers. Our men and their equipment can be found from the headwaters of the Monongahela River to the Gulf of Mexico. For several years a committee of our membership has been making a study of the proposed changes in the pilot rules as prepared by Captain Farwell of the United States Coast Guard. At several meetings and hearings on this matter our organization vigorously protested several of the proposed changes. We have here today two qualified witnesses, one of whom holds a pilot's license for the entire length of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers from Pittsburgh to New Orleans and who is recognized as one of the most successful long-trip pilots in the country. This man, Capt. John Hottell, has had some 35 years experience on commercial towboats and had an outstanding record for moving warships down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers to the Gulf during World War II. The other witness, Capt. Guy Smith is a crack Monongahela River pilot, who has an equally successful record in handling commercial tows on the Monongahela and Ohio Rivers in the Pittsburgh district. These two witnesses have been especially interested in the proposed changes in the pilot rules and are qualified in every respect to give to you our reasons for protecting certain revisions and the effect such revisions would have on both local and longdistance river traffic. My duties with the organization do not include actual river operations and I am not a licensed river pilot. Therefore, we should like to present Captain Hottell and Captain Smith as our witnesses at this time. Very truly yours, W. H. GRIFFITH, Secretary and Business Representative. Who comes next now? Captain Hottell? STATEMENT OF CAPT. JOHN HOTTELL, MASTERS, MATES, AND Captain HOTTELL. No, sir. I would like to say a few words in regard to this bill. I have been a pilot on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers since 1911. At your table just now, statements have been made regarding 14,000 and 15,000 tons of present-day towing. I have been pilot on boats in the old days with 30,000 and 40,000 tons. So you see the rules that we use today are not altogether inadequate. They were used then. Instead of packet boats, we have had towboats ever since I have been on the river. Under our present-day pilot rules, we can distinguish a loose boat from a boat with a tow, by one whistle for a loose boat and three whistles when a boat has a tow. That is very important for a pilot. It is important that he be able to distinguish the difference, in haze or foggy weather, and know whether that boat that he hears has a tow or does not have a tow. That is the way it is today. If these three whistles are used, and you take a chance on whether it is a loose boat or a tow, we can't tell the difference, and that will cause accidents instead of preventing them. Senator REED. That is what Captain Farwell referred to on pages 20 and 21? Captain HOTTELL. That is right. They want to use the three whistles for all classes of boats. In my opinion it will cause accidents instead of preventing them. Captain FARWELL. Senator, I refer you to page 13, where you will find there is a difference as to a free boat in fog and a boat with a tow. Captain HOTTELL. There are still three whistles. Senator MYERS. You mean (a) on page 11? Captain FARWELL. Page 13. Captain HOTTELL. Page 13, subparagraph (b), sir. Captain FARWELL. If you have a tow, you use three whistles of approximately the same length; whereas, if you are a free vessel, that is, without a tow, the last blast is lengthened. Senator MYERS. Does that overcome your objection, Captain Hottell? Captain HOTTELL. May I continue, in that connection? Captain HOTTELL. With respect to his two shorts, and one long, it is impossible to tell those whistles where there is a hill alongside, because of the echo, sir. It is impossible to tell it on any boat. With one whistle, you can tell distinctly whether it is long, short, or what. Now on page 21, we use the present rules of one long whistle, in turning a sharp point. When we use one sharp whistle, the man below that hears that whistle and will govern himself accordingly, and answer, of course, with one whistle. They want to change that now to take that rule out and make a man blow three whistles for this sharp point. That is going to be very confusing, because the distress whistle is four whistles. And when you have echoes along the river from the hills, it is almost impossible to distinguish three whistles from four at some times. În my opinion, if these rules are changed on that whistle set-up, you will have more accidents than we have ever had before. That is my honest opinion. Senator REED. Refer to pages 20 and 21, will you, Captain? Senator REED. You call our attention specifically to what, now, using page and line numbers? Captain HOTTELL. That is (b), on page 20: Whenever a steam vessel, whether ascending or descending, is nearing a bend in a channel where, from the height of the banks or other causes, a steam vessel approaching from the other direction cannot be seen for a distance of 600 yards, such steam vessel when within 600 yards of such bend or if she have a tow projecting ahead then when the head of such tow is within 600 yards of the bend-shall give a signal by three distinct blasts of her whistle, which signal shall be answered by a similar signal given by any approaching steam vessel that may be within hearing around the bend. Senator, the law today is one blast of the whistle. As I just said, if we have a big tow on the coast, say, between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, where it is a crooked river-and they have ships there right today, towing tankers up to Baton Rouge—if we hear a whistle, one whistle, we distinctly know it is either a ship or a boat running loose. But if we hear three whistles, we do know it is a boat with a tow. That is very important. There is nothing wrong with that law today, as it is. Senator REED. Is there anything further, Captain, that you want to say? Captain HOTTELL. That is about all. I have a man here with me, and if you do not mind, I would like him to say a few words. Senator REED. Is he from Pennsylvania? Captain HOTTELL. Yes, sir. Senator MYERS. Most surely he will be heard. Captain HOTTELL. Thank you, gentlemen. STATEMENT OF CAPT. GUY A. SMITH, MASTERS, MATES AND PILOTS OF AMERICA, LOCAL NO. 25, PITTSBURGH, PA. Captain SMITH. Senators, I am Guy Smith of Pittsburgh, Pa. Senator MYERS. Pennsylvania apparently is well represented here today, Captain. Captain SMITH. If you will pardon me, that is where the real steamboating is done. It is on the short stretch of the Monongahela River, along there. In 135 miles, we move 30,000,000 tons a year. You can take all of the Mississippi River, and all the rest of the Ohio River, and the upper Mississippi and the Illinois, to beat that. handle more than the Panama Canal. We even Now, in that short stretch of river, we have 50 bridges; which is one of the reasons that this rule, where they want our stern lights to be higher than the side lights, would not be practicable. There is no need of it. The sponsors of this bill have even admitted that they were wrong on that. I might also add that we have 127 landings, where boats are backing out and crossing the river, or going up the river or down the river. And in backing out of all those landings they have always blown one long whistle. There never has been an accident in the entire Pittsburgh district where pilots have tried to use that as an alibi when they have got in trouble. They have never tried to use that as an alibi: that they thought that the fellow was blowing a passing signal. They have always been able to recognize that one long whistle was a boat backing out away from the bank. That is exactly true with this rule that they want to change for a boat meeting on a short point. They have always blown one whistle. The sponsors of this bill tried to point out that blowing that one whistle may be mistaken for a passing signal. That is the reason they want to blow three whistles. But on western rivers you are not supposed to blow a passing signal until you can see the other boat. You do not whistle to pass a boat that is around the bend out of sight. And in one stretch, in 5 miles of the Monongahela River, we have four real short bends, where there is one long whistle that is blown as a warning to other boats, either coming up or down. And I will say that maybe in 500 collisions that have happened there in the last 25 years, no pilot has ever tried to wiggle out of a bad spot by using that as an alibi; that he thought the fellow blew a passing signal instead of this long whistle for the bend. It just has not been done. I have investigated that with the Coast Guard office in Pittsburgh. They have never done that. And there are some of these other rules that they wanted to point out here. I think Captain Farwell will back me up in this: I attended one meeting at Cincinnati. And today Captain Farwell made a plea for uniformity. He thought international rules should cover everything. But I realize there are places where the international rules will not cover everything. But the two rules in here that we objected to the most, this one where a boat blows a long whistle where he is backing away from the bank or a dock Senator REED. Identify the page and line that you are talking about now. Captain SMITH. Page 20. Senator MYERS. Is this (a) you are referring to? Captain SMITH. It is (b), rule (b). I would like to point out that that rule there is exactly the same rule-that is, our present rule is exactly the same rule-as is used in inland waters and is used on the Great Lakes. A boat on the Great Lakes backing out away from the bank, or a dock, blows one long whistle, the same as we do. A boat backing away from inland waters uses exactly the same signal that we are using today. Now, after making a plea for uniformity, and pointing out that there are too many different sets of rules, he says he wants to change this rule where we do have uniformity now. And I don't understand that it is going to help anybody. Senator MYERS. That is with regard to (b)? Captain SMITH. With regard to (b); yes, sir. Senator MYERS. Now, you said there were two rules. Captain SMITH. All right. And (c) uses exactly the same rule. That is on page 21, line 12. They use exactly the same rule there. Senator REED. You would change that word "three" in line 2, on page 21, to "one"? Captain SMITH. To "one"; just the way the rule is now, and the way it has been for 50 years, and just exactly the way it is on the Great Lakes and inland waters. We have boats coming off inland waters and coming up the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, even up to Pittsburgh. Senator MYERS. You said you objected to (c). But what is your objection? Captain SMITH. Well, just the way it starts off there, Senator: When a steam vessel is moved from her dock, or anchorage, she shall give the same signal as in the case of a steam vessel nearing a bend * * Senator MYERS. And that, under (c) would mean three whistles. Is that your point? Captain SMITH. The people who are sponsoring this bill want three. Senator MYERS. That would mean three, then? That subsection (c) provides for three whistles? Captain SмгTн. Yes, sir. Senator MYERS. That is your interpretation? Captain SMITH. Yes, sir. Senator MYERS. And you believe it should be as it presently is, one whistle? Captain SMITH. As it is now, on the Lakes and other inland waters. Senator REED. The effect of this is to refer back to line 2, where it says "three," is it not? * (c) When a steam vessel is moved from her dock, or anchorage, she shall give the same signal as in the case of a steam vessel nearing a bend * Captain SMITH. That is right, Senator. Senator REED. Now, that takes you back to line 2, where the change occurs, does it not? Captain SMITH. It takes you back to page 20 at (b), beginning at line 20. Senator REED. Well, that is where it starts. Captain SMITH. Yes, sir. de Senator REED. But you get over to line 2 on page 21, when you scribe the signal, which is here, three whistles. And I understand your position to be that that should be done, where is the present rule. Captain SMITH. Yes, sir. Senator REED. Is that clear, Senator? Senator MYERS. Yes; that is clear. Senator REED. Is there anything else you want to offer the committee, captain? Captain SMITH. We had a couple of other small changes there, and we pointed out to the sponsors of the bill where they were wrong. |