on board certain July 9, 1886 (24 Stat., 801). That any steam vessel engaged in the business of towing Persons allowed vessels, rafts, or water craft of any kind, also steam ves- vessels. sels engaged in oyster dredging and planting, and fishing Stat., 129), sec. 1. steamers engaged in food fishing on the Great Lakes and Feb. 23, 1901 (31 all other inland waters of the United States, and not carrying passengers, may be authorized and licensed by the supervising inspector of the district in which said steamer shall be employed to carry on board such number of persons, in addition to its crew, as the supervising inspector, in his judgment, shall deem necessary to carry on the legitimate business of such towing, oyster and fishing steamers, not exceeding, however, one person to every net ton of measurement of said steamer: Provided, however, That the person so allowed to be carried shall not be carried for hire. Life preservers. Stat., 129), sec. 2. July 9, 1886 (24 Every steam vessel licensed under the foregoing section shall carry and have on board, in accessible places, one life-preserver for every person allowed to be carried, in addition to those provided for the crew of such vessel. Every boiler manufactured to be used on steam-vessels, Construction of and made of iron or steel plates, shall be constructed of R. S., 4428. plates that have been stamped in accordance with the provisions of this Title. Improper con R. S., 4429. Every person who constructs a boiler, or steam-pipe stof boilconnecting the boilers, to be used on steam-vessels, of ers. iron or steel plates which have not been duly stamped and inspected according to the provisions of this Title, or who knowingly uses any defective, bad, or faulty iron or steel in the construction of such boilers; or who drifts any rivet-hole to make it come fair; or who delivers any such boiler for use, knowing it to be imperfect in its flues, flanging, riveting, bracing, or in any other of its parts, shall be fined one thousand dollars, one-half for the use of the informer. Nothing in this Title shall be so construed as to prevent from being used, on any steamer, any boiler or steam-generator which may not be constructed of riveted iron or steel plates, when the board of supervising inspectors have satisfactory evidence that such boiler or steam-generator is equal in strength, and as safe from explosion, as a boiler of the best quality constructed of riveted iron or steel plates. Provided, how- Aug 1882 (22 ever, That the Secretary of Commerce may grant permission to use any boiler or steam generator not constructed of riveted iron or steel plates upon the certificate of the supervising inspector of steamboats for the district wherein such boiler or generator is to be used, and other satisfactory proof that the use of the same is safe and efficient; said permit to be valid until the next regular meeting of the supervising inspectors who shall act thereon. Every iron or steel plate used in the construction of, steamboat-boilers, and which shall be subject to a tensile strain, shall be inspected in such manner as shall be prescribed by the board of supervising inspectors and ap Stat., 310). Inspection boiler plates. R. S., 4430. ΟΙ Jan. 22, 1894 (28 Stat., 28). boiler plates. R. S., 4431. proved by the Secretary of Commerce, so as to enable the inspectors to ascertain its tensile strength, homogeneousness, toughness, and ability to withstand the effect of repeated heating and cooling; and no iron or steel plate shall be used in the construction of such boilers which has not been inspected and approved under those rules. And the Supervising Inspector-General may, under the direction of the Secretary of Commerce, detail assistant inspectors from any local inspection district where assistant inspectors are employed, to inspect iron or steel boiler plates at the mills where the same are manufactured; and if the plates are found in accordance with the rules of the supervising inspectors, the assistant inspector shall stamp the same with the initials of his name, followed by the letters and words, "U. S. assistant Inspector;" and material so stamped shall be accepted by the local inspectors in the districts where such material is to be manufactured into marine boilers as being in full compliance with the requirements of this section regarding the inspection of boiler plates; it being further provided that any person who affixes any false, forged, fraudulent, spurious, or counterfeit of the stamp herein authorized to be put on by an assistant inspector, shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and shall be fined not less than one thousand dollars, nor more than five thousand dollars, and imprisoned not less than two years nor more than five years. Stamping of Every plate of boiler-iron or steel, made for use in the construction of steamboat-boilers, shall be distinctly and permanently stamped by the manufacturer thereof, and, if practicable, in such places that the marks shall be left visible when such plates are worked into boilers, with the name of the manufacturer, the place where manufactured, and the number of pounds tensile strain it will bear to the sectional square inch; and the inspectors shall keep a record in their office of the stamps upon all boiler-plates and boilers which they inspect. Counterfeiting stamps. R. S., 4432. Pressure of steam allowable. R. S., 4433. Every person who counterfeits, or causes to be counterfeited, any of the marks or stamps prescribed for boileriron or steel plates, or who designedly stamps, or causes to be stamped falsely, any such plates; and every person who stamps or marks, or causes to be stamped or marked, any such iron or steel plates with the name or trade-mark of another, with the intent to mislead or deceive, shall be fined two thousand dollars, one-half to the use of the informer, and may, in addition thereto, at the discretion of the court, be imprisoned not exceeding two years. The working steam-pressure allowable on boilers constructed of plates inspected as required by this Title, when single-riveted, shall not produce a strain to exceed onesixth of the tensile strength of the iron or steel plates of which such boilers are constructed; but where the longitudinal laps of the cylindrical parts of such boilers are double-riveted, and the rivet-holes for such boilers have been fairly drilled instead of punched, an addition of twenty per centum to the working-pressure provided for single-riveting may be allowed: Provided, That all other parts of such boilers shall correspond in strength to the additional allowances so made; and no split-calking shall in any case be permitted. space between Feb. 28, 1895 (28 Mar. 2, 1909 (35 No externally fired boiler having its shell constructed of Boiler plate and iron or steel plates, exceeding an average thickness of flues. R. S., 4434. thirty-eight one-hundredths of an inch, shall be em- Feb. 11 1885 (23 ployed on any steam vessel navigating the Red River of Stat., 298). the North or rivers flowing into the Gulf of Mexico or Stat., 690). their tributaries; and no externally fired boiler employed stat., 686). on any such steam vessel shall have less than three inches space between its shell and any of its internal flues, and not less than three inches space between such flues when any such flues are more than five inches in diameter, the measurements to be taken from the center of the length of the tapered section of said flues; and every such externally fired boiler employed on any such steam vessel shall be provided with a manhole in the lower part of the front head thereof, of such dimensions as may be prescribed by the Board of Supervising Inspectors, in all cases where the distance between its internal flues is less than three inches. Externally fired boilers having shells constructed of iron or steel plates not exceeding an average thickness of fifty one-hundredths of an inch may, in the discretion of the Supervising Inspector-General, be authorized and employed on steam vessels navigating the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, or salt-water bays, or sounds, or the Great Lakes, or any of them, and waters flowing to and from the same, or any of them: Provided, That on inspection, no plate that is by this Act limited to a thickness of thirty-eight one-hundredths of an inch and no plate that is by this Act limited to a thickness of fifty onehundredths of an inch shall be rejected for use if found to exceed those dimensions, respectively, if the approved average thickness thereof does not exceed the limits therein specified, and the amount of steam pressure that will be permitted to be carried in boilers constructed in accordance with the requirements of this Act shall be determined from measurements showing the least thickness of the plates. All externally fired boilers, constructed of iron or steel, Mar. 2, 1909 (35 prior to the passage of this Act, and now in use on any such vessels, wherein the space between the shell and any of its internal flues or between such flues is less than three inches, they shall be deemed lawfully constructed. Every person who intentionally loads or obstructs, or Obstructing causes to be loaded or obstructed, in any way or manner, the safety-valve of a boiler, or who employs any other means or device whereby the boiler may be subjected to a greater pressure than the amount allowed by the cer safety valves, etc. R. S., 4437. Licenses of officers by inspectors. R. S., 4438. Dec. 21, 1898 (30 Jan. 25, 1907 (34 Stat., 864). May 28, 1908 (35 Stat., 425). License of cap tain. tificate of the inspectors, or who intentionally deranges or hinders the operation of any machinery or device employed to denote the state of the water or steam in any boiler, or to give warning of approaching danger, or who intentionally permits the water to fall below the prescribed low-water line of the boiler, and every person concerned therein, directly or indirectly, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be fined two hundred dollars, and may also be imprisoned not exceeding five years. The boards of local inspectors shall license and classify the masters, chief mates, and second and third mates, if in charge of a watch, engineers, and pilots of all steam Stat., 764), sec. 1; vessels, and the masters of sail vessels of over seven hundred gross tons, and all other vessels of over one hundred gross tons carrying passengers for hire. It shall be unlawful to employ any person or for any person to serve as a master, chief mate, engineer, or pilot of any steamer or as master of any sail vessel of over seven hundred gross tons or of any other vessel of over one hundred gross tons carrying passengers for hire who is not licensed by the inspectors; and anyone violating this section shall be liable to a penalty of one hundred dollars for each offense. Whenever any person applies to be licensed as master any steam vessel, or of a sail vessel of over seven hunDec. 21, 1898 (30 dred tons, the inspectors shall make diligent inquiry as to his character, and shall carefully examine the applicant as well as the proofs which he presents in support of his claim, and if they are satisfied that his capacity, experience, habits of life, and character are such as warrant the belief that he can safely be entrusted with the duties and responsibilities of the station for which he makes application, they shall grant him a license authorizing him to discharge such duties on any such vessel for the term of five years; but such license shall be suspended or revoked upon satisfactory proof of bad conduct, intemperate habits, incapacity, inattention to his duties, or the willful violation of any provision of this title applicable to him. R. S. 4439. License of chief mate. R. S. 4440. Mar. 23, 1898 (30) Stat., 340). Stat., 765), sec. 3. of Whenever any person applies for authority to be employed as chief mate of ocean or coastwise steam vessels or of sail vessels of over seven hundred tons, or as second or Dec. 21, 1898 (30 third mate of ocean or coastwise steam vessels, who shall have charge of a watch, or whenever any person applies for authority to be employed as mate of river steamers, the inspectors shall require satisfactory evidence of the knowledge, experience, and skill of the applicant in lading cargo and in handling and stowage of freight, and if for license as chief mate on ocean or coastwise steamers, or of sail vessels of over seven hundred tons, or as second or third mate of ocean or coastwise steamers, who shall have 1 Amended by section 5 of the act of Congress approved June 9, 1910, making this provision inapplicable to any vessel propelled by machinery and not more than 65 feet in length except tugboats and towboats propelled by steam. (See p. 210.) charge of a watch, shall also examine him as to his knowledge and ability in navigation and managing such vessels and all other duties pertaining to his station, and if satisfied of his qualifications and good character they shall grant him a license authorizing him to perform such duties for the term of five years upon the waters upon which he is found qualified to act; but such license shall be suspended or revoked upon satisfactory proof of bad conduct, intemperate habits, unskillfulness, or want of knowledge of the duties of his station or the willful violation of any provision of this title. Stat., 188). Whenever any person applies for authority to perform License of engithe duties of engineer of any steam-vessel, the inspectors R. S., 4441. shall examine the applicant as to his knowledge of steam machinery, and his experience as an engineer, and also the proofs which he produces in support of his claim; and if, upon full consideration, they are satisfied that his character, habits of life, knowledge, and experience in the duties of an engineer are all such as to authorize the belief that he is a suitable and safe person to be intrusted with the powers and duties of such a station, they shall grant him a license, authorizing him to be employed in such duties for the term of five years, in which they shall assign May 28, 1896 (29 him to the appropriate class of engineers; but such license shall be suspended or revoked upon satisfactory proof of negligence, unskillfulness, intemperance, or the willful violation of any provision of this Title. Whenever complaint is made against any engineer holding a license authorizing him to take charge of the boilers and machinery of any steamer, that he has, through negligence or want of skill, permitted the boilers in his charge to burn or otherwise become in bad condition, or that he has not kept his engine and machinery in good working order, it shall be the duty of the inspectors, upon satisfactory proof of such negligence or want of skill, to revoke the license of such engineer and assign him to a lower grade or class of engineers, if they find him fitted therefor. R. S., 4442. Whenever any person claiming to be a skillful pilot of License of pilot. steam-vessels offers himself for a license, the inspectors shall make diligent inquiry as to his character and merits, and if satisfied, from personal examination of the applicant, with the proof that he offers that he possesses the requisite knowledge and skill, and is trustworthy and faithful, they shall grant him a license for the term of five years to pilot any such vessel within the limits pre-sta scribed in the license; but such license shall be suspended or revoked upon satisfactory evidence of negligence, unskillfulness, inattention to the duties of his station, or intemperance, or the willful violation of any provision of this Title. May 28, 1896 (29 tain or mate as Where the master or mate is also pilot of the vessel, he License of capshall not be required to hold two licenses to perform such pilot. duties, but the license issued shall state on its face that he R. S., 4443. is authorized to act in such double capacity. |