UC-NRLF V K 20S.3 $B 72 2MB DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE THE UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE 1915 WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1916 GIFT Of DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE THE UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE 1915 \AX -tauiX WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1916 11 DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, BUREAU OF LIGHTHOUSES, Washington, December 1, 1915. This pamphlet is published for the purpose of furnishing general information regarding the organization and operation of the United States Lighthouse Service, and to enable the Bureau to supply data asked for in inquiries frequently received. It has been compiled mainly by John S. Conway, Deputy Commissioner of Lighthouses. GEORGE R. PUTNAM, Commissioner. 2 CONTENTS. Page. 1. Duties and organization 5 2. Jurisdiction 6 3. Cooperation 7 4. District limits and offices 7 5. Aids to navigation , 11 6. History and growth of the Lighthouse Service 14 7. Development of lighthouse work in Alaska 16 8. Types of construction of lighthouses 17 9. Lighting apparatus and illuminants 30 10. Distinct iveness and characteristics of lights 35 11. Visibility and candlepower of lights 36 12. Fog signals 40 13. Buoys 46 14. River lighting 53 15. Lighthouse depots 55 16. Light vessels 58 17. Lighthouse tenders 66 18. Personnel and civil-service systems 72 19. Light keepers' quarters 76 20. Saving of life and property 79 21. Lighting of bridges 79 22. Private aids to navigation 80 23. Laws for protection of aids ' 81 24. Publications 82 25. Engineering and fiscal matters 84 26. Exhibits of the Lighthouse Service 91 27. Past and present officers of the Service 93 3 THE UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915. 1. DUTIES AND ORGANIZATION. The United States Lighthouse Service is charged with the estab- lishment and maintenance of aids to navigation, and with all equip- ment and work incident thereto, on the coasts of the United States. The term "aids to navigation" comprises all land and sea marks established or adapted for the purpose of aiding the navigation of vessels, and includes light stations, light vessels, fog signals, buoys of all kinds, minor lights, and day beacons. There is an office in Washington, known as the Bureau of Light- houses, which is the executive center of the Service, under the Com- missioner of Lighthouses and the Deputy Commissioner. There are in this office an engineering construction division, under the chief constructing engineer; a naval construction division, under the superintendent of naval construction; a hydrographic division, under an assistant engineer; and the general office force, under the chief clerk. The Service outside of Washington is divided into 19 lighthouse districts, each of which is under the charge of a lighthouse inspector. In each district there is a central office at a location selected on account of either its maritime importance or its geographical posi- tion. Attached to each district office is a technical force for the construction and upkeep of both land structures and floating equip- ment, and also a clerical force, with a chief clerk and assistants, for the work of the district. The principal technical assistant to the inspector is the superintendent, and there are assistant superin- tendents and aids as required by the size of the district. In the field are construction and repair parties under foremen, and in a number of districts there are mechanicians who attend to special repairs and installations of apparatus. All of this force is composed of civilians, except that in the three river districts officers of the Corps of Engineers who are in charge of river improvements act also as lighthouse inspectors. One or more lighthouse depots are conveniently located in each district for carrying on the work of the district in the matter of storing and distributing supplies and apparatus. In addition to the various district depots, there is in the third lighthouse district, on Staten Island, New York Harbor, a general lighthouse depot, where many of the supplies for the whole Service are purchased and stored and 5 6 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915. sent out Tor dis-tributioa, a-.ul whore much of the special apparatus of the Service is manufactured or repaired, and where also there is carried on various technical work in the way of testing apparatus and supplies and designing or improving apparatus. Each district is provided with one or more lighthouse tenders for the purpose of distributing supplies to the various stations and light vessels and for transportation of materials for construction or repair, for the placing and care of the buoyage system in the district, and for transporting the inspector and other officers of the Service on official inspections of stations and vessels and on other official duty. 2. JURISDICTION. The jurisdiction of the Lighthouse Service extends over the Atlantic, Gulf, Great Lakes, and Pacific coasts, the principal interior rivers, Alaska, Porto Bico, and Hawaii, and all other territory under the jurisdiction of the United States, with the exception of the Philippine Islands and Panama. In the Philippine Islands the lighthouse service is maintained by the insular government and supported entirely out of the revenues of the islands. At Panama the canal government has charge of the lighting of the canal and approaches under the general appropriations for the canal. All the work of establishing and maintaining the aids to navigation under the jurisdiction of the Lighthouse Service is performed directly by that service through district organizations, with the exception of a few minor aids, which are maintained by contract, and the exception of the American Samoan Islands, the island of Guam, and Guanta- namo, Cuba, where the aids are maintained under the supervision of the naval commandants under allotments made from the appropria- tions for the Lighthouse Service. The Lighthouse Service also has supervision over the establishment and maintenance of private aids to navigation and the lighting of bridges over navigable waters of the United States. At the present time the United States assists in the maintenance of but one lighthouse outside of its territory, this being at Cape Spartel, Morocco. This light is maintained in accordance with the conven- tion between Morocco and the United States, Austria, Belgium, Spain, France, Great Britain, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, and Sweden, in force since March 12, 1867. The lighthouse was constructed at the expense of Morocco, but it is maintained by the other contracting powers. The annual appropriation by the United States for this purpose is $325, and it is not under the control of the Jjighthouse Service. The jurisdiction of the Lighthouse Service over rivers not included in tidewater navigation is restricted to such as are specifically named in the various acts of Congress. These now include practically all the important navigable rivers and lakes of the country. DISTRICT LIMITS AND OFFICES. 7 3. COOPERATION. In performing its duties, the Lighthouse Service cooperates actively with all other branches of the Government engaged in related work. Notices to mariners are issued jointly with the Coast and Geodetic Survey, and information affecting charts is supplied to that office for publication. Similar information is furnished the Lake Survey and other offices publishing charts. Cooperation is had with the Corps of Engineers, War Department, in connection with river and harbor improvements, as to special aids to navigation maintained for such works, information of improvements that will affect aids to navigation, the marking of river channels, lighting of wrecks, etc. Information as to deficiencies in aids is received from the Hydrographic Office and from naval vessels, and from other maritime services of the Govern- ment. The Public Health Service aids in matters of sanitation affecting lighthouse vessels and stations, the Bureau of Standards in the design of radio apparatus and in special tests, the Forest Service in the growing and management of timber on lighthouse reservations, the Steamboat-Inspection Service in the inspection of steam plants of vessels, etc. The Lighthouse Service supplies information respecting aids to navigation to all branches of the Government having need for this data and cooperates in the placing of buoys for special purposes. Arrangements are in effect with the War Department for the assign- ment of lighthouse tenders from time to time for mine-planting practice, and in the event of necessity the Lighthouse Service is prepared to turn over to the Navy Department, with the approval of the President, such tenders as may be required in military operations. In addition to the foregoing special effort is made to consult the needs of merchant shipping as to aids to navigation. Applications from maritime interests for establishing or improving aids are care- fully considered, and all matters involving extensive changes are taken up with such interests before action is decided upon. Mariners and others interested are invited to give prompt infor- mation to the district lighthouse inspectors, or by direct communi- cation to the Commissioner of Lighthouses, of all cases of injury to or unsatisfactory condition or incorrect position of any aid to navi- gation, or of the necessity for additional aids, or of any existing aid not needed, and of all cases where the lights are not exhibited punc- tually at sunset and extinguished at sunrise. 4. DISTRICT LIMITS AND OFFICES. The limits of the lighthouse districts are as follows : First district. From the head of navigation on the St. Croix River, Me., the northeastern boundary of the United States, to and includ- ing Hampton Harbor, N. H. It embraces all aids to navigation on 8 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE; 1915. DISTRICT LIMITS AND OFFICES. 9 the seacoast of Maine and New Hampshire, and on all tidal waters between the limits named. Second district. From Hampton Harbor, N. H., to Elisha Ledge, off Warren Point, R. I., but not including either the harbor or the ledge. It embraces all aids to navigation on the seacoast and tidal waters of Massachusetts, except on the Taunton River and that part of Mount Hope Bay lying within the State boundary. Third district. From Elisha Ledge, off Warren Point, R. I., to Cape May, on the coast of New Jersey, excepting Cape May Light- house, and to a point on the coast opposite Rehoboth, Del., excepting Cape Henlopen Lighthouse and Hen and Chickens Shoal. It em- braces all aids to navigation on the coasts of Rhode Island, Connec- ticut, New York, and New Jersey northward of Cape May, including Northeast End, Five-Fathom Bank, and Overfalls light vessels, and McCries Shoal, and on all tidal waters tributary to the sea or Long Island Sound between the limits named, together with the aids on Whitehall Narrows, and on the United States waters of Lakes Champlain and Memphremagog. Fourth district. From and including Cape May Light Station, on the coast of New Jersey, to and including Fenwick Island Light Station on the coast of Delaware. It embraces all aids to navigation on the seacoast of New Jersey and Delaware between the points named, the entrance to Delaware Bay, Delaware Bay and River, and the waters tributary thereto, but does not include McCries Shoal, Overfalls Light Vessel, and the aids to navigation seaward thereof, nor the shoals seaward of Fenwick Island. Fifth district. From (but not including) Fenwick Island Light Station, on the coast of Delaware, to and including New River Inlet, N. C. It embraces all aids to navigation off the seacoast of Dela- ware seaward of Fenwick Island, on the seacoasts of Maryland, Vir- ginia, and North Carolina between the limits named, all of Chesa- peake Bay, the sounds of North Carolina, and tributary waters. Sixth district. From (but does not include) New River Inlet, N. C., to and including Hillsboro Inlet Light Station, Fla. It embraces all aids to navigation on the seacoasts, bays, sounds, harbors, rivers, and other tidal waters of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida between the limits named. Seventh district. From a point just south of Hillsboro Inlet Light Station to and including Cedar Keys, Fla. It embraces all aids to navigation on the sea and Gulf coasts of Florida, Florida Keys, and on other waters tributary to the sea and Gulf between the limits named. Eighth district. From (but not including) Cedar Keys, Fla., to the southern boundary of Texas. It embraces all aids to navigation on the Gulf coast of the United States and tidal waters tributary to 10 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915. the Gulf between the limits named, together with those on the Mississippi River below and including New Orleans, and on Grand Lake and Lake Chicot. Ninth district. The island of Porto Rico and the adjacent islands and other islands and stations ceded to the United States in the West Indies. Tenth district. From the mouth of the St. Regis River, St. Law- rence River, N. Y., to the mouth of the Detroit River. It embraces all aids to navigation on the United States shores and waters of Lakes Ontario and Erie and the upper part of the St. Lawrence River and the Niagara River, excepting aids to navigation at the mouth of the Detroit River. Eleventh district. From and including all aids to navigation at the mouth of the Detroit River, Mich., to the western end of Lake Superior. It embraces all aids to navigation on the United States shores and waters of Lakes St. Clair, Huron, and Superior, the Detroit River, including the mouth, the St. Clair and St. Marys rivers, and that part of the Straits of Mackinac lying to the eastward of a line drawn across the straits just to the eastward of Old Mackinac Point Light Station, Mich. Twelfth district. Includes all aids to navigation on Lake Michigan, Green Bay, and tributary waters lying west of a line drawn across the Straits of Mackinac just east of Old Mackinac Point Light Station, Mich. Thirteenth district. The Mississippi River from the head of naviga- tion to the mouth of the Missouri River; the Minnesota River from the head of navigation to its mouth; the Illinois River from the head of navigation to its mouth; the Osage River from the head of navigation to its mouth; the Gasconade River from the head of navigation to its mouth ; the Missouri River from the head of naviga- tion to its mouth; St. Croix River and Lake; Lake Traverse; and includes all aids to navigation within these limits and navigable rivers tributary thereto. Fourteenth district. The Ohio River from Pittsburgh, Pa., to Cairo, 111.; the Tennessee River from the head of navigation to its mouth; the Kanawha River from the head of navigation to its mouth; and embraces all aids to navigation within these limits and navigable rivers tributary thereto. Fifteenth district. The Mississippi River from and including the mouth of the Missouri River to New Orleans, La.; the Red River from the head of navigation to its mouth; and includes all aids to navigation within these limits and navigable rivers tributary thereto. Sixteenth district. From the boundary between Alaska and the Dominion of Canada to the boundary between Alaska and Siberia. It embraces all aids to navigation on the seacoast, bays, rivers, and other tidal waters of Alaska. AIDS TO NAVIGATION. 11 Seventeenth district. From the boundary between California and Oregon to the northern boundary of the United States. It embraces all aids to navigation on the seacoast of Oregon and Washington, on the United States waters of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Wash- ington Sound, and the Strait of Georgia, and on the tidal waters tributary to the sea, straits, and sounds between the limits named. Eighteenth district. From the boundary between California and Mexico to the boundary between California and Oregon. It em- braces all aids to navigation on the seacoast, bays, rivers, and other tidal waters of California. . Nineteenth district. Embraces the Hawaiian Islands, the Midway Islands, the island of Guam, and the American Samoan Islands, and includes all aids to navigation in the waters thereof. The location of each district office, with the address of the light- house inspector, is given in the following table : District. Address. District. Address. 1st 2d... Portland. Me., Y. M. C. A. Building. Boston. Mass.. Customhouse. llth. 12th. . Detroit, Mich., Post Office Building. Milwaukee, Wis., Federal Building. 3d Tompkinsville, N. Y. 13th. . Rock Island, 111., Federal Building. 4th Philadelphia, Pa., Post Office Building. 14th. . Cincinnati, Ohio, Customhouse. 5th... Baltimore, Md., New Customhouse. 15th. . St. Louis, Mo., Customhouse. 6th Charleston, S. C., Old Post Office Build- 16th. . Ketchikan, Alaska. 7th... ing. Key West, Fla. 17th. . 18th. . Portland, Oreg., Customhouse. San Francisco, Cal., Customhouse. 8th New Orleans, La., Customhouse. 19th. . Honolulu, Hawaii, McCandless Build- 9th San Juan, P. R. ing. 10th Buffalo, N. Y., Federal Building. 5. AIDS TO NAVIGATION. The table following gives a summary of the 14,544 aids to naviga- tion, under each principal class, in commission on June 30, 1915: Lighted aids: Lights (other than minor lights) ........................... 1, 662 Minor lights ............................................. 2, 837 Light-vessel stations ...................................... 53 Gas buoys ............................................... 479 Float lights .............................................. 124 Total .................................................. 5, 155 Unlighted aids: Fog signals Submarine signals Whistling buoys, unlighted Bell buoys, unlighted 527 50 . ....................... 86 237 Other buoys ............................................. 6, 488 Day beacons ....... : ...................................... 2, 001 Total ................................................. -. 9, 389 Grand total 14, 544 12 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915. Grouped according to the fixed or floating character of the aids, the following tabulation may be made: Lighted fixed aids 4, 499 Unlighted fixed aids 2, 478 Total fixed aids. . . 6, 977 Lighted floating aids 656 Unlighted floating aids 6, 911 Total floating aids 7, 567 Grand total 14,544 The class described as " Lights (other than minor) ' ; includes major lights classified under the Fresnel system of orders, which will be described more fully in another place, range lenses, reflectors, and lens lanterns. (See p. 31.) There are 744 stations with resident keepers, provided with dwellings, and in many cases these keepers have charge not only of the principal light but also such other lights in the vicinity as may be conveniently cared for from the same station. The number of keepers varies from one to five, according to circum- stances, and the number of stations having more than one keeper is shown in the following table : Five-keeper stations 3 Four-keeper stations 28 Three-keeper stations 167 Two-keeper stations 238 Total stations with more than one keeper 436 The term " minor light" includes post lights and small lights generally not attended as a rule by resident keepers. These lights are usually cared for by persons living in the vicinity, who are not obliged to devote their entire time to the work and who sometimes have several lights, if conveniently located, in their charge. This type of light is commonly used on inland rivers and particularly on the Mississippi River and its tributaries. Light vessels are used as a rule to mark offshore dangers, or the approaches to harbors or channels, where lighthouses would not be feasible or economical. They are more fully described on page 58. Gas buoys are used to mark important channels or shoals or as general guides for navigation. Many improvements have been made in this type of aid, and they are considered among the most valuable of recent developments in modern coast lighting. Float lights are usually small lights borne on a float or rsffj. They are employed for less important places where more convenient or economical than lighted buoys and where the expense of providing a foundation for a fixed structure would not be warranted. Fog signals include various types of aerial sound-producing appara- tus for use in foggy or thick weather. They embrace various types of AIDS TO NAVIGATION. 13 whistles, sirens, or horns, actuated by steam or compressed air, and bells, operated by machinery of various types or by hand. Submarine signals are auxiliary fog signals consisting of bells operated under water. They are commonly a feature of light-vessel equipment, but are employed also at some light stations or attached to buoys. Whistling and bell buoys, as the names imply, are buoys fitted with sound-producing apparatus operated by the motion of the buoy in the sea. Whistling buoys are more efficient in rough outside waters and bell buoys are more . commonly used in harbors or inside waters. Further information in regard to both types appears on page 50. Other buoys include cans, nuns, and spars of various types, and are the most extensively used of all aids. They are more frequently employed in channels and inside waters generally, and are described more fully on page 49. Day beacons include minor fixed structures not bearing a light. They are of various types, the most common being a post or spindle bearing a target or some other object of a distinctive shape and color. The number of light stations, light vessels, and fog signals of the world, as listed in the British Admiralty List of Lights for 1915, is approximately as given in the table below. The statistics do not include the Great Lakes of North America nor rivers above the limit of seagoing navigation, and the lights are given in greater complete- ness for some countries than for others. Continents. Light stations. Light vessels. Fog signals. Europe 7,335 192 779 North America 2,913 49 645 Asia 1 355 36 116 Australia and Oceania. . . 746 3 21 Africa 519 10 South America 358 10 15 Total . .. 13, 226 290 1,586 It is of interest to compare similar statistics of light stations for about 1888 (The Modern Lighthouse Service, Johnson). Continents. Light stations. Continents. Light stations. Europe 3 309 Africa 219 North A merica 1 435 South America 167 Asia 476 Oceania. 319 Total 5,925 The lists for 1915 show that the United States Lighthouse Service has under its charge materiaUy more lights and fog signals than any other organization, and this would be numerically increased if there were included the lights on the lakes and rivers, and if aU aids to navigation were counted, including buoys and unlighted beacons. 14 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915. 6. HISTORY AND GROWTH OF THE LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE. The history of lighthouses in the United States dates back to 1715-16, when the first lighthouse on this continent was built at the entrance to Boston Harbor by the Province of Massachusetts. This light was supported by light dues on all incoming and outgoing ves- sels, except coasters. Several other lighthouses were built by the colonies. Congress, by the act of August 7, 1789, authorized the maintenance of lighthouses and other aids to navigation at the expense of the United States. There were at that date eight lights in opera- tion maintained by the colonies. These, together with others com- pleted later, 13 in all, were ceded to the General Government by the States. The Lighthouse Service of the United States is supported entirely by appropriations out of the general revenues of the Gov- ernment, and the United States lighthouses have been free to vessels of all nations from 1789 to the present time. There is no system of light dues, as is the case in a number of foreign maritime countries. The maintenance of lighthouses, buoys, etc., was placed under the Treasury Department, and up to 1820 was directed personally by the Secretary of the Treasury, except for two intervals when super- vision was assigned by him to the Commissioner of the Revenue. In 1820 the superintendence of the lights devolved upon the Fifth Auditor of the Treasury, who was popularly known as the General Superintendent of Lights and who continued in charge thereof until 1852, when the United States Lighthouse Board, consisting of officers of the Navy and Army and civilians, was organized, with the Secre- tary of the Treasury as ex officio president of the board. The board selected from its own number a member to act as chairman. The Lighthouse Service was transferred to the Department of Commerce on July 1, 1903. On July 1, 1910, the Lighthouse Board was terminated and the present Bureau of Lighthouses established. The eight colonial lights in the order of their establishment were: Boston, on Little Brewster Island, Mass 1716 Brant Point, on Nantucket Island, Mass 1746 Beavertail, on Conanicut Island, R. I 1761 Sandy Hook, N. J., entrance to New York Bay 1764 Cape Henlopen, Del., entrance to Delaware Bay 1764 Charleston, on Morris Island, S. C 1767 Gurnet, near Plymouth, Mass 1769 Portsmouth, N. H., entrance to harbor 1789 All of these are still in existence, although with many improve- ments; at Sandy Hook and Cape Henlopen, however, tl% original towers are still in use. The gradual increase in the number of aids to navigation from 1790 to 1910, by 10-year periods, and for each year since 1910, is shown in the following table: HISTOKY AND GROWTH OF THE LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE. 15 Year. Lighted aids. Unlighted aids. ft B 3 9 1 S i ? J s" 3 ^ . SI * Jq 2 s fl rf 'a .> 'w I ' 12 d CQ Ml f| 2 E & Z3 W | 1 1 S 1 si si II <5 1790 12 12 23 42 60 153 264 332 472 560 1,523 2,450 3,163 3,992 4,211 4,516 4,739 5,004 5,155 (0) 2 2 3 12 26 49 111 117 194 254 393 457 506 510 520 519 527 (0) 77 117 156 350 800 1,034 1,738 2,446 3,115 4,143 4,749 5,783 5,821 5,992 6, 174 6,330 6,488 (a) 22 30 60 90 121 220 324 355 372 496 1,120 1,295 1,474 1,655 1,978 2,001 a 141 189 422 916 1.204 2,074 2,892 3,694 4,904 5,828 7,669 7,939 8,308 8,695 9,194 9,389 (0) 107 183 249 575 1,180 1,536 2,550 3,456 5,221 7,354 8,991 11,661 12,150 12,824 13, 434 14,198 14,544 1800.... 1810.... 1820. . . . 1830.... 1840.... 1850.... 1860 23 42 59 137 234 297 425 i 16 30 35 47 9 9 9 75 120 178 189 205 216 233 237 1870. . . . 1880. . . . 1890.... 1900.... 1910.... 1911.... 1912.... 1913.... 1914.... 1915.... 528 661 833 ,243 ,397 ,424 ,475 ,531 1,590 1,662 32 819 1,550 1,745 2,256 2,362 2,552 2,666 2,791 2,837 31 26 44 54 51 51 53 52 53 12 34 38 60 87 92 101 118 124 25 60 70 89 88 84 84 86 86 7 93 225 287 346 388 453 479 42 40 43 46 48 50 a No definite information on record. NOTES. The information prior to 1850 should be considered approximate only, and the figures given may be regarded generally as somewhat less than the actual numbers. Minor lights and float lights originally covered only post lights on the Mississippi River and tributaries, first reported in 1875 (280 minor, 21 float). Lighted buoys first reported in 1884 (4 buoys). Early records of fog signals compiled from light lists and other sources and are somewhat indefinite. Whistles not regularly reported prior to 1872 (33 whistles); bells not prior to 1882 (115 bells). Submarine bells first reported in 1906 (5 bells). Whistling buoys first reported in 1876 (4 buoys). Bell buoys first reported regularly in 1881 (11 buoys). Bell buoys were introduced about 1855 (9 buoys). Bell boats, filling practically same purpose, were used at a much earlier date, although no definite records appear. Buoy boats, consisting of a decked scow about 20 feet long by 7 feet beam, carrying a light mast or perch, were also in use in the early days. The increase in the number of aids to navigation maintained by the United States Lighthouse Service is shown graphically for the last 15 years in the following diagram, as well as the range in general appropriations for maintenance during the same period. JUK E3tiaeMBoiAr*rt& based on fftfacfual results 14.000 13.000 6.000000 12m tissvimifta. for iooo.ooou.ooo \ Ah is /o Naw, lah'ot / Af, oropr iatioi 4.00QOOO B.OOO f/XAL YAft IfOI /W2 M03 J1Q4 lp of lantern abwe base. 5 Cape Hatteras N. C Feet. 200 3 Barnegat,N. J Feet. 161 5 Hog Island, Va 191 6 St. Augustine, Fla 161 5 Cape C harles. Va 191 3 Shinnecock Bay,X. Y 161 8 Pensacola Fla 171 5 Currituck Beach. N C 161 3 Absecon N J 170 5 Cape Lookout N.C 161 4 Cape May, N J 170 5 BDdie Island, >T.C 161 6 Mosquito Inlet Fla 168 6 Charleston S C 161 6 Cape Fear, N.C. . 166 6 Cape Romain, S. C 161 3 Fire Island, N. Y 163 7 Dry Tortu^as, Fla 157 5 Cape Henry Va 163 7 Sombrero Key Fla 153 9. LIGHTING APPARATUS AND ILLUMINANTS. The earliest type of lighting apparatus consisted of an open coal or wood fire, with other inflammahle materials, such as pitch, burned in a brazier, on top of the tower. When Boston Light was estab- lished, in 1716, the common oil burner of the period was used, inclosed in a lantern consisting of a cylinder of heavy wooden frames, holding small, thick panes of glass. The illuminant was fish or whale oil, burned in spider lamps with solid wicks and suspended by iron chains from the top of the lantern. Sperm oil was in general use about 1812, and was burned in a lamp constructed on the Argand principle, with a rough reflector and a so-called lens or magnifier. This apparatus was inclosed in a heavy wrought-iroii lantern glazed with panes about 12 inches square. Improvements were gradually made in this apparatus, and by the year 1840 the useless bull's-eye "magnifiers" had been entirely removed, and the reflectors were made 011 correct optical principles, approaching the paraboloid in form, heavily silvered and properly placed. The lanterns were also improved by making the frames lighter, the panes larger, and by providing more adequate ventilation. To provide illumination all around the horizon, sets of from 8 to 20 lamps were used, placed side by side around the circumference of a circle. This arrangement, in its most complete form, is designated as the catoptric, or reflector system, and its relative merits as compared with the lenticular system originally devised by the French physicist Augustiii Fresnel about 1822, was the source of much controversy in the years preceding the establishment of the Lighthouse Board in 1852. The first lens in the LIGHTING APPARATUS AND ILLUM1NANTS. 31 United States .was installed at Navesink Light, N. J., in. 1841, and is still preserved by the Service. (See p. 91.) The Fresnel apparatus consists of a polyzonal lens inclosing the lamp, which is placed at the central focus. The lens is built up of glass prisms in panels, the central portions of which are dioptric or refracting only, and the upper and lower portions are both reflecting Point Reyes Light Station, Cal. and refracting, described as ' ' catadioptric." The advantages of this system lie in the greater brilliancy owing to the fact that a large pro- portion of the light given out by the source is concentrated by the prisms into beams useful to the mariner, and the consequent economy in the consumption of oil or other illumiiiant employed. The prin- cipal sizes of Fresnel lenses are classified according to their order, this depending upon the inside radius or focal distance of the lens 32 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915. that is, the distance from the center of the light to the inner surface of the lens as given in the following table: Order. Millimeters. Inches. First 920 36. 2 Second 700 27. 6 Third 500 19.7 Three-and-a-half 375 14. 7 Fourth 250 9. 8 Fifth '. 187. 5 Sixth.. ....150 5.9 Pigeon Point Light Station, Cal. One of the first steps taken by the Lighthouse Board in 1852 was to install lenses generally throughout the Service in place of reflec- tors, and this change was carried out as rapidly as possible, being practically completed in 1859. Lenses are in use at the present time at all important stations, with many subsequent improvements, how- ever, in the design and arrangement of the panels. Improvements were also made from time to time in the lantern inclosing the lens, and the standard type now in use is of cast iron and bronze, with helical bars bent to the curvature of the lantern supporting lozenge-shaped panes of curved plate glass. These bars, crossing the beams of light diagonally, offer the least possible obscuration to the beams toward any point of the horizon. Suitable ventilators and flues to furnish the requisite draft and to carry off the products of combustion are LIGHTING APPARATUS AND ILLUMINANTS. 33 also provided, and the entire lantern is constructed in a number of sizes corresponding to the order of the lens which it accommodates, The largest lens in use in the Lighthouse Service at present is that at Makapuu Point, Oahu, Hawaii, the landfall light for vessels bound from the States to the Hawaiian Islands. This is of the hyper- radiant order, a larger size than those regularly listed, and has a focal distance of 1,330 millimeters, or 52.4 inches; the inside di- ameter of the lens is therefore nearly 9 feet, and it is inclosed in a specially designed lantern of 16 feet inside diameter. It is the only one of its type in the Service. The number of other lenses, from the first to the sixth orders, inclusive, in commission on June 30, 1915, is as follows: 57 first order; 29 second order; 68 third order; 21 three-and-a-half order; 350 fourth order; 155 fifth order; and 86 sixth order; total, 766. Reflectors are also in use, partic- ularly for range lights, which are frequently employed to mark the axis or center line of a channel. For ranges two lights are necessary, and are placed a proper distance apart, usually with the rear light higher than the front, so that both lights show in line in the same vertical plane when the observer is in the center of the channel. Such reflectors are either silvered surfaces of metal in the form of a paraboloid, similar to head lights for locomotives or automo- biles, or in improved forms of glass lenses with prismatic glass reflectors back of the light source. The latter are known as range lenses. On June 30, 1915, there were 100 reflectors and 41 range lenses in use in the Lighthouse Service. During the transition period of lighthouse apparatus from reflec- tors to lenses sperm oil remained as the leading illuminant, but with the yearly diminution of the whale catch it gradually increased in price until its use became prohibitive. Colza oil was used in small quantities about 1862 and succeeding years, but during the period 1864-1867 lard oil was adopted as the standard illuminant, and was generally employed to 1878, when kerosene came into use. Its use was gradually extended, and by 1884 kerosene became the principal illuminant and so remains at the present time. The lamps used were also improved, passing through various styles to a special form of concentric wick, using five wicks for the largest sizes. The incan- 18247 16 3 Incandescent oil-vapor lamp, 55-millimeter man- tle, with single tank. 34 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915. descent oil-vapor lamp, which is now generally employed for important lights, burns vaporized kerosene under an incandescent mantle, giving a much more powerful light with little or no increase in oil consumption. The kerosene is stored in a convenient size tank and is forced by compressed air, produced by operating a hand pump attached to either the oil tank or a separate air tank, into the vaporizer of the lamp. The air pressure varies from about 40 to 60 pounds per square inch and decreases so slowly during the opera- tion of the light that a few strokes of the pump once or twice a night serves to maintain the required pressure. The kerosene is con- verted into vapor by a preheating torch when starting the lamp and subsequently by the heat of the mantle itself. The vapor issues from a minute nozzle, mixes with a proper supply of air, and ignites as a blue flame in a Bunsen burner under the mantle, which is thereby brought to a brilliant incandes- cence. Various other illuminants are now in use; oil gas is extensively used, particularly for lighted buoys ; acetylene gas is used for lighted buoys and unattended lighted beacons; electric arc and incan- descent lights and coal-gas lights are also used in special instances. Electric lights with distant con- trol are employed in a number of cases where a reliable source of current may be obtained. Such lights may be on pierheads or structures built in the water, and can be easily operated by a switch on shore connected to the light by cable. A flashing characteristic may be arranged by means of an automatic make and break apparatus consisting of a small motor driving a clockwork and wheel with cams. The principal details as to illuminants used in the Service on June 30. 1915, are given in the following table: Lights. Incandescent oil vapor 288 Kerosene wick 2, 067 Acetylene 516 Oil gas 418 Coal gas 4 Electric incandescent 56 Electric arc... 6 Incandescent oil-va cent oil-vapor lamp, mantle, with double 35-millimeter tanks. DISTINCTIVENESS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF LIGHTS. 35 This table includes lighted buoys, but does not include the minor lights in the three river districts, of which there are 1,801, with kerosene wick lanterns. All lights on the seacoast, with a few exceptions, are exhibited throughout the year, between sunset and sunrise. On the northern lakes and rivers lights are exhibited from sunset to sunrise at all seasons when vessels can enter the ports or are navigating in their vicinity. Some of these lights, notably on Lake Michigan, are maintained throughout the year. The closed time varies with the seasons, generally embracing a part of December, January, Feb- ruary, and a part or all of March. Gas buoys and light vessels in these localities are replaced by unlighted buoys in the fall when endangered by ice conditions, and again placed on their stations as early as practicable in the spring. 10. DISTINCTIVENESS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF LIGHTS. In order to avoid the likelihood of confusion between lights, endeavor is made to give the lights distinct characteristics. As much of the coast was lighted before the introduction of modern lighthouse apparatus, the original lights were as a rule fixed, but at the more important of these stations apparatus has now been installed to make the lights flashing or occulting. This effect is produced in the case of flashing lights by revolving all or a part of the lens, which is specially constructed with panels of prisms for concentrating the rays into beams; and in the case of occulting lights by some form of traveling screen or shutter which obscures the light at intervals. In either case the motion is regulated by a clockwork generally actuated by weights wound over a drum and provided with the necessary governing mechanism so that the light and dark periods may occur in accurate sequence and produce the proper characteristic. The usual phases so attained are as follows: Fixed, showing a continuous steady light; flashing, showing a single flash at regular intervals; fixed and flashing, showing a fixed light varied at regular intervals by a single flash of greater brilliancy; group flashing, showing at regu- lar intervals groups of flashes; occulting, showing a steady light suddenly and totally eclipsed at regular intervals; and group occult- ing, showing a steady light suddenly and totally eclipsed by a group of two or more eclipses at regular intervals. The foregoing refers only to lights which do not change color, commonly white, but further diversification is obtained by the use of red screens, changing the color from white to red in various combinations, such lights being known as alternating. In the case of gas or electric lights, the supply of gas or current is cut off at intervals by specially designed mechan- isms whereby the characteristic may be adjusted as desired. 36 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915. The terms " flashing" and " occulting? refer to the relative dura- tions of light and darkness, a flash being an interval shorter than the duration of an eclipse, and an occultation being shorter than, or equal to, the duration of light. In approaching a light of varying intensity, such as fixed varied by flashes, or alternating red and white, due allowance must be made for the inferior brightness of the less powerful part of the light, which at a distance may show flashes only or white only, in the respective instances cited. Flashing lights may show a faint continuous light, due to reflection from the lantern, in clear weather and at short distances. White lights may have a reddish hue in some conditions of the atmosphere, and where lights change from white to red, by sectors or otherwise, there is a small amount of uncertain color on each side of the line of demarcation. Red sectors are produced by screens of colored glass; they are often employed to mark outlying dangers near the light, or the limits of channels, and are usually arranged so that the light shows white while a passing vessel is clear of such dangers, changing to red as the shoal or other obstruction is approached. Also, at the edge of a sector of visibility, the light is not cut off sharply, but gradually fades away. To assist identification in daylight, towers are frequently dis- tinguished by characteristic painting, in addition to peculiarities of form or outline. The effect of several colors, when combined in bold patterns of spirals, bands, or blocks, is quite striking in a number of important lighthouses. The principal details of characteristics of lights in commission on June 30, 1915, are given in the following table: Lights. Fixed white 1, 316 Fixed red 864 Flashing or occulting 1, 050 Fixed and flashing 69 The above table includes lighted buoys but does not include the 53 light vessels nor the 1,801 post lights on the Mississippi River and its tributaries, all of which are fixed. Of the light vessels, 29 have fixed white lights, 5 fixed red, 6 fixed white and red, and 13 flashing or occulting. 11. VISIBILITY AND CANDLEPOWER OF LIGHTS. Under normal atmospheric conditions the visibility of a light depends upon its height and intensity ; the distance due to the former being known as the geographic range, and to the latter as the luminous range. As a rule, for the principal lights the luminous range is greater than the geographic, and the distance from which the principal lights are visible is limited by the horizon only, and under some con- ditions of atmospheric refraction, the glare or loom of the light and occasionally the light itself may be visible far beyond the computed VISIBILITY AND CANDLEPOWER OF LIGHTS. 37 geographic range of the light. On the other hand, and unfortunately more frequently the case, these distances may be greatly lessened by unfavorable weather conditions due to fog, rain, snow, haze, or smoke. Weak and colored lights are more easily obscured by such conditions. The distances of visibility in nautical miles for objects of various elevations in feet above sea level are given in the following table, which is employed in calculating the geographic range: *V^s . ' V x %; 1*1 ^.^T"\ General lighting of Atlantic coast at entrances to Boston, New York, and Philadelphia. Height, in feet. Distance, in nautical miles. Height, in feet. Distance, in ' nautical miles. Height, in feet. Distance, in nautical miles. 5 2.55 60 8.85 130 13.03 10 3.61 65 9.21 140 13.52 15 4.43 70 9.56 150 14.00 20 5.11 75 9.90 200 16. 1G 25 5.71 80 10.22 250 18.07 30 6.26 85 10.54 300 19.80 35 6.76 90 10.84 350 21.38 40 7.23 95 11.14 400 22.86 45 7.67 100 11.43 450 24.24 50 8.08 110 11.99 500 25. 56 ! 55 8.48 120 12. 52 * 38 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915. Distances corresponding to heights not included in the above table may be found approximately by the formula D = fVH, in which H = the elevation, or height, in feet, of the object above sea level, and D = the corresponding distance of visibility, in nautical miles. The formula is based on the mean curvature of the earth and is cor- rected for ordinary atmospheric refraction, and should be used only for moderate distances and elevations. To make use of the above table in a practical way, it is necessary to add the distance corresponding to the height of the observer's eye above sea level, as illustrated in the following example : A light 130 feet high is seen just at the horizon; what, under ordinary atmospheric conditions, is its distance from the observer? Nautical miles. From table, distance corresponding to 130 feet height 13. 03 Add distance corresponding to height of eye above sea level, say 15 feet. . 4. 43 Distance of light , 17. Hi The highest light in the Service is at Cape Mendocino, Cal., the focal plane (or center of the light) of which is 422 feet above mean high water, thus giving it a geographic range of about 28 miles, under normal atmospheric conditions and with the observer's eye at a height of 15 feet. The following list gives the names and locations of 23 lights with focal plane heights of 200 feet and over, arranged in the order of height: Height Height of focal of focal Dis- trict Station. plane above Dis- trict Station. plane above mean mean high high water. water. Fed. Feet. 18 Cape Mendocino, Cal 422 17 Cape Disappointment, Wash. . 233 19 Makapuu Point, Hawaii. 420 9 Mona Island, P. R 231 18 Faralfon Cal 358 3 Staten Island, N. Y 231 9 Culebrita Island.?. 11 305 3 Chapel Hill, N. J 221 9 Muertos Island, P. R 297 17 Cape Meares, Oreg 220 18 Point Reyes Cal 294 19 Kilauea Point, Hawau 216 18 Point Sur, Cal 270 18 Alcatraz, Cal 214 9 Cape San Juan, P. R 260 19 Molokai, Hawaii 213 17 Cape Blanco Ore a 252 11 Grand Island Mich 205 19 Aunuu Island, Samoa 2">0 17 Heceta Head, Oreg 204 3 Navesink, N. J 246 3 Block Island Southeast, R. I 201 16 Cape Hinchinbrook, Alaska 235 The intensities of lights were formerly indicated merely by the order of the optical apparatus. So long as the lenses were similar in arrangement and the same type of lamp was used this gave a con- venient basis of comparison, but with the introduction of more modern apparatus, with flash panels of great power and illuminating VISIBILITY AND CANDLEPOWER OF LIGHTS. 39 apparatus of increased intensity, such distinctions became uncertain so far as indicating the relative brightness of lights. The statement, of orders has now been generally superseded by a statement of the approximate candlepower in English candles. The actual deter- mination of such candlepowers for large lenses is difficult, and it is in most cases estimated on the basis of accurate photometric measurements of small lights, pro- portioning the results so obtained to suit the elements of the lens under study, taking into account the intrinsic power of the light source, the horizontal and ver- tical angles of the various panels, the divergence of the rays at the source, the absorption or reflec- tion of a percentage of the light by the prisms themselves, and such other factors as enter into consideration. Although only ap- proximate, the final figures are, however, reasonably consistent, and from them the observer may judge of the relative brilliancy and power of the various lights. The brightest light in the Serv- ice, and considered by some au- thorities as one of the brightest in the world, is at Navesink, N. J., on the highlands at the entrance to New York Bay, the candlepower of which is estimated at 25,000,000. The geographic range of this light is 22 miles, but its glare has been seen at a distance of 70 miles at sea under unusual conditions of the atmosphere. This great intensity is produced by a powerful electric arc inclosed in a modern lens of high magnification. The cost of maintenance is relatively large as com- pared with other stations, but is justified by the amount of commerce entering New York. The names and locations of 42 lights in the Service having candlepowers of 100,000 or greater are given in the following list in the order of brightness : Lens and diagram of Prisms, Kilauea Point. 40 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915. Dis- trict. Station. Intensity of brightest part of light, in approxi- mate Eng- lish can- dles. Dis- trict. Station. Intensity of brightest part of light, in approxi- mate Eng- lish can- dles. 3 19 2 4 6 2 7 12 3 18 5 8 11 3 19 18 11 17 11 1 10 Navesink, N . J 25,000,000 620,000 580,000 420,000 420,000 380,000 370.000 30.000 300,000 280,000 280,000 280,000 270,000 260,000 240,000 230,000 220,000 220.000 200,000 180,000 180,000 3 6 6 6 17 1 8 3 4 5 7 8 1 6 8 11 11 16 18 2 11 Fire Island, N. Y.. 170,000 170.000 170,000 170,000 170,000 160,000 160,000 130, 000 130,000 130,000 no, ooo 120,000 110,000 110,000 110,000 110,000 110,000 110,000 110,000 100,000 100,000 Molokai, Hawaii Cape Cod, Mas? Cape Romain, S C Cape Canaveral Fla Listens Range Rear, Del Hillsboro lulet, Fia.. Jupiter Inlet, Fla Heceta Head, Oreg The Graves Mass Monhe^an Island We Dry Tortugas, Fla Ship Shoal, La White Shoal, ,M ich Alontauk Point N Y Staten Island, N Y Cape May N J Farallon, Cal Cape Charles, V a Carvsfort Reef Fla Hoe; Island, Va. Ponsacola Fla Matagorda, Tex Moose Peak, Me Whiteflsh Point, Mich Shinnocock Bay, N. Y St \ugustine Fla Kilauea Point, Hawaii Cape San Bias, Fla Stannard Rock, Mich Point Arena, Cal Split Rock, Minn Outer Island Wis Grays Harbor, Wash Cape Hinchinbrook, Alaska... Point Cabrillo, Cal Rook of Ages, Mich Petit Manan, Me Boston Mass BiuTalo N Y 12. FOG SIGNALS. The first fog signal in the United States was a cannon, installed at Boston Light in 1719, which was fired when necessary to answer the signals of ships in thick weather. Guns of various types were used at other lighthouses but have now been generally abandoned. Bells were introduced at a comparatively early date, and at first were usually small and rung by hand to answer vessels. Larger bells were developed and striking machinery, governed by clockwork, devised for ringing a regular code or characteristic. Many bells are now in use, ranging from small hand bells up to 4,000 pounds in weight, and are of value for inside waters, harbors, etc., but are not sufficiently powerful for use on the seacoast. Trumpets were the next improvement, and were first introduced about 1855. The original device consisted of a steel reed or tongue inclosed in a box with a large trumpet or resonator; the apparatus was sounded by means of compressed air produced by horsepower operating through suitable machinery. Although the sound was more penetrating than that of bells, the expense and inconvenience of the maintenance of a horse prevented its extended use. A modi- fication was made, using an Ericsson hot-air engine instead of the horse as the motive power, and trumpets so equipped were established at a number of stations. A somewhat similar device, known now as a reed horn, is in use at a number of inside stations and is generally operated by compressed air, the compressors being driven by internal- combustion kerosene or gasoline engines. The sound is of moderate volume only and is not sufficiently loud for rough outside stations. FOG SIGNALS. 41 Steam whistles were investigated first in 1855, and an installation of a 5-inch whistle was made at Beavertail, R. I., in the fall of 1857,- which was subsequently replaced about 1866 by a hot-air engine. The first station regularly equipped was at Cape Elizabeth, Me., where the installation was placed in commission on June 15, 1869. This consisted of a boiler and fittings with a 10-inch locomotive- type whistle, giving an 8-second blast every minute. This was the most powerful apparatus devised up to that time, and in point of volume and carrying power of the sound is still considered a very efficient aid. The rapid deterioration of the boilers, the expense of providing fresh water and fuel, the possibility of confusion with the whistle Detroit River Light Station, Mich., showing fog signal. of a passing vessel, and, above all, the time required to place the signal in operation in the event of sudden fog, are factors which have tended toward the nonuse or abandonment of this type of signal in practically all foreign lighthouse services, though it is still exten- sively employed in this country with whistles up to 12 inches in diameter. Experiments with sirens were first made in 1867, and the first service installation was at Sandy Hook East Beacon on March 31, 1868. Originally this instrument consisted of a fixed disk, with a number of radial slits, back of which was a revolving plate with the same arrangement of slits, and a trumpet at the outer end. Steam at about 70 pounds pressure was driven through the apparatus, 42 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 191A and the escape and interruption of the jets through the openings in the disk and rotating plate produced the note. The apparatus has been modified and improved, and in its present form the revolv- ing plate has been superseded by a cylinder with peripheral slots, known as the rotor, which is inclosed in a casing also with slots, leading to a horn or trumpet. The rotor is in some types driven by a separate auxiliary mechanism and in others automatically by the main supply of steam or air, this latter type being known as the automatic siren. Compressed air is generally employed as the sounding medium, though steam is used at a few places. The compressors are driven by internal-combustion engines. The principal advantages of the compressed-air siren are distinctiveness Fog signal at Cape Henry Light Station, Va. of note, which is entirely unlike the ordinary whistle, and quickness of starting, rarely over 10 minutes being required in any case, while some of the more recent installations may be sounded almost instan- taneously. A number of other signals have also been introduced, such as air whistles, in which the same type of plant as for an air siren is employed, except in regard to the sound-producing apparatus; also electrically operated bells and gongs, which do not differ essentially from those operated by clockwork. Distant control is often used for electric fog signals, particularly when placed on the ends of jetties or breakwaters and other inac- cessible places. The striking mechanism is usually driven by a motor incased in a storm-proof box or casing, with all gears running FOG SIGNALS. 43 in a bath of oil. A generally heavy and safe construction is adopted, and the striker is connected by submarine cable, if necessary^to the starting box, located on shore, where it is necessary only to throw a switch to start the apparatus. Other types are the "sireno," an electrically driven blower siren, and the ''diaphone," an instrument similar to the siren but having a reciprocating piston instead of a rotor. The diaphone is used quite extensively in the Canadian lighthouse service and a few installations have recently been made in this country. An experi- mental installation has also been made of an acetylene fog gun, which consists of an apparatus for firing an explosive mixture of air and acetylene gas by means of an electric spark. Tests have been made with various shapes of resonators or trumpets for the most efficient propagation of the sound waves. A vertical mushroom trumpet has been found to give good results where an even distribution of the sound is desired at all points of the compass, as, for instance, in the case of light vessels. In other cases, par- ticularly light stations marking important places, horizontal double- mouth horns have been found to give satisfactory results by effecting a wider and more even distribution of the sound. Practically all fog signals as now installed are provided with a governing device for timing the strokes or blasts; this usually con- sists of a clockwork whereby the cycle is repeated every minute in order to facilitate identification. Fog signals, though of the greatest value to the mariner, are subject to a number of aberrations, so that they can not be relied upon implicitly. Every endeavor is made to start fog signals as soon as signs of fog have been observed at the station, but such signals should be regarded by mariners as auxiliary aids only and soundings should be taken in all conditions of doubt. A fog often creeps imperceptibly toward the land and a vessel may have been in it some time before it is observed at the signal. Sound is con- veyed irregularly through the atmosphere and mariners can not place dependence on judging their distance from the fog signal by the power of the sound. Under certain conditions of the atmos- phere the sound may be lost a short distance from the signal, as there may be silent areas or zones; or the sound may carry much farther in one direction than in another, and these conditions may vary in the same locality within short intervals of time. It is often observed that in any given direction from a fog signal, and near its limit of audibility, the sound may become extremely faint, and at a greater distance it may again become quite distinct. It should never therefore be assumed that fog signals are not in. operation because the sound is not heard, even when in close prox- imity. Frequently noises in the ship may interfere with the hearing 44 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915. from the deck or bridge, especially with the engines running. In such cases it is well to stop the ship and listen in a quiet position. Whis- tling and bell buoys are sounded only by the action of the sea; there- fore in calm weather they are less effective or may not sound. However, by due caution in navigation and the prudent use of the lead, sufficient warning of danger is generally obtained. In order to guard against the possibility of breakdowns, all modern fog-signal installations are in duplicate, so the second signal may be started at once in event of accident to the first. Care is taken to give each signal an equal amount of use, as far as practicable. These pre- cautions are taken owing to the difficulty of making quick repairs at the station. Submarine signals, which have been introduced in recent years, have as a rule a more effective and constant range of audibility than signals sounded in air. Such a signal consists essentially of a specially designed bell, submerged sufficiently to avoid wave disturbance, with some form of striking mechanism. On light vessels the bell is usually swung over the ship's side on a chain attached to a davit, and the striking device is operated pneumatically to ring a certain set of blows at prescribed intervals. At light stations the bell is usually supported on a tripod, placed on the sea bottom, a short distance away from the light, and the striking mechanism operated electrically through a cable, with characteristic number of blows at regular intervals. When attached to buoys a swinging vane is provided, which is forced up and down as the buoy surges in the sea. The motion of the vane causes a spring to stretch, which is released at a sufficien b tension, striking a blow on the bell: The blows are of equal intensity, being due to the elongation of the spring, although the interval between them varies with the condition of the sea, and no regular code of blows is therefore practicable. In order to obtain the best results with submarine bells, a receiv- ing apparatus, somewhat similar to a telephone, has been devised for attachment to a vessel. This is apparently more effective in ves- sels of deep draft, and a ship so equipped may determine the approxi- mate bearing of the signal. The sound may be heard also on ves- sels not equipped with receiving apparatus, by observers below the water line, and particularly in iron or steel ships, but the bearing of the signal can not then be readily determined. There is sometimes an unfortunate conflict of interest between the need of a loud and distinctive sound to aid the mariner in a fog and the quiet and comfort of residents in the vicinity of the signal. The numbers and types of the 578 fog signals in use on June 30, 1915 (not including sounding buoys), are shown in the following table: FOG SIGNALS. 45 Steam (112) : Whistle 108 Siren 4 Air (150): Whistle 13 Siren 82 Diaphone 3 Sireno (electric) 6 Reed horn 46 Bell (261): Clockwork 231 Electric 13 Engine 1 Hand 16 Horn (4): Hand 4 Gun (1) : Acetylene : 1 Submarine bells (50) : On light vessels, operated by compressed air 38 On bottom, operated by electricity 3 On buoys, operated by the sea 9 Total 578 Since 1885 systematic records have been kept of the number of hours of fog or thick weather observed per year at each fog-signal station These figures present interesting statistics, and are of some value in approximating the prevalence of fog at various locali- ties when proposed new signals are under consideration. A sum- mary of the principal results is given in the subjoined table. Dis- trict.a Num- ber of sta- tions. Mean hours per year for dis- trict. Maximum observed . Highest annual average. Station. Hours. Year. Station. Aver- age. Years. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 11 12 16 17 18 56 36 100 12 85 7 1 16 15 47 54 10 29 40 874 680 463 363 218 135 112 281 228 310 359 278 439 606 Seguin 2,734 1,727 1,809 912 902 320 128 819 1,224 1,085 2,269 1,144 1,770 2,145 1907 1907 1885 1887 1904 1898 1913 1907 1915 1909 1913 1915 1912 1915 Petit Manan 1,691 1,175 831 525 426 183 112 562 524 541 1,196 555 1,203 1,337 31 14 31 30 7 8 3 10 22 11 9 5 9 31 Great Round Shoal Light Vessel. New London Harbor... Delaware Breakwater.. Cape Henrv Pollock Rip Slue Light Vessel. Block Island SE Delaware Breakwater. Baltimore Martins Industry Light Vessel. Egmont Key Brunswick Light Ves- sel. Egmont Key Cubits Gap Cubits Gap Cleveland Breakwater.. Thunder Bay Island. . . Calumet Harbor Buffalo Breakwater... Middle Island Calumet Harbor Cape Hinchinbrook . . . Swiftsure Bank Light Vessel. Point Reyes Scotch Cap Swiftsure Bank Light Vessel. San Francisco Light Vessel. a No fog-signal stations in the ninth, thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth, and nineteenth districts. The absolute maximum record is that at Seguin, Me., 2,734 hours in 1907, equivalent to about 30 per cent of the entire year (8,760 hours). The maximum observed on the Great Lakes was at Calumet 46 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915. Harbor, near Chicago, HI., where 2,269 hours of fog occurred in 1913, amounting to about 26 per cent of the year. This and other stations near large cities are affected somewhat by smoke in the vicinity. The highest Pacific coast record was observed in 1915 on San Francisco Light Vessel, Cal., being 2,145 hours, or about 24 per cent of the year. Fog is more generally prevalent throughout the first district than any other, as shown by the f ollowing table, from which it will be seen that out of 29 stations in the entire service averaging over 1 ,000 hours of fog per year 14, or practically one-half, are in that locality: Dis- trict. Station. Average hours of fog per year. Years of record. Percent- age of fog based on entire period. 1 1 1 1 18 1 1 17 12 2 18 1 18 18 2 1 2 18 18 18 2 18 2 Petit Manan, Me... ,691 ,544 .536 ,399 ,384 ,372 ,356 ,341 ,337 ,331 .304 ,219 ,208 ,203 ,196 ,175 .143 ,116 ,076 ,065 ,064 ,063 ,061 ,045 ,037 .027 ,005 ,004 ,002 31 31 31 31 25 31 3 11 31 31 24 10 23 9 9 14 11 31 31 10 23 10 31 7 7 25 23 18 4 19 18 17 16 16 16 15 15 15 15 15 14 14 14 14 13 13 13 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 11 11 11 Whitehead Me Lihby Islands Me Matinious Rock, Me Great Duck Island, Me West Quoddv Head Me Moose Peak, Me Egw Rock, Me Point Reves Cal Seguin, Me Mount Desert Me Little River Me The Cuckolds, Me Swiftsure Bank Li^ht Vessel, Wash Calumet Harbor, 111 Pollock Rip Slue Light Vessel, Mass Bonita Point Cal Manana Island, Me Point Arena, Cal Blunts Reef Light Vessel Cal Great Round Shoal Light Vessel, Mass Nash Island Me Pollock Rip Light Vessel Mass Point Cabrillo, Cal Humboldt Cal San Luis Obispo, Cal Nantucket Shoals Light Vessel, Mass. ... . San Francisco Light Vessel, Cal Gloucester Breakwater Mass 13. BUOYS. Buoys are, as & rule, employed to mark shoals or other obstructions, to indicate the approaches to and limits of channels or the fairway pas- sage through a channel, and in some cases to define anchorage grounds. There were some buoys in service at the time of the transfer of the lighthouses to the Federal Government in 1789. Buoys originally were either solid wooden spars or built up in various shapes of wooden staves, like barrels. Wooden spars are still extensively used, particu- larly in inside waters ; but built-up buoys are now constructed of iron or steel plates. In order to give the proper distinctiveness, buoys are given certain characteristic colors and numbers ; and following the uniform practice of maritime nations generally, Congress by the act of September 28, 1850, prescribed that all buoys along the coast or in bays, harbors, BUOYS. 47 sounds, or channels shall be colored and numbered so that passing up the coast or sound or entering the bay, harbor, or channel, red buoys, with even numbers shall be passed on the starboard or right hand; black buoys with odd numbers on the port or left hand ; buoys with red and black horizontal stripes without numbers shall be passed on either hand, and indicate rocks, shoals, or other obstructions, with channels on either side of them; and buoys in channel ways shall be colored with black and white perpendicular stripes, without numbers, and may be passed close-to, indicating mid-channels. Buoys to mark abrupt turning points in channels or obstructions requiring unusual prominence, are fitted with perches or staves surmounted by balls, cages, or other distinctive marks. Buoys marking light-vessel stations are placed in close proximity to the light vessel, are colored in a similar manner, and bear the letters LV with the initials of the station they mark. Buoys denning an- chorage grounds are painted white, except those used for such pur- poses at a quarantine station, in which case they are painted yellow. To assist further in distinguishing buoys, the ordinary unlighted types are made in two principal shapes in the portion showing above the water line: Nun buoys, conical in pattern with pointed tops, and can buoys, cylinder shaped with flat tops. When placed on the sides of channels, nun buoys, properly colored and numbered, are placed on the starboard or right-hand side going in from sea, and can buoys on the port or left-hand side. The numbers and letters placed on all buoys are formed by standard stencils, to insure uniformity, and the largest size practicable is used so that these may show as prominently as possible. White characters are painted on black buoys and black characters on red buoys. Buoys are anchored in their positions by various types of moorings, depending on the character of the bottom and the size and importance of the buoy. They are placed in position and cared for by the light- house tenders, which are provided with specially designed derricks and lifting gear for handling them. It is customary to relieve all buoys at least once a year for overhauling, repairing, cleaning, and painting, and oftener when circumstances render it necessary. Although among the most useful of aids to navigation, buoys are liable to be carried away, dragged, capsized, or sunk, as a result of ice or storm action, collision, and other accidents, and therefore may not be regarded as absolutely reliable at all times. Great effort is made, however, by the Service to maintain them on station in an efficient condition, which frequently requires strenuous and hazardous exertions on the part of the vessels charged with this duty. It is necessary to keep an ample supply of spare or relief buoys, with the necessary appendages, always on hand to provide for emergencies, and the systematic relieving of buoys on station. 48 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915. BUOYS. 49 Buoys may be divided broadly into two general classes, lighted and unlighted, of which the .latter are in the great majority. Unlighted buoys comprise spars, both wooden and iron, can, nun, bell, and whistling buoys, with a few other types for special purposes. Lighted buoys are provided with some form of gas apparatus and a lantern; frequently a bell or whistle is also attached, in which case they are known as combination buoys. A brief description of each kind follows. Wooden spar buoys are usually cedar, juniper, or spruce logs, trimmed, shaped, and provided with an iron strap and band at the lower end for attaching the mooring, which is as a rule a heavy stone or concrete block, or iron sinker, sometimes shackled directly to the buoy, or to a short piece of chain, as required by the depth. Such buoys are among the most economical and generally used of all aids, and are particularly employed in rivers and harbors. They are, however, easily damaged by ice or collision, and in some waters suffer greatly from the attacks of the teredo and other marine borers, although this may be reduced by special paints or other protective treatment when not unduly expensive. Four sizes or classes are in use, varying in length from 50 to 20 feet over all, to conform properly to the depth of water at the position of the buoy. The weights of such buoys vary from 1,500 to 350 pounds each. Iron spar buoys are built up of iron or steel plates in the form of wooden spars, and are particularly valuable where severe ice condi- tions exist, or where the teredo is unusually active. They are nat- urally more expensive and heavier to handle, thus restricting their use to special localities. They are made in three classes, in lengths of from 50 to 30 feet over all, weighing from 4,000 to 2,000 pounds, respectively. Cans and nuns, as already noted, are built of iron or steel plates, the former showing a cylindrical and the latter a conical top, and are the most extensively used of metal buoys. The interior of the buoy is divided into two or more compartments, by bulkheads or diaphragms, to prevent sinking when damaged. Each kind is built in three classes or sizes, and in addition two general types are in use, the ordinary type and the tall type, or channel buoys; the latter being a modern development of a larger and more prominent buoy for use in deeper water. These buoys weigh from 8,300 to 700 pounds each, according to size, and are generally moored by means of a stone or concrete block, or a specially designed hemispherical cast iron sinker, shackled on a length of chain about two or three times the depth of water in which the buoy is placed. The ordinary type buoys commonly require a cast-iron ballast ball attached directly below the buoy, the mooring chain being shackled in turn to the 18247 16 4 50 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915. lower end of the ballast ball; this is necessary to assist the buoy in maintaining an upright position, regardless of tidal or other currents. The ballast ball is not needed with the tall type buoy, which has more stability, due to its greater draft and to a fixed counterweight of cast iron bolted on its lower end. To prevent kinking or twisting of the chain, a swivel is occasionally placed in the mooring chain for all types. Bell buoys have a hemispherical-shaped hull, built of steel plates, with flat deck, and carry a structural-steel superstructure which sup- ports a bronze bell and usually four iron clappers. The motion of the buoy in the sea causes these clappers to strike the bell, so that the ac- tion is entirely automatic. Although the buoy is quite sensitive and responds to even a very slight motion of the waves, the sound may be faint or absent in unusual calms. This type of buoy is especially efficient in harbors or inside waters for marking points where a sound signal is desired. Bell buoys weigh about 6,900 pounds each, com- plete, and are moored by means of a bridle of chain attached to lugs on the opposite sides of the hull near the water line, the main mooring being shackled to the middle and lowermost part of the bridle and extending in the customary scope of chain with a swivel to a heavy cast-iron sinker on the bottom. A large-sized ballast ball is shackled to a mooring eye at the bottom of the buoy, and the whole effect of this arrangement is to assist in the pendular motion necessary for ringing the bell. Whistling buoys are built of steel plates, and consist of a pear- shaped body with the smaller end uppermost, with a long open tube on the lower end. This tube extends throughout the length of the buoy, and is closed at the upper end by a headplate on which is mounted a check valve and a whistle on the superstructure of the buoy. The sound is produced by the air in the upper portion of the tube being compressed by the falling of the buoy in the waves, its means of escape being through the whistle. A fresh supply of air is drawn through the check valve as the buoy rises again. Like the bell buoy, the sound is automatic, depending solely on the motion of the waves, and therefore the whistle may be silent when the sea is very smooth. The whistling buoy is most efficient in rough outside waters, where a ground swell exists, and is employed for import ant points where a sound signal is considered desirable. It is generally moored with a single chain of the proper scope and a heavy iron sinker. The weight of the buoy is about 6,500 pounds. For great depths, where the necessary quantity of chain impedes the flotation of the ordinary size of this buoy, a special and larger size is in use similar to the regular size in design and operation but weighing about 11,000 pounds. BUOYS. 51 Lighted buoys are a modern invention, having come into use within about the last 30 years, and are considered by mariners gen- erally as among the most valuable of recent developments in coast lighting. The first buoy of this kind was a gas buoy established experimentally by its manufacturers in 1881 near Scotland Lightship, entrance to New York Bay; it was officially taken over by the Light- house Service in April, 1884. Electric buoys, operated by a cable from shore, were established in Gedney Channel, New York Bay, in November, 1888, and were discontinued in 1903, after many mishaps, due chiefly to breaking of the cable. The operating expense was high, and in the final year of service these buoys were extinguished through accident on 120 nights. All of the lighted buoys now in service use compressed gas, either oil gas or acetylene. Various types of self-generating acetylene buoys have been in use, operating on the carbide-to-water and water- to-carbide principles, but have been abandoned on account of | ifrMff I I'll . -m uncertainty of length of run diffi- culty of cleaning, and danger of explosion. In the types now in use the gas, at a pressure of about 12 atmos- pheres, is contained either directly in the body of the buoy or in tanks fitted into compartments of the body, and is piped to the lantern at the top of the superstructure. Testing pressure in gas buoy ' New York Bay " If the light is flashing, as is commonly the case, a small pilot light burns continuously and ignites the main burner as gas is admitted from the flashing chamber, which is a regulating compartment in the base of the lantern provided with a flexible diaphragm and valves for cutting off and opening the flow of gas at intervals, the opera- tion being due to the pressure of the gas in the reservoirs. The length of the light and dark periods may be adjusted to produce the desired characteristic, such as five seconds light, five seconds dark, etc. Some types burn the gas as an ordinary flat flame, while others make use of an incandescent mantle, which is, however, not wholly satisfactory in rough water on account of breakage. Gas buoys are made in a number of different sizes, weighing from 2,800 to 34,500 pounds each, depending on the importance of the location, and burn continuously by night and day for intervals of a month to a year without recharging. The apparatus is patented by 52 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915. the various makers and has been brought by them to a considerable degree of perfection, so that considering the rough usage to which such buoys are subjected by the elements, gas buoys are generally satisfactory within the limits of reliability to be expected from such aids. They should not, however, be relied upon implicitly, as they may become extinguished or dragged from their proper positions, or the apparatus may be out of order and some time may elapse before the buoy can be reached to repair or relight it. Gas buoys furnish valuable marks for approaching entrances, defining channels, and marking dangers, and at times may obviate the necessity for light ves- sels or lighthouses on submerged sites, either of which would be many times more expensive. There is a constant demand among mariners for more gas buoys and for buoys with more brilliant lights. Many gas buoys are provided with some automatic form of sound-producing device, such as a bell or whistle, and in a few cases have both a whistle and a sub- marine bell. These operate in the manner heretofore described (see pp. 44 and 50), and are of especial value in fog or thick weather, or in case of accidental extinguishment of the light. The numbers and types of the 7,290 buoys in the Lighthouse Service in commission on June 30, 1915, were as follows: Unlighted buoys (6,811): Wooden spars 4, 516 Iron spars, cans, and nuns 1, 972 Bell buoys Whistling buoys 86 Lighted buoys (479): Gas buoys 335 Gas and bell buoys - Gas and whistling buoys 55 Gas, whistling, and submarine bell buoys Total.. - 7,290 Gas and whistling buoy, entrance to New York Bay. RIVER LIGHTING. 53 14. RIVER LIGHTING. The lighting of nontidal rivers is limited to those which have been" specifically authorized by law; these, however, now embrace nearly all the important streams of the country. In the Lighthouse Service three districts, the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth, are engaged entirely in the lighting of the Mississippi River and its principal tributaries. The lighting of these streams began in 1874 and has since been continued. The problem presented by these districts differs considerably from that found in the coast and lake districts. As noted in a previous chapter (p. 5), the inspectors in charge of these districts are officers of the Corps of Engineers, United States Army and are usually those in charge at the same time of the river improve- ment work of the War Department proceeding in the vicinity. The lights used are simple in character and are generally known as post lights. In some cases these consist of an ordinary 14-inch hand lantern, inclosed in a square or triangular tin case with plain glazed sides; and in other types a specially designed post lantern, with a 1-inch flat wick and pressed glass lens about 8 inches in diameter, is used inside a small triangular case, with glass on two or three sides as the location requires. A wire screen is fitted to the top of the lantern to prevent the entrance of insects. These lights burn kero- sene and as a rule are fixed white in character, although some are fitted with red globes or shades. The channel cf tiiese rivers generally follows the concave banks, with crossings where the concavity shifts from one side of the river to the other, and the lights are located so as to show the general shapes of the bends and the positions of the crossings. Tne lights are usually placed on the banks of the river and the crossings marked by two range lights, one ahead, the other astern. Where the crossing is crooked it is sometimes necessary to have a series of range lights and during low water some of the lights are placed on sand bars or on small floats or rafts, these latter being known as float lights. The most complete type of structure on which post lights are placed consists of a post with braces and steps, with the lantern on top. Wings are attached to make a better daymark, and are set in oblique positions with a view to catching the sunlight in various directions and thus assist the pilots in locating it. The wings are perforated to diminish wind action, and the stations are further designated by numbers placed conspicuously above them. It is necessary to shift the position of many of these lights from time to time, on account of changes in the channel, caving banks, and other reasons. For this reason some of these structures are of a more temporary character than the type just described; in emergencies the light may even be attached to a tree. 54 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915. Where the channel is narrow or crooked, or the ends of wing dams are to be marked, buoys have been found desirable, and a special type has been developed. It was found that the buoy best adapted to fulfill the conditions peculiar to these waters is one having but a slight reserve buoyancy, in order that drift and other floating objects coming in contact with it will pass over the buoy, submerging but not displacing it. One type in use is a built-up spar consisting of a central barrel-shaped section fitted with galvanized sheet-iron cones or hoods at each end. A slide for a hand 'lantern is provided at the upper end, and the buoy is moored by a light wire cable attached to the lower end, with an iron weight for a sinker. Another type is composed of two galvanized sheet-iron cones placed base to base; ippi River Post Light. the upper cone is a right cone, but the lower is oblique in order that the buoy may not spin in the current and untwist the light wire anchor cable. The river lights are attended by persons living in the vicinity, known as laborers in charge, and in some cases a group of several lights may be in charge of the same person when they may be con- veniently cared for in that manner. These laborers are not required to devote their entire time to the Service, as in the case of regularly appointed keepers. The supplies for the lights are delivered by the lighthouse tender or Engineer Department vessels, and such vessels also patrol the river and make the changes in location as required. Captains and pilots of river steamers are supplied with franked postal cards on which they are requested to report to the inspector's office whenever a light is found not burning properly. LIGHTHOUSE DEPOTS. 55 Of the 2,961 aids in commission on June 30, 1915, classed as minor lights and float lights, 1,801, or about 61 per cent, were in the three river districts. In the remaining districts the systems of river light- ing are naturally not so extensive, although the aggregate number of such lights in rivers like the Connecticut, Hudson, Delaware, and St. Johns on the Atlantic coast, and the Columbia and Willamette on the Pacific coast, together with many other shorter streams, con- stitutes no small part of the activities of many districts. A specially designed post lantern is manufactured by the Lighthouse Service for this work in the coast districts. It is constructed of brass, with an outside protecting cage, and contains a pressed glass lens of 200 millimeters (approximately 8 inches) diameter, with a burner of two 1-inch flat wicks, using kerosene. Great pains were taken to make the lantern wind proof, and at the same time to provide proper ven- tilation and a reasonably bright light. . The type now in use has been found satisfactory, even in gales of considerable violence. The lights are carried on various types of simple structures, ranging from single posts on shore to pile clusters for use in the water. They are attended by laborers, as in the case of the river districts, or some- times by the keepers of some adjacent light station. 15. LIGHTHOUSE DEPOTS. An important feature of lighthouse work consists of the lighthouse depot, which is used as a base of supplies and repairs and a base station for vessels. There are 44 such depots in the various districts, as given in the following list. The principal depot of the district is indicated by the larger type. First district: Bear Island, Me. LITTLE DIAMOND ISLAND, ME. Second district: LOVELLS ISLAND, BOSTON, MASS. Woods Hole, Mass. Third district: Goat Island, R. I. Juniper Island, Vt. New London, Conn. TOMPKINSVILLE, STATEN ISLAND, N. Y. Tucker Beach, N. J. Fourth district: EDGEMOOR, DEL. Lewes, Del. Fifth district: Annapolis, Md. Chincoteague, Va. Lazaretto Point, Md. Point Lookout, Md. Fifth district Continued. PORTSMOUTH, VA. Washington Wharf, D. C. Washington, North Carolina. Sixth district: CASTLE PINCKNEY, CHARLESTO] S. C. Seventh district: Egmont Key, Fla. KEY W T EST, FLA. Eighth district: Fort San Jacinto, Galveston, Tex. Mobile, Ala. PORT EADS, LA. Ninth district: Culebrita Island, P. R. Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. SAN JUAN, P. R. Tenth district: BUFFALO, N. Y. Erie, Pa. 56 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915. Tenth district Continued. Maumee Bay, Ohio. Rock Island, N. Y. Sandusky Bay (Cedar Point), Ohio. Eleventh district: DETROIT, MICH. Minnesota Point, Minn. St. Marys River, Mich. Twelfth district: Charlevoix, Mich. MILWAUKEE, Wis. Twelfth district Continued. St. Joseph, Mich. Sixteenth district: KETCHIKAN, ALASKA. Seventeenth district: Ediz Hook, Wash. TONGUE POINT. OREG. Eighteenth district: GOAT ISLAND, CAL. Nineteenth district: HONOLULU, HAWAII. To be of the greatest efficiency depots should be central in location with reference to the district, adjacent to important mercantile cen- ters for facilitating purchases, and easily accessible by teams, rail, and water. Many of the depots in the service were originally intended only for the storage cf relief or spare buoys, and were often located on islands or other remote places; hence not fulfilling the ideal condi- tions just outlined. Constant effort is made, however, to improve such conditions as available funds permit, and, as an instance, the case of the sixth district may be cited, in which a new depot on the mainland, on the Ashley River side of Charleston, S. C., is being made ready in place of the old depot on an island in the harbor. The principal features of a depot are a dock and a storehouse; to these other structures, such as isolated oil houses for inflammable articles, lamp, machine, carpenter and blacksmith's shops, cement houses, buoy, lumber, and coal sheds, offices, keepers' dwellings, der- ricks and other lifting gear, tramways, and similar appurtenances, are added as may be required by the extent and character of the work in the respective districts. The principal work at a lighthouse depot consists in caring for the articles in stock and the filling of approved requisitions for the use of such articles in the work of the Service, also in the. cleaning, painting, and overhauling of the buoys and appendages. Tools and equipment for working parties on stations and vessels are also stored at the depots when not in active use; damaged and worn-out articles are brought to the depot from the vessels arid stations for repair or survey and condemnation, as their condition warrants. The depots are headquarters for the vessels of the Lighthouse Service, both for the routine work of the tenders and for examination and sometimes repair of tenders and light vessels. The general depot at Tompkinsville, N. Y., which is much larger than the customary district depot, has already been mentioned on page 5. This depot fills the double purpose of being headquarters for the third district as well as a central supply station, repair shop, and purchasing agency for the entire Service. Proposals for annual supplies are issued from this depot for articles to be delivered on LIGHTHOUSE DEPOTS. 57 58 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915. contract; these are then issued to other districts on the basis of requisitions made by the inspectors and approved by the Commis- sioner. The various shops at this depot are employed chiefly in the manufacture and repair of special apparatus used by the Service, much of which can not be obtained from regular dealers at an econom- ical price; and a considerable amount of repair work to vessels is also performed. A small laboratory is also maintained for the analysis and testing of articles used in the Service; and a large amount of experimental work is done on various light and sound producing devices, either submitted by the makers for test or designed by the technical force of the Service. About 210 persons are engaged at this depot; this number including also those who are directly concerned in the work of the third district. 16. LIGHT VESSELS. The Lighthouse Service maintains light vessels on 53 stations, and has for this purpose 66 light vessels, of which 13 are relief vessels; all, figures being those of June 30, 1915. They are generally employed for marking dangers at sea, approaches or entrances to harbors, or important points in the courses of vessr-ls, where a lighthouse would not be feasible or economical, and are of particular value in providing both a light and a fog signal which may be approached close- to, thus enabling mariners to fix their position at sea with reasonable cer- tainty. In this respect light vessels are superior to lighthouses, as in the case of the latter, in the majority of instances, due allowance must be made for a safe distance in passing. A valuable secondary advan- tage is the fact that light vessels may be shifted to meet varying conditions of traffic, such as changes in shoals or channels, use of deeper draft vessels, and similar contingencies. The first light vessel established in this Service was in the summer of 1820, at Willoughby Spit, Hampton Roads, Chesapeake Bay, Va., but proved too small for the station and was moved to Craney Island, Elizabeth River, Va. A larger vessel was stationed on Willoughby Spit in 1821. The first outside vessel was placed 7 miles off Sandy Hook, N. J., in 1823. The idea of lightboats, as they were then called, became popular, and by 1839 there were 30 in service, most of them being small craft in inside waters. The largest vessel was that on the Sandy Hook station, which had a tonnage oi 230. By the year 1852, when the Lighthouse Board was established, there were 38 light vessels in service, of which number 26 were in bays or sounds. The maximum number of men employed on each was 10 for the most exposed stations, varying down to 4 for those least exposed. The type of vessel used at that time was evidently not wholly suitable for the purpose, as there were often complaints that the vessels were frequently blown from their moorings, and that the LIGHT VESSELS. 59 expense of maintenance and repair was excessive, considering also the comparative feebleness of the lights. The early activities of the board were directed toward the replace- ment of many inside light vessels by lighthouses, screw-pile founda- tions being used extensively for the latter ; and more careful attention was given to the design of vessels suitable for exposed outside stations. Wooden construction was the rule up to the year 1882, when the first iron light vessel, No. 44 > was built, for station on the seacoast of New Jersey. About the same time several vessels of the composite type, with steel frames and wooden sheathing, were constructed; but the modern tendency has been toward all-steel construction. Another practical feature of design which has greatly increased the efficiency San Francisco Light Vessel No. 70, Cal. of light vessels is the use of propelling machinery, thus enabling them to proceed to and from their stations under their own power and to assist them in maintaining their positions in heavy weather. The first light vessels in this Service so equipped were Nos. 55, 56, and 57, built in 1891 for service on the Great Lakes. The question of the proper form of the hull of a light vessel pre- sents many interesting and complex problems in naval architecture. Steadiness and ease of motion are the chief requirements for the general efficiency of the light, as well as for the comfort of those on board. In order to obtain this desired result recent practice is to design the hull so that the wedges of immersion and emersion in transverse rolling are approximately equal, thus avoiding the usual impulse of excess buoyancy, while the metacentric height has been reduced to a minimum of 12 inches. The lines are quite full fore 60 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915. and aft, thereby increasing the displacement rapidly as the vessel pitches into a sea, while bilge keels and ballast are both employed when necessary to insure steadiness; the whole idea being to make use of all elements tending to control both rolling and pitching. The scantling throughout is much heavier than ordinarily required in vessels of similar size, for the double purpose of providing great excess strength as well as guarding against the injurious effects of corrosion. An ample number of water-tight bulkheads is provided below the main deck, to increase the st ifl'ness and safety of the vessel, and especial care is taken in the design of the mooring gear, which consists essentially of a large central hawse pipe, protected by a water-tight breakwater, with chain compressors, springs, and a powerful double windlass, usually operated by steam. The main mooring chain is, as a rule, composed of links made of the best double- refined wrought iron, If inches in diameter, with cast-iron studs, in accordance with rigid specifications, and tested to a proof strain of over 80,000 pounds. The chain is carefully inspected during all stages of manufacture, and is made up into cables of suitable lengths, with the necessary shackles and swivels. Such chain weighs approxi- mately 160 pounds per fathom (6 feet >. so that the entire weight of a standard 120 fathom cable is about 9 tons. Specially designed cast- steel mushroom anchors, in weights up to 7,000 pounds, are used for mooring to the bottom, and in the case of vessels in severely exposed positions in deep water a spherical mooring buoy strongly braced to resist collapsing pressures, is shackled into the submerged portion of the chain, tending to carry a portion of the weight, and forming a double catenary which is of value in avoiding injurious strains on the vessel as it surges in rough weather. The standard type of propelling machinery HOW in use consists of one vertical, inverted, direct-acting, surface-condensing, fore-and-aft compound engine of a size suitable to the dimensions and duty of the "vessel, driving a cast-iron propeller and supplied with steam from two Scotch boilers; the engine and boiler space being located amid- ships. Some of the more recent vessels are provided with internal- combustion kerosene engines, which it is believed will be more economical than steam, particularly in avoiding the expense and difficulty due to keeping light vessels supplied with coal and fresh water, as w/i ...^ avoiding the deterioration of boilers. Much ri ogress has been made in the interior arrangements of light vessels, particularly in the way of accommodations for the crew. The early lightships were single-deck vessels, with the quarters generally below the water line. A forecastle head was then added, which was gradually extended in height and length, until an entire spar deck had been developed. The latest vessels are flush-decked LIGHT VESSELS. 61 throughout, with all quarters on the main deck well above the water line, thereby also conducing greatly to the stability and safety of the- vessel when seas are shipped in heavy weather. The details of the interior of the present types of light vessels are also worked out with care; comfortable staterooms and berths are provided, the vessels are steam heated throughout, sanitary plumbing systems with baths, toilets and drainage attachments are fitted, and in some cases electric lights are also installed. The complement of a first-class light vessel is generally 4 officers and 10 men, which is varied in the case of smaller and less exposed vessels as conditions justify, down to a minimum of 3 men all told, Buffalo Light Vessel No. 98, N. Y. for the smallest size of inside lightships. Liberal provision is made for shore liberty, as will be taken up in greater detail in another chapter. (See p. 73.) The illuminating and fog-signal apparatus on board light vessels has undergone many improvements. Ordinary ship's lanterns served for lights on the early vessels, while the fog signal was a hand bell or horn. When reflector lights were introduced, each light was composed of eight lamps with reflectors 12 inches in diameter, set upon a ring which encircled the mast, the. whole apparatus being in- closed in a lantern with large panes of glass to protect the light from the wind. When not in use the lanterns were kept in a small house 62 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915. with a hinged roof at the base of the mast, and were lighted and hoisted to the masthead at night. This arrangement is still in use on some of the older vessels. Sometimes such lights are shown on two masts. White lights are commonly employed, red being used occasionally when necessary to give distinctiveness. The next development was the substitution of a group of three- lens lanterns instead of the reflectors, placed in gimbals on a ring around the mast and operated similarly to the reflector lanterns. In recent years a tubular steel mast, of diameter sufficient to con- tain a ladder, has been installed. This is surmounted by a helical bar lantern of the type used in lighthouses on shore, containing a regular lighthouse lens. Access to the lantern is through the inte- rior of the mast, and the lantern is surrounded by a gallery reached from the interior to permit cleaning the glass, and serving also as a distinguishing daymark. Any illuminant may be employed in such a lantern, such as electric light, incandescent oil vapor, acetylene, or oil gas, as desired. Corresponding improvements have also been made in fog signals on board light vessels, but these installations are essentially the same as have already been described. (See p. 40.) The 12-inch steam whistle is still used on many light vessels as the main signal, and a pneumatically operated submarine bell is frequently added as an auxiliary. Four of the most important light vessels on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, those on Nan tucket Shoals, Diamond Shoal (Cape Hatteras), and Frying Pan Shoals, and the relief vessels for these stations, also the vessel on Heald Bank, are equipped with radio, at present operated by the Navy Department in connection with their coast radio sys- tem. These installations have been found of considerable value, and it is expected that the number will be increased. Light vessels are distinguishable in the daytime by their unusual shape and rig, including generally some form of cagework as a day- mark at the mastheads, and by their characteristic painting and lettering. The hull is often painted red or straw color, although many other colors or combinations of color are employed to make adjacent vessels as different as possible, and a short station name is painted on the sides of the vessel in the largest size letters practica- ble. From 1867 to 1913 light vessels also exhibited a number, painted at first on the stern, and afterwards on each bow and quarter. These numbers were solely for identification of the ship, regardless of the station occupied, and hence formed a possible source of confusion when vessels were transferred. The numbers are still retained as part of the official designation of the vessel for service purposes, but are no longer prominently displayed. Light vessels on seacoast sta- tions are also assigned international code-signal letter flags, identify- LIGHT VESSELS. 63 ing the geographical locality, which they display to passing vessels when it is necessary to warn them. Light vessels are brought in from station at regular intervals for docking, overhauling, and repair, and during the interim a relief light vessel is placed on the station. Care is taken when practicable to have the relief ships so equipped that they can show the identical light of the station ship at night, and during fog the identical fog signal; also sounding the same code number on the submarine bell, and displaying the international signal flags described above of the vessel relieved. Relief vessels are commonly painted red, with the middle third of the hull white, bearing thereon the word "Relief" Relief Light Vessel No. 92, seventeenth district. in large black letters. They also exhibit an oval daymark on the spring stay, midway between the two masts, when two are provided. To avoid confusion when light vessels are off their stations while pro- ceeding to or from port, or during stress of weather, they fly under such circumstances the signal letters QE, a square yellow flag over a triangular flag with vertical bands of red, white, and blue, meaning in the international code "Lightship is not at anchor on her station." The average life of a light vessel is estimated at 30 years, and in order to maintain the present number of light vessels it is necessary to build on an average two new light vessels annually. The principal facts relating to light vessels in commission during the fiscal year 1915 are shown in the table on the following page: 64 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915. ' O * < O5 C^ O OOiO = Z %\ jBaX iBastj manp jo ^ ,-1 00 -~< _H 3 S C CO 10 2 : 000000. \.B o *O rZ3 .13 ' : oo o-oo :"<=oo I B d I ^F : c^ * :r, SJ80IJJO IM (Smjpclo ad-jtos) ;0 OOOOCOOCOOOOCiOOO OOO"-OOOOOOO3OO OOifOO Cl ^,'00 CO O r-> -f S'Ol x s. : i ^i -. \ M c-i co co co ooooooCccScuooo 2oo (_._,_-, _ .-JCCcj.^-j o^5^ j- "U-W-UT3-U-QT3 Q ^2 Q ^-OTS-O C^'OTS 'O T3 'O O o O ^ +S u . ^J ttiii OtO'O -^-f>OcOOO' 1 ^ I ! ! I ! ! I ! ! ! '. ! cS c5 c< '.'.', '.','.'.'.' cv c* *-* cO -Sis apoo ;<<<< i^J^g : \jfl H :g :S :o s ss- -S-g.sg^g-g^gg-s 0^-3 :ife-s.2^.>Si3 13 LIGHT VESSELS. 65 OS OSOO rH i IMO^COC i- iO CO 00 C T^OOiOlC > oo o g co co 500 t^ o o -J* o t^ I-H os r~ o co ic^fi rH O l^- 1C CN 1C OS OS rH I ^OOSICO CO?-- CNO< SCN l PlC* IC'IC'CO^OO* rH'^lC^lfT IC'CO*' ( ~f r* t-- O CO (M O -f l^ CS o r-i-i- d d -g _j . Jo' "* _J d d d d do d d d d d d d d "" ^ ; : ^S^ o : w o : : : : : : : : : So !l S ; f I g.g : g i g 2 mil ii ! 1 5 03.. j ;. ; g a 11 3 rt B "".". >.".". lljj %%% :; CS.N : : COOOOOCOOSGOINCN QO CO 1C 00 O COOO CN COCOCNCNCO CN . iC 1C iC OCO Oo2cOCO 28 O 00 ! ; ; ; p<_; O O cp O O S t^ I :S : : :! ,H rH . CO O rH rH rH . I O O l^- O O O O ' K,2c2- S! CN rH COlC CO rH < COCOOCOCO 0000 O ^H rH rH rH rH o .a . c3 a -Sdo^ :^S : : iaj :O53 3* : P PH44" rd ^ -S ,! P S^^'ss s! il^fi : ^5 iS Tail Cape Fen Dia R Ca W B ing Sho Man i^^-ss s^-"> 5*1 . il a i u Is S sisSi Ss >S' o^cp^H w^.iii^^S^ ^03 53 ^s.,,^^ C'5!c35j1/5i 5 S c3 us <^ o 35ES3 gj pq ^n^SPn H^ OH^S Sfl i |*! *u p^W ;pq S U pll Fr ief nts t^- O 1^ iC t^ O CO t^ OS CO 18247 16 5 66 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915. 17. LIGHTHOUSE TENDERS. The work of these vessels is to attend to the buoyage, to supply the light vessels and isolated light stations both with the ordinary articles for maintenance and materials for construction or repair, and also for inspection purposes when necessary. The 47 vessels which were in commission during the year ended June 30, 1915, steamed a total of about 469,000 nautical miles in the performance of their duties. The original tenders were sailing vessels and the first in use was the former revenue cutter Rush, transferred to the Lighthouse Service in May, 1840, and thereafter used in New York Bay and vicinity; prior to that time and for a considerable period thereafter much of the buoy work and other duty now devolving on tenders was performed by contract. The first steam tender was the Shubrick, built at the navy Lighthouse tender "Lilac," third district. yard in Philadelphia in 1857 and first used on the Pacific coast in 1858. In 1865 six small steamers, used in the war, were transferred to the Lighthouse Service from the Navy Department for service on the Atlantic coast, and these formed the nucleus of the present fleet, although none of the original vessels are now in the Service. The early steam tenders, like other steamers of that period, were side- wheelers, and frequently carried sail as well. The first propeller ship used as a lighthouse tender on the seacoast of this country was the former Fern, built in 1871, and turned over to the Navy Department in 1891. With a few exceptions, all of the tenders now in service are screw vessels. The old sailing tenders were disposed of as rapidly as replacement could be made, and by 1882 only two remained, the Pharos and the Mignonette, both schooners. The latter was lost in a hurricane off the Texas coast in 1887, while the Pharos was in service as late as 1908, when she was condemned and sold. LIGHTHOUSE TENDERS. 67 The essential features of a lighthouse tender, in which it differs from the ordinary vessel of similar size, are the low forward deck and the buoy-handling gear, whereby the foremast is rigged as a derrick, with a boom and falls for reaching over the side. The construction of the hull, the framing of the deck and all parts of the superstruc- ture, also all mechanical appliances, are designed with a large reserve of strength, and are made as simple and sturdy as possible. As these ves- sels are frequently required to take and keep the sea even in the face of the most violent storms, a high degree of seaworthiness is essential; and as the nature of their duty requires them to be handled around shoals, rocks, and other obstructions in the placing and relief of buoys, their economic maximum draft is proportionally limited, and un- usually strong hulls are required to prevent damage from accidental grounding which such work frequently entails. Lighthouse tender "Fern," sixteenth district. It is the policy of the Service in the design of lighthouse tenders to plan working boats as effective as possible for placing and tending buoys and for other lighthouse duties, and to provide suitable and sanitary quarters for the officers and crews of the vessels. As oppor- tunity offers in connection with the overhaul of older vessels improve- ments along these lines are effected. As the average life of a lighthouse tender is estimated at 25 years, it is necessary on an average to build from one to two new tenders a year in order to maintain the present number of vessels in service. To provide for frequent overhaul, cleaning, and painting of the underwater body, it is customary to dock tenders in exclusively salt- water districts every six months; in districts having a reasonable amount of or all fresh water, once a year is deemed sufficient. A standard style of painting is prescribed, using red lead and approved antifouling paints lor the underwater body, black for the exposed 68 outside of the hull and funnel, and white for the top-sides and deck houses. White is also given the preference for the larger portion of the interior painting, while the lower deck is painted metallic brown and the upper deck light lead. Since 1867 it has been the custom to give botanical names to tend- ers, generally of some plant, flower, or tree indigenous to the district wherein they are assigned. This name appears commonly on the stern; brass miniature lighthouses are also fitted on each side ot the bow. The typical arrangements of a number of tenders are along the fol- lowing general lines, although in a number of instances variations have been made. The anchor windlass is forward on the main deck; this is often protected by a forecastle head. Below this the chain Lighthouse tender " Anemone," second district. lockers, tanks, and crew's quarters are located. The open portion of the main deck is devoted to space for carrying and handling buoys ; a large hatch gives access to the fore hold, which is the principal freight-carrying space. The foremast is fitted with a boom, falls, and lifting gear as a derrick for handling buoys and heavy articles. The hoisting engine for the derrick is sometimes on the main deck, just aft of the foremast or in the hold directly below and operated from the deck by levers. The officers' quarters, wardroom, galley, and entrances to the upper engine room and drum room are usually on the main deck, the gangways of which are as a rule inclosed. There is generally an open space aft with towing bitts and a hawser rack. The amidships portion of the hold is given over to the engine, boiler, and bunker space, while the after space contains petty officers' quarters, ship's stores, and tanks. LIGHTHOUSE TENDERS. 69 The upper or spar deck generally extends from just abaft the fore- mast to the stern; here may be found the wheelhouse and master's quarters, the small boats, generally three in number, a launch, a whaleboat or cutter, and a dinghy, and quarters for the inspector or other official passengers. The mainmast appearing above this deck is used for the display of the customary range light, officials' flags, and for the support of the antenna yard when the vessel is fitted with radio. At the present time three tenders are so equipped, and further installations will be made as funds permit. In addition to the national ensign, which is displayed at the flag- staff while under way in daylight, tenders may fly the Lighthouse Service flag. This flag was first used in 1869, and is triangular in shape, with a red border, and bears a blue lighthouse on a white field. While working on buoys in channels or other frequented waters, tenders may display a red flag and a black ball at the foremast head, as a warning to other vessels to slow down in passing. The largest tender of the Service will be the Cedar, now under con- struction at Long Beach, Cal., for use in Alaskan waters. This vessel will be 200 feet 8 inches over all, 36 feet molded beam, and of approximately 1,750 tons displacement at 13 feet draft. The smallest regular tenders are the Snowdrop and Waterlily, gasoline-propelled vessels about 65 feet long, 1 1 feet beam, and 3 feet 6 inches draft. General information concerning tenders in commission during the fiscal year 1915 will be found in the table on the following page. 70 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915. im I' 3 9oueu9iu;t3ui jo isoo 5 OC *C CO CMC^ ! *4< O OO C^ ^C OQ OO OO iC : y_ TI o O co --* ~ en cc c*i c co vi ' ' irToToT i-~o"aT i-r>rTo~cTor?Tr< CO 1Q S 00 ' ,^H^rt 01- OS CO Pi-T r^(C~n sesodond I[B JGJ peransuoo 2S?J? S^f3S; ;g S^r: !C^(N rHlC'S' i-T co c x e> i SJ90UJO I "* f * * t- - iC O O O O O ' !S 5S^S! 00-H ' CO OS 00 ^ D CO-H to CO ^-i O * "5 O OI>-t-C<5 OSiC OOOSOOCCOOSOO : o os o o co >* 1 1^- O 00 "C I- 1^ I- * CO I- O O I"- < CO CO (N' icO fOTOCC^OO i H 04 co " ^ O CC i-i CO ? CC 0*0 o-eoTj i i S !&! fefefe:' 0-S O cc^aia} i ! O )^t- C 1C >C CO CO CO CO Il3 III iiil a| ^bll ^S(CC =-K- h-c.<.- ^> -'||^lo ^SJ^ LIGHTHOUSE TENDERS. 71 Oi CM * 00 O 00 <*< CO .-I 1~ * 00 O5 iC r~ OS 1C ' 00 CM O CO O O -H I^> O5 CM O 00.=! iCOO 00^ iC CM CM ^ i * r~ r~ OO T-HI ( CO (N 1-1 ff IN 32 > 00 00 i-H SiC r~ t^ CO S3 2 8 Tt< t>- CC ' 1^- t^- COOOCO GO Oi ?O(MC -^ss s g ^ss s C^ Lf5 l>- 00 r~ OC-OST I-H O5 00 1C (M 1C O CC iO O 'co 1 o~o co" 10 Tfi -f ic ic to co co t~ *< too oo o !8 S O t^Oi-l O i-H OCO-^CO O> t~ Oi C^ i * O d OC O i i ^-1 00 00 00 CO -H O 'H 00 O O O CO M< I i~ ic r^ o> oi oo oot^icoo OO O>O O O CT>O ^H OCOiC i-H 00 ICO iCO JC o ic oocoo ic en os Oi OIM CT>O oo 0:h 3 -ll o o 2 op : : ? * * * * , O O O O O r- O 0-0 3 rQ CQ CO *? r^2^ ^ co K 2 o ^ 1C COO5O5 1C 00 O> * (M O CJ I t- ,_i co ) T I CO C ICO 00 O * oo coco I-H co TJ< co * QOOCOO O5 O ^H^H-H^H f) S S ? S-73 .2 5 72 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915. 18. PERSONNEL AND CIVIL-SERVICE SYSTEMS. All positions in the Lighthouse Service are governed by the civil- service rules, which were extended to this Service by President Cleve- land, May 6, 1896, and all appointments and promotions are made on a strictly merit basis; this is of great importance in maintaining a good organization and rigid discipline in a purely technical service, on the efficient conduct of which is directly dependent the safety of lives and property. The Service is justly proud of its long and honorable record in fulfilling an important public duty, and it is only by close adherence to those worthy traditions that its ideals may be perpetuated. The technical and clerical positions in the Lighthouse Service, such as inspectors, superintendents, draftsmen, aids, and clerks of all grades, also cadets on tenders, are in the educational class of classi- fied competitive positions; all original appointments are therefore made from rosters of eligibles established as a result of educational examinations conducted by the Civil Service Commission. Regis- ters of eligibles for all noneducational positions peculiar to the Light- house Service, such as officers 'of vessels, except cadets, keepers of lights, etc., are established and maintained by the district civil- service boards. Applicants for such positions are rated by these boards from answers made in their application forms, and if an eligible rating is obtained their names are entered on the register and they are given due consideration for appointment from time to time as vacancies occur, in accordance with civil-service rules. Original appointment is usually in the lowest grade, the more responsi- ble positions being filled whenever practicable by transfer and promotion of employees in less important positions who have earned such consideration by reason of efficiency and length of service. In the case of officers of vessels, the possession of a proper license from the Steamboat-Inspection Service is a condition precedent to placing upon an eligible register the name of an applicant for appoint- ment; and in general similar licenses are required on self-propelled vessels of the Lighthouse Service to those required in the merchant marine for vessels of similar service and tonnage, so far as may be practicable. The duties of all positions of keepers require that the lights be given the necessary care and attention in cleaning, filling, and lighting, and generally that the incumbents possess ability to handle a boat; in many cases knowledge of operating machinery is required, in view of the fog-signal and revolving-light mechanisms at a number of stations. The same requirements apply in a less degree to the positions of laborers in charge of minor lights, in which the incum- bents work but a portion of their time each day. Selection for PERSONNEL AND CIVIL-SERVICE SYSTEMS. 73 these positions is made with sole reference to the ability and fitness of the applicants, the proximity of the applicant's home to~the lights, and facilities possessed by them, such as the ownership of a suitable boat when needed, etc. Trades and skilled positions, such as machinists, carpenters, black- smiths, etc., are also in the classified competitive civil service, and employment in such positions is made by selection from registers based on the physical ability, training, experience, and fitness of the applicants for the employment desired. The compensation of all positions in the Service not fixed by law is based so far as practicable on similar requirements in the com- mercial world; thus, the entrance salary for draftsmen and other technical employees is, as a rule, from $100 to $125 per month, for clerks $75 per month, for junior officers of vessels from $50 to $80 per month, for assistant keepers of lighthouses $35 to $40 per month, the latter two grades receiving also a subsistence allowance while on duty. It should be observed that these are the average rates only and that the compensation varies according to the character and location of the work. The pay of laborers in charge of minor lights is based upon the number of lights cared f or j distance necessary to be traveled, and conditions met, averaging roughly about $8 per month for each light in the river districts. The pay of trades and skilled positions is generally governed by the prevailing rates in the locality. All appointed employees in offices, at depots, on tenders, and in the field force at monthly rates of pay, who have been in the Service for a considerable period of time, may be granted leave when properly approved, not exceeding 30 days each of annual and sick leave in any one calendar year. Special rules are in effect regarding leave and shore liberty on light vessels and at isolated light stations. These rules provide for a rotative system, so that all may have an equitable amount, without interfering with the proper conduct of work on the station or vessel, and fix a maximum of 90 days per year in the case of light vessels and 72 days per year at isolated light stations where families do not reside or where the location is unusually remote or unhealthful. Careful attention is paid to the welfare of employees in all cases in which remedial measure;* are authorized by law. All persons in hazardous employment in the Service are entitled to the benefits of the act of May 30, 1908, providing for compensation for injury or death sustained in the line of duty. In addition, expenses of medical or surgical attendance, or of burial, are allowed in special cases under proper authority and restrictions. The benefits of the Public Health Service are extended to various classes of employees, those on vessels being cared for without charge, while other employees 74 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915. may receive care and treatment under the same rates as fixed for the Army and Navy. The Public Health Service also gives infor- mation and advice, when called upon, in regard to medical questions and matters of sanitation affecting the Lighthouse Service, and pro- vides for the free vaccination of certain classes of employees against smallpox and typhoid fever. That Service has also cooperated in the preparation of a Medical Handbook for the use of lighthouse vessels and stations on the prevention of disease and care of the sick and injured, with special reference to first aid to the injured. Medicine chests, containing such articles as may be needed for isolated vessels or stations in emergency cases, with directions for use, are also furnished by the Lighthouse Service. Libraries are furnished all light vessels and inaccessible offshore light stations, with proper arrangements for their exchange at intervals. These libraries were first introduced in the Service in 1876, and are carefully selected from books of a good standard appro- priate to the persons who will use them; while largely fiction, other classes of literature are included in reasonable proportions. In the matter of educational facilities at stations not accessible to schools and where there are children of school age, inquiry is made from time to time into the education of the children and any course which will lead to their suitable education is encouraged; and, other things being equal, preference is given to employees having children between the ages of 5 and 16 years in filling vacancies by transfer at stations convenient to schools. Consultation is had with State and local educational authorities and in some localities, notably in the State of Maine, good results have been achieved through traveling teachers provided by the State, who are transported by lighthouse tenders in making their visits. There is great need for provision by law for the retirement of em- ployees of the Lighthouse Service who after long service have lost their ability for active duty by reason of age or disability incident to their work. This is essential to full efficiency in the administra- tion of the Service. A pension system is in force with favorable results in the lighthouse services of most of the other important maritime countries. All male employees on vessels and at light stations are required, when on duty, to wear a uniform as prescribed for their respective grades. Laborers in charge of minor lights are not required to wear uniforms. These uniforms must conform to the regulations issued on the subject, which cover all details for each class or rank. Such regulations were first issued in 1883. The standard material for the clothing is dark navy-blue cloth or serge, except in hot weather, when white duck is allowed. The standard cap bears in the middle of the front a gold embroidered wreath inclosing a silver embroidered light- PERSONNEL AND CIVIL-SERVICE SYSTEMS. 75 house. Officers of tenders wear a single-breasted coat shaped to_the figure with a fly front and standing collar, trimmed with braid. Other employees wear a double-breasted sack coat with gilt buttons embossed with a lighthouse. Deck officers of vessels wear an anchor on the collar, while engineer officers wear a propeller. The relative rank of such officers is indicated by sleeve stripes of braid near the cuff of the coat. Keepers of lighthouses wear within a loop on the collar the letters K, 1,2, etc., as the case may be, indicating respec- tively keeper, first assistant, second assistant, etc., and do not wear sleeve ornaments. Petty officers of tenders wear ornaments on the sleeves only, midway between the shoulder and elbow; a white steer- ing wheel for quartermasters, and a red propeller for machinists. In order to insure uniformity in the practical operations of the Service, one of the first acts of the Lighthouse Board was to issue a a set of rules and regulations for the government of employees, with detailed instructions concerning the routine of their duties. Such regulations were first issued October 22, 1852, and have been since revised and amended from tune to tune. These regulations are au- thorized by the law governing the Lighthouse Service, and the latest edition went into effect October 1, 1914, comprising a volume of about 180 pages, with chapters appropriate to the various activities of the Service. The Regulations are supplemented by Instructions to Em- ployees, the latest edition of which took effect July 15, 1915. This is a book of about 100 pages, with chapters dealing with the duties of different grades of employees, such as keepers of lighthouses, offi- cers of tenders, etc., with general chapters on disciplinary and pro- fessional matters applicable to all. All -employees are required to familiarize themselves with the instructions and to be governed thereby. The lighthouse is and should be a common synonym for absolute reliability. Strict rules for the government of the Service must be made and observed, and this has been the policy from its earliest days. President Thomas Jefferson, in approving the dismis- sal of a keeper in a case referred to him for decision, made the f ollow- ing remarks in his own handwriting, dated December 31, 1806: "I think the keepers of lighthouses should be dismissed for small degrees of remissness, because of the calamities which even these produce." On the other hand, devotion to duty is always praised and re- warded. Keepers in charge of stations who attain a high efficiency, as shown by inspections made during the year, are entitled to wear the inspector's efficiency star, and those who win this star for three successive years are entitled to wear in lieu thereof the Commission- er's star. Whenever employees render service to endangered per- sons or property, or otherwise perform their duty under hazardous or trying conditions, including any special act of unselfish or unusual service of any kind, either in the office or the field, in a manner to 76 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915. merit commendation, a special report is made and a commendatory letter, signed by the Secretary of Commerce, is addressed to such person and the fact noted on the official records of the Service. Also, the light station in each district attaining the highest general efficiency during the year is entitled to fly the "efficiency flag," being the regu- lation service flag, for the succeeding year. As a means of attaining the ends sought by the Regulations and Instructions, systematic inspections are made of all branches of the Service by its officers. Each light station and depot is inspected at least twice a year; each tender and light vessel at least three times a year, at such times as will secure the most efficient service, and not at regular intervals that may be anticipated. Inspection of non- attended lights, buoys, and unlighted beacons is made at least once a year. Additional inspections are made whenever rendered neces- sary by unusual conditions. Such inspections are made by the district officers, who fill out a form provided for the purpose at the time of making the inspection, and in case it appears that a bad state of repair or other unsatisfactory condition exists, the Commissioner is promptly notified. Such inspections are supplemented by traveling officers of the Serv- ice; a general inspector, who attends particularly to the technical fea- tures, such as the condition of vessels and stations from the engi- neering standpoint; and an examiner, whose activities are more par- ticularly addressed to business methods and fiscal matters, such as accounts, reports, etc. The officers of the Bureau also make inspec- tions from time to time, as opportunity permits, in order to obtain information at first hand regarding the operations of the Service. On June 30, 1915, there were 5,792 authorized positions in the Lighthouse Service, divided into the following principal classes: Executive and technical employees 123 Clerical employees 145 Depot keepers and assistants 71 Light keepers and assistants 1, 471 Laborers in charge of minor lights 1. 782 Custodians of reservations 12 Officers and crews of vessels 1, 605 Construction and repair force 583 Total 5, 792 19. LIGHT KEEPERS' QUARTERS. On account of the comparative isolation of many lighthouses, and to insure immediate attention at all times, it is the practice of the Service to furnish quarters for keepers at all attended lights. Dwell- ings for keepers and their families are provided for nearly all impor- tant lights located on shore, while in the case of offshore stations, LIGHT KEEPERS QUARTERS. 77 Fort Pickering, Mass. Cape Halteras, N. C. Point Conception, Cal. Barbers Point, Oahu, Hawaii. Fort Point, Cal. Pointe aux Barques, Mich. DWELLINGS FOR LIGHT KEEPERS. 78 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 11.'.. where women and children are not permitted to reside on account of the hazard in making a landing and the restricted space, quarters for the keepers only are allowed. Eight hundred and fifty-seven dwell- ings are now provided for lighthouse and depot keepers. There is no standard type or design of keepers' dwellings, by reason of many different local conditions which have to be met, embracing all kinds of climate from the exposed coasts of Maine, Alaska, and the Great Lakes to the senr tropical conditions of Porto Rico and Hawaii. Attempt is made to have such buildings conform to the prevailing local styles and customs, and at the same time to harmonize them architectually so far as practicable with the light station and its surroundings. Consideration must also be given to the kind of materials most available in the vicinity, for economical reasons, as the limit of cost for such dwellings is fixed by law at not to exceed $6,500, exclusive of the site. While this is ample under ordinary conditions, the great difficulties of transportation frequently make the costs much higher than would prevail in localities close to markets for materials and sources of skilled labor. Unnecessary or elaborate ornamentation is avoided, and care is taken to use simple and sub- stantial designs appropriate to the purpose. In recent years prefer- ence has been given to fireproof construction, when funds permit, and the use of perishable materials has been eliminated when feasible to avoid or lessen future repairs. In all new dwellings hot water or steam heat is provided in climates requiring it, as well as sanitary plumbing with water-supply and sewerage systems; these features are also being added to older dwellings not so equipped, as circum- stances allow. In some cases double or triple dwellings have been built at stations with more than one keeper, but recent practice favors detached houses, as insuring greater privacy, and giving the opportunity for individual gardens or yards. Many reservations have areas of tillable soil, on which keepers are permitted and encouraged to grow vege- tables, etc., for household consumption. Where quarters are furnished by the Government, a fuel allowance is made for heating and cooking, and each station to which a Govern- ment power boat is assigned is also granted an allowance of gasoline or other fuel, based on the reasonable official requirements of the station. In order to avoid any possible interference to the work, persons outside the Service are not permitted to occupy any premises belong- ing the the Lighthouse Service; no traffic or trade is allowed to be carried on within any lighthouse reservation, nor may articles be exposed for sale on the premises. Visitors must be received with courtesy and may be admitted in limited numbers to lighthouses at prescribed hours not conflicting with the regular duties of the -keepers. LIGHTING OF BRIDGES. 79 A placard entitled ' Rules for visitors" is posted in convenient places where it may be seen by such persons. Probably more visitors are received at Absecon Light Station, Atlantic City, N. J., than any other in the United States, about 10,000 persons visiting this light- house in July, August, and September of each year. 20. SAVING OF LIFE AND PROPERTY. While the business of the Service is primarily concerned with the maintenance of aids to navigation, it frequently happens that oppor- tunity presents itself to give assistance to persons or vessels in dis- tress, and in such cases it is the duty of light keepers and their assis- tants, and of officers and crews of lighthouse vessels, to give or summon aid to vessels in distress, whether public or private, and to assist in saving life and property from perils of the sea whenever it is practicable to do so. The records of the Service are replete with many heroic incidents of this character, and it is customary to include a brief statement of this work in the Commissioner's annual report, giving the name of the vessel or employee rendering this service, the object or person aided, and the nature of the assistance performed. Commendatory letters signed by the Secretary of Com- merce are addressed to such employees, and in specially meritorious cases involving great personal danger recommendation may be made to the Secretary of the Treasury for the award of life-saving medals. In the annual report for 1914 mention is made of 124 occasions on which services in saving of life or property were rendered by em- ployees of the Lighthouse Service, and the report of 1915 includes 143 similar incidents. These latter may be grouped into the follow- ing general classes: Cases. Towing disabled small boats to safety 59 Towing larger vessels to safety 30 Furnishing food, clothing, and shelter 24 Rescuing persons overboard 20 Recovering property 5 Recovering bodies 2 Miscellaneous 3 Total : 143 21. LIGHTING OF BRIDGES. One of the duties of the Lighthouse Service incidental to its general work is the supervision of the lighting of bridges over navigable waters of the United States, also of lights on sheer booms, piers, dams, and similar obstructions to navigation. All parties owning, occupying, or operating bridges over any navigable river are required by the act of August 7, 1882, to maintain at their own expense, from sunset to sunrise, throughout the year, such lights on their bridges 80 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915. as may be required by the Commissioner of Lighthouses; failure to do so may subject the offender to a fine of not exceeding $100 for each offense, and each day during which such violation continues is considered as a new offense. Special regulations are issued on the subject, the latest edition being dated June 25, 1915, intended for the guidance of shipmasters, pilots, and bridge owners. They prescribe standard methods for marking the piers and waterways of bridges with various combina- tions of red and green lights for different classes of bridges, illus- trated by diagrams or plates showing the proper arrangements. The red lights indicate danger, while the fairway is marked by green lights. In the case of draw or swing bridges, mechanism must be provided for changing the color from red to green and vice versa as the draw is opened or closed. All lights are required to be securely attached and of sufficient intensity to be visible on a dark night with a clear atmosphere not less than 1 nautical mile. Provision is made for exempting bridges infrequently used from the more detailed re- quirements of these regulations, so long as such lights as are necessary for the security of navigation are maintained in each case. On June 30, 1915, there were 1,183 bridges lighted in accordance with the regulations. The bridges are inspected at intervals and any deficiency in lights is called to the attention of the owners. 22. PRIVATE AIDS TO NAVIGATION. It is unlawful for anyone to establish or maintain any light or other aid to navigation similar to those maintained by the Lighthouse Service without first obtaining permission to do so from the Commis- sioner of Lighthouses in accordance with regulations established by the Secretary of Commerce; violation of these provisions may subject the offender to a fine of not exceeding $100 per day. In accordance with the law, those desiring to establish a private aid may apply for authority, on a blank provided for the purpose, to the Commissioner through the proper lighthouse inspector. This application must contain the material facts relating to the proposed aid, such as whether a light, fog signal, buoy, with its exact location, color, and other descriptive items, in order that it may be properly ascertained that no conflict will exist between this and any neighbor- ing Government aid. An annual report is also required from those authorized to maintain a private aid, stating its condition, and inspec- tions of such aids are made at intervals by representatives of the Service. Private aids authorized under the rules cover a useful pur- pose in marking privately dredged channels or localities where special service is required. Such aids are usually under the control of muni- cipalities, corporations, yacht clubs, or other organizations. Light and fog signals on ferry slips and on piers, used only by certain ves- LAWS FOR PROTECTION OF AIDS. 81 sels, and stakes, bushes, and barrel buoys marking shallow and little- used channels, are not affected by these regulations. Information regarding lawfully maintained private aids is printed in the customary publications of the Service, the same as for Government aids, and they are also entitled to the same protection of law as is afforded aids main- tained by the Lighthouse Service. On June 30, 1915, there were 660 authorized private aids in commission, comprising 211 lights, 23 lighted buoys, 267 unlighted buoys, 134 other unlighted aids, and 25 fog signals. 23. LAWS FOR PROTECTION OF AIDS. Heavy penalties are prescribed by law for obstruction to or inter- ference with any aid to navigation. Exhibiting a false light, or extinguishing a true light, with intent to bring any vessel into danger, is a felony punishable by imprisonment of not less than 10 years, or for life. Any person who obstructs or interferes with any aid to navigation maintained by the Lighthouse Service, or who anchors a vessel so as to obstruct range lights, may be subject to a fine of $500 for each offense, and each day during which the violation continues may be considered as a separate offense. By a recent act of Congress these provisions apply also to any lawfully maintained private aid, as noted in the previous chapter. In addition to the Federal statutes on the subject, various States and Porto Rico have passed laws providing penalties to be imposed on persons interfering in any manner with aids to navigation main- tained by the Lighthouse Service, as follows: Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Alabama, Texas, Porto Rico, Ohio, Michigan, Min- nesota, Wisconsin, Washington, Oregon, and California. The Lighthouse Service takes the position, inasmuch as the aids to navigation are established and maintained at heavy expense for the sole purpose of safeguarding maritime interests and the lives and property intrusted to then- care, that it is therefore the obvious duty of masters and pilots, in their own interests, as well as those of the public welfare, to exercise special care to avoid collisions with these aids to navigation. Failure to do so renders persons in charge and the owners of offending vessels liable for the full amount of damages to aids and subjects them to the penalties prescribed by law. It is a part of the duty of the Lighthouse Service to prosecute all such offenders vigorously. Making fast any vessel or boat to a buoy or beacon is an interfer- ence with an aid to navigation of a serious nature, and any person committing this offense is liable to prosecution. Masters of towboats should exercise special care to avoid barges in tow striking and injuring buoys, beacons, or light vessels. 18247 16 6 82 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915. 24. PUBLICATIONS. The principal publications of the Lighthouse Service are light lists, buoy lists, and notices to mariners, all of which are distributed gra- tuitously to shipmasters or pilots for their information and guidance. There are three important light lists, each revised annually, contain- ing information regarding lighthouses, lighted beacons, light vessels, lighted buoys, and fog signals, giving in tabular form and in geograph- ical sequence the name of each aid, the character and period of the light, the location of the structure, with the latitude and longitude of more important outside aids, the height in feet of the light above high water, the distance in miles at which the light may be seen in clear weather, and the approximate candlepower. Other columns give a brief description of the structure, vessel, or buoy, with the height of towers in feet, the characteristic blasts or strokes of the fog signal, if any, and such additional explanatory remarks as may be necessary in any case. The three lists mentioned are devoted respectively to the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, the Great Lakes, and the Pacific coast, in separate octavo volumes, with the following number of pages each for the 1915 editions: Atlantic list, 357 pages; Lake List, 271 pages; and Pacific List, 148 pages. These light lists aim to give all the important information as to lights and fog signals in a convenient manner for the purpose of mariners engaged in coastwise or trans- oceanic navigation. Effort is made to publish the Atlantic and Pacific Lists on January 1, or as soon after the first of the calendar year as possible, and the Lake List on April 1, immediately prior to the opening of the season of navigation. In addition, the Service publishes separately for each lighthouse district a buoy list, which gives a list of all the buoys in the district, both lighted and unlighted, as well as all the other aids. This is issued rather for the use of local authorities and pilots and for the Lighthouse Service. As far as the location of buoys is concerned, the larger scale charts published by the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey are preferable sources of information, as such charts show at a glance the location and character of all buoys and aids with reference to their surroundings, and are, moreover, corrected to the date of issue ; while the lists can only be brought up to date when a new edition is published, about every two years. The present series of buoy lists forms a set of 16 octavo volumes, ranging from about 125 to 20 pages each, depending on the size of the district. Announcement of all changes in aids to navigation, information of dangers, changes in shoals and channels, facts of interest affecting charts and coast pilots, corrections to published lists, and similar items affecting navigable waters under the jurisdiction of the United States, are published weekly in a Notice to Mariners, prepared jointly PUBLICATIONS. 83 by the Coast and Geodetic Survey and the Lighthouse Service. For important changes in seacoast lights and lightships used by vessels in foreign trade, a supplementary poster notice is also issued for promi- nent display to mariners. A Notice to Mariners covering all navi- gable waters of the world is published weekly by the Hydrographic Office, Navy Department. Light lists are also issued for each of the three river districts, com- prising the Mississippi River and its tributaries, covering broadly the upper Mississippi, the Ohio, and the lower Mississippi, respectively. These are small volumes published annually in vest-pocket size and contain simply the number and name of the aid, the distance from some starting point, the side of the channel, and the color of the aid. A special publication of the Service is a small quarto pamphlet of about 20 pages, including diagrams, containing the Regulations for Lighting Bridges, to which reference has already been made on page 80. This, publication is issued only when a new edition is necessary. The Service publication of chief interest to the general public is the Annual Report of the Commissioner of Lighthouses to the Secretary of Commerce, which is available for distribution after the convening of Congress in regular session in December of each year, and covers the work of the Service for the fiscal year ended on the preceding June 30, as required by law. In its present form, this is an octavo volume of about 100 pages, and gives a general description of the operations and cost of the Service during the year, with recommen- dations for new legislation and estimates for appropriations for the second next following year, supplemented by detailed statistics of various classes of aids to navigation and fuller details of many sub- jects mentioned in the report proper, along with brief technical descriptions of important works of construction or repair completed during the year. Other publications of the Service are of a routine character, printed in limited editions, and intended more particularly for its internal government and administration. A number of these have been re- ferred to in the preceding pages. They embrace the Regulations, the Instructions to Employees, the Medical Handbook, the Light- house Service Bulletin (a monthly leaflet, commenced in January, 1912, containing items of interest to the Service), the Regulations for Uniforms, the Civil-Service Regulations, and the various forms, blanks, record books, etc., needed in the work of the Service. Mention should also be made of the various printed specifications and proposal forms issued by the Service from time to time covering new vessels, lighthouses, annual supplies, and other large purchases for which contract with bond is required. These are distributed to prospective bidders in response to their inquiries as a result of public advertisements in newspapers and other periodicals. 84 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915. 25. ENGINEERING AND FISCAL MATTERS. Careful supervision is exercised over all technical and administrative work of the Service, the desire being to attain a high professional standard in modern methods of design and construction, with due regard to the economical expenditure of funds. Surveys are made with especial care, with bearings given from the true meridian, and the distances well checked, to insure great accu- racy. Each corner where practicable is permanently marked by a substantial monument and at the conclusion of the survey maps are prepared showing the information obtained. All notebooks and other records are preserved, and in connection with each important new structure a complete record is kept of the engineering elements, such as computations, stress, analyses, weights, and estimated cost. These principles apply to the design of vessels as well as shore structures, full details of the form characteristics of vessels being worked out by curves of displacements, centers of buoyancy, coefficients, meta- centers, centers of gravity with varying conditions of load, etc., in order that complete stability and seaworthiness may be assured. Plans and specifications are prepared for all important works. Standard sizes of drawings are prescribed, being based on multiples of the dimensions of customary letter-size sheets 8 by 10 inches in size. Each drawing bears a standard title giving information regard- ing the subject, the scale, date, and the persons responsible for its preparation. A standard form of advertisement, proposal, instruc- tions to bidders, general conditions, and contract is used throughout the Service, and a number of standard plans and specifications cov- ering materials, articles, and structures have been prepared for Service use, as a guide to designing wherever practicable and economical. All works of construction and repair are supervised closely in order to make certain that the plans and specifications are followed, and persons charged with such duty are required to keep proper con- struction records and to make regular reports of progress. In the case of work performed by the field forces of the Service, written work orders are issued showing the work to be done and the author- ized amount of expenditure. When the inspection of supplies or ma- terial under purchase can be more conveniently handled by a district office near the location of the contractor's shop or plant, inspectors cooperate with each other by forwarding the plans, specifications, and other necessary information to the office assigned this additional duty. Progress photographs are also taken from time to time to show the development of work under way, and record photographs are kept of all light stations and vessels, with descriptions of the construction, equipment, and similar information. About 8,000 photographs of ENGINEERING AND FISCAL MATTERS. 85 various lighthouse objects are on file in the Commissioner's office; covering practically every phase of the activities of the Service. The administration of fiscal matters pertaining to the Lighthouse Service forms one of its most interesting problems. A rigid economy is enforced in this direction, and no expenditure is authorized or per- mitted which is not necessary to render the aids to navigation efficient. The appropriations made by Congress for the Lighthouse Service may be divided into two broad classes, general and special. General appropriations are those providing for the payment of salaries, and the other ordinary expenses of maintenance, operation, and better- ment, and are limited to the fiscal year for which appropriated, while special appropriations are those designated for some specific purpose usually new construction or extensive rebuilding, such as new light- houses, vessels, etc., and are available until expended. The total amount of special appropriations varies from time to time with the needs of the Service and the action of Congress. The estimates for such appropriations usually aggregate about $1,000,000 annually, and the average sums so appropriated for the 10 fiscal years 1905 to 1914, inclusive, amounted to $946,247. For the fiscal year 1915 the total appropriations for special works were $136,000 and for 1916 the amount was $250,000. The general appropriations for the maintenance of the Service for the fiscal year 1916 were $5,164,030, subdivided as follows: Salaries, Bureau of Lighthouses $64, 030 Salaries, lighthouse keepers 940, 000 Salaries, lighthouse vessels 1, 010, 000 Salaries, Lighthouse Service 375, 000 General expenses, Lighthouse Service 2, 775, 000 Total 5, 164, 030 The names of the first three of these appropriations indicate their respective objects; the appropriation " Salaries, Lighthouse Service," is for the compensation of technical and clerical employees in the field service, while the appropriation " General expenses' 7 covers all items of supplies, repairs, maintenance, and incidental expenses required in the Lighthouse Service, including the wages of laborers attending post lights and pay of mechanics and laborers in the field force. The law requires that these appropriations shall be so appor- tioned by allotments as to prevent expenditures which may neces- sitate deficiency or additional appropriations to complete the service of the year; careful accounts are therefore kept and monthly reports made by each district, showing under each appropriation the total allotments, deductions, advances, repayments, vouchers paid or for- warded for payment, and available balances. On account of the casualties to which the property and equipment of the Service is frequently subjected by reason of storm damage and other accidents, 86 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915. a close scrutiny of available funds is a highly necessary feature in the management of the Service finances. Allotments under the various general appropriations are made to the lighthouse inspectors in charge of districts at the beginning of each fiscal year for operation of their district during that year; all requisitions for supplies made by each district, or other expenses incurred by them, are charged against this allotment. This has been found advantageous in placing definite responsibility for the judicious expenditure of funds and increasing economy and efficiency. It is necessary when making allotments to keep a small reserve to provide for storm damage or other emergencies. All purchases, except in cases of unusual emergency, are required to be procured by public contracts after public advertisement for proposals with the lowest and best bidder therefor. Every effort is made to obtain the widest possible competition in all cases. Vouchers and pay rolls are required to be checked as to quantities, prices, extensions, and totals, and signed certificates of performance are required on all bills, covering the receipt of the articles and the cor- rectness of the quantity and quality. Payments on approved vouch- ers are generally made by checks issued by duly bonded special dis- bursing agents; in a few cases cash payments for services are made to employees. Property records are kept in all offices, depots, stations, and ves- sels; such lists are verified and audited from time to time by inspec- tors or by traveling representatives of the Commissioner, and an annual inventory is taken. When changes are made in the personnel having custody of property an additional inventory is required. Property is divided into seven general classes, as follows : Class 1. Issuable or expendable materials or supplies. Class 2. Working equipment, fixtures, and fittings. Class 3. Working tools for construction and repair. Class 4. Buoys and appendages. Class 5. Condemned articles. Class 6. Shipments in transit. Class 7. Office furniture and equipment. A stock and stores account is kept of all expendable supplies and issue is made only on approved requisitions. An invoice accom- panies each shipment, a copy of which must be receipted and returned to the issuing office or depot. The information obtained from this stock-keeping system forms a basis for keeping an accurate cost of every important feature of the work of the Lighthouse Service. The results thus obtained are of value in preparing estimates, in planning work, and in comparing the efficiency of different districts, vessels, apparatus, methods, etc. The system used is made as simple as practicable in order to save clerical expense and to avoid obscuring ENGINEERING AND FISCAL MATTERS. 87 the important facts. Separate costs are kept only of the more important features and classes of expenditures; general operating costs, such as tender service and administration, are not distributed, and liabilities are generally not charged. Expenditures of materials, supplies, and labor are charged the same as expenditures of money. Each principal object in the Service is classed as a feature, such as district offices, depots, tenders, light vessels, light and fog-signal stations, etc., and a set of account numbers, ranging from 10 to 24, assigned to each feature. These account numbers are arranged in continuous order, and certain blank numbers are allowed each feature to provide for future extensions; thus numbers 1 to 19 are assigned the Commissioner's office, while only 15 are in use; numbers 20 to 49 to district offices, while only up to No. 34 are live numbers. The numbers are of course purely arbi- trary and are used merely for convenience and abbreviation, each number referring to some particular item of cost; for example, under the Commissioner's office No. 1 stands for administrative salaries, No. 2 for technical salaries, No. 3 for clerical salaries, No. 4 for trans- portation of persons, No. 5 for freight, express, and cartage, and so on, the intention being to charge each item of expenditure to an appropriate number. In all cases the numbers are so arranged as to divide the costs into two main headings maintenance and better- ments. The cost of maintenance includes what may be considered fixed expenses, such as salaries, rations, fuel, and general expendable supplies. The item of betterments includes repairs, improvements, and new construction and is further subdivided to show the cost of labor and materials separately for each principal object. Cost reports are submitted annually by all the districts, and these are consolidated in the Commissioner's office to show the results for the entire Service. Such statements are checked with the money accounts by taking into consideration the actual cash expenditures and the difference in the value of supplies on hand at the beginning and end of the year. A generalized summary of costs for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1915, as derived from this cost-keeping system appears on pages 88 to 90. 88 UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE, 1915. ss sssgf 1 O iO CN S 3 8 oo |1| | II 3 IS: 2 sss 00 OS S t* ' "^ sssa i^H o ENGINEERING AND FISCAL MATTERS. 89 8 r- u-7 8 Tt< CO O O CO o c^oo oc oo i CN IIP 1 1 1- BQ | iiISi 1 llllls 1 0 O5 r- Oi 1 slim i li 1 1 O CO CO 'O 1-1 COr-ICO 05 g rf^tea- 1-1 8 oo 1C 5 s * CO 00 O5 i t^CO 00 -00 CO rH O b- i 1 CO aa-s t~ OOO5 00 . t~- 9 HI * t^ cocoes sssss^ s it 65 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY