Many modern ships already conform with the majority of these requirements and a number even exceed them. It was from the Shipping Federation at the request of the Board of Trade that the original proposals for these changes came in 1930, Nevertheless, so long as the law on the subject was obsolete, serious deficiencies in accommodation were possible, A number of ships to-day are so below the new requirements part; because of the low standards of wartime building, and partly because of the difficulties of making improvements during the recent depression and so long as they put to sea there will be "sea-going slums" despite the new orders. Bad habit in ship design cannot be eradicated by official fiat. though some improvements can be made.
It is true that seamen's conditions have been steadily improved since Samuel Plimsoll begán his memorable crusade against "coffin ships," in the latter half of the nineteenth century In the newer and larger vessels. indeed, the raising of standards of ae. commodation has been appreciable. And the new regulations come at the end of more than a decade's activity by shipowners, seamen and sanitary authorities, Even so, there are still important problems to be solved Under Section 10 of the Public Health Act a ship has.the status of a house, and, accordingly, must be maintained in a sanitary condition The sailor, however, lacks the sanctuary of park and playing field in his hours of leisure. He ts tied to his home at sea more closely than the Norway was far ahead of Britain in improving the hygiene and space for the crew. In the following year the Congress of the Royal Sanitary Institute passed the following resolution:—
Tre having regard to the unsatisfactory "accommodation provided for the crew of many new vessels built in this country, the Council of the Royal Sanitary Institute be asked to approach the President of the Board of Trade with the view of securing a thorough revision. of the requirements of the Board of Trade under the Merchant quarters for officers and men of all ipping Acts, in respect to the liv Rew vessels built under their supervision, Almost identical resolutions were passed by the Association of Port Sanitary Authorities in 1922 and 1935. And five years after the Shipping Federation recommendations of 1930. it was still asserted that the quarters in a British vessel then under construction closely resembled those provided for the crews of British ships 20 to 30 years earlier.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.