The times dispatch. [volume], April 17, 1912, Image 9

About The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914

Image provided by: Library of Virginia; Richmond, VA

                
No News to Mitigate Pit/and Horror of Steamship Tragedy
SECTIONAL VIEW OF THE TITANIC
WIRELESS RESCUE
OF SHIP REPUBLIC
Famous Story of Jack Birth's
"C. Q. D." Which Brought
Aid.
BALTIC RUSHED TO HER SIDE
Through the Fog She Groped
Her Way to Sister
Vessel.
New Tork. April 16.?Early In th?
morning of Saturday, January -". 1609,'
the White Star liner Baltic, which -.vus '
ready to lend a hand yesterday to the]
broktn Titanic, was rounding the Nan-!
tuckut t-'hoals lightship, Inbound. Fog j
lay so heavily on tho Atlantic that al
?hips were moving warily, knowing
that others were shouldir to shoulder j
with them in tho crowded tralllc ways i
so dangerously near that doaniy hand :
might bo done before a helmsman j
coujd edge off Iiis ship to escape a blow '
A few iniu'.Udt boforo C o'clock tne Hai?
ti i wireless man heard something j
through the fog which rntulfe the snip
turn about and go off on the samt '
errand that she undertook yestcrdny.
What Jack Tattersall, the wireless .
operator, heard was that the White
Star Line's Jteathshlp Republic, off for |
a cruise In the Mediterranean, hud been ?
Strock by the Florida, an Italian ship, j
i.r.u wo* In danger of sinking. The :
lug Baltic forgot about tho fog and 1
went off full tilt in search of her
sti Ii ken sister.
it was a long chast. The Biltio
Went I i the point on the map which;
Itepublto's w lrelets man hud Indl-j
chted?latitude 40, longitude 70?but
the Kepubllc was not there. Tho air
was lull of wireless messages. Sias
conscl was try'lng to reach the Republic,'
.i ?: sen Other ships were trying to reach !
the Republic, and Jack Blnns, the Re- j
public's operator, was trying to answer, j
Tne wlrelest tang'.o was complete. But
at last Tattersall heard from Blnns
that the Baltic was very close?so close,
Indeed, that she ought to eeo th* re?
public's rockets.
But the fog was still heavy, and .
the Baltic could not make the Republic ,
out. She crept In the direction [tlnns :
KUggested, until a warning crackled In
Tattersall'i jar:
"You aro too close to un for safety."
The Baltic eased off her t-peid to mere
eeaway, sounding her whistle. Cap
lain Sealby, on the bridge of tho Re?
public, hsard th-e screech through the
fi>g ajid was ablo to send wireless di?
rections book to Captain Hanson, of
the Baltic, In a little while Tattersall
heard Blnns say:
"Steer eart-aoutheaet. Lasten to our
bells."
Then In a minute came othsr steer?
ing- orders, fast on one another's heels:
"Steer northeast" and "Steer south?
east." At almost the same Instant tie
caught a message from thi Cunarder
Lucar.la, which sent chills up and down
his back: "Slusconaet says: 'Hour from
Republic. Says to Baltlo to hurry.
Sinking fast.'"
' And thon, at 6 o'clock In the eve?
ning, twelve hours after she first picked
up word that, tho Republic was In trou?
ble, tho Ballio pushed asldo the fog
that oloaked tho Republic and came
alongside. Capialn Hanson asked Cap
tain Sealby, of the Republic, to come ,
aboard, but tho Republic's captain re?
fused. Barller in the day he had s.-nt
his passengers aboard the Florida, and
iator had also sent his crew across to
?Iho Italian ship, too, In order to bo
on the right sldo of safety.
Two hours after Captain Ranson had
made out tho Republic and the Italian
ship which had hurt her, he began to
taka passengers off the Florida and !
give them more comfortable quarters
on board the Baltic. It was the second
transshipment that the Republic's pns
?engers had made that day. and the
?tones they told when they came safe?
ly ashore at New York two days later
showed that tho strain of two boat
trips from ship to ship on the roiling
Atlantic was hard to endurj. Seven
tenths of tho Republic's first cabin pas?
sengers ware women, many off to the
Mediterranean to rest. Tho passengers
of the Tltnnlc wers more fortunate, for
they had to undergo only a single
transshipment.
It had taken about ten minutes for
Tnttorsnil on tho Bultlc to gel word
from tho Republic that, she bad been
Struck. Tho Republic, was about 1T.:,
miles to the southeast of KanlllCkct,
and was already swinging on the
great circlo which would take her to
tho Azores, tho first land cm her voy?
age to the Mediterranean. Captain
William I. Sealby, who had worked
for the White Star T.lno nil his life,
had stayed on tho bridge, all night,
and was looking for tho first streaks
of gray light In tho banks of fogs.
Tho first Intimation ho ? got that
another ship was near at hand wns
? the tolling of n bell. So muflled was
'it In the fog that ho could not tell
from what direction It came. Ho
? passed' tho word to his uartermastor
to soupd the whlstlo, ono long un
brolton "soroech as a last noto of
warning. Tho answer was Immediate.
The shriek of a ship's whistle camo
through tho fog. and while the sound
of It was still hanging In tho air
Soalby's oyo picked out a blur to port
,that was darker than tho fog Itself.
: Signals flashed to the engine room
\that Captain Sealby. .wanted, the Re
public's engines sent astern at top
spued, and then be let go a shriek of
lilK whistle, meaning thai the stranger
sliuulJ pass on the port Hide.
Uul she came straight oh ami
struck the Kepubllc heavily, a Rule
aft of midships on the port side. Her
bow sunk into tho Republic's side,
flushing steel walls, working Into
the engine room and smashing live
Staterooms. In the half iioui that
followed the shock nobody aboard tlie
Republic knew whether the ship was
going to stund up under ihe blow or
not. The water that poured into the
engine room stopped Hit dynamos,
and the ship was as dark as u pocket
from ?stem to stern.
When the passengers got back to I
New Vork they had nothing but j
praise for the conduct of the crew, j
in the trying momenta after the col?
lision Ihe stewards and stewardesses
did their level best to keep the pas?
sengers' nerves from getting ihe bet?
tor of them. Captain Seal by ordered
all hands on deck and dresse-i Ihe
I'Atsengers If lifo presorvors. Onoo
out of their staterooms the orders
wero that none should go back a^aln.
ii-nd the passengers wore what clothes
the stewards brought them or what
they gathered in their arms when first
tiiey came out Into the night.
At. the end of the Hrst half hour,
when It was clear that the Republic
waa not going down Immediately, but
that her wound was serious, Ca-ptaln
Sealby ordered the passengers to get
ready for the trip across to the
Florida. The transshipment was be?
gun at 5 o'clock. The Florida was
lying ahout 1.000 feet from the Re?
public, her broken nose pointing to
the west. It took throe hours to
transfer the Republic's l.f.00 pas?
sengers to the Italian ship, thirty In:
a boatload.
And then when the Baltic came |
alongside the transfer was made
again, a record of two transshipments
at sea In a single day. which steam?
ship men said had never b* en broken.
The passengers were brought haok to
New York on the Baltic, which came
up the bay In sunshine the following
Monday morning.
Two passengers aboard the Re?
public Were killed?W. J. Mooney,
president of the Mooney State Rank
of l*angdon. Fs. D.: and Mrs. Eugen?
"Lynch, wife of a liquor dealer In Bos?
ton. S, veral others were badly hurt
Three sailors on the Florida were
killed.
The Republic stayed above the
water until about S o'clock on Sunday
t?v< hing, Captain Sealby and R. J.
Williame, the second officer, stayed h>
her until she sank. She went down
in thirty fathoms of water off Nc
Man's Land, a dot of rock and sand
not far from the western end of
Martha's Vineyard. Two revenue
I cutters, tho Gresham and the Seneca,
'were trying to tow her to port, but
there was no keeping her e.float.
I The Republic was less thnn half the
'size of the Titanic. She was GfiO feet
? long, R7.S feet beam, and measured
1 ln.nTS tons gross. Phe cost about j
"1,000.000. and wj?n a total lo?i.
SMITH WAS SEA'S
'GRAND OLD PI
Captain Had Urtmarred Record
for Forty-Three Years, Then
Bad Luck Came.
New York, April 16.?Bad luck came
to Captain K. J. Smith, commander of
the Titanic, after an unbroken career
of forty-three years on the sea, during
which time he worked up from ap
prentlce to commander of the largest
steamship in the world. During all
this lime, up to last September, when
his vessel, the Olympic, crashed into
tho British cruiser Hawke, in the
; Solent, he did hot figure In a single
I disaster. Since then however, mis?
fortune has tome thick and fast, for in
February the Olympic struck .what is
I believed to hove been a submerged
I wreck and lost a blade from one of
her propellers, which made It neces
I sary to put her In dry dock, and last
I Wednesday the Titanic In leaving
! Southampton on her maiden voyage
; narrowly missed being in collision
I with the New York, of tho American
;L!ne. which had been pulled from her
I anchornge by suction from tho new
; ocean giant.
1 For the collision between the
; Olympic nnd the Hawke no responsl
i bflity was ever placed, bul tho cause
was life great suction caused hy the
j new Steamship. Although the British
[ Admiralty Court, nfler a thorough ln
' vcsllgntlon, exonerated from all blame
I the onicers of tho Hawke. and al?
though the Olympic was compelled to
go into dry dock nl heavy expense to
tiler owners, the company apparently
did not seek to place blame on any
on board. Not only was Captain Smith
retained In command of the Olympic,
but he received the further honor of
; taking the Tltnntlo on her first run.
Retained After Tito Mishaps.
It was considered because of Captain
Smlth'a previous excellent career that
the officials of the "White Star line re?
tained him In its service after tho two
mishaps to the Olympic, thus violating
a deep sen trndltlon that has been
more rigorously maintained by the
British merchant marine than by that
of any other nnt'on. Tho rule hns been
almost invariable among steamship
companies to dispense with tho ser?
vices of officers in comniond of vessels
that met with disaster. One reason
for this is tho insistence of the la?,
ourance- companies.
CAPTAIN BLAMED
He Should Have Been on the
Lookout for Ice?
bergs.
ACQUAINTED WITH DANGER
Vessels Always Likely to En?
counter Floes Drifting Down
From Arctic.
[Special to The Timfts-Dispatch.]
Washington. Apiii L6.?Unofficially,!
it was stated at the hydrographicofiice j
of the Navy Department to-day that?
Captain Smith, of the ill-fated Titanic,;
which found a watery grave, probably!
la responsible for the 1,200 lives lost. I
Ab a navigator and one accustomed.to j
sailing the ulgh seas, it is said that he j
should have been on the lookout and i
should have known that'he probably:
would encounter mountain-high ice
berge just where he met the one that
sent his good ship to the bottom.
Information Just prepared by this
bureau shows thai vessels crossing
the Atlantic between Europe and the ;
ports of tlie United States and British |
America are liable to encounter Ice- !
bergs or extensive Heids of solid com- ;
pact ice, which are carried southward .
lrom the Arctic regions by the ocean
currents. It is in the vicinity of the.
Oreat Bank of Newfoundland that
i.lese masses of Ice appear in the
greatest numbers and drift farthest'
southward athwart the transoceanic
routes. The months o? April, May and
June are the ones when the big ice-',
bergs may be most readily encount
ered.
Come For South.
In April, May and June icebergs have,
been met as far south as the thirty
ninth degree of latitude and as far;
east as longitude Si;30 west of Green-'
wich; and ulthough its occurrence Is
euch a great rarity that navigators
need not be concerned about it. Moat?
ing Ice may be met with anywhere in
the North Atlantic Ocean northward
of the fortieth degree of latitude at
any season of the year.
On the Groat Bank of Newfound?
land bergs often move southward or
southeastward. Those that drift west?
ward of Cape Raoe usually j>aas be?
tween Grocn and St. Pierre banks.
The Virgin P.ocks are generally sur?
rounded by ice until the middle ot
April or the early part of May.
The bergs which annually appear
in the North Atlantic have their
origin almost exclusively In western
Greenland, although a few may have
oome around Cajve Farewell from the
Spitzbergen Beo. and some may be
derived from Hudson Bay.
A huge Ice aheet, formed from
compressed snow, covers the
whole of the Interior of Greenland.
The surface of this enormous glacier.
only occasionally Interrupted by pro?
truding mountain tops, rises sllsht
ly toward tho Interior, and forms a
watershed between the cast and west
coasts, which fcs estimated to be from
8,000 to 10,000 feet above the Eea. Tho
outskirts of Greenland, as they are
called, consist of a fringe of islands,
mountains and promontories sur?
rounding tho vast ice-covered central
portion, and varying In width from>a
mure border up to eighty miles.
Upon the west side, below the parallel
ol 73 des rees of latitude, it has an '
average width of about fifty miles,
and extends with Utile Interruption
from Capo Farewell to Melville Hay,
a distance of something over i.uOu
miles.
Glaciers Set Adrift.
Everywhere this mountainous belt
is penetrated by deep fiords, which
reach to the Inlaud ice, and ure ter?
minated by the perpendicular fronts
of huge griciers, whllo in some
places tho lco coiues down In broad
projections uloso to the margin of the
sea- All of these glaciers are making
their way toward the sea, and, as
tholr ends aro forced out into the
water, they are broken off and set
adrift, as berg3. Th s process is call- j
ed, "calving." The slzu of tho pieces I
set adrift varies greatly, but a berg j
from sixty to 100 feet to tho top of {
Its walls, whose spires or plnn.icle-3
may reach from 2<rj to L'iO feet In I
heisht, and whose length may bo j
from S00 to BoO yards. Is considered j
to be of ordinary size in the Arctic. |
Once adrift in the Arctic they lln.1
their way into the I^ibrador Current,
and begin their Journey to the south- I
ward. This current passes to the;
southward along the coast of Raffia
Land, and Labrador, and although it]
occasionally- ccaso: altogether. Its
usual rate Is ten lo thirty-six miles
a day. Near the coast It Is very much .
Influenced by the winds. The general!
drift of the current is to the south-1
ward, although occasions have arisen j
on which these have been observed to
travel northward without any appar- '
?nt reason.
The proximity of Ice Is Indicated by j
the following described signs: Bcfo/o j
!co Is seen from the deck of a ship- ice J
blink will often Indicate its presence, j
This Is readily understood when it is ,
known that it Is caused: by the reflec- |
tion of the rays of light from the j
sun or moon. On a clear day over the
Ice on the horizon tho sky w'll be ?
much paler or lighter In color, and Is1
easily distinguishable from that over?
head, so that a sharp lookout should
be kept and changes In the color of
the sky noted.
On a clear day Icebergs can be
seen at a long distance, owing to their
brightness, and at night to their efful?
gence. During foggy weather they
are seen through the fog by their ap?
parent blackness, If such a term can
be applied. P. H. MoGOWAX.
Free Water for Soldiers.
A subcommittee of the Committee on
Warer, U.*t nlsht recominoTiaed WV. free
water bo p-antea hy tho city to Leo Camp
Boldlers' Ifomo. It mi estimated that tho
action iru the ?quivalent of an appropria?
tion of a year to tho Institution.
EdKTird B. I.nmpkln 111.
Ed-ward S. I,umnJ<ln Is seriously 111 at his
residence, ft!' South PlITt srtrT?t.
DANGEROUS CAPE
H Has Proved Graveyard Where j
Bones of Many Vessels
Lie.
PERILS INNUMERABLE
Fogs, Icebergs, Currents and
Submerged Rocks Some
of the Dangers.
In tho April number of Harper's
?Magazine, George Harding describes
Cape Race, its people and Its dangers,
oased on actual obs.grva-.ion and ac?
counts given him by" Inhabitants of
<he vicinity. Permission has been gives
oy Harper it Bros, to reprint parts of
jhls article, as follows:
Every great trade route of the world
nas. in season, some peculiar danger to '
navigation which brings disaster to i
vessels plying its lanes. In the North'
Atlantic for ships bound east and west ]
over tne busy northern roulo. there!
is an extraordinary conjunction of
perils. Fogs, icebergs. submerged j
rocks, northeasterly sales, a sheer
shore and a singularly treacherous
current create a large possibility of
catastrophe.
Cape Race is a bluff, jagged bit of
coast scarcely provided with strand;
and a multitude of submerged rocks I
are scattered from the breaking water!
at the .foot of the cliffs as far to sea !
as the Virgin Rocka, which outly
ninety mileH. The polar cttrrent,
"which runs like a river" pa?t the gray
cape, is so variable in the direction
of Its (low that it may raoe southwest
at one time and flow northeast at an- I
other, in the spring and early sum?
mer*?and often as late as the fall of
tne year?Icebergs come down with
the curront and lie sluggishly off tlie
coast, hidden from tho sharpest eyes
of the ships' lookouts In the dense
accumulations of fog.
Fog Almost Always Present.
It !a the fog?almost continuously
raised by contact of the polar current
with the warm waters of the Gulf]
.Stream?which for centuries hits made
a menace of this capo of evil name. !
There Is little relief from It?U is sol
continuously present, Indeed, ihm the
cape foghorn Is frequently blown for
hundreds ot hours at a stretch. ? ? ?
The routes of the transatlantic lines
from American ports run post, a hun?
dred miles to sea, and it ia the vessels
that go astray In tho fogs, off the
beaten track, which como to grief and
give the coast its gruesome name. In
a single month an Atlantic liner,
crowdod with passengers, and four
tramp steamers were totally wrecked
within twenty miles of one another.
And once ashore, n craft has small
chance; the stupendous cliffs, with
deep water t? their Jagged edges, and
exposed to the swells of the open
ocean, have allowed but one vessel of
tho Bcvcnty that have been wrecked
there In the past twenty yoers to bo
refloe.tcd.
Tho craft on the rooks Is furiously
pounds to pieces by the first heavy
sea. ? ? ? The Rogulus, a tramp
steamer of near 2.000 tons, utterly
vanished with the whole ship's com?
pany between dark and dawn, leaving
her propeller fixed In the cliffs
twenty foot above sea level, whore It
remains to this day.
Steamers have come so oloso to the
cliffs In the fog that tho fishermen on
tho heads, unable to even discern an
outline or the blind craft, hsve clear?
ly heard that panic on the bridge
when the captain reversed the engine
room signals, and In the same breath
ordered tho lifeboats manned.
There Is no way for a bewildered
captain to taKa observations except
by attempting to locate tho cape fog
whistle. Upon approach to the Bell
Isle Station tho shlpfs wireless picks
up tho operator ashore, and Is ablo
to tell how closo lnshoro tho craft
has run by tho shore operator's re?
ports, ? as to the distinctness with
which tho .??hip's whistle Is hoard. The
light, of course, U Indistinguishable
In a heavy fog.
A Coast to Beware Of.
It is. a coast to beware of. The bet?
ter It 1b known, the more It is feared.
The skipper of a Now York-6t John's
liner, for a moment at a loss for a
reckoning In tho fog, took no chances,
but instantly turned tall and headed
tor tho open sea, whore he lay for six
days waiting for tho fog to lift.
It Is no wonder that the deep-sea
skipper shnkes In his sac-boots when
?the fog captures him In a treacherous
current off that coast. Some of the
rusted hulls of his forerunnea-s tn pre?
dicament serve as landmarks for off?
shore fishermen. and on the wind?
swept barren of the heads, in graves
marked by crosses raised by kindly
hands and snugly stowed away for
good ana all In the little graveyards
of the settlements, He the bonos of
hundreds of men who have been cast
lip by the sea.
Mr. Harding describes the Inhabi?
tants of Cape Race and vicinity as a
remarkably courageous and often fool?
hardy people. Their shanties are
are for tho most part constructed of
cast-up wreckage, and a great deal of
their livelihood cames from the salvag?
ing of wrecks, In the business of which
they risk their lives time and time
again without thinking about it.
I "It Is not to bo supposed," he Bays,
I "that the folk wish ovll to the vcss/ls
\ which go by their coast, but here, as
j elsewhere In bleak places they Joy
fully 'take what the gods provide.'
There Is probably no coast In the world
I where wrecked aenmiyti aro rescued
[ with so great a disregard of danger
lo tlie rescuers, more hospitably re?
ceived, more generously pitied and
more heartily sped on their way."
Councilman Cease in.
CoonclVman Goongo M. Cleaae, who has
been in at hla homo for some time, waa
removed yesterday to draco Hoipltal for
treatment.
Arrested as Fugitive.
P.obert I.ce Allen, colored, was nrrested
S-eSterdsy by Dcteatlve-iSnrgeant ve-,.?n as
'a fugitive, from Justice In NortTT-Carollna.
OFFICERS OF LOST VESSEL
1Gf^icwr4.te..J. sm ith. Titanic; w^o^.'' ?
IN TITANIC WRECK
Xo Resident of This City Lost*
Life in Appalling Marine
Disaster.
OCEAN TRAVEL NOT STOPPED!
Passengers Merely Transfer tq
Other Ships and Adhere
to Plans.
No resident of Richmond, it seems
certain, was on the lost steamship
Titanic, and tills fact largely robs
the wreck horror o? any peculiarly,
local interest. Robert. W. Daniel, who
16 among ihe saved, is now a resident
ot Philadelphia. Hla mother, Mrs. J.
R. V. Daniel, of this olty, received
assurances of her son's safety yester?
day from various sources. Including
an ofticla.1 statement from the In?
ternational Mercantile and Marine
t Company. Mrs. Daniel had been great?
ly troubled since the news of the
loss of the Titanic was received, and
the positive statement that Mr. Daniel
was on the Carpathia. bound for New
York, relieved her fears.
Jlru Sloan's Cousin.
The first oftlcer on the Tltanlo, Mr.
Murdoch, who In all probability went
down with hie vessel, was a cousin
of James T. Sloan, of this city.
Mr. Murdoch had been at sea sinoe
he was fourteen years old, and had
worked hla way almost up to the top,
having been promoted from the
Adriatic to the Lusltania, then to tho
Olympic, and, when the Tltanlo was
put In commission, he was advanced
along with Captain E. J. Smith to the1
latter vessel. He was only thirty
aeven years old.
His father was for many years om
the ooean and suffered Beveral ship-'
wrecks going around the Horn to tha:
Paciflo coast, finally losing hla life at i
sea.
Miss Marie Young, reported as one,
of the rcsouod, has rolatlveB in Rich-,
mond tn tho persons of Mrs. George'
Elliott and E. A. Lloyd. Miss Young's
Jiomo Is In New York. i
Colonel Archibald Grade, of "WosH
lngton. supposed to have been saved,
is a cousin of Former President j
Roosevelt. He ie well-known in arrriyJ
circles in this city and throughout
the oountry.
Won't Prevent Travel.
Local steamship agent; do not think}
the disaster will interfere with trans-4.
atlantic travel. In fact, the ovonta ofii
yostorday go to show to the contrary,/
Men and women who had passages
booked for future sailings on tne Tis
tanlo called at the booking offices yes-*!
terday, and roadlly consented to trans*'
for to other steamers.
"Not a single Individual abandoned
an ooean voyage because of the Tltanlo:
tragedy," said S. H. Rowman. "To the
contrary. I believe the general opln-!
Ion Is that In future additional safe-(
guards will be thrown about ocean:
travel, and that It will be aven safer
than It has been heretofore. It Is
garded ae an accident of the deep, ate.
one might ooour on a railroad."
A similar experience was that of C,
O. Alley, manager of the steamship de-1
partment of the Richmond Transforj
Company. "I have been busy all day."\
he said last night, "in making arrange-!
ments for boohing Titanic passengers,
on other ships No one suggested fear
of voyaging because of this disaster."*,
Upon receiving a telegram from the.
White Star Line, telling of the loss of\
the Titanic, and of the fear that a num?
ber of Uvea hod been lost, Mr. Alley;
replied as follows. In a message to
Vice-President P. A. S. Franklin, vice-,
president of tlie International Mercan^j
tile and Marine Company: "Simply.;
staggered by news. You have thoj'
deepest sympathy of our company and
the Richmond public."
The following response was receiv-,
ed:
"Many thanks for your much appre-,
elated telegram. We are grieved be-'
yond expression.
(Signed) "P. A. S. FRANKLIN."
EVENT ROBBED OF
FESTIVE SPIRIT
Gloom Now Surrounds Launch*-,
ing of French Liner
France.
Havre, France, April 18.??The dlsw.
aster to the Titanic on her first trans-]
Atlantic trip has taken the spirit of
festivity from the inauguration of tha"<
French liner France, which will start'
this week on her maiden voyage, sail- .
Ing from here on Saturday and carry?
ing to America the French delegation ?
to tho Chumplaln festivities, Robert
Bacon, American ambassador to
Franco; Mrs. Bacon and other promin- .
ent people. ,
Special trains conveyed a large num?
ber or guest* to Havre to-day, where a"
banquet was given on board jtoftS?
France, the feature of which w?o the .'
I presentation of a United 8tate flag fpt?
the steamer, which was tho gift of lb.%<'
'Amerloa,n. government,