HENRY TIBBITS, Master Royal Mail-Steamer City of Paris to Ernest Inman, February 26, 1875

Sir: In reference to the letter from the board of trade regarding fog-signals, I think it is quite requisite for safety to go by sound signals of the whistle, both in foggy weather and in narrow channels. I propose—one short blast, “port your helm;” two short blasts, “starboard;” and three short blasts, “stop and reverse.”

All steamers when at sea, and steering course in foggy weather, to blow the whistle only once for a certain number of seconds, to be sounded at least every two minutes, not at any longer intervals; sailing-ships to sound the horn likewise. At the present time, in the Atlantic, some steamers blow the whistle once, some twice, and others three or four times, one after another.

The signals in the United States are, one blast for port, two for starboard. I cannot say whether they have any for stop or reverse. I have been in the New York trade a great number of years, and found these signals to avoid collisions in many instances. The less the signals are complicated the more easy they are understood. I object to four blasts of a whistle; I don’t think it would prevent collision, the time being entirely too long.

I am, &c.,