The Unsinkable San Pedro Stays Put
After two years and over $200,000 in salvage efforts, experts concede defeat on the wreckage of the steamer San Pedro.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The combined efforts of thirteen men failed to move the wrecked steamer San Pedro from the ledge. Water was pumped out of the steamer at the rate of 120 tons a minute for fourteen hours without effect. As the vessel moved on the ragged boulders, new leaks appeared and she filled rapidly. The work was under the supervision of Capt. Lachlan of New York. He is now convinced that she cannot be saved. Since the San Pedro was wrecked two years ago, over $200,000 has been expended in attempting to raise her—all she would be worth were she on the dry dock today.
“Since the San Pedro was wrecked two years ago, over $200,000 has been expended in attempting to raise her.”
The San Pedro wreck represents the 'sunk cost fallacy' in a literal maritime sense. Just as modern cities struggle with abandoned, failing infrastructure projects, the 1890s era of expansion dealt with expensive, abandoned industrial debris that couldn't be easily cleared.
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