Beaufort Republican. [volume] (Beaufort, S.C.) 1871-1873, 1872-08-29
Sailors and the Shipping Laws.

L Oih PoP0ii ohoi "a" O f'AS'|AS
the dingy little Offices from which sailors
have been shipped at this port from the
beginning of the history of the city.
Everything is new and clean about its
spacious halls. On the first floor is the
reading-room and the savings bank. The
second story is almost entirely occupied
by fine, airy lecture-room. On the
third which is all in one room, all the
work of shipping seamen upon American
vessels is to be done in the future.
At one o'clock a few afternoons since,
aoout 800 sailors were present, and busl-
ness was transacted with great celebrity
by Captain Duncan's employees. Con-
versatlons held with several sailors showed
that there was variety of opinions among
them about the working of the law, though
most of them favored it.
One middle-aged man said 81 am an
American and married man. [ don't
spend my whole time at sea. | am rig
ger by trade, but can get no work at that
now, so I want to go for short voyage.
[ think that somehow the boarding-house
keepers or runners get ip here and shove
their men-who owe them money-in
ahead of US. | have been here three
days. In that time four vessels have
taken on crews, but | got no chance.
There was one for Cow Bay, two to
Demerara, and one to Martinique. When
the crew for one of the Demerara vessels
was shipped, l applied at the desk, but
some men who 1 knew were not sailors
pushed three sailors up and got them
taken in preference to me-"
"Do you think those pushing the sailors
on were clearinghouse keepers or run
ners?"
81 don't know; but they were not
sailors"
Application being made to Captain
Duncan by the writer for an explanation
of this mystery, he said that the idea of
others being pushed forward was doubt
less hallucination. He asked:
"Did the man say the Captain was
choosing men for himself"
"No; an order was sent to your ship
ping-master and the men he took were
young Germans"
"Ah; that probably explains it. Cap
tains running short voyages in small YES
sells, having so few sailors, are very par
ticular about them. Active young Ger.
mans are in great demand; they are thor,
ough workmen and more docile than
native Americans. The order was prob
ably tor Germans; the shipper recognized
squad of them near by and took them
in preference to the American, who was
thus led to imagine that he was sighted" !"
"Is it not possible that some of your
own runners are beginning to take bribes
already"
"Scarcely; have given them distinct
ly to understand that any one found
making anything but his salary out OF the
business would be discharged. Several
men refused to take the work on those
terms"
"NVhat is the work of your runners2"
"One thing they have to do ia to hunt
up sailors when there is deficiency OF
any sort. Another branch of their work
is to see that sailors shipped at this office
get on board safe and sober. Then they
take the captains receipt for them"
Another sturdy-looking sailor said he
had no objections to offer to the institu-
ton, except that he feared it might be
the means of bringing down wages. Said
he in broken English:
"Some clearinghouse keepers first
rate men. They never robbed me. |
always drew my own money and paid my
own way"
An official questioned about the foun-
dation for this mans fears, said the new
institution was likely to raise wages by
putting into the hands of the sailors the
money that had been previously flched
from them. There is Landlords Asso-
citation, which meets at Botanic Hall.
This Association has really been of some
use to sailors, because, being always on
the lookout for money due them, they
had aided seamen in maintaining high
wages-had, indeed, fixed prices. But
the bad men among them had largely
counteracted this usefulness. These men,
caring only that sailors should get large
advances, would willingly see them shipped
for $40 month, if the advance was high
enough.
"But if the Landlords Association has
helped sailors to get high pay, how can
the office help them to get higher?"
SIN the first place, the ease and rapid
ity with which men are disposed of will
naturally keep the supply down, and
small supply always stiffens prices. Then
the thirty two scattered shipping offices
of the city, which were bound to keep
going winter and summer, would often
force men to go under rate, to cut out
on.nnnt;tnrc LIE thn londlnrds cnnld Eeen