The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-04-29


the men We keep stub Of the due bill. num-
bered. etc. and in order to secure payment the
sailor must have indorsed the due bill In the
presence Of q responsible party.
Hep.-Well, now for the muster again: what
becomes of the articles of agreement, and how
does the vessel clear?
furnish the captain or master with duplicate
copy OF the muster roll for exhibition. when
also with cert iHcate with a descriptive list OF
persons comprising the crew. which the cap
tain presents at the customs clearance ONCE.
and with that also goes q certified copy OF the
shipping. articles, the original Of which, we
keep and file. We keep q record Of due bills
also. 50 that In case sailor takes MS due Dill
with him to n foreign port he can get the money
on ftthere, Ii he wishes. by application TO the
American Consul.
your office is concerned to cleara ship ~
Capt. W-Yes that sends ship'to sea. Now.
do you want to bring one 10?
Rep-Yes; provided 1 could get some assist
ance from the towboats: but is there any differ
Capt. W.-Yes. sir. The men. as you are
aware, are mustered at the starting port Tor the
round trip or voyage, but It is seldom that they
return on the same ship, Now right here there
is one thing want to call your attention to, and
that is the present composition of our mer-
chant marine. OF which not per cent OF the
entire marine-that is. tho seamen, etc.-.are
native born Americans, but nearly all are for
Rep-How do you account for that2
| Capt. WI cannot, unless 1t be by the fact
country In that branch Of the service. or In the
education Of young men for that service But
never mind that now will speak OF 1t again. AS
was saying, when ship enters port the sailor
comes to this office with his orig nal articles,
taken out at the starting port. and we examine
Thorn. The deserers are accounted Tor by con ION
tination MS only upon that could the captains
bond be cancelled. / then furnish the captain
| with blank for the settlement OF the wages
account of each man. In that blank form there
is space or column for each debit or credit ac,
count The captain has these filled out. and
furnishes the money to pay the men here, we
taking their receipt in duplicate, once on the
certificate and again on our registry pay ac-
count In this way there Is less opportunity
men. The men after being paid sign each one
of the releases or forms IL my presence ana 10
see some of the signatures.
| The pay account register for 1873 was then
| opened by the commissioner. and our reporter
| noticing he fact that the chirOgraphy was quite
good In nearly oil cases. asked the reason.
| Fully 90 per cent Of all the seamen," replied
Capt Wright, sign their own name ana you 20,
dom which leads me to the belief that many
mon whose circumstances have been good once
are now forced to 90 before the mast to ea % "a
signatures you can see that some OF the men
are out of their element and have actually been
| Rep.-Don't you muster the crew for dis
charger
Capt W-Yes sir. Before the delivery of the
up and reading to him his pay account as made
by the captain. We ask # it is correct and
should he reply in the affirmative he signs the
inquire into the account and straighten it out
If possible, Next. we keep discharge book
with ana s eb SHOWS @F thG
entries on the discharge itself. that being signed
blythe master of the vessel as well as =, myself
voyage and his body be tossed overheard to the
sh1rks. what becomes of his effects
Capt. Wills death would be accounted for
effects would be tax en- care Of by the master and
returned TO this office. report is then made
to the United States Circuit Court CO., and an order
Rep.-Where does the money go2
Capt W-Into the United States Circuit
aad with an ha baD Tags and whfh f.
report IL made embraces everything in the way
Of the seaman's history that can be obtained
from the records name of ship. official num-
ber, port of registry name of master. descrip-
ton Of voyage, wages due. money on hand,
other effects nyentoried amount for each ari-
part of the records Of the court
Rep.-Your records then show the place OF
neG ap S ths e@eeThne and we commu
nicate with his relatives and. upon satisfactory
proof being obtained. an order OF court directs
the proceeds Of sales OF effects to be. with any
sent to the relatives.
Rep.-About how many cases Of this kind
Capt. W.-About ten year. guess.
Rep.-Don't you have ditficulty sometimes in
the OF reatvss bsr
now where sailor died on one OF the Morgan
steamships. leaving his effects. among which
papers indicating the exact location of the de-
ceased seaman's relatives. One Of the photo
graphs was that of a lady and on the back
graphers. We went to his gallery with the pho
tograph. found the negative and address of the
lady. and are now ia correspondence with her.
with every prospect Of learning the residence
of the relatives of the deceased.
Rep:-In ease Of a deserter what Is done with
his effects2
Capt W-They are inventoried the Same way
ana account II kept. though generally they
leave nothing behind but bedding.
Rep.-Do you ever muster intoxicated sea-
Capt. W.-No. sir, never The law forbids It.
Ii drunken sailor were to present himself at
the muster for clearance we order him sent
ashore.
Rep.-There are instances. captain, where l
have heard OF the shipping commissioner act
ing as arber in cases of dispute as to wages
accounts between seamen and master. Is that
fact2
Capt. W.-Yes and that is provided for by
section % of the act approvedn 1872. which reads
thus: That every shipping commissioner
shall hear and decide any question whatsoever
between master consignee agent or owner,
and any of his crew. which both parties agree
in writing to submit to him and every award
50 made by him shall be binding on both par
may be taken in the matter. before any court of
justice. be deemed to be conclusive as to the
rights of parties. and any document purport-
ing to be under the hand and official seal of a
commissioner. such submission or award
shall be prima facie evidence" Now this agree
ment is printed on a blank and is signed by
each the master and seaman. However. / dis
like very much to act in such cases, and seldom
do so.
Rep.-You mentioned a moment ago that
should the sailor here be square in his accounts
and carry his due bills with him to a foreign
port he could get the money deposited here in
your hands, through consular certificate. How
can that be done?
Capt WY application on the part of the
seaman to the American consul at the port
whore the sailor may be. His papers are shown
there. and the consul communicates through
the Treasury Department and Customs Office |
with the shipping commissioner. when, the proof
being satisfactory, the money is forwarded
through the post Office money order bureau
to the consul. and is by him paid. With this is
Sc, copy OF their wages account descriptive,
list. etc. Should sailor 60 to India. he could |
be paid in this Wav on his due bill. cOmplete |