The evening light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1881-1883, 1883-01-01
NO MORE GROG.
The Cunard Company Cuts of the Allow.
ance of Rum.
Curious History of the Custom-What tn
Men and Officers Saw about il.

Curious History of the Custom-What the
Men and Officers Say about it.
Special Correspondence to the EVENING LIGHT:
NEW YORK, December 2S.-Twice a day for
more than forty years all hands before the
mast in the Cunard Steamship Company's SER
vice We're piped up by! the boatswain's mate TO
get their allowance of ''grog." In 1910, when
that company sent its first transatlantic stea-
mer 10 sea, IL introduced on board the custom
which had prevailed from time immemorial on
the old British merchant ships, of dealing out
liquor as part of the mems ritons. The sea-
men in those days called it their grog, and by
that name IL has always been called on ship
board, wherever the English tongue is spoken.
On the Cunarders at noon and at s
O'Clock in the evening when at sea, and
in the afternoon when lying at the wharf, the
men answered to the call of the boatswain' 5
mate and received their Jamaica rum and
water from a big copper can. The grog was
mixed was mixed so as to take the edge of the
rum and give the men a longer" drink than u
dram OF clear liquor would be- The men
marched to the bar in the afterpart of the
vessel and each In his turn tOoka tot, a small
copper cup, from its hook on the side of the big
can, received his portion, drank il of and
passed on. The seainen of the old East India
traders are said to have been the first to give
this name to the half-pnt drinking cups. The
Australian sailors call them ''nobblers." While
the barkeeper poured out grog and the seamen
drank, the junior officer of the watch stood by
and got his second drink. A few would refuse
their portion but the majority claimed il. No
man was permitted to drink anOther's grog
after drinking his own. nor was any man
allowed TO save up his portion for a heavier
tipple. When his turn came to him in line, il
was then or never The men were permitted.
when not at sea, TO knock of quarter OF
an hour at grog time, in order that they
might take whit at their pipes. On one OF
the company's big steamships from seventy-tive
to one hundred men used 10 come up for their
N each call. 81 A i'm
the Cunard service drunk while on duty" said
burly goOd-natlred Chief Officer Marsh. On
board the Bothnia, in November the following
order was Issued by the Cunard Steamship
Company: "Circular No. The Board of Di-
rectors have decided that after the LIST of Dec
ember, proximo, the allowance of rum to sea-
men and tiremen ON board the company's ships
will be abolished and coffee substituted therefor.
Capt. McMichan, the gray-haired commander
of the BOthnia, was asked concerning the reas-
Ons for knocking the men OFF their grog and the
effect upon the men.
81 suppose the reason is" he said, that II
was thought they would be better off without
it. Have not heard from them 10 amount u
anything. An abundance Of good coffee il
served 10 them instead, with biscuit or bread
and butter. | have no doubt il is better for
| them, and that nearly all the men will be pleas
Cd with it," Vt SO'Cluck in the evening, at in the
morning the men are called up to the bOatswains
room where the ground coffee has been put i'm
| a big coffee pot M the presence of the boat
wain'S mate. This is u tOrmaity To insure,
satisfaction on the part of the men that they
| are getting the genuine article and sufficient
quantity of it, Milk and sugar are added. The
men step up with their '.pannikens,' pant cups
of earthcn ware lined with metal or of metal
lined with enamel, and get them filled with
steaming coffee. They take ther coffee away
with us much biscuit on bread and butter rs
they need
There is no limit tn their coffee" said Chief
Officer Marsh; IF one cup isn't enough they
can come back for second or a third. Good
coffee, too, il Isl" "Give em a gallon ii they
want it" says Capt, McMichan, 'lIungry men
and cold men can't work So far as | have
seen the men are satisfied with it, 1t is certain
~ better than drink of grog. 1t is warmth
Can the men smuggle grog ON boardf" he
was asked.
''They dare not, if they were So disposed, "
said the chief officer, land don't believe they
want TO. The Cunard company has the finest
crews in the world, all loyal men to the COM
pany, and nearly all married men, The major
ity are Englishmen, though there are good
many Americans"
Are the officers expected 10 get an exam
pie for the men by ahsEainlng from wines and
liquors.,
by sending Il card to the steward"
To Il seaman who was cOiling u rope on the
forward part of the vessel the question was
put:
"How do you like doing without your
grOgY"
81 don't like it at ALL" he said. mo man
could get drunk on his two drinks of grOg in
much when the weather is fine, hut when we
poor fellows are up here in the cold and wet
drop of rum fixes us up, ltwarms us the way
coffee don't, Some of them don't care about
the change, but good many of us do, and we
are men who never get drunk, either"
DO the men complain muchY'
"Not where the officers can hear them. The
company deals fairly with its crew, and we
don't like to complain too much but there
have been a good many bitter complaints
among the men when they were together.
They had got To look upon their grOg us one of
their rights, and nobody thinks more of his
rights than we Englishmen."