Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-07-30
JACK IN AN ODD PLIGHT.
THE NEW SHIPPING LAW AND
HOW 1T WORKS.

I1npraeticab1e Features-The Sailors
Kick Against the Method of Shipment
Measures Against the Runners and
Boarding House Eeepers-HOw the
Runners Look at It-A Probable
Amendment.
With a view TO ascertaining what will
probably be the effect Of the application
Of the Dingley bill to the shipping Of sail
ors at this port, areporter OF the MORNING
NEWS called on Capt. J. h. Clarke, Pres
ident ofthe Board Of Trade. yesterday. In
response TO an inquiry, Capt. Clarke said;
ssThe Dingley bill contains many proYis-
ions which will benefit the shipping in
terests and will no doubt benent the
sailor. though he may not understand II
in that light at present. But there IS
great deal Of theory in the bill when can
not be reduced to practice ana nave no
doubt buf that it will have to be changed
or amended.
ssThe clause foTbidding the payment OF
an advance to seamen cannot be made
effective as il now stands, and will Ylrtu-
ally make Jack a tramp.
IFS uIPRACTICABLE FEATURES.
SIT is natural for a sailor who mas been
10 sea for months to wish TO spend DIS
davs in port on shore. and as long as be
has any money he isn't going To ship. j
have no doubt but that the authorities
will try and get around the
law by permitting the sailor amer ne
boards a vessel TO give the Captain
DrOmissOrv note due on a certain day for
a certain sum Of money loaned TO him by
the CAPTAIN in the nature OF an advance,
which the former on the day Of giving the
note NAV paw over TO sailor boarding.
house keeper or any other person to whom
the seaman may be indebted. POSSIBLY
the provision of the bill fOrbidding the ad-
vance may be got around in some other
way, as for illustration:
SHIPPING A SEAMAN.
suppose the Captain wishes a seaman.
He will 20 to the sailor, who will give his
promissory note in exchange LOT
one OF the same date from the Cap
tain. the amount Of both notes being
the same. and both falling
due ten or twenty days after date. The
sailor turns this note over To the sailor
boarding house keeper, or other party to
whom he NAV be indebted. and the latter,
when due. collects it against the vessel.
Both notes should specify that the note IS
in consideration Of money loaned, not
advanced. to the sailor.
There is no law fOTbidding any one 70
loan money to a sailor and none forbid
ding the sailor to give his note for It. Un-
der the last plan il would be to the inter-
est Of the sailor boarding house keeper 70
have the seaman ship as soon as possible,
for he can only collect the amount of the
note given him by the sailor ten or twenty
days after the man has gone to sea.
NOTES AGAINST THE VESSEL.
ssWhen a sailor has a wife dependent
upon him for support he could give
a note. due at once, for heI
| benefit which she could collect against
the ship. the sailor also giving his note u
| the Captain for the amount due at the eX-
piratiOn of 10 or 30 days, or at the end Of
| the run from port to port.
ssThe mnraUticable features OF the
Dingley bill will no doubt be reported
when the proposed Commissioner Of Nayi-
CATION shall have had an opportunity to
test it's workings. At this time the whole
thing is new, and in the nature OF sur
prise both to merchants and mariners
/ am satisfied that the clause fOrbiddin2
| the advance to sailors is harsh one as 1t
reads. although the franer Of 1t was
doubtless actuated by the hest intentions.
| l do not think il can be enforced, for the
reason that il is not practical. 1t may DC
adapted to seamen sailing between home
ports. but not to the odd salts who are in
the habit OF making long voyages. When
I
holiday, and will spend their money most
generally in a very unbusinesslike man.
| ner. it is true. They seem to act upon the
| theory that all work and no play makes
Jack very dull boy, and hence, Ike a
great many lapdsmen; when on frolic
| they squander their hard earnings reck-
lesslv.
ELEVATE THE sEASIEN.
81 have had considerable experience in
shipping matters" continued Capt.
| Clarke, land would like to see the sailor
elevated. The bill in question may finally
lead to an improvement in his condition.
1t is easy for Congressman to sit down IN
Washington and frame bills to meet GER
! tain theoretical views, but those bills
which combine practice with theory are
| more serviceable.'
BOUNCING THE RUNNERS.
.sWhat do you think of the section OF the
| bill which provides that no keeper of a
/ sailor boarding house, or runner, shall be
allowed to board incoming vessels until
| after they reach their docks. and all pas
| sengers and baggage shall have been dis
| chargedU
81 have not much faith in the enforce
ment of a law passed by the general gov
eminent on that point. Who Is going to
watch the runners and vessels ana see
| that the provision is carried OutI The
| State or local authorities which have Ju-
rIsdictiOn over the respective ports should
| look after the matter, and could elective
| " assure the execution Of law better
adaDted TO meet the requirements OF par
ticular localities. The provision is
doubtless intended in part to
assist the enforcement OF quarantine
regulations forbiddIng any person to go
aboard an infected vessel. But when a
ship has passed through quarantine, 1t
Will be impossible to prevent persons
from boarding vessels, especially If the
master and the runners have an under
standing with each other"
ALREADY CAUSING TROUBLE.
Capt. O'Donnell, of the schooner can
ME Bliss" said: "The bill is gong to
cause a great deal of trouble. Under its
provisions there are said to be % vessels
i'm the harbOr of San Francisco waiting
for crews, consequently there IS great
deal of delay TO commerce as well as a pig
EXPENSE to ship owners. If Congress had
passed the bill to take effect some months
hence, say in 1885, everybody would have
had ample notice, and the shipping inter-
est would have had time to adjust itself
to meet the requirements OF the law. But
this bill went into effect two days after
its passage. and when was in Baltimore
a number of Captains called on the Ship
ping Commissioner for information, and
were informed that be could tell them
nothing beyond what had appeared IN the
newspapers, and that until he should
have received explicit instructions from
Washington they were as competent to
nudge what should be done as he.
HOW TO GET AROUND IT.
sThere is one way to get around the
law relative to the payment of the adj
vance, and that is when a sailor comes on
board the Captain shall have an under
standing with HIM by which he can loan
him certain sum Of money,
aud take his note for it. The
Captain is not supposed to know what the
sailor will do with the borrowed money,
ana at the end of the run where the mas
ter makes a settlement with his crew the
sailor is paid with the note he gave and
the remainder due for wages in money.
Unless some such bushwhacking is done
we won't be able to get man. That bill
was framed. il seems to me, by a set of
men who don't know any thing about
sailor.
AN IMPROvIDENT CLASS.
s.Seamen are a distinct race of people,
and have paid some of them as much as
500 when the vessel reached port, and in
less than two days afterwards those very
men have come to me asking for
10 cents to buy a plug of tobacco.
A sailor will not keep his mOney-it
burns a hole in his pocket. Why 1 have
seen them take a handful Of coin out of
their pockets and after heating it on a
shovel scatter it in the street just for the
fun Of seeing the boys and tramps scram-
bic for it. What are you going