The Republican journal., 1886-05-06
A Sea Captain on Compulsory Pilotage

| the most unjust and offensive taxes imposed up-
on our meschant marine is the Virginia pilot
law, which compels every vessel whether coast
| ing or i'll the foreign trade to pay for the ser
vices of pilot. The Chesapeake Bay and
Hampton Roads are open thoroughfarcs, per-
| fectly easy of ingress or egresS, and any ship
| master with chart of the bay or book of di-
rections would not find the least difficulty in
taking his vessel to sea from Hampton Roads,
| or from sea to safe anchorage in the Roads.
Vessels are making but little money and when
| pilots and other officials who fleece us by law
are paid there is not much left for the owners.
| There is no man in the United States to-day
who is interested in shipping but what is ready
| to sell out unless he is receiving some benefit
| besides dividends. 1t seems to be the prevail
ing idea that everything that can be got out of
vessel is legitimate plumber.
| l will give Il few illustrations from my own
| experience | have been three voyages in sue
| cession from Richmond. Va. to Rio Janero,
occupying about fifteen months. mention the
time that your readers may see what my tax or
| tolls to and from Hampton Roads has been in
| fifteen months. | have been obliged to pay
| the Virginia Pilot Association S1S4.53, and have
| had the services of a pilot but once. | tow
| from Richmond to Hampton Roads, where the
| pilot comes on board with his bill of S4S to
| S5G.53. pay from $40 to S4s and 90 out with
out pilot. Now what have | received in re-
| turn for my money? am compelled to con
! tribute to the support of class of men forming
| an association whose services neither ask for
nor require. They collect money by process
| of law where no service is rendered, which
| seems to me to be simply lcgaZcd robbery.
| 1t is said that pilots are necessary for the
| preservation of life and property. Then let
| those who require this extra safeguard be
obliged to pay for it, but not those who do not
| require it. My experience has been that when
there is danger to be encountered the pilots are
| not generally to be found. Every State on the
| Atlantic coast except Maine has compulsory
| pilotagc laws for all vessels engaged in the for
cgn trade. Along the Maine coast lay more
submarine dangers than upon the sea coast of
any other state, but there is less tonnage lost
there in proportion than elsewhere. Maine
may have laws to punish one man for selling
liquors to another, but she has no laws grant
ing license to persons to prey upon others and
eat their substance without making some re-
muncration.
! Since 1877 | have paid to the United States
| alone s93'.33 for pilotagc, and during that time
| have been out Of the States four voyages, occll-
pying three years and eight months, or my
pilota%c would have been much more. Only
once did | require pilot, to whom paid $4S,
so that | have been compelled to pay in five
| years for services | did not require 5000 53.
| About two years ago the Secretary of the Navy
issued an order to the Commanders of all gov
crnmcnt vessels prohibiting them from taking
pilots when entering or departing from Ameri-
| can ports. Thus we see vessels belonging to
the government, which has three hundred mil
lion dollars locked up in the treasury, exempt
from piotage while the merchant marine is
victimizcd by these unjust laws.
Our shipping interest has been gradually de-
cllninS since 1861, when we We're the second
maritime power in the world and rapidly
| gaining OH England. While we are the great
| est producing country of the world, nearly 81
per cent. of our products are carried in foreign
ships. 1t is a strange sight to see steamer fly
ing the American flag in Europe; occasionally
you will see one in Liverpool. The American
| line between Philadelphia and Liverpool has
four ships only, and We have no other ships trad
ing to Europe that fly the American flag. Our
| trade is being taken from us by foreigners.
| During the "a years under Republican rule the
cry of many was that that party was doing
| nothing to protect our commerce against for
cign aggression; that it was letting the mer-
| chant marine the Democrats had fostered with
such care run down. The change came. The
| Democrats with the aid of the mugwumps
elected their man, and one of the first acts of
the new administration was to drive John
Roach, one of the principal American ship
builders, into bankruptcy, by refusing to ac-
cept ship already completed and to carry out
contracts for three others in process of con-
| struction at New York and Chester. 1t now
| remains to be seen what measures will be
adopted by ;he present Administration for the
| benefit of our commerce and the growth OF
American shipping.
The Dngcy shipping bill, which became a
law July 1st, 1884, was intended by its author
to relieve shipping from some of the burdens
under which i lad been laborng for years and
to certain e. .cnt has done so, while in other
directions il has totally failed. There have
been so many contradictory constructions put
upon this law that it is difficult to tell which is
| right. That portion of the law establishing the
| prices charged the sailor for goods furnished
during voyage at ten per cent. above the
wholesale price has come to my notice quite
recently in ease of my own. Last voyage |
ran out of rubber boots and was obliged to
buy at the Cape of Good Hope, at $3.50 per
pair | charged the men just what thew cost
me. On arrival at New York in handing INV
account to the secretary of the L. S. Shipping
Commissioner he said / must charge the men
but $3.50 for the boots. l explained to him
the circumstances and showed him the bill
| and he said | would have to see the Deputy
Commissioner, and led the way into that Off
cal's private office. | was somewhat taken
aback at having to face such an august person.
age, but collecting my scattered senses as soon
as could recover from the shock l stated my
case, and in conclusion said that business was
very, dull, | was not making any money, my
| FAMILY had been sick Il year, and the new board
of town officers had nearly doubled my taxes
and did not feel able to buy boots at $4. 80 and
| sell them at $3.50.
| When | had finished the official said the law
required me to buy a sufficient quantity of
goods in the United States to last the VOYAGE,
and that the law had nothing to do with any
goods L bought abroad. l could only charge
| the schedule price, $3.50.
There may be lots of law to this, but any one
can judge of its justice. This part of the law
have never been able to find but if this official
| stated it correctly it is worse than the Connec-
| ticut blue laws. What right has the United
States to fix Il price and tell any person what
they shall charge for their goods? WHY not
| compel the sailor to furnish his own goods in
stead of squandering his money for other pur-
poses. Very Truly Yours
JOHN W. KANE, Master brig I. W. Parker.
Rio Janerio, March %, 1886.
Glad to hear from you, Captain-come again.
Our latch string always hangs out for those
who plow the sea, as well as those who hold
the plow in Maine soil. 9
| Secretary Whitney's forcing John Roach into
bankruptcy, with the aid of Pan Electric Gar
land, was supplemented by the action of Post
master General Villas in Withholding money ap-
| propriated by Congress to pay for CARRYING the
mails In American steamships; and this has
been followed up by Democratic committee
reporting to the Democratic House bill to
enable England to sell her tramp steamers in
this country. This is how the present Admin
istration fosters the American shipping inter-
est Editor Journal.