The Portland daily press., 1889-08-12
FORTY VESSELS.
All These are Building In the Hum
ming Maine Yards.
Wages are Good, But Not So
Good as They Would be
If Not for the Cana
dian Labor
ers.
Especial to the Press

l lCpccidi W INC lIooo'J
RocKLAND, August 10.-The State Labor
Bureau has been for some time collecting
some very interesting and valuable informa-
| ton as to the condition of labor in the ship
yards.
There are about 80 shipyards In operation
in Maine, employing from 1900 to 1900 men,
| Bath alone furnishing employment for near
| ly half of that number. In Bath at present
the following are under construction: Six
teen schooners, one ship, one side-wheel
steamer and one barge. Some of these are
very large, the barge being not less than
5000 tons.
At Beans yard, Camden. two scbo0ners
are in process of construction, the combined
tonnage of the two being about 5000 tons.
Mr.. Bean furnishes employment to crew Of
about 100 men.
In Rockland two schooners are being built
one by Cobb, Wright G. Co., the other by L.
l.. Snow & Co. Thomaston has two fine
vessels under construction, while Rockport,
Belfast. Brewer, Kennebunk, Harrington,
Millbridge, Waldoboro, Phipsburg, Booth,
bay. Calais, Newcastle and other places
throughout the State will add to our mer-
chant marine. One vessel, a handsome three
master, the Olive Pecker, built at Belfast by
George A. Gilchrest for Captain A. j. Hall
of Rockland, will be launched Thursday next.
The total number of vessels In construc-
tion at present throughout the State is 40, of
these 36 being schoOners, two ships, one
steamer and one barge. Many of the schoon
ers will be three masted. double decked and
Will range from 1000 to 1900 tons, one four
master measuring abOut 1900 tons.
Wages at the shipyards in Bath are from
12t to 25 per cent higher than in 1888, and as
a general thing are higher than in most of
the other yards throughout the State. Since
the industry has revived there has been
great rush of carpenters and laborers from
the Provinces, and it is not an unusual
thing to see half the carpenters in many of
our shipyards holding credentials from the
Canadian government. This influx of out
side labor our citizen carpenters say has
etrun5i ten s,daaau.tn -kaan WAGES down, and
surplus labor will bring labor down, even
lower than before. Many of these men come
here to stay, to become American citizens,
bring their families with them, and thus be-
come consumers of the product of some one
else's labor. But great many come only
for what American money they can hoard up
through the busy season, and go back 10
their own country to spend it. caring moth
ing for our institutions or government, but
dearly in love with our money:
Shipyard work is of the hard and muscular
kind Everything is of the hustling order,
one crew depends ON the other, and it is nee
essary for all to keep moving in order that
no part of the work may be delayed. There
is little danger of this class of labor being
supplanted by female or child labor. The
conditions under which men of this calling
have labored for some years back are such as
to offer very little inducement for others to
enter it. A great many had to abandon the
business for something that would afford
themselves and families living. Today it
is different. There is work enough for all,
and fair remuneration. That the industry,
which for years stood as one of Names
greatest, may continue to flourish is the wish
state and the prosperity of its citizens. The
following is the average of wages paid in
Bath shipyards and the average of wages
outside of Bath:
AVERAGE DAILY WAGES PAID AT BATH SHIP
YARDS.