, 1891-08-23
LOADING A BIG LINER.
HOW ~sTEvEDoREs DO THE WORK
CT PLACING THE CARGO.

The Fast Steamers Save q Good Deal by
Bringing Coal from the Other Side in
Sailing yesseIs-Importance of Careful
LoadIng to n Fast Steamer.
Did you ever note the fact that one of
the great transatlantic greyhounds sell
dom remains in port more than a week?
During that short time she is unloaded
and loaded, which, in the case of n ves-
sci like the Majestic or the City of New
York, means the handling of some IL, 1000
o of cargo and coal.
Almost all the British steamships send
over the coal to be burned in the east
ward passage in sailing vessels, only
shipping enough in Liverpool for the
western run. Thus they have more
hold room for freight, for which they get
more money than it costs to send over
coal by sail.
This work of loading a vessel cannot
be done without extreme care. The very
safety in an ocean monster depends in
a great measure on the manner in which
her cargo is slowed.
Nothing is more dangerous to a vessel
than to have its cargo shift in rough
weather, and hence only experienced
men are engaged in the stevedore bust
ness. The stevedore therefore does not
regard himself as an ordinary laborer
but as a skilled workman. To load and
unload a cargo properly is an art, for a
vessel may be strained in unloading as
well IS in loading.
Then, again, the bad loading of n
vessel may not only delay the voyage of
a greyhound, but it may cause her to
labor and roll to such an extent as to
render every passenger on board sea-
sick.
HOW H WORK Is DISTRIBUTED.
The distribution of weight so hat no
undue strain be sustained by the iron
hull of the vessel is the problem that
can be seen successfully solved every day
by one curious enough to spend an hour
on the docks of the great transatlantic
ship companies which dot the North
river up to Twenty-sixth street. The
process'is an interesting one.
The boss stevedore, who is responsible
for the carrying on of the work, stations
at each hatch and side port a gang of
men. The gang consists of from ten to
twenty men, the number varying with
the size of the vessel, the character of
Tue BOOuS 10 DC nhuultu anu Ine INSTANCE
they have to be moved.
Each gang is in charge of a "leader."
He receives five cents an hour more than
the men under him when the work is
paid for by the hour, the men receiving
thirty to forty cents an hour for day
work and about sixty cents for night
work.
There is also over the men n foreman,
who is paid by the week and receives
from twenty to thirty dollars, and an
assistant foreman, who is paid by the
time worked. The master stevedore
maps out the duties of each and is re-
sponsible for any mistakes made in stow
ing thec cargo.
The duties of the master stevedore are
by no mean light, when one considers
the varied character of the goods shipped
daily across the Atlantic. He has to see
that goods are not slowed together
which are likely to injure n another,
and that space is found for everything
that comes along up to the utmost ca
pacity of the ship.
PAYING FOR II YORK.
The duties of the foreman relate to
seeing that the goods are SO slowed that
the cargo cannot shift, and that the roll
ing of the vessel will not damage any
part of it.
The slowing of the vessels of the
White Star, North German Lloyds, the
Inman, Guion and Hull lines is done
under the control of the company. That
of the other lines by contract with mas
ter stevedores. Some companies pay by
the ton, and others by the package.
When the payment is by the ton the
English ton of 2,240 pounds is the unit
of weight. Light goods which have lit
tie weight, but take up considerable
space, are paid at so much per forty
cubic feet handled.
Among stevedores cotton is regarded
as the hardest to stow, and railroad iron
as the easiest. The iron rails are laid
across the keel ~diagonally, and are said
to strengthen the hull.
When the cargo of a liner outward
bound from New York is properly
slowed, she will roll comparatively lit
tie, as the steerage is largely given up
to cargo. Coming from the other side
the case is reversed. Then the entire
steerage is occupied by passengers, with
the result in rough weather that the YES
sci will often roll her lee rail almost I'M
der.-New York Recorder.