The Portland daily press., 1893-10-20
THE coAsTWIsE BUSINESS.
The Merchants Say 1t Is Looking Well at
Present.

where the coasters will be laid up before
winter, the reverse will hold good. Inc
time has passed when coasters went OUT
OF business for the season at about the
first, or at the. best the middle OF Noyen1-
ber This year many of them will stay in
| commission, SO to speak all winter
| This will give employment to many men
| who otherwise would be forced to be
| idle, Cor to go into some other line, and is
a yervspleasant Indication that business,
especially in eastern Maine, is not as bad
as some would have US believe.
There are a number of good, points
about the coasting business To be sure
there is sometimes good deal OF wait
ing, hut as will be shown later on there
has grown up a state OF things that
makes. less of that than was formerly the
case One Of the best points is the fact
that as q cook of one of them saidsrecent-
ly "The men live WE'LL" He said that
he had baked beans and brown bread
boiled beans, made pastry, got in bread
enough for two days, and he guessed he
should take day off and leave the "old
MANI to do the rest. Apparently he
could do it, and not be troubled in mind
with the feeling that he had neglected q
duty.
The steamer service has now reached
almost every part Of the coast, and has
made freights low, and apparently must
have long ago driven all the coasters out
of business. This has not been so. To
he sure the apinkeys" no longer turn into
this harbor, but a better class of vessels
do come in their place. The time has
largely passed for the coming OF the
handsome three masters from along the
coast, but the smaller schooners of go
or 10 tons, are frequent visitors, mostly
dropping in ON their return trip from
Boston.
Mr.. Fl Blake sees as many of the
shippers as any man in Portland, and is
in position to know pretty closely the
amount of trade. He believes that there
has been very large increase of
freightage, but that the railroads have
made it up hill work for the owners of
schooners. There are lines of commerce
in which the coast cannot compete with
Aroostook county and the railroads.
But as was said above, there has grown
up custom that will largely keep the
coaster on the sea. The traders on the
lands along the coast, have come to
be their own carriers That is they own,
at least many of them do, schooner,
and do their own freighting. There is a
double advantage in this. They are sure
of receiving their goods promptly, and at
the lowest possible freight charge, with
no delay in forwarding, and they are able
to forward the goods they take in barter,
directly to market, and to considerable
degree that market is Portland, whichwith
in five years or SO has greatly increased
it's trade with the eastern sections of the
state, quite largely with the aid Of the
coasting schooners. Then the dealer who
owns his own schooner commonly
makes frequent trips to his market, and
has the advantage of making personal
selections, and of buying at first hands.
The Commercial street dealers know the
coastwise traders well and value them
as good customers, and men who can be
trusted to pay for all they buy.
But while Portland has felt, and is
feeling the good results of this coastwise
trade, Boston, the old time market for
the State Of Maine, is coming in for its
part. Eastern Maine sends to some
market many shingles, much dimension
lumber, bricks without limit, fish and
produce The farmers are making use of
the coasters to put them in communica-
ton with market that knows no limit in
its demand for garden sass" as a skipper
said, and then there is constant Boston
demand for wood, and consta MT coast
wise supply. The freighting business has
grown to large proportions, but the
steamers and the railroads have cut rates
until there is less money in the coasting
business than was the case years ago.
Still Coastwise Jack, is not the least
favorably situated Of all the men who go
down to the sea in schooners, and who
do business on the great waters. He is
commonly good fellow, sometimes a
hand before the mast, occasionally a
skipper, and then again cook. He can
do anything on board q schooner that
any other man can do, and very likely at
home is looked up to with the respect
due to an ex-selectman, or present
justice of the peace. He "has stake in
the country and his rovings are COM
monty confined to the Maine coast, With
occasional visits to Bangor, and, perhaps,
more frequent trips to Boston.
Yesterday, happened Tor some reason to
be rather dull day with the coasters,
although several were loading up we'll.
Some few had brought in a partial
freight from Boston, and were taking in
more here, and some were waiting for a
freight. In one or two instances the wife
of the skipper was on board, and was
doing her part to give homelike look to
the limited cabin, and to make the best
of her restricted quarters. They all
seemed to be friends, and there was a
good deal of quiet talk going on.
1t is safe to say that the big steamers,
and the greater and more speedy trains,
will not drive Coastwise Jack from his