The sun., 1894-01-28
A GLORY THAT IS GONE
SOUTH STREET IN THE DArs
AND sOUTH STREET NoW


By the sruudey Foreign Tramp ~ ,ts
snd stenm-A Few Mourntui Firu,..
A grlzzled skipper who trod the ou,r,.,,..,
OF a Yankee record breaker beiore m. w w
strolled along South street the other d,,,'
lamented the decadence OF that opcs ,,rs.ul
nautical thorouEhfare. lie recalled thA,i,'
back in the 1ftles. when he retu.net -
Philadelphia with gentle Quakcress b.b.s
Just married. and approached the city non, ,S.
bay. Tho sweet Quakeress orcned her sv.,,s
vonderm ent as the boat from South AMI
steamed sluRglishly up to the Battery, Tb,,
was the way the visitor from the South usu,rs
came to the metropolis then. as tho rallro,,
extended no further north than South Amh,S
The Quakeress-who sleeps in Grecnwood'
saw what the reminiscent skipper cali,
in q barnacled simlle OF the se,
forest OF masts." slender and tor.,,
ing, ana more distinct than masts bs,..
abouts nowadays. because they we're ss.,
on a background OF sky instead VI the wall, q,
ten and fifteen story buildings. It was Inn
pressive and picturesque. and. what pleased
the skipper most OF ALL it was distinc,Iyol,
American. Few OF the ships barks brigs ana
brgantines few any other flag than the Stsn
and Stripes. and most of the mon In tho crew,
were Yankees. Ships bowled out pAst tha
Hook In the full glory OF perfectly fitting ducl
deitly fashioned by Yankee sallmaker,
in the Fourth and Seventh wards Thar.
we're stu'n'sails in the beying sut
and they helped the symmetrical clipper,
and packets to cross the sen In bett.r
time than some OF the second. class steam.
ships Of to-day. The Red Jacket made Liver.
pool In 13 days 1 hour and % minute, and
the DreadnouEht got to Queen stown in day,
and II hours. Stu'n'salls were the rule them
f,,~ ~, II,
and these. clippers. because they are built
primarily for cargo and are, therefore. broader
and deeper than the old-time racers. never
have accomplished much rs speeders.
south streets decline has been rapid sncs
1850. Before that there were ship chandlerS
chandler had nm interest in a sailing craft o;
some kind. and he fitted her for her voyage
Iibboons and bowsprits projected over bulk:
Offices. fairly gridironinR the sky. There wers
between 200 and 800 sailing vessels In tho
was the vision that made the sweet Quakeress
marvel. and the memory OF II makes her hus.
band the sri1WTIsed 1bheiSaCk feel sd
East River front yesterday he saw Just
about thirty sailing craft. mostly foreign.
young man who was with him why South
street could never reassume its ante-hellum
asGeG son at 6sSap b, ns Grassds m against
the Hudson in his clumsy side wheeler In 1901.
With the coming OF the evolnted Clermont OF
glnes that may be run with cheaply generated
steam. the white winged argosies began to
gr0yo ggr0w less ~ The biz th sWit steel rGiGh,er,
the old slow. steam cargo carriers that did the
bulk OF the transatlantic business Just after
between American and West Indian and south
American ports. driving out the small sailing
fiyin Hra,t that earned their masters comtortaIIs
south street has never looked so unlike It's
pristine self as 1t does to-day. There are only
rIu h<ffr u anlN.z,
moored there. The back lilies OF the WGrfes
Reg,Sig show that IN January, ten years ago,
schooners docEei along NC Z the o Stree street. ""e TRs
that thore Weqo Y f hps q RS@s SO g i@GH' bs,
vessels may be seen. The old files OF the Es..
. ,s,s, clearly indicate the approach of the time
Esen the sast sailing from Sesss will sayS !.
trade. In January. 1914 there Were - steam.
shlps IN this port: ten years later; at this sea;
steamships. In January 1874. there wore -
brigs and lts barks m oored or anchored here.
barks. The small square .rggers had almost
a monopoly OF the West Indian fruit trade
twenty years ago: now only few Of them dis.
charge bananas and cocoanuts at this port.
The steam frulters. swift little vessels. owned
or chartered largely by Americans, but flying
square-riggers out OF business.
!. 1t was the fashion, before the invention oi
%ns to send abroad
back in ballast, the oil ships brought back
empty barrels. The tanks knocked out the
shipping OF oil in barrels. and the big sailing
in cases to East Indian and Chinese and JJai.
auese ports. For a short time they monopO-
lizcd this trade. but the owners Of "a iieet OF
tramps saw that there was profit for them in
shipping case oil to remote ports. and they
started ut 1t less than ten years ago. Gradu-
ally they are reducing the cost of shipment
and com pelling all ships except the giant four.
masters to seek other trade The four masters
Will resist the competition Of the steamship
longest because they have great cargo capac.
ity and can be run cheaply.
frelghts never have been lower than they
are now. and that is another reason why South
street looks SO cheerless. Erie Basin the hos.
pital for ships is filled with sailing craft, This
biggest of wooden ships. which her
owners expected to take cargo to San Fran.
cisco, has boon forced to load case oil for India
This Is the first time any American four mast.
or has done this. Steam on land has played
havoc with marine freight rates to tho Golden
Gate and tho Roanoke could not probably
take cargo at 81 n tom on voyage OF pro6a.
bly, l2O days around tho Horn.
When ships are idle sailormen may be had
Tor the asking. The boarding house maSreTsur
keepers used to supply the ships steam and
sail-with men, through the agency Of th,
shipping masters; The boarding. house mas
ters kept the Idle sailors from two TO five
weeks. getting their pay from the sailors
advance, which is a months wages paid TO ths
shipping master by the agent Of the vess-l
after she leaves port. The boarding master
will not take the idle sailor In now becauss
there Is small prospect OF shipping him
through the shipping masters. Tho men nov
ieal directly with the shipping masters or the
shippers themselves There are two is
lack bids ag ainst him self for the privilege of
sailing. Last year tho sailor received slSa
noath /, now he thinks he is lucky If he g"tsSl'
The docks along South street have lew Ves-
iHlH them "a Inn II "a