The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-09-12

asked 70 DC IeEullLeQ 10 employ duu4glOldl
COlOred gangs. He could not answer nim
then but told him that he would submit
the matter 70 the society. He did this,
and then told Capt. Reilly, Mr. Minis
stevedOre, 10 90 ahead and employ as
many gangs as he needed 10 do the work,
which was done. The seventy-five-bale
limit, Mr. keenan, explained, had not
been put in the rules at the instance Of
the longshoremen, but at the instance of
the brokers and stevedores. Years ago,
he said. when there was no such rule, and
when the snipmasters had the privilege Of
selecting their own SteVedOres, there was
such competition among the stevedores 10
secure the loading Of vessels that they
. continually cut under each other until
work was taken at a rate at which it
could not be properly done. and the result
was great complaint on account of the
work by the ship owners and brokers.
At the instance of stevedOres a rule
was adopted by the lOngshoremen
fixing the limit of work TO each
gang per day at seventy-fve bales. This
was done in order to furnish a basis for
the stevedores to bid upon. At that time,
Mr.. keenan, said, owing 10 the size and
construction of the vessels in use, steve
doring was more difficult, and seventy
five bales was regarded as the utmost
limit of a days work. It was not thought
possible then to exceed this limit AS a
lbouAb VI tLliS lllllb, bilC uIOhtIS ldu uGtAl
onabled to arrange with the stevedores at
4 rate of 45 cents a bale. Mr.. keenan,
said that while the brokers only paid the
! steVedOres 40 cents a bale they billed the
ships at 80 cents, thus securing rebate
Of 10 cents on each bale, which went into
| their own pockets
! Mr.. BABNARD's EXPLANATION.
Mr.. Barnard interrupted Mr.. Keeran
| TO explain that the commission of 10 cents
LsaNs 4
| sunk in the net rate AS a matter of
! fact, MIR. Barnard said, most of the ships
were now chartered by the brokers for a
/ certain specified sum, and the question of
| the cost of stevedOring and COMPRISING
/ cut no figure in the transaction at all so
! far as the ship owners We're concerned.
/ When ship was chartered by the pound
| rate, he said, charge was made against
! the vessels of 90 cents for Stevedoring.
| All the charges against the ship were de-
Quoted from the gross rate, he said, in or
! der to make the net rate by which the
| brokers determined their profits. The
! extra ten cents was only a matter of fig
| ures and not of profit, Mr.. Barnard said
| Mr.. keenan, couldn't see it that way at
all and insisted that this difference went
| 10 the brokers profits. Capt. Williamson
| called upon Maj Karow as an export
| merchant TO explain this matter. The
| shippers, who were as familiar with the
| rates as the brokers were themselves
! Capt. Williamson said. would certainly
| not pay charges which had no foundation
| Maj. Karow, in responding, said that if
a ship was chartered, for instance, by the
| pound rate-a five-sixteenths of a penny
| per pound-the cost of loading the ship is
| charged against this rate. The amounts
! received from the stevedOre and the COM
press enabled the broker to shave this
rate l-32 of penny and to make rate of
9-32 pence per pound By reason of
| cheaper labor, Maj. Karow said the ship
! ping agents in Brunswick and Charleston
| have been able to shave the rate still
| closer. AS a result of these cheaper
| rates, Maj Karow estimated the amount
of cotton diverted from Savannah during
! the previous season at 250,000 bales.
Mr.. KEENAN's INQUIRY.
| Mr.. Keenan, wanted to know why it
| was, if this were true, that Brunswick
did not draw more cotton from the Missis-
| sppi valley Mr. keenan, also raised the
! question of compress rates, stating that
! the brokers charged the ships with Go
| cents for COMPRISING, when, as matter
/ of fact, they only paid 50 cents per bale
! for COMPRISING. The difference of Is
cents per bale, Mr.. keenan, believed,
went to the brokers' pockets.
MIR. Barnard said that the answer to
| this had been made already in the expla-
| nation of the stevedoring charges. As a
matter of fact he said, the brokers took
| cotton at so much a hundred net on lump
sum ships, and the COMPRISING cut no
| figure one way or another. On the pound
rate ships the difference was sunk in the
net rate in the same manner as the steve
| dores' charges which had just been ex-
planned.
! His point was further explained by
Capt. r. G. Strachan and Capt. w. w.
| Williamson. Mr.. keenan, said that the
| representatives OF the longshoremen had
come to the meeting with the purpose of
settling their differences peaCeably if
| possible, and he believed that the bro
| kers should meet them in the reduction
of charges. How was it, he inquired,
| that the brokers did not make a lower
rate on shipments than formerly if their
! purpose in securing cheaper labor was to
enable them to make lower rates.
| Mr.. Barnard said that the rates were
lower and called upon Maj. Karow to
| support his assertion.
ABLE TO GET LOWER RATES.
! Mr.. Karow replied that since the rates
for stevedoring had been reduced the
merchants had been enabled to get much
lower rates to foreign ports. The rates to
Spanish ports had been reduced as much
as 10 cents a hundred.
MIR. Barnard said that all the ships
lOduSu ldSb spring ndd given cheaper
rates. A. II. Grant, colored, said that
what the rates had been heretofore had
nothing to do with the situation now. A
proposition had been made by the long
| shoremen, and they wanted to know if
! the brokers would accept it.
! Mr. h. ID. Charlton said that the meet
ing might as well al ,ourn, as it was evil
dent that the brokers would make no COM
promise. They will suffer by it as much
as we will" said Mr. Charlton. "They
will not be able TO load the ships and cot
ton will be diverted from the port The
men who can load the ships will leave
here. have letter in my pocket now
asking me to take men elsewhere"
WOULDN'T GO THERE.
Some one asked Mr.. Charlton if he
would be willing to work for the wages
paid at Brunswick and Charleston. Il
will not go TO those places, " he replied
Mai. Karow asked if it were true that
the rules of the longshoremen were as ar
bitrary as they were said TO be by the
brokers in their statement.
Mr.. Charlton replied that the brokers
had never made any complaint TO them of
these rules, and called upon Mr. Minis to
cOrroborate his statement
Mr., Minis replied that he only knew of
one instance in which complaint had
been made to the unions on account of
their rules. lie said that he lost 81 800