The evening world., 1894-06-02
WILL LIBEL THE TUG HADDoN.
Her Captain Charged with Ma
liciously Ramming the Pratt.
Damage Done TO the Latter Cannot
Yet He Estimated.

This Is the most piratical act I ever
heard Of In these waters" said Mr..
Stewart. Of Stewart & Macklin. attor-
neys. of the Washington Building, this
morning.
mir. Stewards Arm is retained by Capt.
l.. f. Bloodgood. who Is the owner OF the
tugboat John T. Pratt. The Pratt took
a hawser from the Nova Scotian bark
oh Kim Soon. of Sandy Hook. yesterday
m orning. after Capt. Sucker. command
ing the tugboat Robert Haddon. had
failed to make a bargain to tow the
bark to Quarantine. and had steamed
more than q mile away. thus abandoning
the bark.
mo sooner was the hawser straight
enei out and the nose of the Pratt
pointed for New York harbor, thar
the Haddon returned and threatened
to sink the Pratt unless l let go the
hawser." said Capt. Eamis.
Il declined to do SO. and Capt. Sucker
ran the Haddon in between the Pratt
and the bark and cut the hawser. Not
satisfied with that, Capt. Sucker ordered
full speed and rammed us Ave times.
The Haddon In much larger than the
Pratt, and the only wonder is that she
did not sink US
water aboard, which. az the Pratt IL
only q sixiy-one ton boat, set us pretty
low in the water.
However, I stuck to the bark and
towed her to an anchorage of Quaran-
tine"
Lawyer Stewart stated that he called
up the Myers Excursion and Towing
Haddon. this morning and asked them
nat they proposed to do about II.
They requested me to delay any action
until they received q repor from Capt.
we declined to do this. however"
formal complaint and report with the
Myers people do not make overtures to
repair the damage lone to the Pratt,
which cannot be estimated now, we
shall libel the Robert Haddon.
"All the evidence showed conclusively
that the Pratt was rammed maliciously.
with full intent to sink her, and we
propose to have the guilty parties pun
,shed m force those responsible to
repair the damage
Owner B%loodgood, of the Pratt, could
not estimate the damage done. He
bulWarks and forward house must be-
cleared away before an m can be
made. The Pratt cost $l6.0 00.
Pilot Petersen boarded the Oh Kim
Soon off the Jersey coast. and started
to beat in by the Hook. He Is very
r~eticent as to the ramming of the Pratt
by the Haddon.
He would not say that the Haddon de-
liherately backed and went ahead at
full speed. striking the Pratt amidships
time after time. but he admitted that
the Haddon struck the Pratt at an angle
repeatedly and bumped her heavily.
This. he said, was very dangerous in
the heavy swell that was running. es-
p~ecially az the Pratt Is a much smaller
boat.
He said hat Cant Stucker did eyery-
thing he could to keep the Pratt from
TOWNS the bark.
Capt. Morton. OF the or Kim Soon.
condemns the conduct OF Capt. Stucknsr.
He says he offered the latter the usual
towage fee. which WAS declined. The
Haddon then steamed away. and the
Pratt came along and accepted the tow
Pilot Petersen came up from the an,
chorage ground IN the Pratt. but de.
clares that he did not examine the dam.
age done.
1T was none OF my business" he said
II went into the pilot house and stayed
there until we locked. Capt. Eamis told
me the Pratt was very badly damaged.
but really | knew nothing about the ok.
tent OF IT.