The San Francisco call., 1896-03-07
COAST SEhMEN CELEBRATE
The Eleventh Anniversary of
the Union Fittingly
Observed.
A Street Parade Followed by Speech
Making and Exercises at
Union Hall.

The eleventh anniversary OF the forma-
tion of the Sailors Union of the Pacific
was celebrated by a parade and exercises
at the union hall on East street last night.
There we're 210 seamen in line, all in full
uniform, and. headed by band, they
marched up Market street to Montgomery,
along the latter street to Bush and thence
TO Kearny and back to Market and then
TO Fourth, returning to the water front by
Howard. All along the line of march
they were regarded with much interest.
The column was in command of E. Ander-
son, with Captain Finerty, Captain Lin
wald and Sergeant St. Glare acting as aids.
The parade was followed by exercises at
Union Hall. Walter Macarthur presided.
He said the occasion was one of glorifca-
ton for the Seamen's Union.
1--WE are here he said, ito celebrate the
eleventh anniversary of our beloved organ
ization. This is a birthday anniversary.
We come together to look back over the
troubles We have gone through and with
great hopes for the future. The sailors
have much TO be joyful over. They have
of late years been looked down upon by
the public at large. Conditions got SO bad
that the sailors had almost lost nope.
Eleven years ago few sturdy seamen met
on the Folsom-street wharf and founded
the union, and the courage and manhood
of the seamen asserted itself and success
has ensued.
s'The seamen have fought bitter fight
during the dull times of late years and
they have achieved trium ph after triumph.
Times have changed. To-day we find the
seamen of the country respected among all
labor unions. Andrew Furuseth is now
at Washington as our representative up
holding the claims of all seamen, and az a
result we have the Mcguire act, the first
statute instituted by the seamen them
selves. 1t provides for the freedom of the
seaman to dispose of his own body and his
own wages as he sees fit. The example OF
the seamen of the Pacific has been fol-
lowed by the seamen of the Atlantic. Our
representative is now trying to get other
measures affecting seamen passed by Con-
gress.
HThe seamen must stand together and
work for decent treatment on board ship,
TO make their contract with the owner or
master of the ship, and keep the boarding
master in his place. We are not organized
TO drive the Shipowners' Association out
of business and iniure commerce, but we
are organized to fix the standard OF wages
and protect our rights on land and sea-"
He spoke feelingly of the men who died
at their posts and also OF the seamen now
confined III the Alameda lau.
H. w. Hutton spoke of the legal battles
which the union had fought and won.
.sIn days gone by" he said, ..the union
had much to contend with. The people
ridiculed the idea OF the seamen forming
an organization of this kind, but it tri-
umphed from the start. 1t always had
noble leaders-men who sacrificed them
selves for the union. Before the Gays OF
the union the boarding keepers
were all getting rich and the sailors were
All Suffering. Now the boardlng-house
masters say they are all broke and the sea-
men are free and prosperous. The sailor
was slave IN early days. lie was owned
by the boarding house master ana the mas,
ter of the vessel. Now his wages are paid
into his own hands and he can pay MS
board and other bills just the same as any
other man. But the laws OF the Unlted
States affecting sailors are lnbuman ana
barbarous. ;.h;r
They should be reformed. Ir is wNnin
the power of this union to reform them.
With such laws in force it is not surprising
that the commerce OF the United states IS
going down. If q sailor lands at q Iorelgn
port il was formerly held that the Consui
could collect the wages due him, pay ms
bills and send him back home, But the
union had that law knocked out.
Alfred Thurman and M. McOiynn ais9
addressed the seamen and praised the gooo
work they had done in the past ana pre-
dicted even a better condition OF Affairs ior
the future