The San Francisco call., 1896-11-15
ECONOMY THAT
DID NOT SAVE
High Statute Prices Charged
for Bread and
Sugar.
Judge Morrow Found They Were
Served Short on the
Viking.
UNCLE SAM A GOOD PRovIDER.
He Legally Prescribes a Daily Diet
for the Men Who Plow
the Deep.
UNCLE SAM A GOOD PRovIDER.

Because five mem bers OF the crew of the
trading schooner Viking. owned by the J.
+. Cunningham Company. were not given
their legal daily allowance of bread and
sugar during a voyage OF the vessel to and
from the Tanning Islands, Judge Morrow
of the United States District Court yester-
day awarded the complainants a pc
cuniary recompense for what they had
been deprived of, though they had not
undergone any suffering through lack of
such food. This award was made in ac-
cordance with the statutes of the United
States enacted for the protection of Jack
Tar against the economical propensities of
ship-owners.
This is the first case of this kind that
has been tried in this jurisdiction for
many years. 1t appears that Uncle Sam,
in his solicitude for the merchant m ariner.
has by law prescribed the daily diet of
those who pIow the deep for livelihood.
Among the things which Jack must have
for his 2ustenance are certain amount of
bread, meat, tea, peas and sugar.
In the case OF the Viking five of the
crewoJoseph Peterson, first mate; Will
liam Sievers, cook; ]. Johnson and R. Car
rooll, seamen, and Korea Sanowski. e.
Japanese boy, claimed that during part of
the return voyage to San Francisco ortly
after the vessel had left Kusaie, Caroline
Islands, they were put on a short allow
ance OF bread, peas, meat and sugar, and
were also stlnted in the matter of lime
Juice and sugar to sweeten it and vinegar
According to the opinion rendered by
Judge Morrow the testimony showed that
the allowance OF meat and peas was UP to
the legal requirement., but that the sup
ply OF bread and sugar was inadequate.
The captain claimed that the ordinary
ships bread had been substituted by n
composition of one-third -four and two
thirds copa (dried cocoanut), but the Judge
held that this was far from containing the
same amount of nutriment that was de-
rived from an equal weight of genuine
bread.
According to the statute, when the sup
ply OF any one food runs short, owing to
the carelessness OF the captain of .he yes
sci or the owners thereof, the crew are
entitled to a sum not exceeding 81 per day
during the period of the shortage when
the supply falls below one-third of the
legal requirements, and not exceeding so
cents day when tue shortage exceeds
one-haif of the prescribed amount
In the amount of bread Judge Morrow
found that the shortage exceeded two
thirds of the statute provision for forty
nine days, and fixed the compensation al
IS cents day. or $ls3 rs for the five men.
He also decided that for twenty-nine DAYS
the men received less than one-third OF
the legal supply of sweetening material,
and for this deprivation he awarded them
IS cents day, or a gross amount of
$10S 70.
In the matter of lime juice and the sugar
to go with it. and vinegar, he expressed
the opinion that these did not come under
the food statute. but under that prescrib
ing the medical precautions to be taken
oy the captain or owner of a vessel, and
suggested that criminal action, having a
fine for penalty, would lie for this
offense