The herald., 1896-08-23
Sevali and the Fiag

Editor Herald: I clip the following
from the Times of the 14th inst:
IAN old sailor, writing the Times over
the signature, From One Who Knows,
asks: III Mr.. Sewall Is. or was. good
and patriotic citizen. why did he place
his ships under the British flag during
the rebellion, the ship John L. Demock.
for instance?' Mr.. Sewall. rise up on end
and make answer.
Another "Old Sailor Who Knows" will
try to answer and explain whether the
change Of flag by our ships during the
civil war was a good and patriotic act
or not-a question which few landsmen
understand at all or ever did.
In command of an American clipper
ship, the writer took the chances of cap
ture during the two first years of the
war; then was transferred to a new
clipper just launched in Maine. We
went to New York and although the
Alabama was then IN dilligent practice.
we laid on for San Francisco. But before
our cargo was secured the news came
that in San Francisco. while freights
were paid to foreign ships In gold as
usual the merchants there had patriot
iCally concluded to pay our vessels in
greenbacks, which were away down In
value. Further, the insurance war FISK
had gone UP to II per cent. and because
the business would not pay expenses the
ship was withdrawn.
For MANY weeks no other business
could be found that would pay dollar
Of profit, If the ship should escape cap
ture. Finally we were offered a cargo
for Callao at splendid fgure-provided
our flag was changed. How much under
our own flag? Not cent. And Ameri-
can importers ordering foreign goods
stipulated positively and patriotically
every time that they must not be shipped
by American vessels in any case. Thus,
while foreign flags were doing an unus-
ually fine business, our own could not get
bone to pick.
The owners could not discern that
there was any patriotism In furnishing
Capt Semmes q new 100000 ship to
make bonfire Of. nor in keeping said
ship tied up to a New York pier for
years. So, after solemn consideration.
they decided to make use of the facilities
generously afforded by the British gov
ernment to protect American ships with
it's flag. For this neither that govern
ment nor any of it's citizens derived any
benefit or profit at all-except the fee or
the officer who measured the ship Tor
! register
/ Sale was made to British subject.
| and an irrevocable power Of attorney
| returned to the owners. giving them run
| control Of the ship. etc. Most nations
exclude foreigners from commanding
| their ships. The English do not, but the
captain must pass their official examina-
was in the flag and the register, and All
such ships were publicly known 10 pe
still american ships" Then with that
| fire insurance, the ship in twenty-stN
months RENTED her owners IN tne
United States $72, 900, gold value, ,ena pllne
them to pay their war and other take
Better still, they retained the snip anu
o,,r nortion of the worlds ocean COM
| merce in American hands. The same
owners had seven other ships under ous
| flag during all the war, but a!tnougn
none were burned they made little oi
no money. ..A
A few American ships, perhaps fifty OF
more, used the British flag during the
| war. but that did not benefit England a
dollar. Yet they helped their own coun-
| try Immensely by earning and keepinR
| at home a vast sum of money which
| otherwise they could not have earned
| And they saved large slice of our ship
ping and commerce from dropping into
foreign hands.
They expected, with good reason, te
return their ships to their own flag al
the close of the war. But stupid, igno-
| rant congress forbade it; compelled
! them to sell their ships abroad; drove
| that amount of American commerce into
European pockets for the past thirty
years, and 1t kicked great number OF
American shipbuilders, owners, officers
and seamen out Of their honest and USE
full business forever. Craftsmanship
and patriotism, indeed!
Another larger class of American pat
riots who owned shipping sold 1t out tt
the English, Swedes, Russians, etc., very
soon after the Fort Sumter prelude
They might have retained all that fee
and its frequent handsome remittances