The San Francisco call., 1897-09-22
Captains Bound by Con-
tracts to a Twenty Dol
lar a Month Rate.
Sailors Demand $50, so the
Shipping Masters Are in
a Quandary.
There Are Plenty of Good Men on
the Beach Ready to Ship at
the Advanced Rate.

whats the good OF charter to a vessel
when a captain cannot produce sailors TO
man herr" was the remark made by a
disguised British skipper yeserd ay.
MANY good ship is loaded and ready 10
SAIL but is compelled TO swing at Der
anchor because the master cannot pro-
cure men AT the ruling rate. 1t will come
to a split up pretty soon, and sailors
wages will advance, contract or no con-
tract"
The situation is about as follows:
Nearly all the British ships in port are
under contract to certain shipping mas
ters. Thess latter have agreed 10 supply
men all the year around whenever re-
quired, and at no time are the wages 10
exceed $50 month and $40 advance. AT
the present time the rate IN PortIand ana
on Puget Sound is $50 month and $50
advan ce, consequently sailors in this port
will not ship al the lower rate. At the.
present time the ships Boutwell,, Saint
Mirren, Dalgonar. Glencaird, kensing-
ton, Largiemore, Leicester Castle ana the
Matterhorn, and the barks Cloncalrd. For
farshire and Iuverlochy are lying IN the
stream awaiting crews. Some OF them
are d an expense OF $3.50 a day, and at
that rate wilt soon eat up the extra wages
demanded by the men.
In talking about the matter Andrew
Furu< <eth of the Coast Seamens Union
said: Wages will have 10 advance or the
deep-water ships will have to lie in the
stream or sail with green crews. The
wages are too low, and the first two
months that Jack is at sea he is simply
working up dead horse.
"a few years ago A sailor was worth
Sill, and when the boarding masters sat
down to quiet game OF poker and one OF
them desired to raise the ante it was a
common expression, I'll bet you another
sailor Since then wages have continued
falling until these contracts with the ship
ping agents came into force. II is not
true that there are no deep-wateT sailors in
port. LIT the masters or owners of the
vessels now tied up in the stream agree to
pay the wages ruling in Portland and l
viii guarantee to supply every vess with
all the men she wants between now and
next Saturday. The men will be supplied
Win this proviso, however, the wages
m must be paid direct to the sailor, and not
through the hands of any second party.
Some of the men may want an advance,
but the majority will not. Those who
DO want an advance must have the
money paid direct to them the same
as their wages. If the middlemen
were done away with altogether Jack
would get better wages ana would be far
better off at the end of each voyage. AS it
almost gone before he sets foot on the
ship and when he reaches his destination
he has in many instances not cent coming
to him. He Is frequently put aboard with
only q half-rled kit and then the slop-
chest eats up nearly all the wages that is
coming 10 him for The rest OF the voyage.
Ny offer will remain open and any British
captain that wants TO avail him self of it is
welcome to do SO. They can one and all
be certain also that they will get A B's
and rot green hands"
The Ship-owners Association is in al
most the same box as the contractors who
are trying to fill the British ships. For
Sc everal days they tried to ill the Ameri-
can ship Sterling but failed. The Job was
turned over to an outside boarding master
and he filled the ship yesterday at $50
month.
The association also tried for six days TO
get men for the Eclipse, but they failed
and an outside shipping master had to
put men on her also. The crew OF the
schooner Gotama, which is going north
TO load Iu m Der, also paid the advanced rate,
and the bark Santiago had to come 10
terms before she got away to Honolulu.
There was trouble on the latter vessel
Mohday last. She was ready TO sail, but
the men were not ready to go out on her.
Two of them had started the idea that it
was a good time TO strike for an advance
in wages. The others agreed and the two
ringleaders went aft and made the de-
mand. The CAPTAIN asked for half an
hours delay. Wnen he returned to the
ship he was accompanied by two men. He
called the crew aft agreed to pay them
$50 month, ordered the two ringleaders
ashore, put the two men in their places
and at once made sail for the islands.
The masters of British ships going north
to load for England will have considerable
trouble before they get away. The CAP
tain of the lakewood has only limited
time in which to get to Portland and
nnish his loading before his charter ex-
pires. He could not afford to wait for his
contract sailors, so he had to take men at
SIS month. The shipping masters in
Portland have been advised of this fact
and when the vessel reaches her loading
nort they will induce every one of the six
teen men on the lakewood to desert The
ship will again be left without a crew and
the captain will be out The advance
money. and will also have to pay $50 a
month and $50 advance before he can geta
new crew.
WATER FRONT NOTES.
The British steamer Gaelic sailed for
Hongkong via Honolulu and Y Yokohama
yesterday. She had full passenger list,