Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1897-12-26
A FAST STEAMSHIP LINE.
1t Is Soon to Be Established Between Canada and Great Britain.
 TConvripht 1897 I

lOOpyiisltty loofsJ
 You may have seen in cable mes- sages from London some details of the plan for establishing fast steamship l line between Canada and Great Britain. The project is certain of success now, and it may mean great deal to the city of Quebec. This was once a commercial city of importance, its chief interest be- ing the shipping of lumber. How it lost the lumber trade is a story which is interesting 10 the people of the United States, because it has a New Orleans end.
 The men who did the lumber loading at Quebec in summer were the men who loaded cotton at New Orleans in the fall and winter. Three years ago there was a strike in New Orleans among the longshoremen; some lives were lost, and public attention was at- tracted to the condition under which the loading was done. Comparison of the rules of the union which these long, shoremen had organized with others showed that they were unusually se- we're on the employers; but ship owners were helpless because the number of available laborers was limited. The same men had made rules gov erning the loading of ships at Quebec which the vessel owners found burden- some. Only prescribed number of men could be employed on vessels of certain size-the object of this rule be- ing to keep the ship longer in port and to give the men more steady occupa- i ton. Steam winches could not be used for hoisting cargo aboard. High wages
 must be paid, and only union labor em- ployed..
 Ship masters chafed under these re- strictions for years. They were espe- cially dissatisfied with the rule which kept them in port twice as long as was necessary for the loading of their ships.
 One day a ship came into harbor, the captain wanting to load as quickly as 1 possible. He waste take deals" from some barges, which came down at
 night. The captain, to save time. had l his crew transfer the lumber at night l to the deck of his ship. In the morning
 came the longshoremen. They saw what had been, done, and calmly sitting 1 down on the deck told the captain that
 he must have every foot of lumber l transferred back to the barges before they would raise their hands. There they sat and watched the crew make the transfer. For this idle time they eXacted pay. They were paid also for doing what the crew had done, and for putting the cargo in the hold.
 The captain of that ship swore that he would never load at Quebec again. He andi other captains made arrange ments to take cargo at small towns on | the river, nearer the points where tim Der was cut and therefore more con- venient than Quebec. So the impor- tance of Quebec as a shipping port dwindled, until to-day the splendid Princess Louise dock is empty half the time.
 But the establishment of the fast mail line, it is hoped, will cause re- vival of the shipping interests. The deep channel from Quebec to Montreal is artificial. Big ships proceed through 1 it with caution, and the wreckng of one of them would close navigation for the season. The people of Quebec be- | lieve that for this reason their city win
 be made the terminus of the new steamship line. In that case the conn mercial importance of the old city may be revived r much of it's picturesque
 ness will pe Iost.
 GEORGE GRANTHAM BAIN.