New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-03-28
ruE WOES OF THE SEAMEN
,,c,Ss THINK THEY ARE WORSE
OFF THAN ANY OTHERS.
0on AND LACK OF LINE JUICE AFFLIcT
THEM WITH sCURvY-UNJusr TREAT
NENT pY THE LAW.

MENT Ky THE LAW
IDEAL ~ the American ship T. F. Cakes.
Ihe pcaA AZ this port last sunday after a
CAp. nom Hong Kong of 80 days having lost
No' e.. mate the cook and four other men from
INV and bringing in the other twelve members
We crew In a helpless condition from the enec's
OF -. ss7,e disease. has stirred up all over the
o. an unusual interest in the seaman and his
eVss ard rnisfortunes. According 10 the sea-
w. h,,,sef the misfortunes are In larger major
US ,3 q should be said that in the light of recent
.,rrences the seaman seems TO be correct.
a uell-knowu fact that for years the pure
$3.50 American seaman has been rapidly dis
sD,ear,ug from the seas. OF course, he stu owns
"a mans The ishnG-boats of New-Engiand' put
$50 The American ships that sah the high seas
- long VOYAGES he has for some years been a
,,orisnine quantity. His place has largely oeen
,ak,n by swedes and Norwegians and Danes.
re- These are sometimes difficult TO Obtain ana
oontains OF American vessels often nave much
,-oub,e 10 secure full crews for their vessels ms
s,.-citv Of seamen sometimes results in the prac-
go called "shanghaiing" which Is little else than
abduction. 1910,
The American sailor declares that he is treated
much worse than the seaman Of any other h""o"
on the face of the earth, that his food Is more
s,on-v and his treatment more harsh than that OF
any sailor His food seems 10 give him more
,rof bic than anything else And when examination
q, made into the basis OF his complaint, 1t is not
unlikely that il will be found 10 be reasonable ana
that after all. the country that prides l'seH most
rron the freedom Of its citizens really treats one
- = i,s citizens worse than does any other
civilized nation. II is fact for example mat
r,ua American ships last year carried only II per
90, ~ the worlds commerce. they nevertheless
o,.ributed 81 per cent OF the cases Of scurvy re-
ported that year.
SCURVY PREVENTABLE.
Nav there is no doubt at al that ship that
.sus the seas need be afflicted with scuryy II her
owners and her captain take the precautions
AGAINST il that are provided for by law Inc as
ssse itself is so loathsome and so deadly ihaO no
excuses should b. accepted for its presence IL Is
caused as everybody knows. by the absence or
scarcf-v u fresh food especially fresh vegetable
food The preventive is a certain quantity OF lime
.s,,- or vinegar. which the law says the sailors
shall have. Bur The surviving seanen OF the i !
Oakes declare this is just what taey ol4 noO se''
And what happened 20 them Is just wnat happens
. al who are snliten with the disease Their
,oatb dropood out their skin shriycNed up and
turned from It's natural color 10 yellow ana niack
and green John Benson. one Of the survivors Oh
the IT, T. cakes, Is still dclrous IN the Marine mo-
ul-al on Staten Island. He has lost most OF ms
teeth and his hair. and his skin Is BACK ana yer
lou, He will probably die. Chips the carpenter
g scarcel,- better off Fifty dollars worth OF lime
Juice would have saved the lives OF the SIX VINO
have already died and those who seem hhey 10 io'
lou, rhern II is siruifcant fact that neither cap
tain Feed Of the Cakes nor his wife had scnrNy'
co~resnondent Of The Tribune points out Whal
% regards as tho key TO the whole tFodole. ne
saws that the owners Of the vessel very pioIeiS
run their ships for prodt ard he does not oe-'e'e
-hat as rule they have any idea OF the oaTOaI'1'o7
-,ra.iisea on the sailors IN their names py I'e
ca,tai.s ana thor officers. lie declares that II
many cases the provisioning OF ships Is e.I eli7 cay
- the ca4tatn with only a certain expense limit
In ave
his shin he makes. This says this authority
a....,,ir., Tor go -ry seam h'1s starved anu
underfed into scurvy. he further says that w"ei
this is not the It is stiA for the interest u
the captain 10 save what he can IN p9oFislo"-Hs
the ship IN order 10 get the reputation OF being
an economical master. In order 10 make sure thai
tho seanen are not starved or fed on food or Dad
quality. he says 10 g. necessary 70 take iie 8la4-
ness OF provisioning the ships out or me hanls ol
the captains and have Il done ny inspectors % '7
THE STOP CHEST" AND ITS ABUSE.
Another yarn OF woe that the seamen often spin
about their captains relates 70 what IS called the
"slop chest" Many sailors 20 70 sea IL prepared IN
the line Of clothing The thrifty skipper lays in
stock OF ousklrs boots, shirts, shoes and other
articles OF clothing and when Jack Tar gets out
G, the elbows he has TO the captains shop
chest" FOR his necessities. The captain often
charges him an enormous price for the clothes. and
he never fails 10 collect the amount OF his BILL for
BE takes 1t or. Of the wages due the seaman al
varies in extent according 10 the disposition OF the
captain. bu. there seems % be nothing ~ prevent
this wrong 10 the seaman II case me master 10
disposed % perpeiuate il. , .os o..
Some OF the methods Of punishment res0rted 10
b. captains ana officers Of vessels Highly orig
i.al and % course. many OF them are cIuc4-pIo-
bel,ereI Tr.c.nr W IS one Of the oldest and most
extreme forms. Another thing that captains soIne1
Their dsapprOval strip himself Of his clothes ana
.. FOR hours al a Time on top 0I me hateh *
tropics the blazing sun soon claims Us victim
Perhaps the most original punishment OF az Is
this is done the mate or The captain VII SEND
seaman alo;t 10 do some unnecessary WORK ana we
minute he reaches the deck again he j. once more
ordered aoft 70 undo wha' ne has already done Two
O. three days " tlls sort or lhlng j. calculated,
60 The officers think 20 break the spirit OF the
A seaman VINO formerly shipped aboard one OF the
vesse.s whose captain mas been recently charged
Tr,Sy1e ~ saw hat one OF his shipmates was
struck In the side by Delaying-pn in the hands
After ma whenever his particular seaman was
the mate that officer used strike him in the
same place and again break the bone that nad
begun 10 Knit. The mate said this was the easiest
tha. be vas frequently hungry that when sent
aoft 10 grease mast he used 10 eat quantities OF
vessel Was .eden with wheat. ne ADDED. ana many
O. The sailors used 70 steal the wheat and eat il
raw for lack OF anything better
put Mat Tie American sailor j. now complaining
the National S-amens Union. is the terms of the
contract h. g. forced TO make with shipping masters
SAa tie construction the courts nave put upon that
contract. The particular feature OF the shipping
contract that most grieves the sailor Is that the
penalties for Us Violation are unequal II the cap
idih sees d. - break the contract the only dam
ages be can be held for is one months wages IT,
however, The seaman breaks his contract by leav-
Hs the ship before IN expires he loses a.. the wages
que nm; and Is. moreover, liable 20 imprisonment
a. me discretion % the courts The seaman con-
enos that This imprisonment for violation OF ciVil
ssonlfac. is discrimination against him, inasmuch
- When such Violations made by other men
'aIess can be had only through the clvi courts.
~ e a We.-knOWn fact that sedmen are often
yyaslaqed O. sign contracts when they are not
Senisepes either by Of intOxication or from
Ssa'nik Deen QruggeQ by the Keepers or sailors
10 houses who Onv too frequently In the
Sas Of Designing shippers When they come 70 their
.ses Is Only too often 20 find themselves aboard
sr4nge ship with the land already hundred
So, So Deninc This is The sort OF contracts the
:, a. az tnlnks ne should be allowed 70 break, ana