Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1898-04-27
LUMBER BILL OF LADING.
How ii is Proposed to Secure AdOp-
ton of DeInurrage Clause


The secretary of the Ellsworth board of
trade has received the following letter
from Pierre McConville, of Bangor, who
is one of the foremost in the effort to
secure the adoption of the demurrage
clause in the lumber bill of lading. The
letter Will be interesting to Ellsworth
vessel owners and captains as showing
how it is proposed TO secure the adoption
of the bill of lading.
BANGOR, April Is, 1895
To the Secretary of the Htsworth Board
Of Irdde.
DEAR SIR:-It gives me much pleasure
to receive from you the official report of
the action of the Ellsworth board of trade
upon the adoption of the resolution and
the Endorsement of the New Eastern
Lumber Bill of Lading' with especial
reference to the demurrage and free
wharfage clauses therein.
In answer to your query as to how it is
proposed to have the new bill of lading
put i'll force, can only outline the general
plan which have adopted, but which is
subject to change or changes which may
develop during the campaign.
VIII say that after securing its adop-
tion by all the boards of trade of the
state, which we are assured of, we plan
first that all the local boards of trade
shall appoint committees on "Maritime
Interests of the Coastwise Trade, each
committee to cooperate with an exec
utive committee, who will carry forward
such plans as may be most effective to the
end in view. The local committee of each
city will be asked to take charge of the
local efforts in its respective jurisdic-
tions, and contribute towards the ex-
penses of the campaign.
After securing the endorsements of the
respective boards of trade of the State,
we then propose to go to New York and
have committee appointed by the
Maritime exchange of that city, which
will have the same authority as the yell
low Pine committee of that association.
This exchange is, as you know, very pow
erful, and without doubt this could be
accomplished for the port of New York,
placing all spruce cargoes on the same
basis as to lay days and wharfage that
already applies to the southern lumber
trade.
This is an outline OF my present plans
shipping interests, both owners and
shippers of cargoes from this State, must
be united and convinced, as they will be,
that what is the interest of the coasters
is also the interest of the shippers, as
without water communications for the
Stunning centres Of trade, their mills will
be of no value in very short time.
Vessel owners are permitting their ton
mage to die out, and none are being built,
or will be until some radical improvement
takes place in the decadent conditions of
our coastwse trade. Eventually the gen
eral government must do something for
the relief of our commerce, otherwise the
best ships in the world will be useless,
without crews to handle them. The only
source of such a supply of American sea-
men is from the fishing and coasting feet
of our country, which is, and always has
been, in our country and all commercial
nations of the word, the nursery of its
seamen, and the bulwark of its power.
Just in proportion of a nations commerce
is the influence of any national govern
ment in the a ffairs of the world
As a government with unlimited cash
and credit, we can acquire by construc
ton or purchase Iron clads'', but we can
not buy American trained seamen to man
them. This is one of the results of the
neglect of American commerce, and this
nation to day, for the first time in its
his Dry. has to face situation without a
parallel in the world,
Thelpress of our country must educate
the people to the serious conditions of the
present, and thus influence our legislators
at Washington to la Dor for the interests
of commerce, foreign and domestic, to the
end that, as commercial nation, We may
stand again where we stood in 1850
Yours sincerely,
p. MCCONVILLE.