The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-12-01
HOW SALVAGE IS PAIc.
Method i'm which Vessels are Re
rnrdcd for the nescue OF others.


From the New York Mail and Express.
Salvage on ships saved at sea by others
In the majority Of cases is paid by the
underwriters. although the big steamship
companies Insure Themselves. The lnsuf-
ance companies think that board OF ar
bitration can more satisfactorily adJust
salvage claims than can the courts Inc
word salvage, as defined by that celebrated
admiralty authority, Roscoe, is the re-
ward which is earned by those who nave
voluntarily saved or assisted in saving
ship or boat, or their apparel or any soEi
thereof or the lives OF persons az SEQ OF
a ship, cargo or any part Thereon rom
peril. sor a wreck from total loss, The
last part of the defntion - d tribe Puz-
zling.
In discussing the merits Of a salvage case
1t must be remembered that there is no
OBLIGATION. written or implied, upon the
master or crew of envy vessel 10 heed s-S-
nails OF distress. Public opinion alone en-
forces the idea that "a cali for help al sea
must be obeyed." The laws of salvage are
merely framed to encourage me saving OF
life and properly on the deep Ihcre Is
avarice in the mariner as IN tahdsInetl' anu
the laws are made 20 overcome and euro
these mercenary ambitions, Fer that rea-
son a master and mis- crew cannot expect
salvage for saving their own vessel II
is the natural assumption In law. as well
as In fact, that they must do everything
they can 10 preserve their charge, ana
under an agreement with the owners keep
1t from danger whenever possible.
In salvage one of the first laws is that
the peril must be actual The bargain
made in time of danger by the master or
agent Of the imperiled craft with another
volunteering aid need not of necessity hold
docs A
the bargain is exorbitant, and made at
time when the victim would be willing to
guarantee the payment of millions for
proffered assistance. This point has been
decided hundreds of times, the courts TAX
ing the stand that peril made an eXorbi-
tant bargain necessary. AS a general
thing, the salvage award is equal to about
one-third the value in the case of sailing
craft and from one-th!rd to one-haf in
The case of steamers The owners of the
salving craft whose money was wasted by
delay, wear and tear. are, of course, en-
titled to the bigger piece of the plum
The master of the salyor gets about twice
the sum that his mate receives, and the
mate Is paid something ike double the
amount of each sailor.
Should the latter have been a member
of a life boat crew used ia running haws-
ers or in going aboard as a prize crew, he
and his mates are entitled to an extra
computation Navaliofficers cannot claim
salvage when the work accomplished is in
the direct line of their duty. In the case
of an abandoned vessel there is a peculiar
law as applied to ownership. No matter
where the dereict be found and towed or
assisted in by prize crew or otherwise
the court holds that she is still the prop
erty of her original owners. although
abandoned by her crew, their agents, and
that no effort has been made by them to
recover her. 1t sounds peculiar to the av-
erage mariner, but it's the law.
To make a successful salvage claim it is
necessary that the property must be act
ually saved and saved by those claiming
to be salvors. In other words. the SAL
wake services must be rendered by per-
sons not bound by contract to render
them. If the mariner or other encoun-
tiers the danger or misfortune or damage
which might possibly expose the ship TO
destruction .unless assistance is rendered
and does all he can to save the vessel
and his services tend in some degree to
save or preserve her compensation will
be awarded him, although the vessel is
mainly preserved by other means.
The longest time any one steamer
has been at sea with disabled machinery
before reaching port was seventy-seven
days. This was Che United States cor
vette IroquOis ia 1890. She was bound to
Samoa from Honolulu, and had only seven
days rations left when port was reached.
Last year the steamer Indralema was
towed into St Thomas, after having been
at sea for forty-seven days. The Glasgow
steamer Strathness. after drifting thirty
two days out of the range of steamers,
was towed into St. Michaers last Janu-
airy by the British steamer Hannah NJ.
Bell Another Strath. the Strathnevis.
drifted helplessly on the Pacific for two
months and over In 1885, and was finally
towed into Puget sound. The Dispatch IN
1854 was out sixty-one days with crippled
machinery. and four years ago the Brit
ish cruiser Calypso broke down 1000 miles
from port and sailed in unaided. much 10
the delight OF the dwndling band OF naval
experts who maintain that every warshlp
ought to be provided with ample sail
power. The owners OF those ships that
were obliged to drift for weeks. and in
several cases for months, would not have
found fault with the question of salvage
had a helping hand come along-at least,
there would have been no complaint just
a