Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1898-02-10
NO CHANCE FOR EoYS ON SHIPS
America. s~s ssptsf.. R~t.~-sss 80
III Ih~m % Nersxra

Hardly n day passes that shipping
Commissioner Toiman dos not have
two or three Applications from boys
who want 10 ship as sailors The NEST
If these boys are b-twreu th- sx~s q Is
aud j, and have never been ont OF sixht
CT land or seen a vessel Iar.-sr thar a
small coaster All Of thesr apply aticus
are treated kindly by Mr. Tolmau. " DO.
after questioning them as 20 their homes
and parents. their intentions and r-a-
sons for wanting 10 90 to sea generally
ends the Interview BY assuring the
would-be sailors that he has 10 oppor-
tuuity for them 20 ship a, pr-~ent. bat
will bear them in mind and give them
-he first chaner that comes along. lie
sdvi.e. them 70 call again in a few DAYS.
but il is not often that the shipping
commissioner ever hears from them
again The bows arr auxious 20 So
something Of the World. and in rearIy
every case have good homeS ard oppor-
tunities for entering some kind ~ bust
ness which will prove more lucrative
and more pleasant thar sailors life
The applications from the boys are so
NUMEROUS that Mr. Totmau does no:
paw much attention 10 them now. He
seldom has 4 chance for boys TO ship on
large vessels. as TO SEA captain wishes
20 take them There Is sometimes
chance for boys 10 go to SEA in the larger
vessels which are bound on long voy-
ages for South Africa or the West Indies.
but a. nearly all the vessels sailing out
of Portland are IN the eoastiug trade
The shipmaStsrs have no use for boys
and will not take them IL they can help
IT,
And yet. though the shipuasfers will
not take the boys ard give them an op-
portunity Of learning ssamanship. they
all complain because there are not 20
to be found more American sailors Said
one shipmaster the other day: Il have
not had an American sailor on nv YES
sci for 50 long that cannot remember
the last one They are all Norweyians-
Danes. Germans. Nova Seotiaus or r. Z.
Is. Irishmeu or other foreigners II
seems a. IL there were no American sail
ors aiOat now
When Shipping Commissioner TOlmau
asked this very shipmasier IL he had
room on board his vessel for bright
young American hoy who wanted to
learn seamanship. the master replied:
Why. my dear sir. what use is boy 70
me? fcouldn'f afford to pay him five del
lars month have no use for a boy on
my ship A man who eats of the bread
of ny owners must be able to par for il
and bis salt besides
Until some chance Is given bow. 20
learn seamsuship On American vessels
there IS little chance of there being a
great increase in the numbers Of Ameri-
can seamen- This Is recognized to be a
serious question by the navy depart
ment. and for the purpose Of eneourag-
ing American boys TO learn seamanship
the apprentice 81 rviee was iuaugurated-
This IS giving the navy an able corps OF
petty and warrant officers. but the en-
listed men in the navy are still mostly
foreigners The reluctance Of shipmas-
tiers TO take boys into their vessels and
teach them the rudiments Of seaman
ship probably explains the scarcity OF
the American sziioron beard the Yankee
men o. war and in the merchant marine.
Portland fMe-l Press