The record-union., 1898-02-20

illusing Jack. he has, with the tedium
of the courts and the aid of lawyers, a
decided advantage over his accusers. 1t
is also true that our Captains some
times get away before charges can be
investigated and get ships in other
ports. But in England the fellow who
skips" viii have his certificate re-
voked, and he cannot thereafter sail
under the cross of st. George Then,
toe. England has now the load-line
law, under which no vessel can get
clearance that loads to draw below the
line fixed for her. Under such a law here
there could have been no sailing from
san Francisco of ships loaded for the
new mines until their decks We're awash
and the scuppers would no longer run
| Formerly in England, as with US now.
owners loaded regardless of load lines
and insured to cover loss. What cared
they if the ship went down with all
on board?
When the first loadline law was pro-
posed in England it brought forth such
storm of opposition that Parliament
was simply crushed, and the proponent
of the law, Mr.. Pliinsoll, had to consent
to modification of his bill so as to per-
nit owners to make their own load
lines Thereupon some ship-owners
in derision placed the line on top of
the ships funnel This brought on a
counterstorm. This time it was
changed into British Indignation, fairly
showing the ship-owners under, and
the present law was passed by which
| the load line is fixed by authority
We need just such a law, advises Mr..
Wilson, and all good Americans should
respond Amen In addition, this
visiting member Of Parliament asks us
to see to- it that our ships are better
supplied with life-saving apparatus, for
he ayers that by law we do not now
compel them to carry sufficient appli-
ances in such numberor of such charac-
ter as the British laws insist upon.
Again, British sailors have by law bet
ter accommodations on board ship than
do American sailors. Is there any rea-
son why our Jack Tars should not be
as well accommodated as are the jolly
John Bulls? Clearly no.
But this is not all, Mr.. Wilson tells us,
and we have no doubt whatever Of
his correctness, that ours is the only
country where, if a sailor concludes to
back out of his bargain after signing
articles, he can be arrested and taken
on board ship again. There are two
sides to that question, however. The
American people do not understand
why Jack should not be held to his
articles, because liberty to treat them
as mere form and of no binding effect
Will, they think, render the shipping
business precarious and demoralize the
before the-mast service itself, and,
then, there are other reasons. How
ever, we agree that there is much to be
The whole matter will come before
Congress this year, and common sense,
fair play and no favor should rule in
its settlement. But a great deal that
this head of the English sailors unions
tells us is true, and we ought to learn
wisdom therefrom especially if we are to
do as we should, recruit blue jackets for
our navy from our merchant marine.
We want good stock. We will not get
it if the invitation of our service is not
as good as that Of any other. More
that that with our boasted democracy,
we should see TO it that nothing what
ever in the form of tyranny and UNI
necessary hardship are visited upon the
American sailor. We want him to be
every inch as much man as is the
forecastle man of the British.