The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1899-02-01
SHIPS SAVED AT SEA.
WHAT Is MEANT BY "SALVAGE"
AND HOW II is PAID.

Salvage on ships saved at sea by 9th
,rs in the majority of cases is paid by the
rndorwriters, although the big steam
hin comnanies insure themselves. The
;rsrrance companies think that board
- arbitration can more satisfactorily
odirsf salvage claims than can the
oorr+s The word salvage, as defined by
tbat celebrated admiralty authority,
Roscoe. is "the reward which is earned
Nv those who have voluntarily saved or
assisted in saving ship or boat or their
arparel or any sort thereof or the lives
nj nersons at sea or a ship, cargo or any
mart thereof, from peril or a wreck
from total loss. " The last part of tbs
5efnition is a trifle pulling.
In discussing the merits of salvage
cases it must be remembered that there
is no obligation, written Or implied,
mon the master or crew Of any vessel
IN heed signals of distress. Public opin-
inn alone enforces the idea that "a call
hr help at sea must be obeye1." The
laws Of salvage are merely framed to
encourage the saving of life and proper
~ On the deep There is avarice in the
mariner as in landsmen, and the laws
are made to overcome and curb these
mercenary ambitions. For that reason
master and his crew cannot expect
salvage for saving their own vessel. 1t
is the natural assumption in law, as
well as in fact, that they must do
everything they can to preserve their
charge and under an agreement with
the owners keep it from danger when
ever 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 an
other volunteering aid need not of neces-
Sity bold in court, and generally does
not Asa rule the bargain is exorbitant
and made at a time when the victim
would be willing to guarantee the pay
nent Of millions for proffered assist
ance' This point has been decided hun
dreds CT times, the courts taking the
stand that the peril made an exor-
bltaAt 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-tnlrd to one-half in the case of
steamers The owners of the salving
craft, whose money was wasted by de-
lay wear and tear, are of course en-
Titled to the bigger piece of the plum.
Inc master Of the salvor gets about
twice the sum that his mate receives,
and the mate is paid something like
uouoLe the amount Of each sailor
should the latter have been a men,
Ger OF lifeboat crew used in running
ua"sers or in going aboard as a prize
crew he and his mates are entitled to
au extra compensation. Naval officers
cannot claim salvage when the work
accomplished is in the direct line of
their duty.
ID the case of a abandoned vessel
'I5Ee Is peculiar law as applied to
ownership. No matter where the dere-
'''' De found and towed or assisted in
Wy prize crew or otherwise the court
poiD' mat she is still the property of
15' original owners, although abandon
81 ~ her crew, their agents, and that
~ mort has been made by them to re-
..'7E Aer, 1t sounds peculiar to the
average mariner, but it's the law.
l sal
40 make a successful salvage claim it
g necessary that the property must be
ai g saved and saved by those claim.
-5 10 be salvOrs. In other words, the
-a''1s9 services must be rendered by
t ts,So4s not bound by contract to render
.Is14' II the mariner or other encoun-
as s4e danger or misfortune or dam
s Ss winch might possibly expose the
,'g 10 destruction unless assistance is
,111efed and does all he can to save the
or $780, ana his services tend in some de-
t.; ,oo TO save or preserve her, oompensa-
vo- Co., WA be awarded him, although the
m oas1l ls mainly preserved by other
er bug. longest time that any one steam
chi; u's been at sea with disabled ma
da1 Amy before reaching port was n
Vs.. Lnls was the United States cor
h y s. 1'oquois in 1890. She was bound
Sew. ..-'5oa from Honolulu, and had only
ra.o .I Jays rations left when port was
No a-'.5a' IN 1897 the steamer Indralena
mo lived into ST. Thomas after hav-
ga7 'S9n az sea for AZ days. The Glas-
b steamer Strathness, after drifting
was s@JS OUT Of the range of steamers,
srv Owed lao into St. Michaels in Janu-
nah ' nv" by tie British steamer Han
Srro.lM' Bell Another Strath, the
Pacia4aI drifted helplessly on the
l8gs loF two months and over in
so1r4 0u1 y Vas finally towed into Puget
81 do- Inc Disptach in 1854 was out
'ys with cripuled machinery and