The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-02-27

WILL BUILD
MARINE WAYS
A Long Fight Settled
in That Way.
GOOD SITE IN INDIA BASIN
WORK OF CONSTRUCTION TO BE
BEGUN AT ONCE.
GOOD SITE IN INDIA BASIN
The British Ship Talus and the Bark
Ceylon Meet in Collision Sail
ing of the Transport
Roanoke.

Another set of marine ways are TO De
built in San Francisco Bay. They are to
be located in the Indian Basin, Will ac-
commodate vessels of from 1000 to 1900
tous burden and will be owned by tne
Shipwrights' Association of this port. The
site for the ways has already been Sc
cured, the plans and specifications pre-
pared and the work of building Will begin
this week.
Behind this venture there is quite
story. The Shipwrights' Association and
the ship building firm of hay d wright
have been at outs for many years. ne
members of the association assert that
the firm will persist in employing "scab'
labor at reduced wages and are thus 40
ing the shipwrightS a great ln1uStlce.
DELEGATIONS from the union have called
upon Alexander Hay from time to time
but no satisfactory conclusion could ever
be reached Then the shipwrights got up
an address to the shipowners, which was
largely circulated along the front. Inc
owners were in sympathy with the union
and all declared that they were Wiling 10
pay union wages and have the work done
in a union yard by union men, but that
Hay 6. Wright had the marine ways ana
the facilities and therefore they were Cd
Iiged to patroniZe them.
This brought the Shipwrights Associa-
ton to a full realization of the situation.
1t was plain to the members that II tney
wages they would have to build marine
WAYS and enter into competition with hay
& Wright. A meeting was neid anp f Lou
members agreed to subscribe $500 each for
the purpose named and a committee was
appointed to see what could be done in
the circumstances. me me- conihIl'1ee H %@s
son, A. Alexander, r. Camufro, Denis
Flynn and James McKibben: MeGonnen
has just completed the four-masted ed
schooner A. J. West at Grays Harbor, ana
Alexander is an expert on marine ways.
The first thing the committee qua was
TO write to Moran Bros. of Seattle, as 1t
was rumored that that firm wanted to sell
its marine ways as 1t was about 10 Duli9
stating that the marine ways were not
for sale as Moran Bros. are going to ope-
rate both floating dock ana wa dscidea to
water ait front extending 400 feet along India
street from street b IN so o4s aE Sa1 56 fee
deep and back of them the union mas Sc
cured six more lots on Seventh avenue,
designed by A. Alexander will be built
and machinery put in, after Whlch the
shipwrights will be ready for business.
Our plans are now all completed ana
work viii begin at once" said President
Mcconnell yesterday. 1--WE had a most
enthusiastic meeting to-day Sunday at
and it was decided to push right ahead
with the work. The ways will be located
and and Hunters Point drydock, where we
will have a depth Of 20 feet of water at
any stage of the tide. We will handle al
DESCRIPTIONS of vessels and will be able to
take up anything that comes along except
a heavy iron ship or big steamer.
I'VE are not going to run the ways TO
drive the bosses out of business. Any
boss employing union men can have the
use of the ways at a slight advance on
the cost of maintaining them. We do not
seek to make them money-maklng con,
11Jri fha n
them will be satisfied with very small
return. In few months we will be able
to go before the ship-owners OF the port
and say Gentlemen, the last time we
called upon you you expressed yourselves
as being in favor of union men and union
wages, but as we had no marine ways you
were compelled to use a yard employing
scab labor We have now gone to the ex-
pense of erecting the best set of marine
ways in the Pacific and hope you viii
patronize them 1 think we will get their
work and uphold union principles at the
same time
The bark Ceylon, from Honolulu, and
the British ship Talus, from Cardiff, were
in collision inside the heads yesterday
morning. The captains of the vessels tell
conflicting stories, each claiming that the
other ran him down. Both vessels were
sailing in, and after passing through the
heads the wind fell light and the Talus
came to anchor. The captain of the Cey-
lon says the accident happened before the
Talus dropped her anchor, but Captain
Stenhouse says his ship was swinging to
her anchor when the Ceylon ran into him.
while drifting in between the heads
said Captain Miller of the Ceylon, I'VE
were in collision with the British ship
Talus There was no wind and the Talus
was also drifting. Her stem struck the
Ceylon between the fore and main rig
ging on the starboard side and carried
away forty feet of our bulworks besides a
number of 'stanchions and a big piece Of
our rail-.
when off the heads at 800 a. m.," said
Captain Stenhouse, "the wind fell light,
so we let go the starboard anchor in
thirty-five fathoms of water and paid out
fifty fathoms of chain. After we had
swung to the flood tide the bark Ceylon
drifted in and collided with the Talus.
The bark struck the ship on the star
board quarter, and while no damage ap-