New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1899-01-11
SHIPS ga BID SEA
3sftsiATSsIS EAfl 4 BY IS ALvAGEn AND
HOW is PAID.

TT t'ss IS a IL Al p.
There Is NO Law That Signals 81 Disc
tress Mt Sen Must BE Heeded-Pub-
1 lie Opinion Alone Enforces Re-
j nponxes to Calls For Help.
Salvage on ships saved at sea by 9TH
prs in the ajority Of cases is paid By the.
underwriters, although the big steam
ship companies insure themselves. The
insurance companies think that board
pf arbitration can more satisfactorily
adjust salvage claims than can the
courts. The word salvage, as defined by
that celebrated admiralty authority,
Roscoe. is s the reward which is earned
by those who have voluntarily saved or
assisted in saving a ship or boat or their
apparel or any sort thereof or the lives
of persons at sea or a ship, cargo or any.
part thereof, from peril or wreck
from total loss. z The last part Of the
definition is trifle pulling.
In discussing the merits Of salvage
cases iImust be remembered that there
is no obligation, written or implied,
upon the master or crew Of any vessel
to heed signals Of distress. Public opin-
ion alone enforces the idea that a call
for help at sea must be obeyed. The
laws of salvage are merely framed to-
encourage the saving of life. and proper.
ty on the deep. There is avarioe in the
mariner as in landsmen, and the laws
are made to overcome and curb these
lmercenary ambitions. For that reason
a master and his crew cannot expect
Salvage for saving their own vessel. tt
is the natural assumption in law, as
we'll 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 hold in court, and generally does
not. Asa rule the bargain is exorbitant
and made at time when the victim
would be willing to guarantee the pay
ment of millions for proffered assist
ance. This point has been decided hun
dreds of times, the courts taking the
stand that the peril made an exor-
bitant bargain necessary.
As general thing, the salvage award
is equal to about one-third the value IN
the case of sailing craft and from
one-third to one-half in the case Of
steamers. The owners Of the saving
craft, whose money was wasted by de-
lay. wear and tear, are of course en-
titled to the bigger piece Of the plum.
The master Of the salvor gets about
twice the sum that his mate receives,
apd the mate is paid something like
double the amount Of each sailor.
Should the latter have been mem
Der Of lifeboat crew used in running
hawsers or in going aboard as prize
crew he and his mates are entitled TO
an extra compensation. Naval officers
cannot claim salvage when the work
accomplished is in the direct line Of
their duty. ss1.s 50 SIS
In the case Of abandoned vessel
there lisa peculiar, Law u applied to
u :. NC, no master wnese me dese-
. ,l'' 10 iound ana lowed OF assasted IN
by prize crew or otherwise the court
holds that she is'9till the property Of
her original owners, although abandon
ca ny ner crew, their agents, and that
no effort has bsen made by them to re-
coYer ner. u SOUNDS peculiar 70 I Sne
av ., mariner pue lis the law.
= . lnake !, success1uI savage ciaiT It
= = necessary thaS the property must pc
'ao.ualiy save,' ana saved ny those GAM.
iilnS " oe salvors In otner Worgs, the
salvage services must De rendered py
persolls not Dounu- py contract tp render
,a1e y the mariner or othe7 enconn-.
te1s tne Danger OF misfortune Or dam.
age Wnlcn mlgne possibly expose the
:snlp TO deslructlon unless assistance IS
rendered ana does all ne can to save the
Vessei, ana MS services tend IN some de-
gree 20 save or preserve hper, compensa-.
zion Will De awarded him, although the