The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-07-13
On
DARK WAYS
Crimps' Crooked Work
Suspected.
CAPTAIN GRAHAM'S STORY
Master of the Phelps Ships Men
Who Fail to Come to
Time.

Captain w. r. Graham of the big
steel ship Erskine Nj. Phelps now lying
in the stream, was a very mad man
yesterday. He was perambulating up
and down the waterfront looking for
men to man his ship and all in vain
The Phelps has fun load of sugar
aboard-nearly 5000 tons-and every
days delay in sailing means much
money.
Three days ago Captain Graham had
secured eight men, the number he re-
qures TO work the Phelps to San Fran
cisco. He had agreed to pay $35
month. When the time came for them
to appear before the Consul to sign ar
ticles not a single man turned up, nor
could a search of the waterfront reveal
their hiding place.
Captain Bray of the Sailors Home,
then offered to supply Captain Graham
with crew and invited him to visit his
establishment andStake his pick of the
! rl'oice assortment of seamen on hand.
/ Captain Graham did so. Although
/ there are twenty or thirty men staying
at the Sailors Home, there was not one
anxious enough to work, to ship to the
Coast at $50 month.
To a man they demanded $35 for the
in paying by the run thinking it better
| 20 employ sailors by the month. Not
being able to get a crew at the Home
Captain Graham left in disgust and
started in to round up sailors on his
own account. l ate yesterday after
noon Graham said that although he
was sorely disappointed in not being
nhle to get awav on Saturday as he
had anticipated, he hoped to sail next
Wednesday and would stav in port and
ship his own crew without help of
others if it took till Christmas.
Haven't you applied to Lewis and
Turk?" was asked the skipper of the
Phelps.
II have not nor will t. said he. 81
ave no use for that ilk and believe I
shall obtain a crew without asking
-avors of anyone. I've been to sea
ruite a while ard think l can do with
cut crimps. Lewis and Turk nor any one
Else in the shipping business will not
Nrevent me from mindirg my own af-
airs successfully and alone. Thirty
eve dollars a month is good wages and
as fair a figure as a man could want
.Nese times. There was something
mysterious in the disappearance o.
hose EIGHT men who had promised to
ship with me. / am not prepared "a
say who was responsible for their
change of heart but I have my suspi-
4iors Most Of the sailors now in town
ore holding out for S45 for the run to
the Coast This is an excessive figure "
The peculiar part of the loss Of The
eight men is that all of them applied
personally to Captain Graham for q
chance to ship. Some of them even
,ook the trouble to walk all the way
around to the Railway wharf where the
Phelps was then lying taking on sugar
The majority had tales of woe to tel
and said they would consider it a grea,
avor If the captain would ship them
: Some even took their clothes aboard
and left them there and have not called
for them since. The superstition IS thai
a evils and Turk have lured these rner
: from their engagements on promise OF
perhaps higher wages on other ships
soon to sail. This of course is a bluff
and merely to force all captains t.
"ome to them for crews Notwithstand
ing the efforts of the crimps Captain
Graham is confident of securing crew
. Last night several men applied and one
or two signed articles. These latter
seemed of a good class and viii pr ob
ably stay by their contracts How.
ever as an old salt remarked yesterday
Many good man can he persuaded
| at the mouth of the bottle"
Several men asked Lewis and Turl
yesterday for opportunity to ship anG
were Informed that there would be n,
chance until next week Lewis an,
Turk are not doing business with Cap
tain Graham and consequently ignored
the needs of the Phelps Turk saic
yesterday that things were "very ouie
j. on the front" He evidently refers t,
MS own business. The fact is that cap
tains are for the most part determined
/ TO ship their own crews and while Their
" is no organized movement against TIL
crimps it is felt that their sway of tn
) waterfront is ended
-eA -
DECENTRALIZATION Fees.