Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-09-08


end Of rope: and If at the other end of
the rope could attach to his own yard arm
much good would come of the spectacle in
the deterrent effect on the first mate. who
would observe and eventually succeed him.
And II from the opposite yard arm could
also depend this first mate the moral les
son on the fully as brutal. but less finish
ed skiIlful, magnetic confident second
mate would be doubled. second mate,
taken in time and intelligently treated, may
be saved. 1t is the older dogs who cannot
learn new tricks.
But let reasoning reader assume from
these structures that the American ship
master. the man who habitually robs and
maltreats. and occasionally starves and
murders the unfortunate men committed to
his care by the law, is personally blamable
for his moral condition. He Is a slave to
an iron-hard training which has suppressed
ed his instincts and allied him closely to
the noble Apache-who is best when he is
dead" but is unable to appreciate II. He
is product of his environment as COM
pleteiy as are certain weil-known re-
forming clergyman and a late police board
president, both of whom once made them
selves exceedingly troublesome to the citi-
zens Of New York. But who will say that
these two were not honest and conscien-
tious.
The shipmaster's Ethics.
And the American shipmaster Is consci-
entious. Leaving aside his dishonest ex-
tortion in his slop chest sales and his rob-
berry Of sailors pay by driving them to de-
sert in foreign ports, he is fairly faithful
to code Of ethics. From the time Of his
first promotion he has afflicted his infer
fors, not because he Is fundamentally a
savage, but because. having been thus
brutalized himself, he thinks 1t necessary
and right; because he has been thoroughly
stepped in system of discipline which,
though he does not know 1t, degrades him
In the eyes of observing fellowmen-which
would not be tolerated in any army, navy
or workshop in the world and Is rarely
nfi n ShinS m
archical nations, whose laws permit
greater license to captains than do the
laws of America.
But the laws Of America against assault,
torture and manslaughter are not enforced
as they should be when 1t happens that
sailor is the complainant or prosecuting
witness. They are not enforced because.
back Of the decision Of JUDGES. Juries. CON-
suls ard commissioners, there Is a strong
public sentiment, not negative, but post-
tive, which is nothing more than belief
scoundrel. who should be kept in check at
any cost. This belief is not based upon
knowledge Of the truth as given In news
paper reports of friction at sea; for the
newspapers give little but the bare facts,
and facts alone are not convincing. 1t is
based upon stronger educational tnf1u-
ence-pcpular literature.
Marryat and Cooper dealt with conditions
of the eighteenth and first half OF the nine
teenth centuries, and they painted the sailor
truthfully-a strong man, able to care for
himself w. Clark Russell succeeded In the
field. and for twenty-five years he held this
field to himself. He has been read widely
in England and America. He began when
men now active in public life were young
men forming opinions; when old men, sun
active, were dropping the conceptions OF
the sailor given them by Marryat and |
Cooper and were receptive to new ones. |
w Clark Russell supplied them. With
slight technical knowledge of the sea and |
seamen. but gifted with an erratic tmagina- |
ton and wonderful power Of poetic descrip-
ton. this man produced novel after novel
whose heroes were chivalric officers and
-mutinous devils only kept from murder |
and piracy by brute force and the acts OF
Providence. w. Clark Russell has done |
more to damn the merchant sailor than
and even should he devote the remainder |
Of his life to active. positive effort In be- |
half OF the sailor, he will not have time
to undo the wrons he has done: But nus
sold and Influenced public opinion. hun
dreds Of American captains have escaped |
the penitentiary, and hundreds Of seamen |
have endured, and must endure for years. |
wrong and injustice that would absolve |
landsmen from the charge OF murder
The Production of the Brute.
So much for w. Clark Russell. the apollo |
gist for a BRUTE who would be hanged or |
imprisoned for life were he called by an |
other name than captain" Let US get |
back to the causes which have produced |
this brute. The American captain. as |
rule does not arise from the forecastle- |
from the class of men over whom he tyran- |
nizes He comes from the boys ROOM"
Every American ship carries as many boys, |
loosely speaking as she carries mates. 1t
Is safe to say that two out of three OF these
boys quit the sea after a voyage or two.
because they win not submit to the rigors
of the life. Some cannot bear the hard
ships Incidental to the work alone: others
cannot reconcile themselves to the insult, |
the cruelty dealt out to them by the on
GERS But one out of three remains. He IL
strong and hardy. he has q thick skin and
cannot be insulted unless the insult II phys
teal; smash" on the head with Delay
Ing pin hurts his feelings, but milder re-
buxe affects him not. and he thrives and
progresses.