Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1901-06-01

htv,,-
is.l. nuIe aic rev iurecasptes +;
winch thefe are mess tables on which
and get at the contents " As
AS we approach some modo,, ,,.
ships forecastieS it seems Straoo .ea ~.
sanitation should be SO differant fr ~,
VIVA, II Is on sio . We all know that in
deck. Ihey wear their oiIskins anI ~ ~
Der boots: they go below after spending
four hours on deck. They are compelie,,
of their hunks, or on the bulkhead of H.
lorecastic. and throw their sea-boots M, une
der bunk where they may find them
when caiieo again 70 20 ON deck. We al
so know that the work in the fire-room is
dirty. Where can a fireman hang ,in III ?
| cir!y frcroon clothes wet through with
pefspirat:cn mere Is no place except /.
There was a certain steamer In nov. r,
was Underwater. went On board the dav
she cooked. Sach !; dismal sight. Every
| srul,leu. ne c;.ik iorccastle was some
VIVA, lighted by the coating Of Ice On th
| SIDES ul tht snip loimins The forecus;le
~ was fai'hils anG Without exasgeration
| the sloppy mud ana dirt was at least one !.
| half inch CcCp, covering the whole tur.-
| castlc noor There was some heat from
| the s,oam-lipos. which was thawing the
! coating OF ice which covered the rooI ana
| sides OF the place. One of the fir,men
asked me to feel of his bed / did so
my heart was sore. Every article of
ctDlD1flH ana HIS bcV Clothes wet
through IRON the drippings of the thaw-
ing ice. The water falling from the root
and sides OF this half-heatcd dismal hole
made il resemble a cave where the ebbing
tide had just rcccdcd. This was tie con-
dition of an old cattle aud freight steam
e.
told one o. the men about the Sal lor's
Haven and save nm an invitation to visit
US lie looked AZ me and said, To hi
with you and your mission" Just then
one OF his mates rcbukud hi!n, saying
Don [ talk that way to tie gcnticmlu:
YOU knOw he's not 10 blame ior our ticat-
|, mcnt. Before l lett the ship | had a
long talk with him. He apoiogized Tor
his unkind language, and said he felt W..
worr,eu ourselves 100 much about & tin
ttcm into heaven ana not enough apo II
bettorinE their surroundings on eAr,h.
That evening was convcIs.ns with d
chioi engineer of another steamer.
told him ri my experience on that ship. !
remarked that II must he Nerr haru for
those men VINO had worked on deck in
the Cold To have 10 spend their evenings
in such 4 miserable den. Ny heIri even
went out more III sympathy FOR the fire
men tnan Tor tn. sailors. for they hau
been doinG their work down in the bowels
OF the ship, w.th greasy hands and aims,
hall chokcd ana black as negroes w.th
coal dlst. they must battle ON deck in
Il wash deck bucket, ana make the best
Of what was SiNcn them.
True enough, Mr. King" he replied. II
admit that Things could be better, but if
You knew il all you would agree with m
when / say they don't deserve anything
better. These men don't and won't APP
prcciatc anything else. Some steamship
companies have tried their best to i'm
prove the surroundings of the crew, bur
thcy have 50 abused what mas been done
for them that they are gwen up BY nost
companies as a hopeless lot
l know that many of the men going to
sea have 10 learn the meaning OF new
conditions before they can value them;
The failure of some to appreciate an inn
proycment only shows more clearly the
need of the improvement. Their very
faculties Tor approaching better condi-
tons are nearly dead ana must be quick
cn,d ana developed. We have To face the
ignorance of those who need our help and
gradually carry on our reforming move
mcnts. The clean, respectable seamen
Will help the unldy. careless fellows -
appreciate what 10 being done for them,
and Will join hands with the shipownets
in making the sailors calling desirable.
y ships forccastIe Is not a temporary
place Tor some college student, who is
working his passage across the Atlantic
during mis- summer vacation. 1t Is the
permanent home of the sailor There
lUrc ii We are to have good men on our
Vessels. we must offer them comfortable
quarters. The mechanic or laborer on
land leaves his work at the close OF the
day, and goes to his home. There is a
change. a new atmosphere greets him;
not so with the sailor. The ioreCaStlc Is
his home. Declared as he is from t-4a
society and companionship of ms own
the greatest comfort and the best OF
treatment when off duty.
could endure the forecastlc for a trip
across, | could do the work on deck, or
shovel coal in the iirerOOm, but couIu
not follow the sea for iiVlng today ana
think that until my hair turns gray. anu
my hands trembie through age mus
Ike out such an existence. Yes, Il thou
sand times let me break the stones on the
streets for a mere pittance, 50 That whcn
my DAYS Wort. was over. | couid find a
shelter of warmth and cleanliness, even
though 1t were poor ana humble
Now and again we find a steamer whose
owners have given Considerable Thought
To the crew. 1 call 10 mind Il certain
steamer which was in Boston not very
long ago In this vessel the twelve saii-
orS had four large rooms. There was
good sized mess-roOm near these quar-
tiers. Everything was neat and clean ana
manifested spirit OF cielnilt'ss 80 i,r,
was a spirit of content prevailing on tina
vessel. Men lose all interest in Keeping
place clean when they are huddied To-
gc;her like sheep in Il pen.
The strongest and hest Of mon are infu-
cnccd by their surroundings. We shame
fully admit this weakness, Tor We kho"
as men We should he strong enough 10
master all oar circumstances, ana not
they us. How then can we expect men
who are ignorant of the laws governing
their health 10 rise up ana not be intu-
cnccd by their circumstances! How 90
We expect our men i'll the engine room
and ON deck to De otherwise tnan theN
are? The hopeful sign Is 10 ma 50 many
aissa tisiiCd with their surroundings
Not long ago | visited the firemen on a
steamer II was supper time. The room
was dark even though the sun was shin
ing on deck. | thought one OF my Ictt
was in something slippery, and, gong 10
the door of the forecastle, discovered
had stepped into the black pan. ms
was a pan of iood which consisted or the
Ieavings of the cabin and engineers
mess room The men. seeing l was en-
harrasscd said: That's All right, MT:
King: we have had all we want OF II.
have lived in forecaStles where Inc coiui
tions were almost as bad as this. but
then there were not so many OF us huu-
died in one room. Suppose we 80 on
board some of the finest and best steam
rrs. 70 forward and visit the forecaStlcs
Won will find 4 large, UNDIVIDED space d
place where a dozen men may be aple u
move around in comfort, containing Ir"Ih
twenty TO forty men. Their clothes are
hung on lines around their DuuNs; a,
dem
T have never witnessed such a m.ser-
able condition on board snip as cico-n
tered in the forecaStlc of an ocean 81 1alli,
or ono sunday morning. | went on board
| to invite the men to the services at the
| Mission About tnirty-iiVe men were III d
| roou tllIcd with hunks, with mario"
noesnrn between them. The men were
ppsIe,st,' .ju,t thon a fireman entered with
| . iar..o black ,an "Nt kettle. anu tau-
| ing at the top o. his voice 'Hash'
| ,''4,..u me pan and kettle on the DIRTY
roll over and think of getting up Liic
| a1nr of that room was villanouS Inc