The Washington times., 1901-08-04
JACKS QUARTERS APLOAT.
American Sailors Have More Com
forts Than Any Others.
How the Bill of Fare Ordered by
Congress Is served - Comparison
Between Treatment Accorded
Crews Unier This and Other Flags.


The Americaa deep water sailor has
long been considered a particular ward of
the nation and as such he Is vastly bet
ter cared for on shipboard than Is the
sailor of any other nation Much against
his will he is encouraged to save his
money Even carefully develoDed bill
OF fare has been worked out for him and
made a part OF the shipping laws OF the
These facts have lately been
impressed upon the shipowners OF Great
Britain by the arrival at London OF the
steamship Northwestern. the first vessel
to enter that port with clearance papers
from Chicago.
The Northwestern Is a steamer of tho
Great Lakes, the first of a new line which
will try to establish a regular service
from Chicago through the lakes, canals.
and st. Lawrence River and across the
Atlantic to London Her sailors are lake
sailors. and lake sailors are treated ike
no other sailors in the world. They have
much the same rights and privileges as
have shore laborers. They have their la
Dor unions and dictate. to a certain ex-
tent, their own scale OF wages and tho
amount and nature Of the work that may
he required OF them. Voyages on the
Great Lakes are of too short duration and
the chances for deserting are too numer-
Gus for lake shipowners to dictate to their
sailors or to permit the owners to impose
anything like the terms which the ordi-
nary sailor endures.
1t is no wonder that London seamen
have stood In open-mouthed astonishment
at the good fortune of the Northwesterns
crew. They have been surprised at tho
ease and simplicity Of discipline The
comforts provided for the men have caus-
ed wonder. as well as the liberality OF
their wages They have also wondered
at the way the lake sailors respond to
fair treatemnt instead of abusing it.
Although the Northwestern Is lake
boat and is in consequence different in
many respects from the deep sea tramp"
or sailing vessel. she is not by any means
the only vessel from which English. Ger
man, French. and Russian shipping can
learn valuable lessons. Sailors have bet
ter quarters and are uniformly better
treated on American ships than they are
on vessels flying flags Of other stripes and
colors.
.'The quarters for sailors on American
ships have not changed greatly in the last
ten years. said 2 large owner of seago-
ing vessels to a Tribune reporter yes
anything foreigners have ever put up
There may not be much difference in the
houses, but American captains insist on
cleanliness. That the American sailor is
better fed than the Britisher or any other
foreigner no one can doubt who has ever
read the bill of fare prescribed by the
Government
The days of the old forecastle. hung
away in the dark hold under the forward
mast, are gone forever, no matter what
flag the vessel may carry. The forecastle
on new steel ships is in a deckhouse. well
forward. On American ships it is yenti-
lated like the shippers cabin in the stern
of the ship. has skylight and apparatus
for heating. The men used to eat with
their plates on their knees; now they have
a mess table with racks to mold the dishes
in place in rough weather. Tanks on top
OF the house supply the running water.
and the reason modern forecastles do not
have bathtubs is that the sailors would
rather take their baths on deck by throw
ing cold water over one another
The difference between American and
british ideas of comfort for crews Is well
brought out by two new ships of the
Standard OH Companys fleet which are
now loading at Constable Hook and the
Tidewater refineries. The wheelhouse az
the stern-which, by the way, has been
considered necessary on sailing ships only
within the last few years-tells the tale.
On the Acme. steel four-master built at
Bath, Me-, few months ago. the wheel
house is a solid steel structure like the
pilot-house of steamer. 1t has plenty of
windows, and protects the helmsman
from the weather on every side. The
n
sell. at Glasgow. has steel wheelhouso
which resembles rhe scoop of a large
dredger. 1t is entirely open in front. af-
fording protection only from following
waves. and leaving the man at the wheel
almost as much at the mercy of the wind
and cold as he was when the wheel was
absolutely unprotected Here is the diff
ference in the ideas of sailors comfort as
expressed by the mate of the Brilliant:
We don't want to make the men too
comfortable. If we had the wheelhouse
entirely closed in and made the room
warm and comfortable, like they do on
the new American ships. the sailors would
be sitting down and going to sleep the
first thing we'd know. No. sir, too much
comfort spoils a sailor, especially a Brit
ish sailor
On the Standard Oil Companys new
American ship the Acme effort is made
to keep the apprentice boys away from
the rest of the crew. They are the young
sters who will some day command the
vessels of the company's fleet To quar-
ter them with the crew would be to make
bad boys of them. according to the Off
GERS of the Acme. For that reason she has
a deckhouse amidships for the appren-
tice boys and the under officers They
have their own mess table. lockers, COM
Portable hunks, and plenty of room.
The officers quarters on both American
and British ships have been growing
more comfortable and elaborate as ship
building has advanced. The cabin of the
Acme consists of large saloon and dim
nS room, with the captains stateroom on
one side and on the other the stewards
finished in white enamel and the saloon
portion is furnished in green leather.
Morris chairs and comfortable sofas are
scattered about The hardwood floor is
nSs on the walls Sofa cushions and bits
Of fancy work tell of wornan's presence.
-or Captain Laurence is usually accom-
panied by his wife. The Acme is the
p-ide of the companv's American fleet,
md fo- Ests good reasons.
The cabin quarters in the Brilliant are.
patterned after the British idea. There
are more mirrors. nickeled lamps. and
panel work All of the rooms are finish
I'd in birdseye maple and black walnut.
In the dining-room there is fireplace,
with fittings of marble. In the saloon.
IT after cabin. there is an elaborate side
BOARD with cut-glaSS furnishings.
Twenty years ago sailor would have
aughed at the idea of a steam heated
'orecastle- Today such quarters are
common on American vessels of a certain
,laSS-ths big schooners which ply in
he coastwise trade. These vessels carry
small crews, from seven to ten men. The