Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1902-02-07
nEMoRALIzrNe 10 sAnoRs.
Are the Psrts Of New York and Pert
lana, Oregen.

Are the Psrts Of New York and Pert.
lana, orsEoa.
Foreign seamen say that the port Of
New York is a hard and uncharitable
place. and that its reputation extends
s'the seas over" From Liverpool to
\ Hong-Kong, says theNew York Even
ing Post, wherever there gather
crews Of the deep-sea merchantmen,
one hears curses on York, the gay
I town; York, the tough town, where
/ Jack gets beaten and robbed, shang-
haied and sold for gold But though
he may get as far away from Manhat-
tan as is possible, he is always sure to
turn about and come rolling back.
In this he is never disappointed
His American brother is amply pro-
tected by the Seamen's union, the Le-
gal Aid society, and the Marine hospi-
tai, and the land sharks are forced TO
depend for their game solely on "for-
eign bottoms The game" may
have deserted his ship, prompted by a
curiosity to sea hings" in New York;
he may be Just out Of a hospital, phys
ically weak, but ss7ong in his desire for
dissipation; his ship may be waiting
for cargo, or he may be a tramp,
cumming" his way home. One may
see these poor fellows along the river
fronts loafng in front Of the grog
shops, or in some hallway sleeping off
a nights orgy.
One may find samples Of ill-treated
sailors on almost any morning at the
dispensaries of the little seamen's
mission on the lower East side "What
doyou think of New York;" was asked
Of young Englishman, who was hav-
ing his wounds dressed one morning
recently. The man had been
drugged, beaten and robbed the night
before ut amt quite so bad as Port
land. Ore, was the answer. Portland,
and not as in the old days, Port Said,
is the seamen's standard Of comparison
for the ports Of the world.
Present day seamen come far from
being the strong, rugged men that ro-
nance and fiction have made them out
to be. Deep-sea vessels that sail the
world round pass three and four eli
matte changes in the cruise The men
are naturally improvident and seldom
carry sufficient clothing. At the
Battery dispensary of the Unit
ed States Marine hospital 500
"outdoor" cases were attended to
last month and 50 at the hos
pital at Stapleton, S. The sick
Of the foreign merchant vessels in the
harbOr are sent to Long Island College
hospital which last month cared for
not less than 40 patients. This, in
comparison with the American sick
list and the large number Of foreign
seamen in port, during this cold and
raw weather, is very small and leaves
the impression that possibly there are
many who should go that never do.
Crews that come into the harbor
aboard foreign ships are usually taken
on in home waters, and that means
that the crew signed papers which
were to hold them for three years, or
until the ship entered a home port
again To these ships New York is a
foreign port, and shipmasters who
want to keep their crews never give
them shore leave. Sickness isthe only
excuse that opens a way for Jack
ashore, and consequently this pleais
used early and often. SO to protect
himself from fakirs, the master hires
the first doctor that comes over the |
side He examines the men for sick
leaves, prescribes for those he can
treat on board, and sends the Others
to the hospitals. The doctor often
stretches a point in favor of the cap
tain, and many a sailor has gone to sea
when he should have been sent ashore
to hospital