The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-06-05

recognized by the boss and begged to
go to work Often when there was a
crowd of packets in port, there were
not enough men to satisfy all the mas
ter sail-makers. Then the custom of
those who fell short was to wait at
the foot of their rivals stairs toward
shutdown. AS the journeymen came
down from their days work they were
asked to come to another loft to work
till 9 o'clock.
Too Many "HoIidays."
The pay then was 81 for ten hours
work. To-day it has risen to So for
nine hours work, but the demand for
work has become SO slack that it is
doubtful if any saii-maker along the
front averages more than $3.50 a day
throughout the entire year. The ques-
ton of the masters of vessels never
used to be How much will you charge
for the work." but rather How
quickly can you get it done?"
In 1850 there were upward of fifty
lofts in New York, all of them crowd
ed with work. To-day there are scarce
ly fifteen, and those lucky if they are
busy half the time. While there used
to be from $50 to 300 journeymen sail
makers, now there are only the few
old-timers that are left, and no more
boys serving their time. Like caulking,
rigging and sparmaking, the old trade
will be forgotten before many years
have passed.
Circus tents, too, another thing that
gave the sailmakers work, as ships
grew less, are now going out of use
The principal work left is the making
of awnings, and most of those at pres
ent can be made by machinery, or
sewed by women Even the oyster
boats in these times are propelled by
motors, as well as many of the yachts
which were originally equipped with
masts. AS for the sails of any yacht
running up to fifty feet in length, then
can readily be turned out by a ma
chine.
This old sailmaker has now reached
the age of r. although he is still as
active and heart as the average man
of So At the age of 16 he began his
apprenticeship and kept at that for
four years. The first year his pay was
50 a week, after that 1925, then $3.50,
finally So. His working-tim during
that period was eleven hours a day
work in the Loft.
In 1854 he began in charge of a loft
of his own. Starting at in the morn
ing from his house, situated in the
open country at the spot where the
court house now stands in Brooklyn,
he rarely reached his loft before 1890.
Each one of the captains whom he
looked upon as his customers had to
be visited i'm order to pass the time
of day. So much cutting and slashing
was going on in the loft that the shop
rent never had to be considered. The
rags swept from the floor each night
and sold for Az cents a pound more
than covered that item.
The old man when he becomes rem
iniscent tells of it being a common
sight in those days to see twenty or
thirty Schooners of one hundred odd
tons sailing down the East River to-
gether at the turn of the tide.
OF greater tonnage than that all YES
sells were rugged as brigantines, since
the insurance companies, fearful that
the masts would carry away, lifted up
their rates for larger schooners.
In speaking of the large schooners
of late years, the old sailmaker says
that he expects them to prove fail
ures. AS for the naming of their masts,
he understands them to be fore, main,
mizzen, crossjack, spencer, driver and
pusher; but thinks it would be quite
as well if they were called after the
days of the week. He figures that
where twenty men are used now on a
vessel of 5000 tons, five hundred men
would have been required for the same
amount of tonnage go schooners) in his
carly days.
There he sits smoking in his old loft.
one of the connecting links with the
ships and sailors of the days before the
Civil War. His own summary of the
case is this I'm, glad I'm old, else L
should certainly have to start an APP
ple-stand. Before a great many years
have passed the only sailmaker in ex-
iStence will be curiosity in dina
museum-but / won't be the one"