The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-10-17
VESSEL men
IN A BIG BOAT
They Forget Their Agreement With
Wolvin and Now He Is Garry
ing All the Freight.
No Three-Cent Wheat and Dollar
Ore After He Had Settled With
the Union Sailors.
Recent Troubles on the Great Lakes
but Prelude to a Battle Be-
tween Unions.
Special to The journal

Special to The journal BAL
Cleveland, Oct. 17.--The great lakes
have been the scene the past rev
weeks of the most peculiar, compn-
Gated and disturbing situation that mas
ever been known there. While the af-
fair is apparently settled. 1T Is far from
O. decision and all sides interested are
arranging for a hard, sharp and long
fight next winter.
Like most other difficulties nova
days it is the result. Of a labor union
or two. Two years ago there was no
union among ship masters and mates
on the lakes. The masters We're
looked upon, and regarded themselves,
as representatives of the owners, and
therefore could not join any labor Or
ganizatton. To-day masters and mates
are welded into what Is, without any
shadow of question, the strongest Ia
Dor union in the world. It Is so strong
by reason of United States laws ana
the peculiarities of the situation.
| Every master and mate must pass an
examination and receive government
| license permitting him to take charge
| Of a ship. There are not more than
enough licensed officers to go round
among lake ships. With a scarcity OF
masters for Atlantic ships any licensed
captain from the lakes or the PACING
could take a place, but no ocean yes
sci man can operate lake ship. He
| cannot do it simply because he does
not know how, and no vessel owner
would be foolish enough to let him try,
If the government should. It takes
different kind Of knowledge and more
of it to handle a ship on the lakes
| than on any ocean.
| Masters Forced In.
. Lake captains did not want to join
this union that their mates had
started. But they found they had to,
or they could get no mates and there
fore could not run a ship. Another
cause led them to join, and that was
the disaffection and GOODNESS caused by
the growth Of impersonality; If such
word may be used, in the lake ship
ping business. Time was, and not
long ago, when the captain worked
for another captain who had become
a part owner, or for some iron ore
shipping concern that knew it's men
intimately. Captain Ed" or cap
tain Charlie" worked for Captain
Tom" and captain Jim" and the lat
ter knew what was required and at
tended to it in a personal way. But
bering perhaps a hundred or more
ships, and owned by some corporation
whose stockholders included thou
sands and whose accounts were au-
dited by some craven image from Chi
cago or New York with as much per-
sonal sense when business was the
question as bar Of soap, conditions
changed. "a. 49,, -, ~ ). .
| ~ The captain gradually has become g
mere chief clerk. To-day most of his
time is spent in making out reports
for owners or the government in ar
ranging, or tieing himself up in, rec
tape. He cannot hire his mates, his
| ,ersx Iii CT de- +;
and has as much real authority or
board his ship as If he was gargoyle
or slushboy. r.. ~..
How 1t Started.
Captain Rae Of the Providen
Steamship company's vessel Clemson
was nonunion man. He employed {
nonunion mate. The union asked
him to fire the mate, who CHANGED tt
be his father. He refused. A. B
Wolvin of Duluth Is manager OF thu
Provident fleet. He is also manager
of the Pittsburg fleet of 113 ships
This is the fleet belonging to thu
United States Steel corporation. Mr.
Wolvi n is also manager Of the Peave.
fleet of Minneapolis and Of the Grea
| Lakes and st. Lawrence vessels, an Elk
port organization. He has nearly IA
magnificent ships under his control.
| Now when the master Of the Proyi
oEIl snip IcAuSSu u JO1l Lie utllOH u
fire his father the union men on tina
line did not quit. But as fast as tn
mates of the United States Steel cor
poration vessels reached lower lax
ports the mates grew "sick' and de
serted. They did not care to strike
Mates on other lines managed by Mr.
Wolvin also suddenly became sick an
left their posts. =
How Met.
In this situation vessel owners say
at once that it was a fight with then
all, and not with Wolvin alone. They
or many of them, fastened to assur'
him Of their undying fealty and devo
ton to the cause, and they fgures
that 1t might as well be gought gu
then as. at any other time. Wolvil
knew the corporation had no NOR
| need of ore this fall, and he though
!, | it would be we'll to fight it out then
especially as he had the owners witt
| him. 1t meant tying UP the entir
lake fleet for SO long a time as tn
difficulty was unadjusted. Mr.. VOL
win met the situation. AS fast a
> mates left corporation ships he pu
the boats into winter quarters an,
stripped them for the season.
A great many outside ships wer
carrying Steel Corporation ore, char
, tered to the Pittsburg company. Il
,, order to use a part Of his ships, MI
Wolvin arranged with his friends, tn
I outside vessel owners, to let them TOW
the barges of the Pittsburg fleet
which was in effect a chartering o
more tonnage and in no way con
fiieted with the union, as the barge
/ are operated by unlicensed mer
Half a dozen boats got away for Du
|. luth with barges before the unio
, woke up to the situation. Then j
demanded of these vessel owners, VIII
had been asserting their desire to he'll