St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1903-07-04
SAILORS ARE WELL PAID.
EAose Employed ON the Great Lakes
Have Little Ground for Conn
plaint OH THIS Score.

Chose Employed ON the Great Lakes
Have Little Ground for Conn
plaint on T,his Score.
The great lakes lead the world in the
amount of money paid to the men on
shipboard and for all kinds of marine
work.
For years it has been known that IN
many things pertaining to the marine
industry the great lakes have no
parallel, but this one is the latest de-
velopment. For instance, Cleveland,
Ashtabula and Conneaut have for
years been handling cargoes OF iron
ore into and out of the holds OF vessels
faster than any place else in the world
Other cargoes have been handled with
equal speed, says the Cleveland
Leader.
Vessel property on the lakes has paid
better than on any other water and
now it comes out that the wages of the
men on shipboard and those on the
docks are better than those paid else
where. This statement came out from
the simultaneous publication OF the
new wage scales of the great lakes Tor
the coming season and the wages which
are paid by two of the prominent ma
tions of the world. For instance, the
chief officers of the leading boats OF
the neutrality-suspicious. line and OF
the North German Lloyds line receive
respectively $12O and $66.64 per month
These officers have duties far more
onerous than those of the masters OF
the biggest lake ships. Lake masters
receive between $4,000 and So, 400 for q
season of eight months.
On the ocean the American line
boats, which are compelled to have at
least half of their crews composed OF
American sailors, pay for able-bodied
seamen $25 month. while the German
line boats pay $14.75. These men are,
of course, boarded. On the lakes by
the recent agreement men having SIM
liar positions receive $45 month up
to October / and SOS month there
after.
On the ocean firemen are paid $40 a
month 'by the American line and from
$1666 to $21.42 by the German lines.
On the lakes last season the firemen
received $50 month for the first half
of the season and $50 month after
October 1. These statements are rath-
er astounding as showing the manner
in which workmen fare on the lakes.
The wage conferences on the lakes
are just beginning to be concluded
for this season. The advances given
the lake seamen have been the great
est in the history Of the seafaring
business Of this region. incidentally
the vessel owners have put themselves
in peculiar plight. They had expect
ed a late opening of the season OF
navigation and consequently shorter
year. The lessened time of running
the boats would naturally give them
better chances for getting higher
rates. The vesselmen, however, had
little choice in the matter of wages.
The lake forces are organized more
strongly than ever in their history and
the wages paid were practically com
pulsory. The advances which have
been paid to the men on shipboard and
those which will be paid to the long
shoremen when the conference now
pending has been concluded will
amount to the equivalent of seven
cents b ton on all Of the ore that is
handled. If this is figured on the
same amount of ore that was brought
down the lakes last year. 27,000,000
tons, it means that the vesselmen are
paying in round numbers about $4,000
600 more for their services on ship
board than they ever paid before.
The predicament in which the vessel
owners find themselves is peculiar.
Navigation promises to open about a
month earlier than the owners had
looked for. The possibility of getting
good rates is, therefore, reduced by
that much. Last year the smaller
boats-those carrying 5000 tons or
1ess-barely made living. This year
the new wages will make that impossi-
BILE without higher rates. The season
being long seems to suggest the posi-
bility Of naturally no greater rates.
The vessel interests, however, are
banding together to fight for higher
rates and the shippers are disposed to
grant them. The situation all the way
through is almost unique.