The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-05-19
THE DEADLOCK
ON THE LAKES
Continued from First Page.

Continued from First Page.
and would grade down fairly. But
what they want most is authority over
the men under them. They want the
right to hire and discharge their own
mates, cooks and possibly even their
own engineers. At any rate, they want
enough authority over engineers so
that the word of the captain will be
law on the ship for whose safety and
cargo he is responsible.
In the past few years the lake cap
ta1ns have come to be bookkeepers,
the demands of owners and the gov
eminent for reports and red tape hav-
Ing increased to an almost incredible
extent. Some owners have also taken
the right to employ and discharge
all employees other than seamen away
from the masters. OF late the en-
gine-room has become a little castle
by Itself, with the authority of the
captain unrecognized except as to his
signals from the bridge. 1t Is easy
to see what this may lead to in case of
more than ordinary friction and at a
time when immediate unquestiOning
response from the engine-room to or
ders from the texas Is necessary to the
safety Of the vessel. In more than one
case masters have suddenly found
themselves without good first mates,
and with men Of whose capabilities
they knew nothing, simply because
they had been getting along we'll
"too WELL" the owners thought-with
the mates they had.
Carriers Are United.
The far greater share of large lake
ships are embers Of the Lake Car
riers' association. The organization
this year, for the first time, includes
the package freighters, as we'll as
many fleets not heretofore in it's mem
bershfp. The understanding fleet has
an organization Of it's own. But prac-
tically all ore, grain, coal and flour
ships are with the Lake Carriers. The
association acts as a unit in it's deal
ings with the masters, but holds that
the masters, as representatives Of the
owners, should not belong to any
union, and least Of all should they
be affiliated with unions embracing
men over whom they are placed. This
is a contention that Is hard to set
aside. In consequence the owners re-
fuse to treat with the Masters and
Pilots Beneficial association, and de-
mand that the captains treat individ-
ually. But the latter consider the
Lake Carriers association as fully as
close and tight a union as their own,
and demand that they be recognized
If they are to treat with all owners
as a body.
Captains Are High Grade Men.
Lake vessel captains are high-grade
men. Unlike their saltwater breth-
rem, they take no pilots when ap-
preaching a harbor, even tho they
may be handling not only their own
ships but from one to four consorts.
They are their own pilots. Lake har-
bors are no more easy Of entrance
than those Of the oceans. Once away
from port. they have, instead Of an
open roadstead, mile after mile OF
rockbound coast close abeam. They
have narrow channels connecting the
various lakes where navigation at best
Is difficult, and Is only carried on al
all under the watchful eye of a vigi-
liant government officer, who may con-
troll some tOrtuOus channel with
current of several miles an hour, and
who gives up or down bound ship a
right of way. Instead Of broad sea-
way, with vessels seen rarely, there
is, all the way from Duluth to Buff
falo, a procession of giant ships al
ways in sight and close aboard. AS
the track Of east-bound vessels mar
rows approaching the Sault, the pro-
cession jostles together and passes
thru in a magnificent bundle. AS the
great sweep of Lake Michigan de.
pouches into Huron, the procession re.
ceives a tremendous addition from
Chicago and Milwaukee, and as the
combined fleets pass thru st. Clail
die is gathered together again like
bunch Of faggots. Sometimes a deep.
laden ship goes sliding thru some
channel with only four or five inche!
of water between her fiat bottom ant
the rocks of the river bed. Othe1
vessels are passing, a consort may b
in tow, the current may make man
agement Of the steamship difficult, ant
of the consort almost impossible. New
ertheless, with the immense tonnag
that Is always on the move, accident
are exceedingly rare-so rare, in fact
that some big fleets on the lakes car
ry their own insurance. A lake cap
tain, leaving port on Lake Erie, Du
luth-bound, will be on deck continu
ously for thirty-six to forty-eigh
hours, even tho the ship may at time
be in the hands of his mate. The re
sponsibility is great and continuous
The captain must be a man Of hig
skill and intelligence. ..r
The government recognizes this an
permits no man to have ship VIII
cannot pass, and has not passed,
rigid examination in all lines of sea
manship and navigation. There ar
about enough licensed masters on tn
lakes to handle the ships af1oat. An
this Is the strong feature Of the pres
ent position of the captains. With
out them lake ships cannot run thi
year. Masters cannot be made in
day, and there are few extra ones.
Owners Likely to Give In.
The danger point has not bee
reached, and many think it will neve
be. They believe that shipowners ar
not anxious to start their vessels be
fore June 1, at the earliest and tina
when they do feel it time to operat
they will find a way to reach an agree
ment. Conditions governing the finar