The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1905-04-28
(Continued.)
The Policy of tie Pot.luck

Concerning the permanent and i'm
mutable characteristics of ships, the
unhappy man who had never had his
limited range of vision broadened by
q trip In sailing ship must of neces
sity know little. He probably falls
into the fallacy, common even among
those who follow the sea, that a par
tial or entire clearance of her "crowd'
will quite alter her nature; whereas
sailors being sailors-that is, people
OF certain fairly definite attributes
any given environment makes them
much the same as those who preceded
them.
But entire changes In the personnel
OF vessel rarely take place. The
officers change, but the crew remains !;
the crew goes, but officers stay. Or
more frequently some few men are
favorites of one or two of the officers,
and they mingle with the new crew
like yeast, till the ancient fermenta-
ton Is visible once more.
Ships Ito speak thus of their com.
panies) talk of the same subjects over
million miles of changing seas: they
have a permanent stock of subjects.
These include all which are perennially
Ut interest to seafaring men. such as
homes versus boarding houses, but
they include also something more in.
dividual, something more intimately
connected with the essence of that
particular vessel And the one I'M
ending topic of interest on board the
Potluck was foreign politics.
How this came about no one knew,
though many theories were set afloat
and sunk again every Sunday after
noon. Some said that the first cap
tain of the Potluck was called Palmer
stone, and that he introduced the sub
ject of England versus the world as
soon as he came on board. Others
swore that they had been told by a
clerk in the employ of the firm that
there had been a discussion over her
very keel concerning the introduction
into her frame of foreign oaks.
"This was the way of it," said Jack
Hart, who was the chief upholder of
this particular theory, and the son of
little shipbuilder-"the lot that built
her at Liverpool was the mixedest
crowd of forsaken cranks as ever
handled timber. So the clerk said.
md ono hod q honLarip, fo, +ool, oo5
another for hoax with odd leanin's
now and agin for Hafrican and Portu-
gee and French hoak), and another he
said Cuban Sabicu,' and another's
word was 'Hackmatack' and chestnut
hevery time So they showed in bits
here and bits there till she was a reg
ar junk shop O. samples. And that's
he reason she's a foreign talking
argument ship. And a mighty good
'eason, too"
The crowd listened in silence.
IF you knew as much about arguin'
Is you know (seemin'ly) about tim
,ers as no man ever heerd of, your
argument might stand" said Macken-
lie, a witbered old foc'sle man. "But
amt to reason as the natur' of the
woods in a ship should make us talk
his way or that, If so be ship was
uilt O. teak, dye think we'd talk the
jildy jow,' you black son of a gun
ingo"
Hart shook his head
mo ship amt never built all of teak
s ever heerd of, and so your eyes
ut, Mac. But man with 'arf an
ye could see the knowledge of her
elm so built might lead right hup to
alk about the stren'ths of the coun-.
les as well Of the vally of their tim.
ers."
so they might" said the almost
)nvinced crowd. "Now Jack Hart
S the gift, so to speak, of SEEM
trough things"
"And once started, who'd stop it?"
'ked Jack triumphantly 81 knowed
ship as 'ad fresh crowd after fresh
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