Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-07-06
ON TIE RIVER FRONT
OBTAINING DECKHANDS A PROB.
LEM ON RIVER STEAMERS.
Piles Arrive for Wharf Work - Over.
hauling Pleasure Craft-Personal
and General Mention.

The question OF obtaining men for serve
Ice as deckhands on the steamers doing
business on tho Potomac is becoming n
serious problem. and one that Is making
the hair of the deckmates on the steamers
turn gray long before old age would do 10
Although good wages are paid and the men
are fed on the steamers. they will ship
make trip and then demand to be paid
for the time they have made, leaving thu
steamboat In the lurch The steamers often
leave port with hardly enough 10
handle freight, and they often leave the
boat down the river, especially IL they
come from lower Maryland or Virginia
and have friends In the country. So serious
has the problem of obtaining sufficient meif
10 man the steamers on deck that there IS
serious talk among the steamboat men OF
doing away with the colored labor entirely
and substituting foreign white labor foE
service as deckhands. The experiment has
been tried with success In the north. and
II is more than probable that II Will ~
tried here. (s
The steam barge Lilly and Howard cam6
into port yesterday with a load OF oak pilS
ing on deck and in the hole and towing a
big raft of pine piling from the lower Pos
tomac. In the raft was about 800 sticks
varying in length from forty to eighty feetS
which are to be used In building piers at
the navy yard and In the sewer work on
the Eastern branch. The oak piling aboard
ton of the new ferry slips at AlexandriaS
and II was landed there p
There was fair demand for fresh fish OF
all kinds at the wholesale fish market on
the wharf this morning. but the supply on
hand was not very large and consisted
mainly Of salt water fish from the Atlantid
coast fisheries and from the nets in the viz
cinity of Old Point. Z
The receipts OF crabs by the dealers at
the wharf were not large this morning.
while the demand was good. and as n cons
sequence prices keep up, both for hard and
soft sheled. "A
CLANS are plentiful enough to meet tho
good demand and they are selling at 90 to
20 cents per hundred. The bulk OF tho
stock Is coming from Norfolk Il
oysters from Norfolk are also on sale and
the demand for them is fair. d
Mr.. l.. A Clark of Carter & Clark has
gone on trip to Niagara Falls and thd
north He will be gone for two or threS
weeks. Il
The pile driving machine of Carter 81
Clark, which has been employed In repairs
Ing the wharf at Marshall Hall, has conn
pleted the work there and has returned I'd
this city The driver Is to be taken TO the
Eastern branch. where It will be used IL
driving piles for the sewer work. and al
the navy yard. Work will be started on the
branch improvements as soon as the pileH
to be used In the work arrive. e
Cumberland & Son are building a new
spar for the little sailing craft belonging
to Mr.. William Garner. which was struck
by the steamer Jane Moseley several day2
ago. The boat Is also hauled out at Cunl3
berlands for such repairs as may be necesS
sary to put her in condition for servicei
The boat was lying at her berth at tho
boat house of the Potomac Hunting Clubi
when the Moseley, in leaving her dockS
swung around UPON the small boat and
sunk 1t.
General River Matters.
The little pleasure sloop Brownie Dough
lass, owned by parties here, is hauled out
on the marine railway at Reagans boat<
yard for cleaning and painting Of her hull
and for such other repair work as may be
necessary to put her In trim for pleasure
cruising on the river this summer. The
sloop Edna Earle is on the railway with the
Douglass to be made ready for active serv~
ice.
The work of rebuilding the wharf at LowS
err Cedar Point, Md, is progressing but
slowly, and 1t will be ten days or two
weeks. 1t Is stated. before the pier IL comy
pleted. The new pier will be a much larger
and finer structure than the one 1T will
supersede. The rebuilding of the pier haa
been going on with the river steamers land{
ing at II almost daily. w.
1t has been rumored several times lately
that the Baltimore and Ohio railroad would
abandon the transfer of freight trains BY
ferry from Sheppard's landing on the DiS9
trict side Of the river. to Alexandria, and
would send all trains south over the new
railway bridge, but that rumor seems to ba
unfounded, and If the railway company haH
any such intention the change will not b4
made at once AS an evidence Of this, Il
is stated that the pier at Sheppard's is I'd
be overhauled and repaired. The material
for the work Is now on the pier. ~
The schooners r. Mason. Peri and Mary
Francis are among the recent arrivals IN
port with big cargoes of cord wood FROM
the lower river for the local dealers. ~
The schooner Rockaway is in port with
q cargo of about 10000 feet of pine lumber
from Virginia lumber port for the dealersi
Sla 10 1xi n a II "a
foot OF 10th street southwest n
The schooner Dagger, with cargo OF
railway ties from the lower river. is lying
at Sheppard's landing of the b. & o. r. RI
opposite Alexandria, unloading her cargo =
The schooner Clark has arrived at GeorgeS
town to unload a cargo of pine wood from
point on the lower river. T.
The Baltimore tug Progress. under charS
ter to the Potomac Dredging Company
came into port yesterday afternoon towing
barges laden with sand and gravel. s.
The tug Marion Cameron is cruising off
the Virginia capes on the lookout for ves-
sells bound to this city or Baltimore. Two
ice-laden vessels coming here are reported
due at the capes.
discharging of her cargo of ice at the 10th
street wharf of the American Ice Company
and is to go to Georgetown for cargo %
soft coal for Boston, another port In
New England. O.
The schooner Quillan has arrived at Ala
eXandria laden with glass-making sand
from the Severn river for one of the bot, J
tle-making plants. u
The steamer Wakefield. which arrived in
port last night, brought up a quantity Of
new wheat from the wharves along the
lower river to the dealers here and at Alexs
andria. New wheat from Pennington, Nd,
near Fort Washington, is also on the mar
ket being brought up to Alexandria on the
sloop Daisy. 1t is clean and in good condi- !
ton. and, it IS stated, commands good
prices.