The Republican journal., 1906-04-19

years L nave never known a vessel in
the coastwise trade to take pilot. be
cause they do not require them, but
they have to pay for pilot every time
Three years ago l had vessel 60 il
| there which had passed through two
hurricanes and was able to take care OF
| herself. She did not take pilot, but
she had to pay about $50 for the pilot
| for going in. If two vessels come from
Hampton Roads up the Potomac, one
stopping at Alexandria and the othe]
coming a few miles further to Wash.
ington, the one stopping at Alexand ria
must pay pilotage, but the other does
| not have to pay.
A Mallory Line steamer running from
| New York to Brunswick and Kew West
and Mobile and returning the same way
| paws no pilotage. Ii one of my sailing
vessels goes over the same course ir
| competition we have to pay over $500
| pilotage. If that is not robbery and
discrimination against us it would be
| hard to tell what is. In going in and
out of port sailing vessel employs a
| tug, which has competent pilot. But
in the South we have to pay in addition
| for the services of another pilot for
| whom we have no use. Steamers escape
both of these charges. If an American
sailing vessel goes into Havana Harbor
she pays SIS for a pilot, but when she
goes to Mobile it costs her from $50 to
$780, When that vessel goes to a foreign
port the pilotage charge is about 20 per
cent. of what it is at home.
There is not a vessel on the Atlantic
coast in the cOaStwise trade which has
run up against these pilot charges that
has paid interest, insurance and depre-
citation for the last ten years. There is
not any part of this world, under the
conditions we are in, where freight is
carried at so low cost as by the sail
ing vessels on the Atlantic coast. There
is no such pilotage charge on the Great
Lakes. and sailing tonnage has in
creased there, while it has decreased
about 80 per cent in the last ten years
on the Atlantic coast.
In the Gulf recently | was shipping
some rock to Gulfport from Port
| Tampa. We had, after paying other
| expenses, 81 cents a ton left for carry
| ing the freight, but the pilotage at the
| ports amounted to 40 cents ton, and
no service rendered. Tugboats towed
| the vessel in and out, but we paid to a
| pilot, not used, $50 at Key West to sail
| out. and 800 at Tampa to sail in and
out, and S12s at Gulfport We had only
600 tons. At Gulfport | paid on one
| occasion SIPS pilotage, while vessel
owned down South paid only $40, and
British vessel, carrying Is, 600 feet more
of lumber than my vessel, PAID oEly
| $40. Another time one of my vessels
| paid $40, while a British vessel paid
! S46. British and other foreign vessels
| pay only about one fourth what We pay
! 1t is robbery.
| I could give you twenty-five similar
cases FROM memory. | have lawsuit
at Gulfport growing out OF the tact
| that the pilots insisted on charging me
$40. where they charged another vesse
s45 and. though | offered ST5, they re-
fused it. This system has helped forelgr
vessels at the expense OF American
| ships. But there is another important
feature. When the barometer begins
to fall, foreshadowing a gale the master
of vessel would seek the nearest port
of safety in the North, but in the Soutf
he goes off shore because he cannot
afford to pay the enormous pilots fet
required if he goes into any port. One
half of the losses south of Cape Halter
as are caused by the master not having
the right to 60 into harbor the same
as he does in the North Atlantic. One
of my boats, in going into Charleston
EMPLOYED a tugboat with eleven mel
in its crew, and for which $65 was paid
But the State pilots, who did nothing
charged and received S206. The govern
ment harbor Improvements are mad
| principally to help large steamers, no
the comparatively small sailing vessels
but the steamers escape these pilot zee
and the expens of the tugboats al
together. 1t is an outrageous OILS
elimination against the saliboats, ant
it is inexplicab bic to me why Congress
should have adhered so long to ina
discrimination.
James w. Elwell & Co.. managin!
owners Of the bark Rose lnnes, say
that in a rec ent trip to Felnandlna the
paid 5000 pilotage to take the vessel II
and out, although they paid a tugDoa
S1O3 and did not need al extra pilot
There is a federal pilot on every tug
boat.
There will be hard struggle at thi
session to pass this bill. Representa-
tive Fordney, member OF the nous
committee, says that before he hear
the case against the pilots he was il
their favor, but now he was opposed t.
compulsory pilotage. Captain O'Brien
representing the pilots, says that thl
compulsory charge is necessary to kee
up the pilot systems III the South be
! cause there are not enough foreig1
vessels to maintain it, but Representa-
tive Littlefeld has shown that Their
are more foreign vessels, comparatively
;, entering some of these Southern port
than enter Maine ports. Compulsor
pilotage is imposed nowhere in tn
United States, excepting south of Cap
Henry, excluding Wilmington, n. e.
Cured Hemorrhages of the Lungs.
''Several years since my lungs were s
badly affected that I had many heMOl