The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-05-13

Well. principally because in these great
ports or the land of the free and the
home OF the brave, such unmentionapls
runlans formed close corporation ano
II was practically certain that any such
resistance. especially " any hurt to me
pirates resulted. would be followed by an
organized raid upon the ship or nttack
upon tho officers going ashore on busl-
ness, and murder would probably result
This Is no fancy sketch. but a rant out
line OF what went on until n tcW yehi
ago with the conniVnncc of the police ano
Judges, q pleasing commentary upon the
blessed state OF things IN 'his ms, Tufn htttnr
were the complaints made by the masters
and owners about this scandalous etate
OF affairs, but the villains merely ia9&hea
ana isn't on their wny rejoicing. Ihere
were not wanting. either. evil masters oI
ships, who for n share In tho piunher
aided tho boarding master In nus VII
lnlnies, but tho number or them "ere'
happily. very few
Flaunting the Law.
Now in this explanation OF shanghaline
/ fear | may have been thought forEcttnl
of the title OF my article, But indeed }
do not see how IT was possible TO l Geai
with the matter in any other way, SInC'
for the average reader the whole anali
is wrapped in mystery. However, comine
to the central point Of my artlciS, the
port of Portland. or. This Is without con,
uoversy among seamon who Know hna
any one who cares to investigate the iaCts
may do 80 in the blue book dealing with
the causes of desertion by merchant sea-
mon abroad. When. however, we come
to the reasons why S this vnS business h,ins
been practically stamped out everywhere
else, We nnd some difncuity; only the
came diftloulty. though, which eonfTons
dealing with particular cities, even IN tue
same State Nowhere In the civilized
world does the personal element count fGr
so much In the character OF cities as II
docs In the United States OF America.
Law apparently counts for nothing. un,
lcss there are to be found men bold
It. and this | think accounts for the rea,
son why San Francisco Is fnirly purEed
Of the shanghai boarding master and his
impost of blood money, and why Portland;
Or stlll remains under this shameful
bnn In tho former place the city officials
have, Nnder pressure from washington l.
ly. in tho latter there ls yet no sign that
any officer of the law cares TO come INTO
active collision with these murderous
mcn-stealers.
ncnce among shanghai ports, has lost II
mainly because OF the dying out or the
sailing ship. which indeed still comes to
the Chincha islands for guano, but does
not trouble Callao. The steamship docs
not lend itself to the practice of shang-
haiing voyages being too short and wages
and Portland. Or. nre the last two ports
where sailing vessels may still be met
with In any numbers, and consequently N
is to them we must look for any linger-
ing traces OF the old romantic 90 prac-
ticc OF stealing men from one snip to
man another. or on pinch or sandoaS-
ginE respectable citizen md making II
possible for him to ind himself some nne
morning one of the forcmast hands In the
Zcphaninh d. Slocum bound for Liver
pool, where an order is preceded by kick
to awaken the dormant faculties,
A Serious Indictment.
may well be proud. 1t lies In tho midst
of a magniflcently fertile country, full
OF splendid timber, growing amazins
quantities of wheat. and on the lordly
Willamette river. aboundlng in salmon
Also II is the most northerly port In the
United States on the Pacific coast After
II comes the territory OF the no-account
BritIRher, British Columbia and Vancou
yer Island where, at any rate. there 1.
Portland is booming. shouting. In fact
but In spite of its natural advantages
there are still a few little matters re
ouirinB adjustment and one of them !:
certainly tho administration of tho law
| II Is no figure of speech to say that J.
| YOU have only money enough and suf
| nclent pull with the police you may do
whatever you Ike In Portland and, whis
! per II gontly anywhere else In Gods OWL
| United States. as her citizens modestll
| call II.
In bare Justice to Portland. however. j
! should be said that she suffers from al
| influx of those least desirable citizens
who prey upon sailors and have beer
| driven out OF San Francisco I'm bette
| governed community OF course they woul'
| be rounded up and sentenced to be hung