Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-06-24

who's boss here, or if they n "a
!. !. !. !.
don't they soon find out. But TSHFssW
you take some of the officers II
these linerS-WhY, 3XzSSIE
say! most of EN- amt O. @Z
much bigger than A
cup of water with the -
first drink taken out and X 80
they need somethin' to make
a show. It's different with u.s.
we're satisfied with just any IN
old kind of clothes. Well EFW"
say think of us felers wearn CAPTAIN
kid gloves!' III
1t is only at odd times, hAnk
when one of their tugs is out of commission
that the towing companies have to do with these
giant passenger ships On the other hand the
South American and West Indian boats trading
vessels from every port IN the world schOoners
banks, and not infrequently fulrigged ship
all OF these and a host of Others depend solely
upon the private towing companies And between
these craft and the tugs there intimate relation
ship, large freemasonry; for to the officers and
sailors of these vessels the owboat is the first and
last link to the shore So it happens that the tugs
bring the first news of what has been going the
while; and outward bound when the hawser is
let go, parting salute, rough but hearty God
speed from the little boat is the last word from the
land Even the misanthropc mate became almost
humanity cordial at these times, and on one occasion
when was aboard the Unit, he relaxed sufficiently
to hail the first officer busy in the bow of the depart
ing ship.
Do you think the bottom'n hold in her till you
get ashore again." he shouted
AYE, never fear!" came the in an unmis-
taxable accent.
Well you'd make fine Irish stew for couple
of sharks but, God knows maybe you Il have luck"
His intentions were Enthusiastically friendly, and
for moments he stood watching the fast disap-
pearing ship; then he turned back to his new bow
fender, which was at that time in the initial period
of its construction and had not yet been adorned
with whiskerS
But 1t is only after many, many trips that any
thing like an adequate knowledge of the important
part the tugs play in the commerce of the country
is realized. Almost from the moment ship of any
sort pushes her bow past Liberty Island land if she
Is sailing craft, long before that) the services of
towboat urgently necessary. In of accident,
the lOng-drawn hystercal whistle of steamer de-
mands the immediate assistance of tug. Are there
messages to be carried from the shore to the an
chOrage? is there a celebrity to be met incom-
ing Inner! is there passenger boat to be caught by
a beated traveller? is it international yacht race
regatta on the Sound? is there important mail
to be hurried special orders from a COnSignee?
all these and a hundred and one other things
wholly outside the normal business of towing must
be and performed by the tugs. Every vessel
entering leaving the New York rivers depends in
SOmeWay other upon these little craft to
help her out, and always there is the dry-dock to
which, sooner or later, all must go in the safe
keeping of the towboat Captain.
But by far the most important duty performed by
the towboats is docking the huge liners task to be
done slowly and with infinite caution full of dangers
for those ashore and those the ships besides the
possible loss of the enormous wealth represented by
the vessel herself and her cargo. Distances must
be calculated almost to the inch the strength of the
tides estimated to the pound and decisions involving
the safety of hundreds made on the instant. There
are few who realize that the ship is in far real
jeopardy when she IS coming into her dock than
she in the open Thousands of tons of iron,
even under an almost imperceptible Roadway, is a
gigantic force which needs the most delicate handling
to control it, and that
accidents of the most APP
palling kind are happily