The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1906-04-01

1
rated by some of the owners Of the
vessels to secure the best 'hookers"
mot ''tongers,'' which finally became
universal, it is common occurrence tor
them to jump the vessel without re-
paying the owner his money. One
class are heavy drinkers when they
can procure liquor, whether with their
own money or by exchange of the YES
sells supplies, and during their drunk
en- orgies, many serious ARRAYS have
occurred. The end of a successful trip
when they could "drew' has always
been a time of revelry and debauch-
cry among this class, and the result
of their labor would be quickly dissi-
pated And of these sans people
one cannot truthfClly say that their
word is their bond
Not Strictly Honest.
AS a buyer I have been closely as
ISOLATED with the fishermen for years,
and have endeavored to bear their
good will, through consistently fair
treatment, and while the above state
ments win no doubt arouse the anil
mostly of those they are are intend.
ed to cover, they are generally known
facts, and do not reflect upon those
who are exempt from such charges.
The vessels usually owned by mer-
chants have been QUILTED with sup
plies for a trip of eight OF ten weeks
duration, the~DwRer bearing the entire
expense Of the trip. Under the sys-
TEN Of sharing, the men have receiv.
ed one-falf of the gross proceeds Of
the sale Of their product, and as an
additional inducement to labor, the
hookers have been given onequarter
of a share from the owners part, the
cook one-quarter of a share to prac.
tice economy in use Of provisions, and
the captain an extra percentage to
care for the vessel and direct the work
of the crew. The accumulation of bad
accounts due to the system Of adj
vances, without which no fishermen
would ship fer a trip, amounted to
thousands of dollars, and the losses
incurred when the catches were small
have more than once brOUg hit the
vessel owners to face impending ruin.
The new method of diving was start,
ed less than a year ago by a Greek
who had been previously employed in
a packing house here, and his efforts
proving successful beyond expecta.
tions, others, both Americans and
Greeks, fastened to procure apparatus
and begin operations. Now, there are
probably 500 Greeks here, many Of.
them highly educated men, and quite
a number naturalized citizens Of the
United States. Thus far the town has
not had any just cause to regret their
advent, as while there has been a few
violations of proprieties, owing to ig-
norance of American customs, they
have not created any disturbances
and all seem disposed to make quiet
and orderly citizens. The merchants
and boat builders here and in Tampa
and Jacksonville. have extensively
profited from their already large bus
mess.
Not Infringing.
The claim of the hookers that the
divers are infringing on their rights,
cannot be established, as the Divers
work is all done on the high seas, be-
yond the Jurisdiction of state or fed
eral government, where the Cuban
fishing smacks catch grouper and red
snapper for the Havana markets. The
assertion, too, that the metal soles
Of the divers shoes injure the bottom
to the detriment of all sponge cannot
be proven. This method has been
followed for a great many years in
the Mediterranean Sea, and I am told
that only over-working the grounds
has had any effect upon the growth or
supply. The hookers have themselves
done much harm to the grounds By
taking the very small sponge, since
the larger sizes have become less
plentiful There is a state law pro
hibiting taking or selling a sponge
under a certain limit of inches in dl-l
ameter, but it has been violated re-
peatedly by the fishermen, and no
punishment has been imposed in any
case. The product Of the divers be-
ing taken from deeper waters is much