Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1907-12-20

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have to poke through such measly
bedinged labor as coaling ship comes
to for all hands, or they never would
have shipped. And so away they go.
"The coal passers' force suffers the
most at the first port made by a ship
with a new crew. Hardy, rugged fel-
lows imagine before they ship in the
navy as coal beavers that they've got
a pretty good idea of what they're go
ing up against, and they figure that
they can endure it, II only for the
sake of the additional money that
they make over and above the pay
dished out to landsmen Qubber deck
hands, who ship at the same time
with them. But they rarely allow
sufficiently for the misery of the coal
heavens billet. They can't possibly
comprehend the gloom and sweating
labor and choking wretchedness OF
those four-hour watches in the dead
dark ships bunkers. The work Is
enough to take the heart out Of the
spiniest kind Of chaps, and 1t does.
That's why the black gang on a man.
o'-war is rarely kept up to its full en-
listed strength. A large proportion
of the hands Of the black gang SIM
ply will not stick.
Pretty soft. then. for Bob Evans
to have his little route map so fixed
up that his crews'll just have to stick
for the entire hike. And he'll proba-
bly, have pretty good luck In hanging
on to the ones inclined to desert even
after he makes San Francisco. OF
course, wages are high out in San
Francisco now, and all like that-but
they've got little way in that town
Of keeping out butters-in. The al
ready-ins want to keep wages up, and
they mean to, and they know how to.
They've got ways and means of max
ing 1t hot for interlopers-for any out
siders, that is, who drift in, either by
a land or sea route, with the idea OF
sharing in the good wages and things.
"And so there won't be much Of a
disposition on the part of the ships
companies of the battleship fleet to
hop ship at San Francisco. They'll
find out pretty quick, IL they don't
know already, that they've got a little
way Of surrendering deserters out
that way that makes ship jumping
unwholesome work. Moreover, the
guiding impulse Of a ship jumper is to
get back home Him for the simple
life, back home II he can only make
1t. The homes Of most of the enlist
ed fellows attached to the battleship
fleet are far on this side OF the
Rocky Mountains Well-er-by the
way. did you ever happen to be broke
in San Francisco? No? Well, don't
you ever let that thing happen to you,
that's all; don't.
And II it's the awful place to be
stranded in it's the DEVILS own town
to get away from-to get east, for in
stance. Those intervening noun
tains, plains, pe-raries and deserts
man, man, don't you ever be so fool
ish tas to permit yourself to be broke
in San Francisco, because II you do
It'll be the dismalest, dirgiest expert
ence of your whole life, and then
some.
well, man-o'-war's men when
they're making up their minds to
jump ship set to work to obtain a sort
Of line on what their chances are 60
ing to be to get away from the port
at which they make their jump, and
any inquiries they make in respect to
this in and around San Francisco are
bound to be discouraging. OF course
those with money coming to them can
hop at San Francisco II they feel like
digging up the main part Of the earn
ed wad or all of 1t just for the ride
back toward the Atlantic seaboard.
But enlisted men sure do nachully
hate to surrender the whole pile just
for a ride, and so the chances are
overwhelmingly In favor Of Admiral
Robley Evans losing proportionately
fewer of his enlisted men by deser-
ton on this the biggest time Of peace
sea hike in our naval history than ever
happened before since we had a
navy."-New York Sun.