The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1907-05-31

CerIal 70 begin on ana therein lies a
reason and a principle
In planning for the loading Of this
ship the member Of the firm whose
place it is to do such things has taken
the character Of the cargo carefully in
to consideration, and it is here that
the science Of trimming the ship
comes in.
Trimming" of course, simply means
loading a ship in such way that the
weight viii lie evenly, allowing her to
ride an even keel. Itisn't always cas-
ily accomplished
Ia the first place the heaviest ma
terial, whatever it may be, is put in the
bottom of the ship, and in this case
that material is the -four Flour is
easy to stow, ana seldom shifts.
That isn't all. Ships, as the long
shoremen say, BE hnicky things an
Worse'n women for notions m oneet a
ship gets set in her ways all hell could
not onset her" And so the boss. goes
to the captain and asks to be enlight-
c1ed
She'll best trim about two foot by
the stern" says the captain, and the
boss plans accordingly.
All this time that we have spent di-
crossing the work of loading has been
going on, and it must not be imagined
that the tumult and the shouting"
have died by any means. Every man in
the two gangs is working like an army
mule and yelling like a blast foreman
giving warning. The shed is filled
with the din Of industry, for the loud
er longshoreman shouts the harder
he's working. The swift cranknig Of
the winches and the staccato. signals
of the derrickmen mingle with the
eeaseless rattle Of the trucks up and
down the planks.
Men have been sent down into the
hold There they work under the di-
raction of a foreman. They are men
specially proficient and of long expert
ence The rest Of the men Of the two
gangs are handling the trucks, two
Of them to each truck A sack of -four
is turned on truck, the man between
the handles bends his broad back and
the muscles in his thighs stand out
IS he Strains for the start. The man
behind shoves and grunts and then
away she goes.
They circle about and with a run
ming start they rush up the plank. At
the head of it stands the derrick man,
waiting AS they approach, an empty
truck is descending, for there is an end
less chain. AT the top the derrickman
gives q signal, the winch rattles swift
~ and up from the hold comes the
long steel rope with tackles on its end.
The tackles are gripped about the sack
OF floor, another signal is given, and
up into midair swings the sack, then
down, down into the space below UNI
til the mufiied shout Of the showers
tells that it has struck bottom.
The deTrickman leans over and peers
down. He. signals again and the winch
pulls the sack clear of the boats bot
tom. Then the men below seize it and
swing it to the spot where it is to lie,
the winch drops it and with touch
and kick the sack is put in place.
The boxes and bales, the barrels,
kegs, cases and butts follow the -four.
Carefully with no waste Of space,
they are packed, layer on layer and
gradually they mount upward to-
ward the deck. The morning has
passed, and evening has come and
night has gone and morning has come
again and the work goes on until final
ly, with the last Of the cargo bulging.
from the tops Of the matches, the
steamer is loaded. The hatch covers
are clapped on, the tumult and the
shouting dies, and the serene and gen
tlemanly ships crew takes charge OF
the work and the swearing.
The work of the steyedore and the
longshoreman has developed with the
years, naturally The greatest step
forward was made when steam became
common as the propelling force for
vessels. In the old days of sail craft
The captain of the ship was the boss
steyedore very often, and the discharg-
ing and loading were done through one
hatch with the aid of hand windlasses
or horse power. But although the
means of handling the cargoes have
been vastly improved the underlying
principles remain the same.
The work has, through the years. de-
veloped a class Of men peculiar to it
shore sailors. The longshoreman is
man apart, with traits and Characters
ties of his own. often his father and
grandfather have been longshoremen
before him, and his own little son,
piling biscuit boxes on a toy ship in the
neighborhood pond, aspires to be
longshoreman after him. They are
onen handed. strong. breezy, the long