The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-10-15
NOT FLYING DDTCHMAN
 10 BE SEEN IN HARBOR
But She is a Peculiar Looking and Strangely -Rigged
 Vessel.
ONLY VESSEL OF HER CLASS
The Passing of the Square Rigged Merchantmen is
 Near at Hand.

Perhaps you have noticed the unus- nally tall and strangely rigged mast that has stood high above canal dock for the past few days. It is the bark entine Josephine, the only vessel of her class in the American merchant marine. | Of course there are other barkentines, but no other with four masts. Her l master, Captain Pierce, claims she is the only vessel of that rig in the world, and Harbor Master Dow thinks the claim is correct.
 The Josephine arrived here from Brunswick, Georgia, with cargo of railroad ties, coming in by way of Mon tauk and the sound, for square rigged vessels are too awkward to manage by New York and through Hell Gate, un- less they take a tow boat all the way. This is one reason why the square rig ger Is at disadvantage in the coast ing trade, another is that local pilots make extra charges for bringing them into port
 The Josephine is the first square rigged merchantmen to visit new Ha- ven in many months. In fact, that type of vessel is so fast disappearing from the seas, that the Associated Press in dispatch to the Journal, and Cou- rier notes its passing as follows: The passing of the square rigged merchantmen apparently remains to be recorded, although the prevailing im- 1 pression ill the public mind seems to be that vessels of this class have prac- 1 tieally disappeared from the seas, or | have been converted into coal barges, scores of which are lowed weekly from | New Jersey Pennsylvania and Virginia | to New England ports.
 The wealth of Boston and Masaehu- setts cities was built up years ago from of clipper ships. These have disap- 1 peared as have many of the modern American square triggers. Notwithstand- 1 ing the loss Of the greater part of the American fleet of wind tanners the | shipping records of the port of Boston i for the present fall to show that the square rigger is by any means extinct. 1 At the present time according to the 1 Chamber of Commerce documents, there are nine square rigged vessels, several
 of them full rigged ships, and the re-
 mainder barks. on their way to this | port or preparing to sail here for the
 purpose of loading lumber for Buenos 1 Ayres. In this number are not tnclud- ed half a dozen or more craft now on 1 their way from Boston to River Platte.
 
 1 American trade is not carried to any | extent in American bottoms. Not only 1 are sufficient American vessels unavail- i able for this trade, but the owners of 1 thosethat are afioat are reluctant to en- | ter into competition with craft of for eign registry, as the expenses of Amer l ican vessels are greater than those of | the foreign fleet.
 The majority of the square triggers
 which conIeto this nort consist of Brit 1 ishers. Norwegian and Italian.
 The British fleet Is gradually dwln- Idling, although 1t is still of large pro- portions. Many of the older vessels, particularly those built in New Bruns- wick, and Nova Scotia, have been and are still being sold to Norwegian and
 Italian shipping men.
 The Norwegians have long enjoyed a monopoly in the lumber carrying trade between Canada and Europe, and hum dreds of their barks are seen in pro- vlncial waters each summer. Of late years the tramp steamer has cut into the trade, but not dismnyed, the Nor iwegians bought steam vessels, and they
 now have a large fleet. which already
 has secured monopoly in the Cape Breton coal carrying industry,
 The Russians, Swedes, Danes and Portuguese have also large fleets of full
 rigged ships and barks and their yes-
 sells are occa casionallv seen in Amerl- can harbors.
 At one time Bath and other Maine ports and St, John, N, B., had large
 fleets of full rigged ships. The Bath lshtps. which included some of the larg- est vessels of the rig float have nearly Iall disappeared.