The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-10-12
.LIDDY AND SAFETY
OF LIFE At SEA

marine news columns Wnlcn would IeaG
the public to enormously believe that
the Sailors Union of the Pacific was
tive Hawaiians as seamen. Such is not
the case. We have Hawaiian members
in the Sailors, the Firemen s and the
Marine Cooks and Stewards Unions
of the Pacific, and l can assure you, as
one who knows, that they are q
most desirable, efficient, manly and re
| spectacle body of men, and equal in
all respects to any Caucasian race who
follow the seafaring life when they be-
| come efficient in their various duties
| that they have to, or are supposed to
| be able to, perform on shipboard. A
terrible howl is now rending the air to
| the effect that the ire of the Sailors
| Union has been aroused because Ha-
| waiians are put on board vessels in
place of white men. Article Ii, section
2 of our constitution states: "Candi-
dates for admission into this union
shall be practical sailors, shall be
| American citizens, or be eligible to such
! citizenship, and must be proposed by at
| least two members in good standing on
the union hooks Does that look like
we drew any color line7
| The whole facts of the matter are
as follows: [ hold a commission from
President Roosevelt, through Com
mander w. Strother Smith, U. S. n,
the recorder of the commission appoint
| ed by President Roosevelt, to act on
| fha Revision of IaxrS rn1n fine 70 70
| ty of life at sea- The names of the
gentlemen serving on this commission
are as follows: Captain Adolph Mark,
| L. S. N, chairman of the Lighthouse
Board, chairman; Hon. Chas. Earl So
, licitor of the Department of Commerce
and Labor; Hon. Eugene T. Chamber
| lain, Commissioner of Navigation; Hon.
| George Uhler, Supervising Inspector
General, Steamboat Inspection Service,
and Commander William Strother
Smith, U. S. n. I have been supply
ing information and making suggestions
to those gentlemen, as | am qualified
and specially adapted to do from my
very extensive experience, and in your
issue of July 25, 1908, you inserted my
first letter on this subject, which dealt
with the question of vessels carrying
competent licensed officers and quail
fed seamen. | have, since writing that
first letter, noticed on several occa-
sions that vessels requiring men in
place of seamen have been supplied
with Japs, Hawaiians, Porto Rieans,
and others, who evidently knew more
about laboring on sugar plantation
than they did about going on board of
vessel, where they Immediately be-
come a menace to life and property on
the high seas by their very unskilful-
ness and uselessness in time of bad
weather or danger, and what surprises
and astonishes me is that persons hold
ing badges issued by the Territorial
police department have been procuring
these inefficient men to go on vessels,
to the detriment of practical seamen.
/ have visited in the course of my
thirty-four years sea service almost
every port of any consequence in the
universe, and / have never seen peace
officer supplying nondescripts for YES
sells until [ saw it here. Such prac
tice, performed by any person, is, in
my opinion, criminal in the extreme, as
it ieopardizes the lives of the seagoing
public and public property to have YES
sells improperly manned moving in the
pathway, or track, as we call it, of
vessels which are properly differed and
manned.
| brought this matter to the attention
of Sheriff C. P. Iaukea, and ] must say
that that gentleman Immediately put
his foot down on the practice complain
ed of, and declared in unmistakable
terms that he would not allow any per-
son who held badge to use it for any
purpose other than for what it was is
sued. I convinced Sheriff Iaukea that [
am not biased in any way by my union
affiliations, but working solely for the
enactment of laws that will benefit
the sea-traveling public and make them
feel secure in the knowledge that they
have a competent, efficient and fully
manned crew to handle the vessel, both
in times of security and danger, and,
believe me, while 7 hold my present
commission from Washington, / will do
everything in my power to bring for
ward material evidence that will be in
strumental in obtaining legislation that
will make it an utter impossibility to
have repetitions of the Rio Janeiro,
Slocum, Clallam, and many other mari
time horrors that were brought about
disciplined condition of the men, and
sometimes officers, and | claim that no
man who has not served at least three
years as a boy or ordinary seaman is
competent to take the place of an able
seaman.
And now, Mr.. Editor, hope you will |
pardon me for trespassing on your val |
liable space with the true story of the |
''Sheriff, Agent and Special" and, be-
lieve me, my work in this "safety-of- |
business emanates from as
sincere an advocate of humanity and |
prevention of maritime disaster as ever |
trod on Hawaiian territory, and with |
the advent of the permanent Inspectors
of Hulls and Boilers for Hawaii Terri
tory (who are empowered to issue GER
tificates of inspection TO vessels and to
see that those vessels which obtain
them on the mainland carry out their
my burden viii be con-
hghtened, and we will hear
of no more shipments of extraordi-
nary seamen.
Most respectfully,