The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-02-26

Wy, Gan ottSh my HHSer IlSHl
through the bottom of the vessel y
was the somewhat startling statement
of John Saavedra, sailor on board
the bark Alden Besse, to Shipping
Commissioner Amy, when the latter
was holding court in his office ON the
waterfront yesterday. Six men who
had shipped as seamen on the Los An
geles bark came in yesterday and ask
ed to be discharged at this port, max
ing all kinds of charges against the
vessel, some of them apparently hav-
ing a foundation and the others being
absurdities similar to the above quota
ton.
The Alden Besse has been in port
about eleven days now, and, after wait
ing all this time, the men have come
to conclusion that the vessel is not
exactly to their liking. Of course, they
shipped for the entire voyage, and con.
sequently they brought their grievances
before Shipping Commissioner Almy
yesterday for settlement. The latter
showed wonderful tact in his treatment
of the men.
Calling each up IN turn, Amy threw
out leading saues tionss that brought the
right kind of answers. In the first
place, a man who stated that he had
shipped as carpenter on the Besse and
had been later forced to assume the
responsibilities of second mate had his
say.
II never had such treatment in my
sfo - ho said E6FTbo ,rp1,h xxyac ha5
was cold, and WASH + fit to eat. The
like lead than anything else. / haven t
any complaint about the grub on shore,
but up sea it was bad. And [ don It
like to have to work second mate when
l sign as carpenter. -
He pulled forth heap of credentials
which he wished to display to Amy,
but the latter would have none of it,
being only concerned with the present
pilikia on the Alden Besse. John Saa.
vedra was the next man called, and he
seemed to voice the feeling of the rest
of the bunch.
/ ssThe bottom of the ship is rotten, -
he said. She ain It fit to go to sea.
/ can go down there and stick my fin
ger through her bottom. The life boats
aren t seaworthy. They are never
ready to be launched, and even the
boat which is supposed to hang on the
| davits over the stern in case man
goes overheard was never in its place.
The rigging Of the ship is rotten, and 1T
| ism t safe for the men to work aloft. =
Saavedra also howled about the food
which was given to them on the voyage
down. He claimed to have been sea.
man for thirteen years, but when the
Shipping Commissioner asked him to
name one specific piece Of rigging on
the ship which was rotten he had to
study for considerable time. Then he
named a rope on the down hanl, which,
| if it broke when men were working
with it, would cause absolutely no dan
ger to them.
Almv sent for Captain Denny of the
| Besse to hear his side of the case. The
! men had no complaint against the Cap
| tain. other than the alleged fact that
| he had forced the carpenter to work
as second mate. Captain Denny
brought the log book with him. He
expressed sorrow that the men should
take such stand, for their charges
were mostly So foolish, as an investiga-
| ton W0ulu SHOW. THAI Luty WClC JILL
hurting themselves. Captain Denny is
| a man who has the interests of his
sailors at heart, and he stated yester-
dav that he would talk with the men
and see if he could not reach an ami
cable settlement.
$50 far as the grub is concerned,
said Captain Denny, ''we all had some
what of a kick coming. The cook was
about the poorest I have ever heard
of, and some of the eoncoctions Et
served us with were certainly not much
good. He eouldn I make bread But
the officers of the ship, as well as thu
sailors, had to stand for this. Ths
cook was fred the moment we LANDED
in Honolulu. The other charges which
the men made are foolish, of course
the ship having just come off the ma
rine railway in excellent shape, ate
few repairs TO her bottom
Shipping Commissioner Almy passe'
the buck up to Captain Denny, leav
ING it to him to decide whether or no
, to paw the men off. The Alden Bess
, sails tomorrow fer Hilo, and she vii
7 probably have the same crew, unies
? there are some deserters. With regar
, to the carpenter, who had made sue
i. strenuous complaint, it develope
. that he had been promoted, with 9
- -.fzn