Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-07-10
CALLINGS THAT SURVIVE.
Few Industries of Our Fathers Elk.
tinct in These Days.

.
The launching at Essex Of a vessel built
to cruise for whales Is a reminder OF the
vitality callings have even when they
have sunk from their o,d-time spectacular
prominence. The whale ships Of New
Bedford are no longer found in every sea.
as in the era before petroleum. but a
serviceable fleet that searches for sper.
maceti and whalebone still has that city
for its hailing port. Some Of these vessels
pay very handsome returns to their own.
ers and crews. and New Bedford has an
interest in the whalers that may make
San Francisco their base Of operations.
Steam has been applied to the business
carried on in Pacific arctic waters, but on
the old whaling grounds sailing vessels
are free from its competition. Province
town is also the home Of many whalemen
who find the calling profitable, even II
they do not push their voyages so far az
the old-timers who few the house flags
famous in New Bedford's annals. Nan
tucket's glory departed long ago. Whales
come to Nantucket. but Nantucket no
longer goes after whales. New Bedford
is now a great mill city. and promises to
be still greater. but all its people have not
lost their hankering for the sea. The old
saying. "A stove boat or a dead whale, -
New Bedford's equivalent for Victory or
Westminster Abbey" has still its charm.
even II the number Of those to whom 1t
appeals is small compared with the time
when the 'harpooner'' was the local hero.
The personnel Of the New Bedford whale
men has undergone change which re-
fleets the general tendency Of immigration
to supply the deficiencies occasioned by the
withdrawal of 1.-THE old stock. from indus
tries by the introduction OF adopted citi-
zens." Many Portuguese names are found
among the masters and mates as well as
among the crews sailing out Of New Bed
ford. and the same is measurably true OF
all the whaling ports. The Portuguese
being excellent seamen, steady. sober and
Industrious. the great traditions Of the
Fishery" do not seem to have suffered
deterioration in their hands New Bed
ford is the mecca OF many an Azorean
ambition.
Whale oil still has its uses, and whale
bone commands lprices that make the
search for 1t well worth the capital in
vested. Once a calling has answered a
great demand 1t seldom utterly disappears
from human activities. When new inven-
tons supersede its first great utility,
modern commerce turns its attention to
ucts.
Thus We find that the candle business.
despite the progress Of kerosene. gas and
electricity as illuminants. Is an industry
though fallen from it's highest estate.
There is a demand for candles that is
esthetic ard there is another which is
economic. There are persons who regard
burning candles as very ornamental. and
there are others who find burning candles
very useful. In many parts Of Europe the
candle business is carried on by large es-
Establishments with abundant capital. In
Great Britain there was quite recently. at
least, what We should call a candle trust
that yielded good returns. Anybody who
has sojourned in very rural English inn
will not need to be told whence come
some of the demands for candles
Similarly, though modern transportation
agencies have stolen away the glories of
the stage coach with its galloping spans.
1t can still be found in commission by
those who seek 1t. 1t runs in the White
mountain regions, in Maine, and In south
western Massachusetts,. In the south and
west it is known and respected. Its latest
commercial competitor is the rural free
delivery. and as this expands and rail-
roads find a way of profltably negotiating
mountain passes and tapping regions
whose resources are vastly greater than
their populations. the stage coach must
yield what place it still has. but the pro-
cess will be SO slow that the lovers of tho
inconveniently picturesque may count for
years to come on the chance Of meeting
with the vehicle