The Glenwood post., 1911-04-08

sea, no one loses but the sailor and his widow and
ehlloren. Inc property is paid for by the com
ihunits' by you and by me; for insurance shifts
the burden OF loss from the shoulders of tho in
divldual to the shoulders OF the community Per
feet policing Of the sea has removed the dangers
from piracy. and losses from state or local dis
turbances are paid for by the states and localities
responsible
And 30 the old principle of common hazard has
been abandoned far the ship-owner is con-
cerned through the operation of maritime insur-
ance and modern laws. But how is 1t with :he
sailor and with you and me? 1t is easy to see
how this has worked to increase the hazard borne
by the crew. Formerly the shp-owner would not
load his vessel to the danger point he would not
risk employing unskilled men or too few sailors
because he did not want to risk his property Now
he does not care; insurance will take care of the
risks, and the idea is to make all the money pos
sible
Let us look little more closely into the condi-
tion of the sailors occupation that has been
evolved out of this hodgepodge of laws ancient
and modern. And then can see very clearly
how this condition affects not only the sailor but
you and me and every other American citizen. A
brief comparison of the conditions on shipboard
under the American flag with those under the
flags of other nations will explain why the Ameri-
can boy does not go to and why it is
sary to keep the American sailor chattel slave
by law of congress. To begin with the American
sailor who would ship over the high is
PEELED to seek his employment through a "crimp.'
The crmp is the runner for the notorious sailors
boarding houses" which furnish crews for all
deep-sea going vessels He is the absolute master
Of the sailors employment All deepsea captains
ship their crews through the crimp. The crmp
is paid out Of the unearned wages of the sailor.
1t is called advance money" which the law per
mits the sailor to sign away and which the system
compels him to sign away. The sailors call 1t
blood money" The money is paid by the captain
directly to the crmp In fact all the negotiations
carried directly between the captain and
the crimp. The sailor is not consulted at all.
More often than not, he is taken on board after
having been literally treated to third rail"
doctor" drink that robs him OF all conscious
The practice smacks very much of the old
practice of "shanghang." The act OF December
21. 1898, prevents the payment Of this blood
money, called allotment to original creditor in
the domestic trade (coastwise shipping and the
trade to nearby foreign countries). But 1t is per-
mitted in the deepsea trade, and sailor ever
obtains employment deepsea- going vessel
without having visited the crimp. The crimp
exists because the law permits him to exist, by
permitting the assignment Of advance money"
One state. oregon, actually recognized the system
by a statute limiting the amount of bloodmoney
to thirty dollars. The crimp ceased to exist in
the domestic trade when congress abolished the
allotment to original creditor In 1898
When the sailor gets aboard he is compelled to
live in space feet long by feet high and
feet wide. This is the legal forecastle space (72
cubic feet) except in sailing vessels built or re-
built after June 80 1898. The sailors call It the
dog hole" to distinguish 1t from the fire hole"
(nrsmen's ouarters). and the glory hole (stew-