The Columbus journal., 1911-04-12

sea. no one loses but the sailor AID his widow and
"iiuieh Inc property Is paid for by the COM
hlunItE. by you and by me: for insurance shifts
me burden OF loss from the shoulders OF the in
dlVidual 10 the shoulders of the community Per
lect policing of the sea has removed the dangers
from piracy. and losses from state or local dis
turhances are paid for by the states and localities
responsible.
And so the Old principle of common hazard has
been abandoned far the ship owner is con-
cerned through the operation of maritime ins,r-
ance and modern laws. But how IS 1t with the
sailor and with you and me? II is easy TO see
how this has worked to increase the hazard borne
py the crew Formerly the shipOwner 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 DOS
sibe
Let us look a little more closely into the condi-
ton OF the sailors occupation that has been
evolved out of this ge-rodge of laws ancient
and modern And then 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 shipboard
under the American flag with those under the
flags of other nations will explain why the Ameri-
can boy does not go to sea, and why ii is neces
sary to keep the American sailor chatte slave
by law of congress. To begin with. the American
sailor who would ship over the high is COM
PEELED to seek his empoym ent through "crimp."
The crimp is the runner for the notorious sailors
boarding houses which furnish crews for all
deepsea-going vessels. He is the absolute master
of the sailors employment All deep-sea captains
ship their crews through the crmp. The crimp
is paid out of the unearned wages Of the sailor.
II is called advance money" which the law per
mts 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 crimp In fact all the negotiations
are carried on directly between the captain and
the crirp. The sailor Is consulted al all
More often than not he is taken on board after
having been literally treated to third rail- or
doctor. a drink that robs him of all conscious
ness. The practice smacks very much Of the old
practice of 'shanghaing." The act of December
p. 1895 prevents the payment of this blood
money, called allotment to original creditor in
the domestic trade (coastwise shipping and the
trade to nearby foreign countresl. But it Is per-
mitted in the deep-sea trade. and no sailor ever
obtains employment on a deep-sea 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 statute limiting the amount of blood money
to thirty dollars. The crimp ceased to exist in
the domestic trade when congress abolished the
allotment TO original creditor in 1895
When the sailor gets aboard he is compelled to
live in a space feet long by feet high and
feet wide. This is the legal forecastle space az
cubic feetl except In sailing vessels built or re-
built after June so. 1898 The sailors call II the
dog hole, to distinguish it from the fire hole
(fremens Quartersl and the glory hole (stew-