Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1911-04-08
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ards quarters). Here the men must live, eat.
sleep and keep their clothing. 1t has been de-
scrbed too large for coffin and too small for
a grave. 1t is unsanitary, dark, and dirty.
The American sailor is compelled to sign away
in the foreign trade his right part of the wages
due him at ports of call. Consular agents have de-
lions from American ships. The act of December
81, 1898, gives the sailor right to half the wages
that may he6dne him at any port of call, but add
unless the contrary be expressly stipulated in the
contract" The ship-owners see to it that this
stipulation is always made
The sailor must compete with the unskilled
and destitute of all nations and races, because the
law to citizenship repealed in 1864, and the
operation of maritime insurance has reduced the
standard of skill In seamen. No standard of efh-
cheney has been supplied by law. The shp-owners
may hire whom they please and as few men as the
inspectors will let them. There is no standard to
guide the inspectors. And SO the sailor must do
the unskilled mans work at because the work
has to be done and there is no one else to do It,
Often he must risk his life because the vessel is
undermined and unskilfully manned. Because
this competition with the foreigner, his wages
small the wages of the cheapest port OF
call of his vessel. and he cannot get enough to
marry and live normal life. AS vessels grow
larger, his chances to earn decent livelihood grow
smaller.
Big Business conceives ships to be for the
purpose of making money, not for the purpose OF
carrying goods from place to place; for the pur-
pose of piling up dividends matter at whose
expense the dividends piled up, no matter at
what cost to the sailor to you and 1t
would take away cargo space to provide decent
living quarters for sailors shipboard, and less
cargo means less dividends. To load a vessel so
to minimize the danger from shifting cargo
means less cargo also Better food, more men
and skilled all cost more money, and there
fore Big Business, which is not compelled to take
risks its property is insured refuses these
things. fine, 1t is much cheaper to vessels
with slaves; therefore Big Business employs
slaves.
Not only is American commerce being con-
Quoted by vessels flying foreign flags. but Amerf
oversee commerce in American ships is being
handled by foreign seamen- The astounding fact is
true that not only has America fewer sailors than
any other nation the face of the globe, but the
great majority the men the American
merchant marine of other nations And
the majority of American seamen sailing, by
choice, under the flags of other nations than
their own. So when trust lives and our
goods on the high seas. entrust them to foreign
seamen, slaves undetermined vessels. living
under conditions that have driven Americans from
the sea- That is what concerns And 1T
vitality.
Statistics published by the United States COM
missioner of navigation show that out of every
hundred American seagofng steamers over
hundred tons for the past seven years. average
of 2 IA have been lost each year, and that out of
every hundred foreign seagoing steamers OF over
hundred tons for the same period, average
American seagoing vessels of fifty tons for
the past seven years average of Alb have been
lost each year. and out of the same number OF
foreign seagoing sail vessels of over fifty TONS the
loss has been only 297 year
On the Pacific ocean the situation Is almost in
tolerabie- The United States commissioner OF
navigation In his report for 189S-99. page TO- de-
clared The crews of our steamships plying
to China and Japan are almost wholly Chinese and
Japanese shipped before American consuls at
foreign ports where the vessels enter and clear
And this condition has worse instead OF
: better since that time