The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1911-05-04
CAR or HIS SHIP
The Captain Of an Ocean Liner
Is a Real Autocrat.
HIS WORD IS ABSOLUTE LAW.

Imagine mayor or a judge Of a
circuit court or county sheriff or a
town marshal of village of $500 pop
ulation stepping out into the street
and on general and self imposed au-
thority picking up citizen, ordering
him to a cell and clapping irons on
him for safe keeping
Wouldn't the bird Of American lib
| erty set up scream? Wouldn't the
old and badly cracked Liberty bell
| resonate In discord?
After one OF the great transatlantic
passenger steamships leaves the three
mile limit of New York the passenger
Is in foreign territory on the high seas.
| English, French. German-wh whatever
| the flag at the masthead-the ship Is q
section of its fatherland, floating in the
high seas, where only maritime laws
regarding its transit in times Of peace
may hold check upon the carbon or
the ships commander, on or OF the
bridge.
No car has more power within bis
! territory than has the captain or the
great Atlantic liner on the high seas.
| He is on an island OF his country's
ownership--a floating island. having a
population Of 800 employees and look
Ing after the welfare and safety Of per-
haps 5000 passengers. He Is prac-
tically the administrative. executive
and judicial single individual such as
exists rarely on the map OF present
day civilization. Aside from his au-
thority over mankind. he may have
100000 OF vessel under him, to say
nothing of the international mails and
millions In gold In transshipment.
There's the captain" is whispered
| bit of comment made million times
a year In the beginning OF the pas
sages of great ocean steamships. And
generally the captain looks the part.
II is not so much his uniform either.
Ordinarily the captain is not young.
| There is gray in his hair, mustache
or beard That young man In his
twenties, no matter what his school
| ing for beginning the work. isn't called
at a moments notice to the captains
bridge. He must have his maximum
of training for six or seven numbers
below before he is called to the foot
| OF the ladder.
On the British passenger vessels
most of the beginners at navigating
an ocean vessel Of the first class will
have had a Iieutenant's commission
| from the navy II is from the royal
navy reserves that the lowest officers
vacancy is filed. Filling It, he has his
chance to rise TO the position Of cap
| tain
| AS TO the captains authority: One
midnight. when In a fog the White
/ Star Baltic struck the German oil
steamship Standard. the Baltic needed
its captain. and he was there. His
ship carpenters were rushed to the
bow of the vessel and began the work
of patching up the hole In the Battles
steel sheathing
Suppose that In a stampede Of the
Baltic's crew its employees had rushed
up to fill its boats? 1t was within the
captains power to have shot down the
/ leader-to have brought about war to
the knife, revolver and rife in the in.
/ terests of his vessel and Its passen.
gers. Or had some passenger or pas.
sengers become panic stricken and
against orders menaced the welfare OF
the majority on the ship death would
have been dealt with. the same rigid
discipline which requires of the cap.
tain that he be the autocrat at his
post.
There are no forms of writs or war
rants necessary. There Is no court al
which the passenger or the seaman
may give bond In that instant of
sudden great emergency which arises
the captains word is more than writ
ten law; II Is the unwritten common
law of the high seas. In the spirit o.
which the vigilance committee Of the
wild west of the United States rose.
lawlessly lawful.
Today the captain Of the great liner
may step into the palatial cabin and
command order He may go into the
smoking cabin and stop the game of
cards at which the sharper is playing
for his stakes In case of refusal that
ancient land right Of mo deprivation
of liberty without due process of law
becomes farce. The cell room or
even the iron manacles Of the cap
tain's authority may be used upon the
Individual who has paid $500 or $1,000
for his suit Of rooms and his passage.
On the high seas the captains ship
becomes an autocratic democracy. The
Individual in the first cabin and at the
captains table must share with the
immigrant far below those equities
that are granted to each In his place.
Don't buck the captain said an
official in the Offices of great steam
ship line. "He is all there is Of author
lty. He is the supreme entity of bis
ship. He is dressed for 1t; but. more
than that. he is trained to it. He is
empowered to take life If he must. and
on land this is the most serious Of all
things in the statute books
Commodore of the feet is one OF
the Offices toward which the old sea
captain looks. not enviously, not with
diSdnin. II is naval number in the
passenger service which marks the
age of retirement. There is honor in
the title. II does not descend to his
children. He gives half bis life to the
h -