Evening journal., 1911-02-08
NEED YOUNGER
MEN AS PILOTS
Pennsylvania Com mission
Finds Too Many Old Men
Are in the Service
WILL ASK LEGISLATURE
FOR RELIEF AT ONCE

More pilots and younger men at the
helm are needed to meet the COM
mercial conditions of the port Of
Philadelphia, and the keeping down
of the number of pilots apprentices
to minimum is to be eliminated. The
Commissioners of Navigation. at their
regular meeting in Philadelphia yes
terday, decided that the time had ar
rived when it was necessary to re-
habilitate the Pennsylvania pilotage
service as the number of men is in-
adequate for the business Of the port,
and that the present laws which were
enacted in 1903 for the Board Of Port
Wa-dens, are obsolete and useless,
and should be repealed.
In the days Of square riggers. when
sailing vessels did all the commerce
of the world, such enactments were
proper. but since steam has become
the great propelling power Of the sea
conditions have changed, and the
Board has found it necessary TO meet
new needs by urging legislative en-
actments which will properly provide
for the actual demands of shipping In
the present era. Most of the pilots
on the Delaware are considered too
old for active service, and it Is con-
sidered that there are not enough
young men learning the business to
take their places. According to a re-
port received yesterday, one of the
Delaware pilots has been in active
service for half century. Il was
shown that one is between 20 and IS
years old; one is between So and 20
years; four between go and So years;
five are between SO and so years, and
nine are between so and 55 years. It
was also shown that there are only
FIVE apprentices, whose terms of SER
vice will not expire until 1914, pre-
venting any additions to the force
until after that date.
Want Pilots Classified.
1t is proposed under the new bill
about to be presented to the Pennsyl-
vania Legislature to divide the pilots
into three classes, the first to include
vessels of any draft; second to in
clude % feet and less, and third, Is
feet and less, the total number not
to exceed 42. At the present time
there are 3S first class pilots in the
Pennsylvania service, seven less than
in 1887.
1t is also proposed to reduce the
Ola years btENlCt now required .LOl
apprentices to four years, in order
that the depleted list of available
men may be increased as speedily as
possible TO meet the requirements OF
the port. Under the old act the
number Of apprentices was limited "a
five. The legislation asked for leaves
the number of beginners to the dis
erection Of the Board of Commits
sioners.
The matter of preparing a new bill
was referred to the Committee or
Navigation and Pilots, Of which Cole.
man Sellers is chairman. The Della.
ware pilots propose to introduce (
bill in the Delaware Legislature o
the same nature as the one in Penn
sylvania
The Board considered a protest sen
by j. Penrose Vi-den, president OF
the Pilots Association, against q. bill
introduced in Congress by Represent
ative Swasey, of Maine. placing the
pilotSge service under Federal con
troll, which provides that pilots are
to be rated and paid according {,
the amount of tonnage entering tn,
port. 1t was claimed that such ;
law would be impracticable, and tha
nothing could be gained by Fedora
control.