The Forrest City times., 1911-04-07

the fear of the foreign dungeon and the certain
 return to his ship in irons holds him to his con
 tract And even with the fear of certain re-en
 slavement staring him In the face, the sailor un
 der the stars and stripes is far too often A de-
 serter It Is idle to argue that it in the nature
 oi the sailor 10 wander, to desert master for
 another, and that therefore laws are necessary to
 prevent the disorganization of the merchant ma rine Every occupation has it's devotees to whom
 It calls In an nsistent voice, and there are thou sands of men who follow the sea from choice The
 answer to the question: why Is the sailor legally slave. must be found in an inquiry into the condi tions from which he seeks to run away If he likes to follow the there Is no reason why he should forever try to leave 1t or to leave his master and his flag except that the conditions under which he is forced to work are intolerabe. And here lies the answer
 The earliest known facts about the condition of the laborer at take us back to the ancient laws of the Norseman and to the code that gov erned the sailors of the ancient cities the shores of the Mediterranean. In the north the laborer on land and at free man. The
 sailor had the same status aboard his vessel that
 his brother had in the Morse towns. He had the same freedom Of contract and the voice in
 the laws regulating the conduct of his companions and himself. The laborer of the south a chat tel slave land and He usually a prisoner of and his body and soul belonged to
 his master. He chained to his seat In the gal ley and ashed to his task. Manual labor of all
 kinds considered to be debasing and per formed only by slaves.
 The Island of Rhodes gave to the Mediter ranean its maritime law and the Roman code patterned after that of Rhodes. When Rome
 quered the countries of the north, she gave them | her laws for the regulation of labor the well as on land. The allPervading idea of Roman | civilization that labor is debasing. and the laberer on land was serf and on the sea he was
 8 slave. The maritime power of medieval Europe which expressed through the laws of Barce- Iona and later through the allpowerful Hanseatic League of cities. maintained through Roman maritime law It gradually oyerpow cred and ob- ceased to exist Since that day the sailor has been a chatte slave.
 When sailing vessels replaced the galley, 1t be- came necessary that the sailors status slave 1 be maintained by rigid laws against desertion Freedom of action necessary for the operation of a sailing vessel. but it still necessary to 1 keep the sailor bound to the ship because injury might come to the vessel through his desertion | And so his status as a slave maintained by | law on the principle of common hazard" All the
 laws of the Hanseatc League stipulate that If any | harm come to a vessel while any sailor Is absent | from shipboard. the absent sailor shall pay the | damage. The safety of the vessel and her cargo
 was in the hands of every board while | the vessel at or in foreign ports.
 The progress of civilization has relieved the | ship-owner ana the master of the hazard of the
 sea Maritime insurance has been devised to pay
 for losses through acts of God. If ship sinks at