The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-09

1 crowned aboard the ship to meet new
 demands--the chief steward. The old | fashioned ships cook, known to the
 deep-water sailor as the doctor" was
 metamorphosed into "chef" with butch CTS and contectioners to work out elab- crate menus worthy of the best hotels ashore.
 SteaQ has revolutionized the propulsion and navigation of ships, the loading and unloading Of cargo and has introduced dispatch and organization in sea life. It has turned comfort into luxury for pas sengers, robbed the sea of two-thirds of
 it's terrors and half of it's romance and made ships depart with the regularity of railroad trains without materially help ing the man of the sea Their viearious lives and deeds have benefited the na- lions of the world in measure no one can estimate with but little addition to their wages and many substractions from the things that make life enjoyable and worth living.
 In sailing vessels officers and men formerly had long tedious voyages and exposure to weather and physical strain. By way of compensation they had longer periods of rest in port and stretches of time at sea, especially in the trade wind regions, where sailing ship life was full of charm. Steam and labor saving de
 vices have transferred the strain from fhe
 sailors muscles to the whole crews nerves reduced the size of the crew and made a small number bear a double burder Steamers, particularly cargo ves- sels, go to sea when loaded night or day. In coal and ore exporting ports the load ing goes on night and day Modern sea- faring men get less sleep than any class of men we known about and have fewer Sundays. It Is not an extraordinary thing for a man to have no Sunday in port for months and years, if engaged in passenger service, as a sailing schedule may be so arranged that a ship is always
 at sea on Sunday.
 l Personal touch between a ship owner and his crew has ceased Ships are not I8owned by private individuals as they
 were in the days of sail. The amount of capital invested necessitates corporate 1 ownership with all the strict business management of the corporation The l large steamship companies are quasi
 naval companies. They have fleets of ships with rules and regulations like the 1 articles of war in the navy.
 1 Seamen are longer at sea now than they were in sailing vessels. In these
 men went to sea for months and stayed
 ashore for weeks or months. With steam
 propulsion instead of seamanship on 1 deep water he goes to sea for weeks and stays ashore for days Ships are char tered to stay on one route for whole l year, ile0 Bp IOiHei enleT QTN COCK, Ds
 surveyed, renovated and be off again in
 a week or ten days for period of one
 or two years.
 1 Accompanying the decline of sailing
 vessels is the art of seamanship and the | passing of the deep water sailor. Tn his place has come a number of special i ists, from the educated, well trained
 marine engineer to the illiterate, unsl<illed | coal passer. Seamen are now more mig
 ratory in their habits, going into vessels
 of other nations in a way unknown be-
 fore the era of steam. American ships on the coast have sometimes Spanish 1 firemen, Italian sailors, French cooks, 1 coored walters, German or Scotch engi- neers and American officers. American
 ns-Pacific steamships carry Chinese | exclusively as sailors firemen, cooks | stewards and walters.
 There are more educated men on board ships, but there is an increase also of uneducated unskilled men. Scurvy. beris
 beri and lime juice are becoming reminis- cences. A sentiment against drinking is l growing among seafarers. The total humber of ahstainers has not increased
 but the men use liquor more temper
 ately than they did when 1t was to be
 had only at the end of a long voyage. Wages have increased but if the shorter voyage is considered I question whether
 the advance is worth getting hilarious
 over. The seaman has been left with
 all the hazards of the sea without it's | pleasures to cheer the intending and {! wearing work of the steamer