The Wagner post. (Wagner, Charles Mix County, S.D.) 1912-current, 1912-05-03
OLYMPIC IN PORT;
CREW is ARRESTED
ON MUTINY CHARGE


The White Star liner Olympic, which
had been held off Ryde, Isle OF Wight,
since Wednesday by a strike OF her
firemen, today abandoned the scheduled
trip TO New York and returned to port.
This course was made necessary by the
desertion of her seamen this morning.
when the line attempted to replace the
striking iremen with nonunion men.
One hundred and twenty one passen-
gers who were awaiting the Olympic at
Queenstown, have been transferred to
the Baltic, which will leave here today
for New York. Fourteen hundred sacks
OF mail which were to nave been for
warded by the Olympic will be held
at Queenstown for the Cunard liner
Lusitania, sailing from Liverpool to-
morrow for New York and due here on
Sunday. The Cunarder Is likely to
and for this reason the mail will be n
trusted to her.
Crew Is Under Arrest.
The strike ha a serious aspect be-
yond the matter of Inconvenience to
rans-Atlantic travel, as the seamen,
having signed for the voyage, have now
laid themselves open to the charge OF
mutiny. Immediately following the
walkout the White Star officials ap-
pealed to the authorities, with the re-
suit that the Olympic's whole compile
ment of seamen. numbering "a, were
arrested when they came ashore. They
Will be arraigned in police court at
Portsmouth this afternoon. charged
with mutiny.
The White Star officials appealed to
the government to support them in
their efforts to obtain adequate punish
ment for the mutinous crew, adding
that unless firmness was shown now
the company would despair of being
able to restore discipline and maintain
its sailing schedules.
Union Rcpudiates Act.
The National Sailors and Firemens'
union ~repudiates the action of the
strikers, who are said to have been adj
vised by the Seafarers' organization,
which recently withdrew from the par-
ent body.
The firemen of the Olympic struck
Wednesday five minutes before the
vessel was due to sail for New York.
Their grievance was the alleged failure
OF the company to properly equip the
steamer with lifeboats. subsequently,
a deputation of union firemen wit
messed a test of the ~life-saving appar
ratus, and being satisfied with the
same, agreed to return to work. Mean
time, however, their fellows had dis
persed, leaving word that they would
not rejoin the ship unless Is firemen,
who had remained aboard when the
others left, were discharged.
This concession was refused by the
company, which stated that it would
lay up the Olympic rather than suffer
coercion.
New Forco Recruited.
Officials Of the line forthwith began
to recruit a new force Of firemen from
Sheffield, Liverpool and Portsmouth,
and yesterday announced the Olympic
would sail at daybreak today. This
morning tugs containing $50 firemen to
replace the strikers came alongside the
Olympic and were putting the new
men aboard, when the seamen struck,
They declared that they would not
work with n%onunion men and promptly
clambered over the ships side into the
waiting tugs.
Captain Haddock appealed for as
sistance to the cruiser Cochrane, whose
commander boarded the steamer and
warned the crew that any of them taxi
ing part in the strike after having
signed for the trip would b. guilty OF
mutiny. This had no effect upon the
Gamer who proceeded to shore. Here
they were met by q strong force Of po-
lice and placed under arrest on the
ground that their presence in town un-
der the circumstances might lead to
disorders. Later the strikers were
taken to court at Portsmouth.
When the helplessness OF the Olym-
pic became known a steamer was dis
patched from here for Ryde to take OF
the saloon passengers, who were
brought here pending arrangements
for their transfer to other vessels.