Evening star., 1914-04-19

big waves sweeping across their decks.
1t was not uncommon that they woNid
blow away their sails or lose their
masts and sometimes a member OF the
crew would De washed overheard.
They had their calm weather races
also. races in which skill with the oars
and Drawn and muscle told the tale
When a vessel was sighted in a calm
put out all the oars there was room
for. They fought and contested every
inch of the way. Sometimes they would
row ten miles Or more. and 1t was mot
until the fortunate pilot was ciimbins
the sides of the prize did the others give
up. There We're no cutters.
The civil war brought change in th..
pilots who looked after Uncie Sam
ports of entry. and they began TO reyo-
lutionze their methods. one of tn,
things they always stood up for was
their rates. When YOU separate a pilot
from what he thinks he ought to earn
You make very sore individual out OF
him. To gain the prize meant not only
10 win the race alone; il meant a trip
far out TO sea. There was rivalry in il.
rivalry that was keen and constant. Tn.
masters of the big liners also began 10
adopt TIE policy OF refusing TO take 4
pilot aboard until they reached the
trance to the ports because they did not
care TO feed him a day or so before his
services We're needed. and the pilots be
gan to realize that in this there was a
loss of money and energy Uncle Sam
offered the suggestion that they band
together lie offered the help OF laws
that would regulate and protect their
business.
What happened in the next few years
toward this end the pilots at the en-
trance OF Chesapeake bay were the
leaders in They organized and the sys-
tenn proved a success from the start
Those looking after other ports were not
SLOW 10 observe it, and it was not long
aiterwaTd that the pilots of New York,
Philadelphia. Boston and other large
ports were banded together in similar
organizations. The largest association
that exists at present ii at New York, In
which there are 1870 active members Al
Baltimore there are 81. Philadelphia has
45, and Virginia and Boston have 80 ano
81. respectively. Around Uncle Sans
coasts there are smaller organizations OF
the same character varying all the way
down to ten members, but they all have
the same efficient standing
Like in all other organizations which
seek eXpertness it required the banding
together of the pilots to show their short
comings. 1t was just about this time
that Uncle Sans maritime commerce was
beginning to increase rapidly, and II was
soon found necessary to operate with
boats that were speedy under all condi-
tions of weather. Herein the Maryland
pilots also took the initiative. They ex-
perimented by building a steam pilot boat
of iron, the first OF its kind, and 1t was
such success that the Virginia pilots
and then those at New York and Phil
adelphia followed their example. At the
present day all of the pilot boats at the
entrance of Uncle Sans ports are steam
propelled, numbering about twenty.
On account of the work which it must
perform and the hard conditions Of
weather which it must Withstand a mod
ern steam pilot boat must be equipped
with all of the modern appliances in sea
faring work which are designed for safety
as we'll as efficiency. Thus these boats
while small, are OF the best build that
can be secured. Some Of them are al
ready equipped with wireless telegraph
apparatus. and represent an outlay Of
from $4,000 to as high as $1SO.000 and
to maintain them in hrst-class condition
requires an annual expenditure of some
think like $4,000.
To provide the cost OF these operations
and at the same time accumulate enough
money in a year to pay the pilots sum
which they think commensurate with the
risks which they run means that each or
ganization must scoop in a pile Of money
in year. Judging from the number Of
ships which enter Uncle Sans ports each
year and the rates of pilotage charged
for them, they do. They charge each ves-
sci SO much for each foot OF water 1t
draws, SO that when one of the big
liners plies up the bay it means dollars
that run up into the hundreds. All Of
these proceeds go into the Golfers OF the
organization, from which the pilots get
their share after the running expenses
are taken out and a certain reserve fund
Is set aside.
Thus each pilot association is virtually
stock company, organized with such
business officers as a president, a secre-
tary and treasurer and manager. The
pilots each contribute their share of the
work, operating an endless chain. For
instance, in the office of each pilot or
ganization there is numbered list of the
pilots on shore. When a vessel is about
to leave port pilot No. l is assigned to
it and pilot No. = moves up to No. lis
place.
* X
When pilot No. reaches the harbor en-
trance and is taken off by the pilot steam
er he is placed at the bottom of the list.
and remains on board until he moves up
to No. l. They usually keep from six to
eight men on board, and by this rotation
the pilots usually spend about four days
at home and two days afioat. At the age
of seventy the pilots are looked after by
the association. and are retired on a COM
Portable income.
There is a physical training also neces-
sary, not so much to develop strength as
to teach the pilot how to use the MEM
bers OF his body to the best advantage
to guard against loss of life There is al
ways this possibility in fighting the ele-
meuts. But considering the number OF
times Uncle Sans pilots board vessels
entering his ports the number of lives
lost is small. Since 1853 fifty-two pilots
have been drowned and thirty-eight boats
lost. the majority of boats being the
small ones used in transferring pilots
Under the present system the young
men who enter this work must be from
sixteen to eighteen years of age They
one of the pilots in the association The
number enrolled each year depends on
the deaths or retirements. Usually 1t is
three in every five years.
When the embryo pilot begins his
he is placed aboard the school
ship of the association. This is usually
one of the old schooners which is kept In
breaks down. He begins his apprentice
ship just as any other boy does at sea
by learning all the rudiments- He mas
ters the compass and all the details OF
handling sailing vessels, and then by
daily use of the lead line he finds that he
is getting a good knowledge Of the depths
of water in the harbor.
Once these courses are mastered he is
to the steamer where he be-
gins to receive a pay of IS a month.
There he receives his instruction in the
care of such a vessel. beginning with
nolystoning the decks and ending at the
wheelhouse. He is also required to man
The small boats in which the pilots are
placed aboard or taken on the ships,
wherein he acquires an experience which
$ of benefit to him when he becomes