Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1915-09-15

Editorial from Coast Seamen's Journal.
San Francisco.
The nation wide publicity campaign
against the new seamen's law is not with
out a humorous aspect.
1t is not denied by the most unreason-
able opponent hat the new law contains
many good and commendable features.
But. say these wise men, the seamen's law
Is driving American ships from the
oceans-it is 'hauling down our flag"
AS concrete examples we are then told
about the Dollar line" already "forced
out of business and about the Pacific
Mall Steamship which concern
has just announced the transfer Cor sale0
of its five trans-Pacifc steamers to a sub
sidiary of the International Mercantile
Marine mpa
To begin with, the DOLLAR line" never
existed. hence it could not be driven out
of business. The Dollar fleet consists of
seven steamers. Three of these are en-
gagged In the coastwise trade carrying lunl-
Der. The Dollar coastwise vessels always
were under the American flag: they are
still under the American flag and they will
remain under that flag probably as long
as they float. The other half of the Dol
lar fleet are known as loft shore tramps''
who will go anywhere and everywhere
whenever u profitable charter is offered.
Tn off-shore Dollar steamers always
were and are still coolie manned and they
always sailed under an alien f1ag-at
least until a few stray German raiders in
duced the management of the Dollar COM
pany to seek protection for two of these
alien vessels under "our flag" Captain
Robert Dollar himself made the statement
that this transfer was for the time be-
ing" only.
When the thine being had passed, l..
e., when the German cruisers had been
sunk or tnterned, '.our flag" had no fur
tlor attraction fn tho ovnA ~ kh1
Dollar fleet. e n of these two coolie
manned. foreign built steamers changed
Tags for the second time. And this simple
commercial transaction has brought forth
more soul-stirrlng. patriotic editorials
about our flag" than any event in current
American history, although not a single
American wa employed on that vessel
either before or after the transfer.
NOW for the actual facts involved in the
reported sale or transfer OF the Pacific
Mail Steamship company's trans-Pacific
steamers.
The Pacific Mail Steamship compan Is
railroad owned. Railroad owned vessels
can not pass through the Panama canal
by the terms of the Panama canal act.
rms made 1T difficult or impossible for the
Pacifc Mail to compete with foreign lines
not railroad owned, because the latter are
able to use the canal while the Pacific
Mall Is not. Obviously the Pacific Mail
muuAio rave 10 De sold or transferred to
other ownership. and thus acquire the
privilege Of using the canal. And this ia
precisely has happened during the
past week.
To be sure these plain facts were de-
liberately shamefully distorted when the
daily organs of transformation announced
the Pacific Mail company's decision in the
matter. Again it was held that the new
seamen's law was hauling down ..our
flag and yet there was less Justification
for this statement than in the case of the
so-called Dollar .line."
The Pacific Mail company's trans-Pacifc
vessels are and have always been coolie