The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

1904] : MARINE REVIEW 29 SEEN AND HEARD ON THE LOOKOUT. Taking into consideration the number of vessels that are en- gaged in the transportation of oil, comparatively few of them have been destroyed or even damaged by fire. This is due, of course, to the numerous precautions that are taken with the vessels, Not many years ago a large fleet of sailing vessels carried oil in bar- rels from North Atlantic ports to Europe, returning with the empty barrels. The oil-soaked condition of their holds effectively prevented these vessels from engaging afterwards in the East India trade, for instance, and coal and lumber was about the only freight for which they could be chartered. Steel steamers having stee] bulkheads separating the oil from the boilers and engines are now used to carry oil in bulk. The steamers are made very tight in all their parts and are specially equipped from a fire stand- point. It requires only a few hours to pump the cargo on board, a similar length of time to discharge it. Not only can more oil be carried in this manner, but the expense of carrying empty bar- rels across the Atlantic is. entirely eliminated. It should also be known that by a generous application of steam into their holds these steel boats are made fit to carry even sugar and spices with- out fear of having them damaged by the previous load's pungent perfume. Oil vessels bound for ports that lack facilities for re- ceiving oil in bulk load what is known as "case oil," or oil in tin cases. As these tins need not be returned to the shipper, and are also easier to handle than the barrels, the improvement of this way of delivering oil in all parts of the world is obvious. And in proof of the correctness of saying "to all parts of the world," may be mentioned the fact that a large Standard Oil ves- sel recently cleared with case oil for Celebes--an island that was formerly only suggestive of cannibals and savages. Besides the steamers mentioned, tow barges have been expressly built to carry oil in bulk. Having in one of the Review's former issues recorded the opinion of experienced seamen as regards tow barges, it need only be said here that in the case of oil barges must be added to all the dangers that ever follow in the wake of these self-insufficient craft the perils arising from being loaded with this inflammatory commodity. A few years ago the Legal Aid Society established branches in the principal seaports to extend the protection of the law to even the most humble of mariners. Upon a visit to New York city a short while ago I called at the branch office of this society. The lawyer was in court pleading the case of an ill-used fireman, and the continuous advent of distressed mariners loudly pro- claiming their need of legal advice or lawful redress was a noisy testimonial both to this institution's popularity and the lawyer's excess of business. A scrap book containing clippings descriptive of occasions when the society was able to aid some persecuted seafaring man proved interesting reading. On the first page ap- pears--well, some poetry; as follows: This is the yarn that was told to me, By a battered and tattered son of the sea, And he ain't like some of the swabs I've seen As would go and lie to a poor marine--reporter. And then came an account of how some captain had been nailed up in a barrel to avoid a subpoena-server. As it was also stated that the elusive captain is still at large it must be pre- sumed that he managed to escape from the barrel. A further perusal of the scrap book's assorted information anent the dark side of the séaman's proverbially so bold and free life shows that many firemen who had their money illegally withheld, while sail- ors, without losing part of their salary on account of it, had fur- nished needed amusement to their superiors by permitting them- selves to be "triced up," "or strung up" by the thumbs. The last two modes of administering punishment may be called the refinement of cruelty, while discussions in which belaying pins and capstan bars figure by way of argument frequently occur. In- terspersed with these were edifying tales of boarding house mas- ters retaining seamen's clothing; of runners presenting bills for imaginary services, and of sailors who have deserted from their vessels for fancied or other grievances. Though unable to com- ment on the legal aspect of any of the cases at present pending in the courts, we must all agree that the seamen's branch of this society has taken up ideal and appropriate quarters--opposite the Battery, in close proximity to the British consul's shipping office, and in the very heart of sailor town. All along the Atlantic coast the advent of the so-called "old- fashioned" winter weather directly after new year was conducive to discomfort for the inhabitants in general and the seafaring folks in particular. Upon a recent visit to Boston and vicinity I noticed the fishermen of Hull lined along the beach in anticipa- tion of wreckage due from a large steamer which a few days be- 'fore had been sunk, it was said, in a collision off Boston light. The term "wrecker" still suggests to our minds a rapacious indi- vidual who, without heeding the imminent probability of loss of life resulting from his act, lures a vessel on the rocks. Those -wreckers on the Hull beach, however, presently volunteered to -man_the lifeboat and at great risk to themselves succeeded in rescuing the crew of a small, waterlogged lumber schooner. The 'Portuguese settlers on Peddock's island (Boston harbor), pre- vented by the weather from hauling their lobster pots, were har- vesting an unexpected crop of most welcome fuel--undoubtedly some lumber vessel's deck load--and besides the two wrecks be- fore mentioned, nothing could be seen across the wide expanse "of tumbling water but a pilotboat that hove to a few miles above 'the. light--veritably the personification of grim watchfulness. In New York harbor several tugs have been greatly damaged by ice floes, and a schooner after successfully weathering Cape Hat- teras was ignominously vanquished by the ice off Governor's island. Amidst all this arctic scene a trim auxiliary schooner yacht leaving port looked decidedly out of place; but all advo- cates of the unqualifiedly seaworthy yacht, as against the boat built solely for racing purposes, may be pleased to hear that the craft referred to was hove to during a typical Cape Hatteras storm and making fine weather of it. Several other yachts which are now cruising in West Indian waters may shortly be ex- pected to go to the Mediterranean, either to witness or to partici- pate in the race from Nice to Gibraltar. To the seemingly in- evitable cup a prominent French club, "Club Nautique de Nice," will add 2,500 francs, while the "Societe Nautique de Mar- seilles" increases this amount by 1,250 francs as a prize for the successful contestant. Though the Mediterranean is called an in- land sea, one is apt to encounter there splendid imitations of North Atlantic weather, and yachts participating in the February - Nice-to-Gibraltar race must essentially be seaworthy craft. GOVERNMENT SUPPLIES IN AMERICAN BOTTOMS. Senator Frye lately introduced a bill in the senate, the pur- port of which is briefly as follows: pee "That vessels of the United States, and no others, shall be employed in the transportation by sea of coal, provisions, fodder or supplies of any description, purchased pursuant to law, for the . use of the army or navy; but this section shall not be construed to prohibit the transportation of such articles by any vessel owned by any department of the government." The committee on commerce, to which this bill was referred, has recommended its passage. The committee says that the suc- cessful steamship line bidder for carrying freight for the war de- partment, exclusive of silver, for the Philippine government for the past calendar year between New York and Manila through the Suez canal and return was an English corporation, at a slid- ing rate approximating $5.90 per ton. Not a ton of this freight was carried in American bottoms. The transportation of British troops and supplies in other than British vessels is prohibited by department regulations; and that while in Germany and France no law or regulation prohibits the use of foreign bottoms for such transportation it is the practice to employ vessels of their own country. This policy, says the committee, is a wise one and should be adopted by the United States for many reasons, even though the cost of such transportation would be somewhat in- creased thereby. The following list of American steamers, fur- nished by the commissioner of navigation, are now, or will be be- fore the end of the calendar year 1904, employed in trade be- tween Pacific coast ports and Hongkong: Gross Year Name. tons. Sp'd. built. Owner. SIpelia ss 11,284 19 1903 Pacific Mail Steamship Co. Korea"... .«. 11,276 19 1002 Pacific Mail Steamship Co. Manchuria .. 13,500 16 1903 Pacific Mail Steamship Co. Mongolia .... 13,500 16 1903 Pacific Mail Steamship Co. City of Pekin 5,097 14 1874 Pacific Mail Steamship Co. Chima". <4. 5,060 17 1889 Pacific Mail Steamship Co. Petru .... ..: 3,528 14 1802 Pacific Mail Steamship Go, Minnesota ... 21,000 14 1903 Great Northern Steamship Co. Dakar 4.5% 21,000 14 1903 Boston Steamship Co. 'Freniont : 22.5 9,606 14 1902 Boston Steamship Co. Shawmut .... 9,606 14 1902 Boston Steamship Co., Lyraieee ie sca dl? 10: -TOOE. Boston Steamship Co, ~ Hyades ., ... 3,753 10 2900 Boston Steamship Co, Pleiades ,. , 3,753 10 1900 Boston Steamship Co. Victoria ,., .. 3,502 .. 3870 Northern Pacific Steamship Co. Olympia ..... 2,837. .. 1883 Northern Pacific Steamship Co. Tacoma ,, ... 2011. .. 1870 Northern Pacific Steamship Co. The first six vessels in the foregoing list trade from San Francisco; the others from Puget sound ports. "Some of these vessels,' says the committee report, "already go direct to Manila and others so prolong their voyage. The American-Hawaiian Steamship Co., the International Mercantile Marine Co. and the Pacific Coast Steamship Co. also maintain steamers on the Pacific which are adapted to trade with the ar- chipelago. An increase in rates or volume of business would be the necessary inducement to have them participate. In other words, on July 1, 1904, American bottoms on the Pacific would be adequate for all the carrying trade between the islands and ports. on the Pacific coast. On the Atlantic coast are the ports of de- parture of the American-Hawaiian Steamship Co.'s vessels; ten new steamers of approximately 8,000 to 12,500 tons each ply be- | tween New York, San Francisco, and Honolulu. The Internat- ional Mercantile Marine Co. has six large steamships. There are also four Luckenbachs, with a total of 22,000 tons, and two of the Michigan Steamship Co. Large American sailing ships also must be considered, which go around the horn on their 120-days' jour- ney to China and the Orient and also engage in the South African trade, and whose total tonnage is reported as 122,000, but rarely touch at Manila. Were the insular trade rates high enough to induce American bottoms on the Pacific and the Atlantic not now so engaged to enter the same, it cannot be denied that there are sufficient American bottoms at this time to carry such trade. The transportation of supplies for the army and navy at remunerative rates would be a very material factor in attracting American ves- sels to this trade, and to give them the exclusive privilege of such transportation would be a wise and legitimate step in the direction of encouragement of our merchant marine." ae