The Chandler Tribune (Chandler, Okla.), Vol. 11, No. 5, Ed. 1 Friday, April 7, 1911 Page: 3 of 8
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l ifeboat i
*.• -.v4*
aapgj&s^
mem
£y
<5^L?.1Z7J5Z,
oovyrsotlf
Jx
ye* ca
am golnK to
I've sold my
r r
1 V
ELLO, Henry. I
leave you today,
carcass again.”
This remark by a big tailor to
a friend on the San Francisco
water-front caused a landsman
to turn around and regard the
pair curiously. It was the tenth
time that he had heard that re-
mark in the course of an hour
as he loitered about, the wharves
watching the whalers preparing
for their season in northern
seas. He hod seen big. hard-
fisted men hoarding the vessels or sitting about on
boxes on the docks chatting with friends until
they 'uid be summoned on board for tho cruise.
And r. .ays, as the sailors would greet a new com-
pat” t:. ame that remark, "I've sold my carcass.”
It puzzled the landsman, lie did not under-
stand. but figured out that it was some rough
pi ear ar. try. Ho did not know that every man who
ealls it of an American port in a deep-sea vessel
tinder the stars and stripes must literally sell his
body a:d soul into a servitude as abject and as
debasing as that of the black man on tho southern
plantation before tho Emancipation Proclamation
was ' r ued.
For iho American who sails the high seas
under the stars and stripes is a slave, lie is a
slave mder the law. True, ho cannot be put upon
the auction block by hi3 master and sold to the
higl ♦. st bidder. Hut he must surrender his Amer-
ican birthright—freedom of contract; he must
sign away his light to his pay when it falls due.
And ho cannot be a sailor without signing them
away And he cannot run away from his bargain
and his master. If ho trios it, he is arrested and
taken hack, no matter in what quarter of the
globe liis vessel Is anchored. For, by the opera-
tion of treaties with all the maritime powers of
the v ' : ! the United Status agrees to arrest and
return foreign sailor-slaves, in return for which
the *. ■-.'i countries have agreed to arrest and
ret : to American ships America's chattel slaves,
h man is ever a slave under the law unless
are such that It is necessary ior Ills
i to hold him legally In servitude in order
da his services. Every land is full of Indus*
‘S who canrAt de.<Tt their masters if
0 dd. because there is nothing < Ise for then
: to submit or starve. Hut the occupation
dor carries him to foreign lands whore the
1 untried conditions is forever beckoning
v-onld bo comparatively easy for him to
his master. Hut here the law st» pr> in, and
com:
ransu
tn r< i
trial
they
to do
of :
lure
and :
<!•*.- or
the *«ar of the foreign dungeon and tho certain
return to his ship in irons holds him to his con-
tract And even with the fear of certain re-on-
slu\ mu.at staring him in the face, the sailor un-
der the stars and stripes is far too often a de-
serter it is idle to argue that it is in the nature
of the sailor to wander, to desert one master for
another, and that therefore laws are necessary to
jirt vi lit the disorganization of the merchant ma-
rine. Every occupation has its devotees to whom
it calls in an insistent voice, and there are thou-
sands of men who follow the sea from choice. The
answer to the question, why is the sailor legally a
slave, must be found in an inquiry into the condi-
tions from which he seeks to run away. If ho
likes to follow the sea there is no reason why he
should forever try to leave it or to leave his
master ind his Hag except that the conditions
under which lie is forced to work are intolerable.
And h< ro lies the answer.
Tin earliest known facts about the condition
of the laborer at sea take 113 back to the ancient
laws of the Norseman and to the code that gov-
erned tho sailors of the ancient cities on the
shores of the Medltcrranican. In the north the
laborer on land and at sea was a free man. Tho
sailor had the same status aboard his vessel that
his brother had in the Norse towns. He hail the
same freedom of contract and the same voice in
the laws ; ogulating the conduct of his companions
and himself. The laborer of tho south was a chat-
tel slave on land and on sea. lie was usually a
prisoner of war and his body and soul belonged to
liis master. He was chained to his seat in the gal-
ley and lashed to his task. Manual labor of all
kinds whs considered to be debasing and per-
formed only by slaves.
Tho Island of Rhodes gave to the Mediter-
ranean its maritime law. and the Roman code was
patterned niter that of Rhodes. When Rome con-
quered the countries of the north, she gave them
her laws for the regulation of labor on the sea as
well as on land. The all-pervading idea of Roman
civilization was that labor is debasing, and the
laborer on land was a serf and on the sea he was
a slave. The maritime power of medieval Europe,
which was expressed through the laws of Barce-
lona and later through the all-powerful Hanseatic
league of cities, was maintained through Roman
maritime law. It gradually overpowered and ob-
literated the law of the north, and the free sailor
ceased 10 exist. Since that day the sailor has
been a chattel slave.
Whi n sailing vessels replaced the galley, it be-
came necessary that the sailor's status as a slave
he maintained by rigid laws against desertion.
Freedom of action was necessary for the operation
of a sailing vessel, but It was still necessary to
keep the Failor bound to the ship because injury
might come to the vessel through his desertion.
And so his status as a slave was maintained by
law on the "principle of common hazard.” All the
laws of tho Hanseatic League stipulate that if any
harm come to a vessel while any sailor is absent
from shipboard, tho absent sailor shall pay tho
damage. The safety of the vessel and her cargo
was In the hands of every man on board while
the vessel was at sea or in foreign ports.
The progress of civilization has relieved the
ship-owner and the master of the hazard of the
ei.a Maritime insurance has been devised to pay
for losses through acts of God. If a ship sinks at
soa* no one loses but the sailor and his widow and
children. The property is paid for by the com-
munity. by you and by me; for insurance shills
’he burden of loss from the shoulders of the in-
dividual to the shoulders of the community. Per-
fect policing of the soa has removed the dangers
from piracy, and losses from state or local dis-
turbances are paid for by the states and localities
responsible.
And so th< old principle of common hazard has
been abandoned so far as the ship-owner is con-
cerned through the operation of maritime insur-
ance and modern laws. Hut how is it with the
sailor and with you and me? It Is easy to see
how this has worked to increase tho hazard borne
by tho crew. Formerly the ship-owner would not
load his vessel to the danger point; he would not
risk employing unskilled men or too few sailors,
because he did not want to risk his property. Now
he does not care; insurance will take care of the
risks, and the idea is to make all the money pos-
sible.
Let us lock a little more closely into the condi-
tion of the sailor’s occupation that has bi n
evolved out of this hodge-podge of law’s, ancient
and modern. And then we can sec. very clearly
how this condition .affects not only the sailor but
you and me and every other American citizen. A
brief comparison of the conditions on shipboard
under tho American flag with those under the
flags of other nations w ill explain why the Ameri-
can boy does not go to sea, and why it is neces-
sary to keep the American sailor a chattel slave
by law of congress. To begin with, the American
sailor who would ship over tho high seas is com-
pelled to seek his employment through a “crimp.”
The crimp is tho runner for tho notorious sailor’s
"boardinghouses" which furnish crews for all
deep-sea-going vessels. He Is the absolute master
of the sailor’s employment. All deep-sea captains
ship their crews through the crimp. Tho crimp
is paid out of the unearned wages of the sailor
It is called "advance money” which the law per-
mits tho sailor to sign away and which the system
compels him to sign away. Tho sailors call It
"blood money.” The money is paid by the captain
directly to the crimp. In fact all the negotiations
are carried on directly between the captain and
the crimp. The sailor is not consulted at all.
More often than not. he Is taken on board after
having been liberally treated to "third rail” or
"doctor,” a drink that robs him of all conscious-
ness. The practice smacks very much of the old
practice of "shanghaing.” The act of December
21, 1898, prevents the payment of this blood-
money, called "allotment to original creditor” in
tho domestic trade (coastwise shipping and the
trade to nearby foreign countries). But it is per-
mitted in the deep-sea trade, and no sailor ever
obtains employment on a deep-sea-going vessel
without having visited the crimp. The crimp
exists because the law permits him to exist, by
permitting the assignment of “advance money.”
One state, Oregon, actually recognized the system
by a statute limiting tho amount of blood-money
to thirty dollars. The crimp ceased to exist in
thq domestic trade when congress abolished the
"allotment to original creditor” in 1898.
When the sailor gets aboard he is compelled to
live in a space G feet long by G feet high aud -
feet wide. This is the legal forecastle space (72
cubic feet) except in sailing vessels built or re-
built after June 30, 1898. Tho sailors call it tho
"dog hole,” to distinguish It from tho "fire hole”
(firemen's quarters), and the "glory hole” (stew-
" a-.-u'j--, t'r c&uuvjv sj wat’
aril’s quarters), lien tin tut i 1 i nve, 'at,
:!it'j) anil keep tie :r elotliii It has been tie*
scribed as "too lur e for a coflln and too small tor
a grave." It Is unsanitary, (lurk, and dirty.
The American sailor is compelled lo sign away
In tho foreign trade bis right to part of the wages
due him at ports of call. Consular agents have do-
elan il this to bo the most prolific cause of deser-
tions front American ships. The act of December
:'l, 1 rsi)8, gives the Bailor a right to lira If tho wages
il,at may be due him at any pout or call, but add
"unless the contrary be expressly stipulated in tho
contract." The ship-owners see
stipulation is always made.
The sailor must compete with the unskilled
an(l destitute of all nations and races, because tho
law as to citizenship was repealed in 1RC-I, and the
operation of maritime insurance has reduced tho
standard of skill in seamen. No standard of cdil-
"elency lias In on supplied hy law. The ship-owners
may hire whom they please and as few men as tho
inspectors will let them. There is no standard to
guide the Inspectors. And so the sailor must do
tho unskilled man’s work at sea because tho work
has to lie done anti there is no one else to do It.
Often be must risk his life because tho vessel 13
undermanned and unskilfully manned. Because
this mpetition with the foreigner, his waves
are as small as the wages of the cheapest port or
call ef bis vessel, and bo cannot get enough to
marry and live a normal life. As vessels grow
larger, his chances to earn a decent livelihood grow
smaller.
Big Business conceives ships to be for the
■ . .. ..,. ol making mot < y not for tho purpose or
carrying goods from place to placi ; for the.* pur-
pos. of piling up dividends no matter at whoso
expenso tho dividends are piled up. no matter at
whet cost tho sailor or to you and me. it
would tale- away cargo space to provide decent
living quarters lor sailors ou shipboard, and less
ss dividends. To load a vc ec! -o
■ the danger from shifting cargo
-go also. Bett' r food, more men
a all cost more money, and tlterc-
uts, which is not compelled to talto
.. property is Insured, refuses these
, It la much cheaper to run vessels
therefi.ro Bit; Business employs
American commerce being con-
ducted hy vessels Hying fore ign Hags, but Ameri-
can over sea commerce in American ships 1. being
handled by foreign seamen. The astounding fact Is
true that not only has America fewer sailors than
any other nation on the face of tho globe, but tho
great majority of the men in the American
merchant marine are men of other nations. And
the majority of American neamen are sailing, hy
choice, under the flags of other nations than
their own. So when wo trust our lives and our
goods on tho high seas, we entrust them to foreign
seamen, slaves on tinder-manned vessels, living
under conditions that have driven Americans from
the sea. That is what concerns us. And It con-
cerns us vitally
Statistics published by the Tnited States com-
missioner rif navigation show that out of every
hundred American seagoing steamers of over one
hundred tons for the past seven years, an nv. rage
of 2.24 have been lost each year, and that, out of
every hundred foreign seagoing steamers of over
one hundred tons for the same period, an average
of only 1.9$ have been lost. Out of every hundred
American seugolng vessels of over fifty tons lor
the past seven years an average of 4.12 have been
lost each year, and out of the same number of
foreign sengoing sail vessels of over fifty tons, tho
loss has been only 2.97 a year.
On the I’aelilc ocean the situation is almost In
tolerable. The United States commissioner of
navigation In his report for 1998-9.t, page 2", ite
dared: "The crews of our own steamships plying
to China and Jttpan are almost wholly Chinese and
•lapancsu shipped before American consuls at
foreign ports where the vessels enter und clear."
And this condition has grown worse instead of
better slue* that time.
Great Bronze Buddha Built at
King's Order.
Heathen Idol Is Cast From Captured
Cannon and Erected in the Mag-
nificent Royal Temple at
Bangkok.
Bangkok, Siam. Siam, the country
of the white elephants, was a short
timo ago .the scone of a very brilliant
event, one of the most, interesting that
has taken place in the history of tho
country. King Chulalongkorn. the
late king of Siam, while touring in tho
northern part of his kingdom at the
end of hist year visited the ancient
town of lMtsanuloke, which contained
within its walls a celebrated many-
centuries-old figure of Buddha.
The king was so filled with enthus-
iasm by this statue that he made vow
to place a similar figure in the royal
temple, 'Wat Suan Dusit,” In the capi-
tal of his kingdom. He sent off some
Buddhist priests immediately to Bang
kok, ordering them to bring back six
old bronze cannon captured during a
war with Burma to lMtsanuloke. In
the meantime the king so pushed on
the work that by the time the cannon
arrived the process of casting could
ho begun. Faithful Buddhists stream-
ed from far ami near and throw gold
and silver into the glowing mass.
Young girls took off their costly jew-
els and offered them as a sacrifice;
whole families would gladly have giv-
en their all. In order that the sanc-
tity of the ancient statue should be
conveyed to the new two consecrated
silver cords w* re fastened to the ears
of tho old statue ami given into tho
charge of the highest bonzes, who
watched day and night and sang and
offered prayers incessantly.
During tho casting the king himself
held the other end of the coni, while
from him outpoured the cord in the
form of the new cast figure. At last,
amid the endless rejoicings of the peo-
ple, the easting was finished and the j
statue, urn! r the guidance of tho
king, was conveyed in solemn proces
sion down the river to Bangkok, where
the work of art was to bo completed,
it is said that hundreds of chisel:-
were broken during tho work. King
(Mmlalongkorn gilded the face himself
and placed In the forehead an enor-
mous precious stone. Then the whole
figure was gilded and adorned with j
Buddhistic rosaries of fiery brilliants j
from the king’s treasury. At last the I
great day came when the new Buddha j
was to be brought to the royal temple
“Wat Suan Dusit.”
The scene under a f,lowing tropica! 1
sun was so wonderful, so gorgeous in |
color, that It will remain unforgettable
by all who witnessed it. The gor !
genus statue of Buddha, as if carried
by an invisible power, moved majes i
tirally on tho glittering waves of the j
POmlotto
yby WILBUR D. NEmfl
JggL
r 'rf$
■
$
is
M
My pa he took mo (tailin’ yesterday
’Cause when I got my bran’ new pole
an’ line
Tic’ll take me f«> the river soon, he say.
When It look like tho flailin' will be
fine.
So yesterday we start, an’ pa lie lot
Mi earn m> new pole, an* say ';ii wo
Will show folks what a snap it Is to get
As big a fish ns there is in the sea.
An* we dumb over Mister Timmons’s gate
With my pole an’ my line an’ my ball.
Non when we’re nt th* river pa he take
My pole an' line an* he fix up the hook
An' tell me that I niusn’t even make
Th* leastc.i’ noise, but Just to sit an'
look
While he would show mo how to catch
some fish.
An' nen he threw the line In. an’ I
Mu ml
flight ■ re In ■ Idt him, an' Just wish an*
wish
Thai I could hold n»> flshpole In my
hand.
An' pi lie stand an* wait an* wait nn'
w ait
With my pah- an’ my line an* my halt.
N ■ p.’irM soon my pa lie gi t a bite.
An* .Ml. . 1 :.11 .piiek, an’ soiuepln
wlllz/.ed Of* high
That shined lil-.e ai'.er Vauso 11 was so
white
An’ pi>tliked down 'for • you’d ever wink
your eye.
An' pa lie hollered that I must keep still
(When I ain’t Hayin' ii"t a thing at all!)
An’ pa he shake just like lie has a chill.
An’ party soon lie slip an’ In he fall!
An’ n ui I think It’s lost as stir*' as fate—
Is my line an* tny pole an’ my halt.
N< n he dumb out an’ he was wet as wet!
An’ ' *■ says we mu : go home now at
once,
[ want to 't
let
Mi* hy myself, an’ say that I'm a diineof
So we go home, an* pa he say.: If he
(’•Mild Just go fishln' like })•■ used to do
Without no hoy to bother him like me
He'd ' t 'it i string o’ (tali, he’s tollin'
you!
Til go myself, an’ m*n It will l» ■ great
Willi my polo an’ my line an’ my bait!
An Estimate.
•■ysiL
meat s less
cat
and skilled
met
f< r • Big iHi
;E ine
risks hecau:
so it
tilings. In
fine,
with slave
s;
slaves.
Not only
U
Siam’s New God.
broad river Menant, followed by tlir
ptirple-and-gold state barges of tic-
king, the queen, and tin* whole court
Numberless Buddhist priests clad in
yellow garments followed in long fan
tastie boats singing to the curiously
beautiful sounds of the Sianw .-•■ uiu
slcal instruments; then came bun
dreds of little boats filled with the
populace, who ended the strange fleet
The front of the temple was left
open to receive the statue of the new
Buddha, whose golden body glitte red
in the sunlight. It, was conducted into
the temple to the sound of the Sia
mese national hymn, the festive ring
ing of gongs, and the singing of the
bonzes. Suddenly there came a great
silence, during which the king with a
ringing voice bestowed upon Buddha
tho name, Thru Chiueral.”
To Revise Ten Commandments.
London. Rev. Mordaunt Ferneaux,
dean of Winchester, England, has been
intrusted b>rthu convocation of Canter
bury with tho laslc of preparing an
abridgment of the Ten Commandmonta
to be submitted for consideration at a
meeting of the convocation. As a sam-
ple of the form which tho abridgment
will take the dean said that probably
he would suggest that the tenth com-
mandment be abbreviated to read aim
ply, ‘ Thou shall not covet.”
Dies a Maid, Aged 106.
Duluth, Minn -Miss Victoria Kus-
| churn, aged U)G years, died of old
| .jjr,, at he residence of her niece, Mrs.
John Marshall. She was born in Ro-
land in 1804. She was the oldest citi-
zen in Duluth anti nrobably the oldest
maiden lady In America. She retain
i d her i’aculti* s to tho last. Miss Kus-
ehura has raided lu Duluth Ur 30
years.
"How’s vo’ all feel tils mav.nin’?”
asks ’Lipalet Green of ’Bantus Wash-
ington, the day after the celebration
of something or other in the rooms of
the Rlacktown Socml and (loodfellow-
.-hip t plifting club.
"How’s I feel?” moans Ra tus. "Say,
• . i * • • ! as if ina head uz all vvool
an’ a yalid wide.”
Ease Deceiver.
i “Hear about that literary club pass
lng a set of resolutions denouncing
i Migglesbury?” asks the man with tho
maroon whiskers.
"No. What did Migglesbury do?”
j asks the man wit It the undecided eye-
I brows.
i "Ho copies some stanzas off of
• comic valentines, had them printed
i in sequence, signed them ’Alfred Aus-
| tin’ njid sent them to the secretary
of the 'lub for discussion at their
* poets’ evening. They analyzed and
dissected the poem and five of tho
| members had written magazine ar-
; tides praising or denouncing it be*
i fore they discovered the hoax.”
Economical Decoration.
’Did you hear about the unique way
i in which old Titespuds decorated his
new home?” asks our friend.
We confess ignorance as well ub a
| thirst for information.
"Instead of spending money for pic-
tures and bric-a-brac he wrote checks
for tho amount that each thing would
cost him. stopped payment on the
checks, and put them ou tho walls
and mantelpieces.”
Same With Him.
I'll sell you tie dog for five dollars.”
•Rut 1 wouldn’t keep the dog halfa
day.”
\n' I wouldn't keep do five dut
long, spurt.”
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Smith, G. A. The Chandler Tribune (Chandler, Okla.), Vol. 11, No. 5, Ed. 1 Friday, April 7, 1911, newspaper, April 7, 1911; (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc914955/m1/3/: accessed April 25, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.