WORK OF SEAMEN AND FIREMEN

Evening Post, Volume LXXXV, Issue 48, 26 February 1913, Page 11

WORK OF SEAMEN AND FIREMEN

to tut BDiton. Sir,— ln your issue of the 20th I read a paragraph on ships' officers. I ccc they are wmbining with their Australian brothers and the ■engineers' to better their conditions, and good luck to them, for it will be by that combination they have tsoino oinnce of attaining their ends. But this noinbinßfcion, will take homo organising, as it is only a short time ago, at a meeting of the Marine Institute of Engineers, it,was boasted that, they were the only institute or union wherG the master was allowed to bo_ in the same union as iJie man. If this is not grounding arms to the bose/ tell mo whrfi is ?' I wish these men every success, but I must Bay this: If they are men why can't they fight their own fight without dragging the bailors and firemen into it? I think it je a degrading way to try and get public sympathy, and our ''Well-known--Cap-tain of the Australian-New Zealand Trade must be utterly devoid of principle to make the statements he has mode They are not fighting the seamen, they jire fighting (or going to, fight) the masters, so why go. about it in a dog-in-the-manger fashion? In the statement it says that tho owners take more notice of the seamen theu they iako of the officers find engineers. Is it because these officers and engineers ask the men to do something that is aguinsfc the agreement that was madd between I.hfl owners mid th© seamen? Of courts, the men aro quito within, their rigbH to make a compittiufc ttbou't ii, and it. is l-ccliiied; the seamnrt <r*te hh fights, tuid tlte officer or engineer receives it reprimand from tho company. No«, t think this is the wholo cause of the} trotibio our friend the Wellknown Captain talks about re the enforcement of discipline and the attitude of Iho sci) men becomiucj intolerable. As for discipline, does ho want the mercantile marino turned anto a royal navy? Perhaps ho wants thp men to worship him? No, sir; the timo ha 3 com© now that mcii rpcoirmse that the njoroantiio laat-ine i* one of, the main spokes in tho grout wh*el of industry, and iho.y also know tha' they am jus>t*n->, milch a producing factor übouVd .the ship as the offioore »&4 eugta&ejs ujg. As fgr his pug, ,

gestion of clerks, I won't viasto much iime on i( ; »U I can say is I picture him ramping Iroin one ski© to the other of his bridge in a , calamity, cursing and swearing and wanting to know whot sort 'of, seamen bo had aboard of his ship. I think he h&s overlooked the face that wo can't all be captains, for if we were the ships would be useless. t As for the attitude of .the men becoming intolerable, I should like to say n, few words regarding this. I don't think they are intolerable to .tho officers or engineers, whatever their attitude may be towards tho owners, bu(. they have a jnsfcf cause to bo so. One has only to go aboard of a ship and look for himself or herself. You see separate cabins allotted to tho engineers and oflioerp., a steward to look after their rooms, a dining room, and they receive the best the ship can supply in food, also good bathrooms with hot and cold water, and good water closers. Now go for'ard and sec the esaman*s accommodation. He is very near sure to sey something like this ! Fifteen or sixteen men on each side, all .living in one room — or hovel, rathor— wilh a wooden partition between; no bathroom, no hot water", no, messj room, and a comparatively primitive J water closet generally just outside the door. Some ,of the latest passenger boats are fitted a little better in regard to bathrooms,, water closets, arid me6srooms ; but even in them there itf i room for a lot of improvement., Ifc is generally tho case that there is no hot water in the bathroom or means to make it hot. The man has to fetch the water from the galley to wash himself, and a. fireman, has to haye 1 a bath all over twie& a. day. The boats with these conveniences are like a drop in the ocean compared to tho hosts I there are without them. The usual bath is in a bucket of water. I have seen three (3) buckets for the Use of fourteen, men, but their attitude can't be described as intolerable only by such men as our "Well-known Captain." The men are only trying to better their conditions, the same as our" friends are going to do in the near future. The captain cries about the pay earned by some (mark you, by *'some"), not all, as being equal to (tome of the officers and engineers. Now these men referred to have to do without their leisure and stand perhaps for hours at a winch, very likely in the rain or down in the stokehold, looking' after a donkey boiler*, pumps, lights, etc., whereas that time could very nicely be spent at home with his people, and, if he is married, with his wife and family, i These a4*e tho mert our "Well-known Captain'! begrudges their earnings. But, good heavens, I don't See where it conCerruToltr well-known friend what the firemen and sailors are reoeiving, We met the employers in fair and open combat; We had a battle of -words, and came to an understanding. Why can't tho officers and engineers do the sam®? No; they think that by dragging the seamen down to a low level they will pile 'public sympathy on their side ; but I don t think the public of New Zealand and Australia will be bo blind as not to see through such empty and vague excuses. t I think our friend would like to see us just receiving enough money to buy some overalls, a bit of tobaccoj have a look at the threepenny picture show, and a loaf of bi*ead for the kiddies. If that is so, why all this talk about the "British Navy," "the prestige of the British Empire," "tho Yellow Peril?" Oh. but I forgot the officers and engineers are there ; they don't want any others. t It's only because the owners are philanthropic that they employ sailors and firemen^-just for charity sake. I think this k the state of things our "Well-known Captain" would like to see. I tbink the captain's mind must have been worrying about other things, or perhaps he had received a reprimand for not giving 1 his men a square deal when he made that statement contained in the Post. I do not want to encroach on too much space, but in tho interest of common justice to us, I should like you to publish this letter, so as the public can judgo both sides of the question, and give a. fair decision. There is a lot more- could be said on this matter, but I shall leave it for a more able pen than mine to do.— l am, etc., FIREMAN. Wellington, 23rd February, 1913.