WHITE MEN WANTED

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXVI, Issue 8186, 30 July 1912, Page 4

WHITE MEN WANTED

FOR WHITE MEN'S SHIPS. “ALL HONOR TO COMMONWEALTH.'! In an article which goes straight to the point, the “Vancouver World” talks on a serious subject as follows: “How far Lord Mersey's findings in the Titanic case will agree with those of Senator Smith remains to be seen, and in the meantime wo prefer to withhold comment so far as the several incidents of the disaster are concerned. "Senator Smith, however, put his finger on ono w'eak spot in the mercantile marine of both the great countries chiefly concerned—the gradual disappearance of native seamen worthy of the name. “He pointed out that while scarcely 10 per cent, of the men before the mast in American ships were Americans, na-tive-born or naturalised, the 7000 Orienr tala found on British ships 20 years ago had become 70,000. "The latter condition concerns us more than tho former, for the British mercantile marine is about half the whole mercantile marine of tho world, and the substitution of Orientals for white men in British ships means tho closing of one of the largo avenues of employment to men of our own race. . "Conditions aboard ship are largely dictated by dividend-makers ashore. Wore it otherwise, had the officers who have to command on the bridge and in the engine room anything to say about it, few Orientals would bo found in the forecastle.

“For the men who trail the red ensign all across the oceans like to have, men to depend on in times of crista. “The Chinese or Lascar may do for l routine work, but when the propeller has, dropped off, or the cargo shifted, when the chart house has been carried overboard and the steering gear is jam bed, whan it looks like being posted on the 'Missing" board at Lloyd's, the stoker from Vauxhall road or the A.B. from Wapping becomes (transformed into a hero, while the Mongolians huddle about, worse than useless, or eneak for ■ the nearest boat.

“It is bad enough when white officers have to depend on broken reeds to save their ship and themselves; it is worse when, as happened in a recent wreck, the lives of women and children are in added peril because Lascars and Chinese are where men of their own race ought -to bo.

“The eea tolerates no weakness; it makes no allowances for mistakes; bridling and riding the white horses is white meu’d work.

“So call a halt on the dividend-makers. Let us have white men on the whiteman’s ships. Australia—all honor to the Commonwealth —has found out how to do it, and the way may be learned from her.*’ ,