Felix Riesenberg

“ On Sundays, and Holidays, when cargo is not being worked, and when the ship is at rest, an officer should be told off to stand day's duty. He should see that the vessel is in shipshape order, falls neatly coiled, decks clean, Irish pendants all removed, awnings hauled out taut, flags closely mast headed and kept clear, and that everything is kept in immaculate order about the gangway. ”

“ His duty requires that he be familiar with machinery—and his special charge is the braking and releasing of the windlass, under the direction of the Chief Mate.
A top-notch carpenter is a jewel, he is a scarce article in these degenerate days of high wages and indifferent performance. A good artisan can do no better than to go to sea as a carpenter in a well-found modern steamer; the pay is good he will have comfortable quarters, and good food, he will also save money. This holds true of most billets aboard a merchant vessel today. ”

“ The "coming down" on a loafer, good and hard, helps more to bring forth respect for an officer than anything else. When this is coupled by even-handed justice, and a human way of doing things, such as looking out for the comfort of their men, a happy vessel is bound to be the result.
Seamen like nothing better than to know that they are under officers who will run things on the level. It is like being under a decent government that helps the weak and {287} curbs the strong—there is a fascination to running things right that merchant officers should cultivate. ”

“ It is the sense of the Congress of the United States that it is desirable, in the interest of uniformity of action by the maritime states of the world in time of war, that the President endeavor to bring about an understanding among the principal maritime powers with a view of incorporating into the permanent law of civilized nations the principle of the exemption of all private property at sea, not contraband of war, from capture or destruction by belligerents. ”

“ The dignity and power of command come to the sea officer who is fully competent and alive to the high responsibilities of his calling. Much of his duty can be delegated—its responsibility, however, always rests with him. ”

“ Every master of any vessel of the burden of fifty tons or upward, bound from a port in one State to a port in any other than an adjoining State, except vessels of the burden of seventy-five tons or upward, bound from a port on the Atlantic to a port on the Pacific, or vice versa, shall, before he proceeds on such voyage, make an agreement in writing or in print, with every seaman on board such vessel except such as shall be apprentice or servant to himself or owners, declaring the voyage or term of time for which such seaman shall be shipped. ”

“ Among many junior officers in the merchant service a notion prevails that their main object in life is to get along with as little effort as possible while awaiting early promotion and increased pay—they look forward hopefully to that glad day when they will wear the Master's stripes, with all day ashore, while in port, and all night in, while at sea—this book will not be agreeable reading for them. ”

“ In many trades pilfering from the cargo has become a science. Wine casks are sprung out of true and the contents made away with, hoops are knocked loose and holes are drilled. In ports where the junk boat nuisance still prevails, vessels working cargo of all kinds are the victims of wholesale thievery. This sort of thing can only be stopped by vigilant supervision on the part of the officers of the vessel. Only reliable men should be put in the holds as watchmen. Offenders who are caught should be prosecuted—not merely discharged. The broaching of cargo by the crew is a serious offense. ”

“ In conclusion it may be well to remind the hard-working merchantman that while many things are expected of him fortunately he is not required to do them all at once, nor do the United States Local Inspectors examine him upon all of the things mentioned in the pages of this little book.
The American who goes to sea to-day will not content himself with minimum requirements. He means to be more than a ten-per cent seaman. War emergencies have sent many men out on blue water who formerly would never have reached the deck or bridge. They know their limitations—all we can do is to point out the way. ”

“ If any consular officer, when discharging any seaman, shall neglect to require the payment of and collect the arrears of wages and extra wages required to be paid in the case of the discharge of any seaman, he shall be accountable to the United States for the full amount thereof. The master shall provide any seaman so discharged with employment on a vessel agreed to by the seaman, or shall provide him with one month's extra wages, if it shall be shown to the satisfaction of the consul that such seaman was not discharged for neglect of duty, incompetency, or injury incurred on the vessel. ”

“ The Chief Mate who gives his crew a right deal, and knows how to handle and take care of his men, never has any trouble in getting work done after hours. The answer is be human—also just and firm—no sailor has any use for a jelly fish officer.
Upkeep. The work in port is usually confined to washing down, cleaning up after the stevedores, preparing holds for cargo, painting over the side, painting the boot-topping when the vessel is light, and cleaning up after coaling. At this time the steering gear and steering engine should be looked after, cleaned up and overhauled. ”

“ At sea the routine of keeping the vessel clean, of attending to the upkeep of hull and gear, and of looking after the ventilation of the cargo, is largely a matter of the particular trade in which she is engaged.
A vessel jumping from port to port, with her booms up and down twice a week, presents a different problem from the vessel that keeps at sea a week or two at a time. The weather, the kind of cargo, the fact that passengers are carried or not, all tend to modify and direct the progress of work on board. ”

“ The position of Chief Mate is the test job of the sea. An indifferent junior officer can survive for years, but when he is appointed Chief Mate, he must either make good, and achieve promotion, or his faults and shortcomings overtake him and ruin his career. ”

“ Every person who, not being in the United States service, and not being duly authorized by law for the purpose, goes on board any vessel about to arrive at the place of her destination, before her actual arrival, and before she has been completely moored, without permission of the master, shall, for every such offense, be punishable by a fine of not more than two hundred dollars, and by imprisonment for not more than six months ”

“ Whenever any seaman or apprentice dies in the United States, and is, at the time of his death, entitled to claim from the master or owner of any vessel in which he has served, any unpaid wages or effects, such master or owner shall pay and deliver, or account for the same, to the shipping-commissioner at the port where the seaman or apprentice was discharged, or was to have been discharged, or where he died. ”

“ Whenever any person claiming to be a skillful pilot of steam-vessels offers himself for a license, the inspectors shall make diligent inquiry as to his character and merits, and if satisfied, from personal examination of the applicant, with the proof that he offers that he possesses the requisite knowledge and skill, and is trustworthy and faithful, they shall grant him a license for the term of five years to pilot any such vessel within the limits prescribed in the license ”

“ The word "officers" shall include the chief engineer and each assistant engineer in charge of a watch on vessels propelled wholly or in part by steam; and after the first day of January, eighteen hundred and ninety-seven, no person shall be qualified to hold a license as a commander or watch officer of a merchant vessel of the United States who is not a native-born citizen, or whose naturalization as a citizen shall not have been fully completed. ”

“ Able as they may be individually, officers of mixed training are constantly being thrown together in vessels of the merchant service, while in most cases crews are picked up haphazard from the beach. It is not to be wondered at that many ideas prevail as to the proper way of doing things. Indeed, many otherwise intelligent officers often have a very hazy notion as to just what they are supposed to do, or to know.
Seamen are often confused, through lack of knowledge, as to what may be expected of them; one vessel is run one way, and another one may be quite different. ”

“ It is necessary that the officer of the watch constantly keep his edge. The old-fashioned system of "watch and watch," that man- and soul-killing drill of an age of short-sighted "economy," has come to be frowned upon by those who have had to pay the bills resulting from accident and loss. ”