Democratic Sentinel, Volume 15, Number 42, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 November 1891 — A BIG SHIP’S MUSTER. [ARTICLE]

A BIG SHIP’S MUSTER.

THE MEN WHO DO THE WORK ON OUR ATLANTIC LINES. Three Great Departments—Mastering the Crew Before Sailing—The Men in Their Quarters. The management of all the big passenger ships during the days they spend at sea is practically the same. It varies in some details on the ships of different lines. In every ship there are three departments: The sailing, or deck department; the passenger, or steward’s department, and the engine department. If you think any one of these departments is more important, take your pick and don’t let anybody influence you to think otherwise. The chances are that you will be just as nearly right as any one else. If there were no sailing department the ship would never go from one port to another. If there were no engine department the ship would never move at ull. And if there were no passengers there would be no need for a passenger department and the ship would never have been built. It’s a kind of a pull-all-together affair; all three aro one. The sailing department of tho City of Paris musters 59 men and boys; the passenger department 158 men, boys and women, and the engine department 198 men—in all 415. The 59 men of the sailing department are nine officers, twenty-eight able seamen, two ordinary seamen, twelve quartermasters, a bo’s’n and mate, carpenter and mate, and four masters-at-arms. EaSa of these departments lias a crew of its own, under the personal supervision of a chief officer. Supremo over the combination of all tho departments is the Captain, who is an absoluto monarch during the time that his ship is at sea. If you can’t tell 'the Captain by the length of his coat you can always tell him by his coat sleeves. Just abovo the cuff he wears three gold stripes, and ho is the only man on the ship who does. With the other officers it is not so easy, because there are sometimes several of them who have the same rank. Tho number of officers is different on different ships: On the City of Paris there are eight officers besides the Captain. Every one of them holds a master’s certificate issued by the Board of Trade of Liverpool, so that there aro nine men on the ship who are compotent to take her in charge. These officers all belong to the sailing department, which has to do simply with navigating tho ship. One of them is the chief officer. Three others rank as second officers. The chief officer and the second officer wear two gold stripes above the cuffs of their coats. So it is always easy to distinguish them from the other officers, but there is no difference in uniform by which they can be distinguished from each other. The other four officers have one gold stripe above the cuff of their coat sleeves. On the ship’s articles the officers are signed ns master and mates. The master is commonly called the Captain. The mate is tho chief officer. On the City of Paris there are three second mates, or second officers, two third mates, or third officers, and two fourth mates, or fourth officers. The second officers arc known as the senior second, junior second, and extra second; the third officers as tho senior third and extra third, and the fourth officers as the senior fourth and extra fourth. The object of carrying so many officers on the City of Paris is to insure to each sufficient rest under any stress of weather which may arise. No other ship crossing the North Atlantic carries so many. Their work is so arranged that thoy have sixteen hours each day off duty. The sailing department is, of course, the department to which the Captain devotes most of his time. The chief officer is the executive officer. He stands no watch and his business is to assist the Captain. The other officers stand watch on the bridge and sail the ship under the Captain's orders. Every ship which sails out of the port of Liverpool must comply with the marine regulations of the Liverpool Board of Trade. One of those regulations provides that just before any ship goes to sea there shall be a muster of the crew on deck, at which a representative of the Board of Trade shall be present. The regulations which concern the signing of tho ship’s crew provide that for all foreign-going ships, that is, for ships that sail from Liverpool to ports orplaces in the United States, British North America, the West Indies, South America, India. China and the Eastern Sens, or the Continent of Europe, the crew shall be signed for each voyage for a term not to exceed twelve months, and must be brought back to the final port of discharge in the Uunited Kingdom. A voyage of the City of Paris from Liverpool to New York and back takes about four weeks, including stays in port, so that her entire crew, from the captain to the last coal trimmer, is signed twelve times a year. The crew numbers 415, of whom soven are women. The muster is always conducted by the purser. The entire crew, captain and all, except tho stewards, is drawn up in line on the promenade deck. The stewards are mustered in the saloon. The purser goes over the roll with the Board of Trade representative and the ship's doctor, and if any men are missing the words “Did not join” are entered after tnoir names on the articles, and substitutes are signed in their places. The articles of agreement* which the men sign leave not a thing concerning their duty or their fare to conjecture. Every man in the crew, beginning with the Captain or master, and following with the other officers, signs these articles in the presence of a Board of Trade representative, who signs his initial after each name. The articles show tho name, age, and residence of each member of the crew, and his wages, the port of registry and the destination of the ship, and in tho case of somo of the crew the fare which is to be provided for them on the voyage. When the crew is discharged at the end of the voyage the men must sign off the articles in the presence of tho same Board of Trade official who witnessed their signature. This Board of Trade man is always present wheu tho crew is paid off by the purser, and his initial after each man’s signature on the articles shows that he saw that man paid. The articles constitute an a;freerneut between the master and the men, who are all nominally signed by the master. At the muster the line of men extends once and a half around the promenade deck of the City of Paris. The men are all examined by the Board of Trade representative and the doctor to see that they are physically fit. This muster always takes place übout two hours before tho passengers come on board. Immediately after it is dismissed there is a boat muster by the chief officer. The Board of Trade man is also present at the boat muster. Down in the quarters of the sailor men in tho “ foc's'l ” is posted a boat list of the crew. Back in

the “glory holes”where the stewards sleep similar lists are posted. Every person in the crew is assigned to a particular place in a particular boat. Each man knows his place and the shortest way to it from whatever station he may happen to be occupying when the signal is given for boat muster. Each boat is in charge of an officer. Boat No. lis commanded by Capt. Watkins himself. Mr. Parsow, the chief officer, commands No. 2. The senior second officer and tho junior second officer take 3 and 4, and a quartermaster has 5. Then the extra second officer commands 6, and the senior third officer has 7. Quartermasters are in charge of 8 and 9. The junior third and the senior and junior fourth officers take charge of 10,11, and 12 respectively, and the boatsw T ain and his mate command 13 and 14. When the signal for boat muster is given just after the muster of the crew is dismissed, every man gets to hi 3 place as quickly as possible. Two able seamen are assigned to each boat, and tho crew is made up of firemen and stewards. The Board of Trade man orders out any boat ho chooses, and it is immediately cleared away. When he is satisfied with the boat drill everything about the boats is made tight and the crew dismissed, the men going at once to their post of duty. Everybody aboard ship gets ready to receive the passengers, who come off from the landing stage-on a tender. In New York, where the passengers go on board from the wharf and there is no fixed hour for their arrival, the muster of the crow takes place on tho evening before the day of sailing and there is no better muster. —[New York Sun.