﻿T-BONE SLIM DISCUSSES CIRCUM—NAVIGATION 
 
Whenever I read the papers about shipwreck and as “how the captain” and the galley-stove “stuck faithfully with the ship,” and went down with her, I feel a thrill all over my person — I can almost feel the cold water gurgling along my spine —my keel, I mean. 
That is because it never occurs to me that the skipper has been so damned dirty to shis crew — that he didn’t have the gutts to get in the life-boat with them. 
I feel equally inspired at the untimely end of the noble Stove that served the crew (to the best of its greasy ability) on many a rough voyage.____ 
Not one single instance do I know where the stove deserted the ship. 
I cannot say as much for the captains — most of them have no shame and get right into the boat with the MEN. 
And on one occasiop, I tink it was the wreck of the Titanic, a thoughtful master of ships had the presence of mind to dress in skirts before jumping into the life-boat. How often do we hear that food supplies were “all washed overboard”— what wonderful imagination! 
All the eggs and pork chops and pie and cake and ice cream and candy and fruit and salt-horse and sea-pork were “all washhed overboard”—no one had the presence of marlin to lash them to the stove. 
Wonderful imagination! 
Food that never came over the side is washed overboard? “Do that again!” Mebbe if the M. T. W. I. U 510 will see to it that the food arrives on board and is properly jettisoned and bulk-headed, mebbe, it will not wash overboard so easily — even in heavy seas. 

Peace! Peace! is a very handy cry under every circumstance. 
When a strongarm or a gendarme goes through your clothes — hush! (don’t disturb services.) 
When a transportation company hires you for money that is practically worthless. — hush! When the marine, industry starves you on 3rd class swill and quarters you in a 1st class pig pen—hush! pst!— 
Peace.. 
It shall be so. There will be peace! But peace may throw her rudder, swing on her spring-line and it may be the M. T. W. I. U. 510 that will shush the dry-land master’s objections by murmuring—”peace.” The highly-learned, sky-scraper-Admirals, the Royal Dirt Navigator will be signalled to mute their Fog horn—until such a time as the sailors’ living conditions aboard the unseaworthy tubs have experienced a change........a change for the better, not worse. 
It shall be so. 

We are assured by seamen that “ships and steamships are built ashore” and that “there is no good reason why accumulations cannot be put aboard at the time when the finishing touches are put on the vessel itself.” 
We, in our humble way, aye, aye sir, gather from that that those vessels are outfitted with hottoms, propellers, smoke-stacks, logs and nothing much else — and that when a seaman discovers the shortage of accomodations he is hushed, peace, by having it compassed to him “how ridiculous it is to expect such things on high-seas.” 
True. 
There is no ship chandlery on the ocean lanes. 
There is no bed-sheets flapping in the trade winds. 
There is no matresses billowing on the beautiful blue.. Excuse the poetry.) 
All those things must be loaded; in port before departure. (Excuse the poetry.) 

It is a notorious fact too, that seamen must quit a ship in order to “keep clean” and it is a fact that, regardless of “hailing-port, 95 out of 100 ships are lacking in common comfort, food and wages — aside from the fact that equally many ships, because of commercial construction (low mid-ship and flanging bow,) the fan-tail brought forward like a snow-plow upside down, which causes ship to turn summersaults like a porpoise doing the “Charleston........” in rough weather. 
That concession was made to commercialism without consulting the fo’csl crew.. 

We have here mentioned just a few of the shortcomings in seafaring life and [Rest of the text column is missing. The following lines are from the column besides this and are partly cut out] 
 
M. T. W. I. U. 510 m[missing] 
mands, no “shipowner” [missing] 
the gutts to yell “Peace[missing] 
The reason we think s[missing] 
observe: 
Heretofore whenever [missing] 
any country, made a [missing] 
“ship-company” would [missing] 
hands and say “Good L[missing] 
we can’t give it to you [missing] 
seamen in another country [missing] 
ing so cheaply” 
Well sir, all that is now [missing] 
The Marine Transport [missing] 
Industrial Union will put[missing] 
mand that will reach ar[missing] 
world……..No man shall w[missing] 
ly. 
It shall be so.