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The sailor's friend
PLIMSOLLS, the rubber-soled, canvas shoes worn by schoolchildren and celebrities alike are a familiar piece of footwear. But how many people know that they are named after Samuel Plimsoll, an Englishman whose tireless campaigning ended Victorian shipping malpractices and saved thousands of sailors' lives?
In her scholarly biography, Nicolette Jones lifts the lid on the life of an extraordinary man from an ordinary background. Plimsoll was born in 1824, the son of an excise man. After working for a decade as a brewery clerk, he made a disastrous foray into the coal trade that bankrupted him, and at the age of 32 was arrested for assaulting the tollkeeper on London's Waterloo Bridge. Despite this undistinguished start, he rose to become Liberal MP for Derby, took up a cause that stirred the nation, wrong-footed a prime minister and, for a while, was the most popular man in the country.
In the mid-19th century one British mariner in five died at sea. Mortality among sailors was higher than in any other occupation and between 1861 and 1870, 5,826 ships were wrecked off the British coast with the loss of 8,105 lives. Vessels were either overloaded and unstable, or were in such a poor state of repair that they inevitably sank. Unscrupulous shipowners could profit by deliberately over-insuring these "coffin ships" knowing that they were likely to founder.
The cruel loss of life and the impoverished widows and children left behind inspired Plimsoll to take up the sailors' plight. In an era of popular agitation for social reform his campaign for maximum load lines for ships to be written into law became a "milestone in the progress of people power". Plimsoll and his cause caught the public imagination: he was lauded in the Times, caricatured in Punch and Vanity Fair, and supported by Queen Victoria. However, he encountered antagonism in the House of Commons, where MPs with vested interests played a long-winded stalling game.
Eventually, after six turbulent years, during which his health suffered, his sanity was questioned and libel cases piled up against him, Plimsoll's legacy was secured when the 1876 Merchant Shipping Act was passed. It required the hull of every cargo ship to be marked with the level of maximum submergence—a mark that to this day is called the "Plimsoll line".
Ms Jones's strength lies in bringing to life the sailor's friend and the political climate in which he battled. "Ambition and altruism, in fine balance, were at Plimsoll's core," she writes of the man who, once he had taken on his cause, would be "restless and distressed on stormy nights". The author clearly outlines the infighting and backstabbing of the political process, taking the reader from courtroom conflicts to a spectacular breach of protocol in the House of Commons when, on learning of Benjamin Disraeli's decision to abandon the Shipping Bill for that session, Plimsoll lost his temper, furiously railing against the shipowners with "murderous tendencies" represented in the House.
Elegantly written, "The Plimsoll Sensation" is a testament to the might of public opinion and the conviction of a passionate man. And those canvas shoes? They were named plimsolls in 1876 by a salesman for the Liverpool Rubber Company. Why? Because submerging them above their rubber trim results in disaster.
This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline "The sailor's friend"
From the July 8th 2006 edition
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What Senator Lindsey Graham Reveals About Washington
"The problem with the Tea Party, I think it's just unsustainable"
Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, is the subject of a lengthy profile by Robert Draper in the upcoming New York Times Magazine. Graham, a moderate who has shown an unusual willingness to work with this administration, has emerged as a key player of Obama-era Washington. But Graham has infuriated fellow Republicans for engaging with Democrats, and also often upsets Democrats for the compromises he will not make. The Times Magazine dubs him "This Year's Maverick" in reference to fellow GOP Senator John McCain.
- Graham: Tea Party Will 'Die Out' The Hill's Jordan Fabian pulls out the quotes. Fabian writes, "Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who has earned the ire of Tea Party groups for his penchant for negotiating with Democrats, predicted this week the movement will 'die out.' Graham, who has partnered with Democrats on immigration reform and energy and climate legislation," had this to say:
Everything I'm doing now in terms of talking about climate, talking about immigration, talking about Gitmo is completely opposite of where the Tea Party movement's at. ... The problem with the Tea Party, I think it's just unsustainable because they can never come up with a coherent vision for governing the country. It will die out. ... We don't have a lot of Reagan-type leaders in our party. Remember Ronald Reagan Democrats? I want a Republican that can attract Democrats. ... Ronald Reagan would have a hard time getting elected as a Republican today.
- The GOP's Rightward Shift Since Reagan Outside the Beltway's Doug Mataconis writes, "The Ronald Reagan that governed for eight years in the 80s was, in many ways, very different from the mythos that many on the right, such as Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, have created of a tax-cutting, hawkish foreign policy-following conservative icon. For example, Reagan raised taxes more than once during his eight years in office, he supported an immigration reform bill that granted amnesty to illegal immigrants, and while he did rebuild a decaying American military, he was also fiercely opposed to nuclear weapons and believed that they should be abolished from the planet. Would such a candidate have a chance in the
Tea PartyRepublican Party of 2010 ? It's hard to say, but it's by no means certain that he would be as lovingly received as he is remembered."
- Exacerbated Tea Party-Moderate Divide The Washington Monthly's Steve Benen writes, "Graham's remarks, while defensible, are likely to cause all manner of trouble for him. He's already been condemned by right-wing South Carolinians, and that was just for talking to Democrats about possible compromises on public policy. For Graham to trash the confused Tea Party crowd -- to the New York Times, no less -- will likely make his life in Republican politics considerably more difficult."
- Senators Publicly Feud, Privately Cooperate Talking Points Memo's Eric Kleefeld writes, "Graham talked about the theatrical elements of politics, in which Senators and other political figures of opposite parties will privately work together while vigorously attacking each other in public. He credited the late Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) as a skilled practitioner of this -- and President Obama, too. 'The president has said very nice things about me off the record to other reporters,' said Graham."
- Is GOP About Small Gov't or No Gov't? White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel told Draper of Graham, "He's willing to work on more things than the others. Lindsey, to his credit, has a small-government vision that's out of fashion with his party, which stands for no government. ... He's one of the last big voices to give that vision intellectual energy."
This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.

subset: commoncrawl


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LMPD investigating Metro Council president is 'payback' for Explorer lawsuit, attorneys say
The Louisville police department's ongoing investigation into Metro Council President David Yates for felony assault took a step back Wednesday after the special prosecutor dropped out due to a professed conflict of interest.
Yates avoided prosecution earlier this year when a grand jury decided not to indict him following a fight with another man during a University of Louisville football game in 2016.
Special prosecutor Terry Geoghegan — a commonwealth's attorney for Hart, LaRue and Nelson counties — was planning to submit the case to a new grand jury this week but Yates' attorney objected, saying that Louisville police have an "outrageous" conflict.
Yates, who is also a lawyer, represents former Explorer Scouts in separate lawsuits against the city for sexual abuse by officers, and that police helped cover up the incidents.
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The criminal charges against Yates, however, were halted after Geoghegan revealed that an employee in his office is related to an attorney who is representing the alleged victim.
Jefferson Circuit Court Judge Audra Eckerle said the criminal case against Yates will be postponed until the attorney general's office appoints another prosecutor who will decide whether to pursue the case.
A motion submitted by Yates's attorneys on Monday said Geoghegan has submitted no new evidence against their client. It also alleged the special prosecutor was being pressured by Louisville police to reintroduce the charges.
"There is certainly, to my knowledge, nothing they have done to have influence on this case whatsoever," Geoghegan told the judge.
Eckerle did not rule on the police department's alleged conflict, but she said Yates should receive a notice before any grand jury hears the assault case again in order for her to make a decision on the conflict question.
A motion submitted by Yates's attorneys on Monday said Geoghegan has submitted no new evidence against their client. It also alleged the special prosecutor was being pressured to reintroduce the charges by Louisville police, who are seeking "political payback," according to his attorneys.
Attorneys Todd Lewis and Ryan Vantrease, who are representing Yates, said in an interview with reporters Wednesday that it is clear Louisville police are seeking retribution.
"Police did an investigation that concluded in December 2016 and they did not present it to the grand jury until June 2017, a couple of months after (Yates) files his first lawsuit in the Explorer case," Vantrease said. "He files another lawsuit in October and now they're going to present it again, I think the time-frame speaks for itself."
Yates's attorney are asking the judge to hand the case over to either the attorney general's office or Kentucky State Police. Louisville police did not immediately respond to an email Wednesday requesting comment.
Yates has said he was acting in self-defense on Nov. 12 when he got into a fight with a man named Dennis Swaggert during the Louisville football game against Wake Forest.
The Jefferson County Attorney's Office, which said Yates has a conflict of interest in the Explorer case, referred the assault charge to the state attorney general's office and requested a special prosecutor, citing its own conflict of interest because the county attorney represents Yates in his capacity as council president.
Yates faced charges of 2nd degree assault, which is defined as intentionally causing a serious physical injury and carries a penalty of five to 10 years in prison.
A spokesman for Jefferson County Attorney Mike O'Connell has said at the time that their office, "had no role in the decision-making process" in whether to charge Yates criminally.
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Courier Journal reported in June that the fight last year involved a woman whom Swaggert, 33, dated years ago and whom Yates, 37, is currently engaged. The two men have told drastically different versions of what happened during the football game.
Swaggert said he and a friend were leaving the game when Yates started beating him from behind, breaking the orbital socket around one of his eyes.
But Yates and his girlfriend said the fight was self-defense and that they were both afraid Swaggert might be carrying a gun. Yates also alleges the Swaggert threw a drink at the couple while on a stairwell.
"It's still and always will be one of the clearest cases of self-dense and defense of others that I've ever seen," Lewis said.
Swaggert has a previous conviction for criminal mischief, in 2012, according to court records. He did not immediately respond to message left on his Facebook page.
Reporter Phillip M. Bailey can be reached at 502-582-4475 or firstname.lastname@example.com.