The labor argus. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1906-1915, 1910-03-03
SEANIEN
Bring Lake Strike Before
Congress in an Em-
phatic Manner.
Small Boys andLandlub-
bers Manned the Ships,
Union Leaders Tells
House Committee.

They manned their ship with boys
boys, whose trousers only came down to
their knees-to break the strike OH the
great lakes. =
The chairman of the House Committee
on Merchant Marine and Fisheries raised
his hand impaticntly to the secretary of
the Lake Seamen's $ Union:
| DO you mean to tell this committee
that these great corporations, these i'm,
mense investments OF capital, would risk
| their vessels in the hands of boys7''
1t was the second days hearing of
the sailors side Of the testimony offered
in Washington in favor of Representative
Spight s bill for the protection of sea-
men. Secretary Olunder, broad shouI-
dcred, blue.eyod, the hard knit figure of
man who would be picked out in any
waterfront gathering as the mate, weigh
ed his answer to Chairman Green:
TO break u strike-yes. They do not
mind losing vessel or two, if it's in
sured.''
''You ask what these boys do7 They
act as deck hands, us watchmen, or even
coal.passers. There is no law to prevent
it. l saw five lads on the Rockefeller out
of a crew of ten. On the Major they had
a lad Ii years working in the fireroom;
and when he took sick from exhaustion
they chucked him out on tho docks.''
Backing up his verbal testimony, Sec
retary Orlander produced copies Of the
minutes of the fifth annual meeting of
the Pittsburg Steamship Companies Off.
cers-this is the lake-end Of the United
States Steel Corporation owning over 100
vessels-in which General Manager Colby
is quoted as saying :. in good many cas-
es tue men we shipped as watchmen have
never been on ship before.
Undermanned, regardless of conse-
quences, vessels in the seaway will fre-
quently have but one man on deck in ad-
dition to the officer. The Eads, vessel
400 feet long, sailed to Duluth with s.on-
ly one man to relieve the other two
Watches
From the port of San Francisco the
marine fireman sent their financial secre-
tary, Patrick Flynn, to ask that law be
made compelling ship owners to have at
least three watches in the fire-room.
We go into the fre-room and trip of
everything except our underdrawers and
shoes, explained Flynn, "and there, in
l5O degrees of heat, they compel us to
work IL hours out of the "a. 1t is dead
ly, no man can stand it. Look into the
glare of an oilburning furnace and it
takes you five minutes before your eyes
eau read the gauge. In France, Germa-
ny, and other countries, three watches is
the law-why can't the United States
Dl
In the memorial just issued, as Senate
Document No. $40, the Legislative Com
mittee of the International Seamens' I'm
ion of America declares:
Existing maritime law makes of US,
excepting in the domestic trade of the
United States, the property of the vessel
which we sail. We cannot work as
seamen without signing contract which
brings US under this law This contract
is fixed by the law or authorized by the
governments. We have nothing to do
with its terms. We either sign it and
sail, or we sign it not and remain lands
men.
When signing this contract, we sur
render our working power to the will of
another man at all times while the CON
tract runs. We may not, on pain of pen
al punishment, fail to join the vessel. We
may not leave the vessel although she is
in perfect safety.
If the owner thinks he has reason to
fear that we desire to escape, he may,
without judicial investigation, cause us
to be imprisoned for safe keeping until
he shall think proper to take us OUT