Iron County record. [volume] (Cedar City, Utah) 1893-1982, 1913-02-07
RELIEF FOR TARs.
Congress to Abolish Slavery
aboard Merchant Ships.
PATHETIC PLEA or SAILORS.

Ask to BE Delivered FROM intolsrabls
Conditions Of servitude--Provisions
Of the Wilson Bill Now Pending In
the Senate.
The HnaI session Of the Sixty-second
congress may be made notable by the
enactment of legislation granting free
dom to the last Of American slaves.
One hundred and seventy-five thou
sand American seamen will be hberat-
ed from the condition Of serfdom In
which they live II the plans Of the Re
publican and Democratic leaders are
carried 1ut.
The house of representatives already
has passed bill making long step In
this direction aud ut the same time as
surfing greater protection for those who
travel across the seas or the great
lakes. The senate proposes 10 act In
line with the house. and the result Is
expected to be measure which will
make the life of the merchant sailor
more endurable aud more attractive TO
those young men who have the itch Of
the sea-"
No more pathetic memorial was ever
presented to congress than that OF
American seamen In behalf Of legisla-
tjon to alleviate the conditions Of their
labor. Among other things this memo
rial said:
"we stnnd in the same relation to
the vessel as the serf did to the en-
tate, AZ the slave to his master. When
serfdom was abolished in western Eu-
rope we were forgotten BY the liberia
tors and our status remained. When
the Slaves OF the United States and
Brazil were emancipated our status
continued. When serfdom was abol-
ished in Russia no change came to us.
1--WE now raise our manacled hands
In humble supplication and pray that
the nation Issue a decree OF emancipa-
ton and restore to US our right as
brother men-to our labor that honor
which belonged to It until your power.
expressing itself through your law. set
upon 1t the brand Of bondage In the
interest Of cheap transportation by wa
ter"
What the seaman suffers Ii indi-
Gated by the following:
He may be arrested and imprisoned
HS "a eoinpened % Yivs IN q psace
six feet long. six feet high and two
feet wide. space which has been de-
scribed as too large for conn and
too small for q grave"
He Ii compelled 70 sign Away. in the
foreign trade, q certain sum Of the
wages TO be earned In order to get en-
ployment.
He must obey any order from the
master or other offlcer or 20 to prison.
bat II crippled for life by injury there
BY received he has no remedy. because
under late decisions the officers are
"fellow servants"
: He must In obtaining employment
compete with the unskilled and desti-
tute.
He knows that vessels are generally
undermined both as TO skilled and
as to numbers Of men employed.
He knows that In his eating he will
not be able TO earn saiacisLt money to
marry and keep family.
During the closing days Of the last
session the house passed Q bill father
a BY Representative Wilson Of Penn.
syivania ito abolish the Involuntary
servitude imposed npon seamen In the
merchant marine OF the United States
and in foreign ports: the involuntary
servttude imposed upon seamsn Of the
merchant marine Of foreign countries
while In ports OF the United States:
10 prevent unskiiled manning OF Amer
lean vessels; to encourage the training
Of boys for the American merchant
marine; for the further protection of
life at sen and to amend the laws rela-
tive to seamen."
The percentage of seamen who de-
sert from American vessels Is relative
ly small. A law passed In 1893 abol-
ished the penalty of Imprisonment for
desertion in ports of the United States,
Canada, Newfoundland. the West In
dies and Mexico. II Ia claimed the
imprisonment penalty applying TO de-
sertion In other countries is a dead
letter.
The Wilson bin abolishes the I'M
usuai penalty OF enforced labor. per-
mits civil damages to be assessed
against dssertion In the eollectible
terms OF forfeited pay. provides for
chs relinquishing OF contract By sailors
ON foreign vessels. prescribes that on
al merchant vessels the sailors shall
while at sea b. divided Into at isast
two and the 6rsmsn into three
watches and requires the employment
Of suf1cient pumbsr OF men to han
de the ship ana 10 care for the life
boats