The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1913-10-20
BRANDS LIFE UPON
SHIPS AS SLAVERY
La Toilette Says He Will At
tempt to Have Seamen's
Measure Passed.

MADISON, Wis, Oct. 20.-Seizing
upon the appalling death roll of lives
lost in the Volturno as a text, Senator
LaFOllette today, in a leading editorial
in LaFollette's Weekly, under the cap
ton of An Uneven Fight" says that
this congress should pass a seamen's
bill that will do credit to the human
ity and intelligence of Americans. In
unsparing terms, he characterizes Sen
ator Nelson's bill, which has been fav-
orably reported in the senate, as "a
mixture of good and evil with the evil
predominating" The fourth bill to be
introduced at this session of congress
was a seamen's bill by Senator LaFol-
lette, and he has served notice that he
will attempt to have his measure
adopted.
In typically LaFollettesque language
the gruesome life surrounding service
as sailors under a contract system, in
vogue for the past twenty years, is
denounced by the senator. He de-
clares that life upon ships is slavery,
so degrading that the Americans have
been driven from the service and their
places filled by men from the Mediter-
ranean, from Arabia India, South AT
RIGA, China and Japan.
Result of Bad Equipment.
Under these conditions is it to be
marveled at that fifteen hundred and
seventeen souls were lost when the
Titanic went down, two hours and a
half after she collided with the ice
berg, in a sea as smooth as glass;"
says Senator LaFOllette. 1T followed
a long list of shipwrecks attended
with great loss of life among which
were the General Slocum, the Elb, the
LaBurgoyne, the City of Rio de Jan
Giro. the Norge, the Valentia, the
Oceana and many others. each disas-
ter in large measure, if not entirely,
the direct result of bad equipment and
low standard of efficiency, and as these
lines are written the wireless brings
the horrible story of the loss of the
Nolturno in mid-ocean, with an appall-
ing death roll"
Senator LaFollette says that the
Nelso bill is an exact copy of the meas
ure vetoed by President Taft. Ameri-
can seamen demand legislation, he de
clares, that will require a sufficient
number of able seamen to safely man
vessel. The measure must be no
makeshift.
Wants Own Bill Passed.
On the nTSI DAY Oh IHS present SEES
sion of congress | introduced the sea.
mems bill says Senator LaFollette
1T was the fourth bill introduced. 1t
is the bill which passed the house last
session. 1t was referred to the senate
committee on commerce. Instead OF
reporting that bill (senate No. - the
committee reported a bill (senate No
1867 introduced by Senator Nelson at
this session. 1t is the Identical bill
which President Taft vetoed. 1t is a
mixture of good and evil, with the evil
predominating. If it should become a
law. it would enable Hill to continue
to supplant American seamen with
Chinese on his Oriental lines.
Although efforts were made to post
pone the consideration of even this
bill until next session. by order of the
senate, the roll will be called upon its
passages at t O'Clock on October 25.
1T is my hope and my belief that
the senate will defeat this bill and
pass instead senate bill No. on that
day"