The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-12-27
SEAMEN'S LEADER
LAUDSSHIP LAW
Furuseth Says 1t Is Not All
That Is Desired, hut Puts
Flag Back on Sea.
DENIES BLOW TO MARINE

Andrew Furuseth, president of the In
ternational Seamen's Union. who was
foremost in a twenty year agitation
which resulted in the passage and the
signing by President Wilson last March
of the seamen's bill. told the audience
last night at the regular Sunday night
! meeting of the Labor Forum In the
Washington Irving High School that al.
though the bill as passed was not all
that he and other labor leaders would
like 70 have IL. the bill Is going TO be
"A great thing for the upbuilding OF an
American merchant marine.
Firuseth. whose efforts to have the
bill passed received much publicity but
whose personality IL little known 10 The
general public. is a spare man somewhat
past middle ase. whose slightly bent
figure. grayish hair Inclined slightly to
stick on; in irregular wisps n gold
I trimmed s~pectacles, might suggest a VIII
lage druggist or matchmaker but
scarcely "a sailorman who. as ne said
himself last night. sailed under five diff
| ferent flags during Ms two score years
at sea.
! There Is a quiet directnose about his
platform delivery unusual among the
average labor orators. He came TO
America thirty-ive years ago. but he
still retains a marked accent, an accent
that was a help when, again unlike the
average labor speaker. he took occasion
Z every now and then to slip bits OF dry
humor into his talk.
Time limits prevented him. he said.
from doing anything more than dwell
upon the higher points of his pet meas
ure. His talk that followed was a de-
fence of the bill more than a disser-
tation upon advantages he thought the
bill brought 10 the working man at sea.
The bill. he said. will do much TO bring
the American flag back TO sea gain
The only way for "A seaman to be
advanced Ia the bridge of a ship" he
began, lis first to serve on the deck.
At first We had on the decks of English
and American ships the Dutchman, OF
whom | am one. tLaughter.l Next we
had the Dago and finally the Oriental.
II something hadn't been done in legis-
auon here you would lind that within
the next twenty years there would be AL
Orientals on the bridge. And the past
has shown that just as the men of a
nation stop going to sea just 80 fast
has hat nation died.
"Englishmen have been quitting the
sea so fast that just before the begin
ming OF the present war there were
100000 Orientals in the British merchant
marine"
Before taking up the final section of
his speech-this last part being made
| no altOgetner Df AIKllnlantA that the sea
mans bill is not responsible for the
passing of the American flag from the
Pacifc--the speaker gave his views on
what he considered the unjustness OF con-
ditions of sea labor prior to the passage
OF the bill.
The American merchant marine"
concluded Mr.. Furuseth. has been
dying from two diseases. Tn FIRST Is
that, according to the shippinv mer
themselves. IL cost az per cent mors
to build a shin in an American yard
than on the CLYDE. The las, Congress,
helped A little along these lines Inv adj.
hitting foreign vessels IN An,erican roo.
istry.
"The second trouble has b..p ,ha,
the foreign shin could he onerat.d n,
less cost than the American. FueI ro,d
for the crew and SO on cos, tho sane IN
American and foreign oncration Of sbins
hut there was n difference I'm tho WACO.
of the crew. Through the so, men.
hill the foreign shin owner now mus
nay his crew as much as tho Am.r,ra
shin owner does. The hin nuts an erf
10 a prlylleye long held nv fnr.Ig,
owners who could call mn, our ,olic.
in an American mort IN arrest and do
tain any or All of a che,nIv maid creu
which unon arriying bere n,igh, aa,id,
10 quit the shin before the exniratior
of their c@on,racts.'