The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1915-09-24
BENEFITS OF THE
SEAMEN'S LAW
Provides Greater Safety For
the Travelling Public.
GIVES FREEDOM TO SAILORS
Opens the Way For Upbuildins of the
ICES Cost of Operation as Between
United States and Foreign Ships-Ef-
feet Will Be Worldwide.

United States and Foreign Ships-Ef-
feet Will Be Worldwide.
BY VICTOR A. oLANDER.
[vice president International Seamen's
Union Of America.l
The passage Of the seamen's act is
the emancipation proclamation for the
seamen of the world. For them 1t
means freedom, which has heretofore
been denied. For the travelling public
1t means greater safety OF life at sea.
In these things it sets the standard for
the entire world. For the nation 1t
means the restoration OF the American
merchant marine in the oversee trade.
The seamens calling is essentially
international. A national law govern
ing that calling is necessarily interna-
tional In effect. This is true of the
seamens act, and therein Is It's greatest
Importance. The right to quit the
service OF an employer, right without
which freedom cannot exist. has been
long denied to crews of American yes
sells In foreign ports and to the sea-
men on practically all foreign vessels
In American ports. This denial of lib
erty has been in the form of an Ameri-
can statute law, combined with some
twenty odd treaties with foreign ma
tions, under which seamen were held
to service on the ships or punished by
Imprisonment for quitting work dur
ing the terms of contracts which all
seamen under the laws of every ma
ton are required TO sign upon accept
Ing employment The seamens act
repeals the statute and provides for
the abrogation of such parts OF the
treaties as require the arrest and pun
ishment of seamen for what is called
"desertion." The necessary changes
In the treaties are made In accordance
with the method and within the time
provided for by the treaties affected
Thus American soil for the first time
the stars and stripes ceases to exist
not only for Americans. but for all
others who step upon our shores. Thus
the seamen come into their own. and
since the effect is international th'
seamen of the entire world have til
door of opportunity opened TO them.
The new law provides for create
safety of life at sea for the travelin
public and for the seamen as well, b
providing a standard of efficiency al
plicable TO the deck crews of all We:
sells leaving American ports. requirin
that a given percentage of the sailor
must be men of experience and b.
designating the lifeboat capacity whicl
such vessels must provide. True, th,
number of efficient seamen required
under the new law is not as large as II
should be, and except in the overse;
trade the number of Hfeboats is woe
fully small, particularly on the excur
sion vessels. Nevertheless. there is
Improvement over present conditions
and standards have been laid down
upon which to base more substantial
Improvements In the future.
For the nation itself the new law
opens the way for the upbuilding OF
the American merchant marine In the
oversee trade. providing for an exten
sion OF American commerce, by remov-
ing unwarranted privileges which for
eign ship owners have been allowed
up to the present and by the enforce
ment of American standards of man
ming and equipment equally upon all
vessels in American harbors, whether
such vessels be domestic or foreign.
The new law giving freedom to the
sailors abolishes the system under
which, by the aid of the United States
foreign ships were enabled to hold
cheap labor. When the law goes into
operation the men on those ships will
have the right to quit and even to &C
on strike In American ports when they
so desire The immediate effect viii
be that the wages paid by oversea yes
sells will be determined not alone by
the low wage port from which they
sail, but also by the higher wage port
to which they sail. Wage cost OF op
Grafton will be equalized upward. Fur
/ ther equality as between American
and foreign vessels is obtained by the
standards of manning. efficiency and
equipment. which under the new Law
: are made applicable to foreign vessels
! when such vessels are In American
ports. Thus the cost OF operation as be
tween American and foreign ships will
be equalized and the American ships
VIII have equal opportunities in com
4 petition with all others. In doing this
| the United States has simply taken ad
vantage OF the international law that
each nation has a right to govern its
4 own harbors. The result will be tht
| steady growth of the American mer
/ chant marine as a whole.
Eight Hours For Oil Men.