The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1917-08-26

years OF his indenture.
Germany has not failed 10 see the
Importance of correct technique Oh
seamanship in the conduct % her In
dustrial schools. There are ample ia
cilities for educating the men for a
large merchant navy. They come III
to close touch with the fighting navy
system Mt certain points. An engineer
is given a stin and thorough curricu-
lum of mathematics. language, me
chauics, and a practical course in
electricity. in addition to technical
studies I'm the machinery he will be
responsible for. The courses are car
rled UP to the equivalent of university
courses, for the men who are expect
cd TO handle the great liners of Ham
burg and Bremen. The leading steam
ship companies have special courses
conducted by their own instructors,
in the public technical schools, aud
at least one of them maintains an In
dependent nautical college for the d.
rect training of its officers.
In the United States, apart from the
graduation of men trained in the navy.
and the limited output of our school
ships in New York and Massa chuset:s.
our ships officers are overwhelming-
~ graduates of the school of expert
cnCe who have also equipped them
to another. We have a number Of
technical schools. corresponding close
Iv with the typical American business
college in their relationship to the
shipping industries, where our ambi-
tlous seamen and ships officers go to
prepare themselves for advances In
position. These schools have all along
given, as the market has demanded.
the instruction that Mr. Howard 3
9 Mt i'm fo ct, ,,x
extensively along Me whole seaboard
of the country.
All this organization. abroad and
here, Is intended to provide capable
officers for the navigation, manage
ment and driving of the ships There
Is practically no organization, yet. to
develop efficient men of tho crews
Although experience and certain skin,
discipline. good eyesight. and Injured
ness to the sea is necessary to make
an ahle-hodied seaman, even an or
binary seaman. and other countries as
wei! as our own require certain rec
ora OF time spent at sea and an ex-
animation as to physique and knowl-
edge of ship work to obtain a certi-
fcate as an ABB" the only systematic
training given sailors to make them
more ut for our navy at Newport
Plain seamanship is labor" and the
l''i N'iIJ}Fl bi the merchant marine mas
not become general
Would II pay to take American bows
and give them training by thousan ds
for the me reliant marine as boys are
trained for the navy? That may be a
question for the practical economies
OF America coming development OF
merchant shipping In big units to
solve, or 1t may be taken up as fact
and organized in the national interest
twenty-five years ago only 40 per
cent of the crews OF the United States
navy were Americans. We now have
practically a 100 per cent American
navy, Today. according 10 Andrew
Furuseth, head OF the international
Seamen's Union OF America, only 28
per cent OF sailors on American mer-
chant ships are Americans ANYBODY
who has pictured what american
merchant marine we had as Ameri-
can ships msnned by American sail
ors, was mistaken. our ships are over
whelmngly manned by floating for
eign labor. ON August first, there
was 5000 enemy aliens employed on
American ships, for the most part In
the engine rooms AS a measure of
piecau1lon, American ships that pass
through the Panama canal are stop
ped before they enter, and enemy alien
sailors in crews are taken off and sent
n'i oS9 mo ls'hfhus by ran. IN order
/ 10 aNoid the danger OF having ships
pass through with them aboard.
ne Iaoof on most American sea
S""'E FhlPs IS noating labor in the
N'tSe 'mat IL does not stay on any. one
snip ne majority or the sailors on
tNn'tri cah merchant ships sign only
~, ny one voyage ana are on differ
. eht snip IN a few days after returning
~ l,'i 1 mus we nave merchant
"ta' IIe manned by crews the majority
% "HlNh nave no particular fealty
Z" country OF SNIP They can
'u'S N'lo" their snip or their Off
mere appear 10 be two policies that
10y y" @uopted ny US, nationally, for
a"e iu'ure manning or our merchant
- Ii'e. 'He cohtenplates A conttnu-
"'aoi s',u extension or The present sys-
IN vi having crews or indlscriminate
nationality on our growing merchant
+l"' me Inns poI1cy Is now embodied
III 'ite present seamens act. That act
was written by the supposedly Ameri-
''" sailors unlon and Nr. Furuseth
=" recently published pamphlet
Hi't'hS with great pride of the ma
5'''ai pollcy created IN it. The sea -
~" ACT gives an American sailor
iiEht 10 qu!t his ship and compels
ne SNIP oftiters to pay him half the