The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1918-11-30
EEURUSE1H GUARDS
SEAMEN'S RIGHTS
viii Sail For Europe to Protect
Sailors Rights At Peace
Conference,

WASHINGTON, Nov. %. An
drew Furuseth left for Chicago
today to consult with the executive
board of the international Seamen's
Union of America before sailing for
Europe to organize the worldwide
protest Of seamen against the pro-
posed sacrifice of the LaFollette sea-
mems act. He will be on guard over
the Magma Charta of the sailors at
Versailles when the peace congress
is in session there. If there has been
any doubt in the minds of American
shipowners as to whether their at
tempt to kill the seamen's act would
fail, that doubt may now be dropped.
Equalizc Wages.
When the new International Union
Of Seamen was formed by delegates
from the seamen's unions of England,
Holland, Denmark, Norway and
Sweden. at Copenhagen last June, the
conference went on record for the
equal ization of the wages of seamen in
Europe. That action represented the
desire of the seamen from the ports
paying the least wages to secure laws
that would permit them to get the
benefit of the highest wage paid in
any European port.
When Chairman Hurley Of the
United States shipping board, for
merly. president of the Illinois Man.
ufacturers' association. was sailing
for Europe few days ago, he an
nounced that he was going abroad to
secure through the peace congress
an equalization and sterilization" Ut
the wages of seamen, as between this
country and Europe.
AS the American seaman now has a
far higher level Of wages than is paid
in the average port of Europe, Hur-
ley's proposal means simply that he
is going to try to destroy the seamen's
act by lowering the American stand
ard of wages, abolishing the freedom
of the sailors to quit their jobs when
in port in order to get better jobs,
and in effect wiping out the emanci-
patton of the seamen at the very mo-
ment of the triumph of the war for
worldwide democracy.
q. S. Dangerous Rival.
In letter to President Wilson,
Furuseth points out. that the act, if
enforced in freedom, will itself equal
ize wages, and through its language
clause will save the sea-power of the
world to the white race. He says that
the British and German delegates at
the London conference on safety at
/, sea, five years ago, fully understood
that the freedom for seamen pro-
posed in the act would equalize wage
cost, and would thus make the United
States a dangerous rival on the ocean.
1.-The effort was then to prevent
the bill from becoming a 'aw," he
says. '"The effort at the coming peace
conference will be to nullify this law.
There are comparatively few men
high enough in public life to be con-
sidered as possible peace commits
sioners. There are still fewer of
those who understand the economic
aspect of this law and who can, there
fore, see its national aspect. The
most astute appeals to class interests
, will be used to disguise the national
interests behind the efforts made, and
the Commissioners ought to be spe-
officially instructed on this subject.
Moreover, there ought to be some
! among them who can see and under
stand. Such men are known to you"
Want Standards Raised.
President Wilson understands, and
amid a thousand other cares while at
the peace conference he will try to
watch over the interests of American
seamen and European seamen, and
the American merchant marine.
Furuseth is going to be near at hand,
watching the game for the seamen of
America. He will probably be as
sisted by the almost unanimous vote
of the rank and file of the seamen Of
Europe. They don't want American
standards lowered; they want Euro
pean standards raised to the level SGT
by the American law.
w IT VIOLATES TAM