The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-09-26


 of helping hand.
 This aid is not confined to men of any particular rating-it extends to all Americans who serve on merchant ships, from master to coal-passer. It reaches out to foreign ports on the one hand, and to the homes of Amer ica's merchant mariners on the other.
 If an American merchant mariner is lying i'll and unknown in foreign hospital, the Social Service Bureau has official sources of information that will enable it to take up the work of tracing him and restoring him to his people. If an American merchant mariners family is in distress, it is the duty of the Social Service Bureau to alleviate that distress.
 Many Opportunities Presented.
 In developing it's work along these broad general lines the Social Service Bureau has dealt successively with the apprentices of the United States Shipping Board Recruiting Service training system, both before and after their induction into the crews of the merchant fleet; with the students and graduates of the United States Ship ping Board Recruiting Service train ing schools for merchant marine deck and engineer officers, and finally, in the natural course of developments, with members of the general fratern- ity of American merchant mariners, home or in foreign ports. It's good offices are now at the disposal of all these different classes of American seagoers.
 An important item in the bureaus work for what might be termed its own special clientele has been in con- nection with the large body of ex- lperienced and intelligent men who have attended the Shipping Boards free engineering and navigation schools, to prepare themselves by spe- cial courses of study to receive licenses as Merchant Marine officers. No compensation is received from the government by these men while talk ing the special courses, and in many cases sacrifices have been made by the students which have led to fnan- cial or other complications, in the ad- iustment of which the good offices of the Social Service Bureau have been sought
 The Shipping Board schools for of- ficers have totaled as high as forty threo-they now number twenty-six and have had in their classes at one time as many as 1900 men.
 The foregoing points are but gen. eral indications of the work now be- ing done by the Social Service Bu- reau, the different divisions of which may be summarized under these headings:
 Prepafe Directory.
 Social Service at training stations and on training ships of the United States Shipping Board Recruiting Service.
 Home relief for distressed families of American merchant marin+rs.
 Information and correspondence; seeking for merchant mariners of whom trace has been lost by their families; answering inquiries on the movements of ships and whereabouts of graduates of United States Ship ping Board navigation and engineer ing schools and training ships; con- ducting correspondence for mariners families on wage adjustments, claims, accidents, sickness deaths, ins trance. etc, etc.
 Organizing corps of visitors to hos pitals receiving merchant mariners.
 Relief for shipwrecked mariners.
 Developing Merchant Marine clubs at American and foreign ports.
 Preparation of directory which will give information most useful to sailors about the principal ports of the world. It will contain a list of organizations having adequate facili- ties for the entertainment of seamen, with information about attractions