Evening star., 1921-05-15
SEAMEN'S LEADER
IN LETTER DEF!ES
CHARGES OF LIBEL
Tells Marvin Owners De-
mands Are Too Alike to
Be Due to Coincidence.

Andrew Furuseth. president of the
Seamen's Union. declared in a letter
yesterday to Winthrop l.. Marvin of
the American Ship Owners Associa-
ton that it would be "altogether too
| remarkable coincidence that the
ship owners of Europe and the ship
owners OF America should demand
! from the Seamen substantially the
same things at the same time" The
letter was in reply to published state
| mentS OF Marvin that charges made
; by Furuseth were libel against
responsible department of the govern
ment."
Charges made by Furuseth We're
contained in u pamphlet entitled "A
statement of Facts" which. with a
verbal statement made at the time, al
legged that reductions announced by
| the Shipping Board and American
iship owners We're part of an inter
national agreement among ship opcr-
,atorS.
Says Attacks Are Identical
| In his letter Mr.. Furuscth charac-
| terizCd the American Protective and
! Indemnity Association as Il younger
brother" of the international Ship
ping Federation. Limited, of London,
| whose charter. he said, "spcciiicaIly
authorizes and insists upon co-opera-
tion with every ship owner organiza
| tion throughout the world"
! The attacks upon the SeamenS act
| pS snip "" ii'I = - EN'ii'i al
definite and substantially the same as
| the attacks and actions of your or
. ganiZation.' the letter said. 1T seems
| evident that some understanding was
arrived at in Europe in the month of
/ December. or in the carly part of jan
uary, because the Dutch ship owners
were not represented at the Brussels
meeting, which had for it's purpose to
reduce the weekly hours of labor for
sailors and firemen. This meeting
agreed that a subcommittee should
meet later in London to arrange the
change to make it least burdensome
| to ship owners
The Norwegian ship owners, the
! letter said. gave their men two
| months notice. provided so that all
| agreements would end by April l.
| The English ship owners prepared
| reduction of from % to 80 per cent
! in the wages of their men. announc-
ing competition as the reason.
| Proposed Double Reduction.
| When it was found that no ar
| rangemcnt was arriyed at in Amer
lea" the letter continued, the qucs-
tion between the English ship owners
j and the Seamen was laid over -until
April %. In Norway it was laid over
until May Is. The Norwegian ship
owners proposed a % per cent reduc-
tion this spring and another 20 per
cent reduction in the fall. The Amer
, lean ship owners proposed clause
that would permit them to abrogate
the agreement upon giving thlrty
days notice. and when an endcaVor
| was made to have them agree for
! years time, they informed the par
ties that they expected to put in force
! another reduction in the fan.
| IF the native American can be
| driven from the sea, there can be no
| doubt that Aemrica, will ultimately
have to sell her ships to those who
know how to manage them and how
to operate them. and the ships will
/ have to be sold for such prices as the
| buyers are willing to pay. This lock-
out, claimed to be over a paltry $l1.25
| IN a thousand of the expenditures in
operating ships, must, if you be VIC
torious. result in driving from the
| sea nearly all of the 81 per cent of
| native Americans who now constitute
| the total operating force of seamen
not including officers, of our mer-
| chant marine.
| Would Welcome Prosecution.
This is exactly what is found in
| the pamphlet l am repeating it to