The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1922-04-29
(By International Labor News
Service.)

WASHINGTON, D. c., April IT.
With administration leaders making
the bold assertion that the ship SUBJ
sidy bill is going through and that
the administration is determined
upon the subsidy program, they
are nevertheless making doubly
sure in connection with the strike
breaking feature of the bill.
The fact that separate bill, H. r.
1906, has been introduced in the
House, providing for merchant
marie naval reserve, indicates the
determination to establish marine
strike breaking agency.
The ship subsidy bill contains a
merchant marine naval reserve Sec
ton, under which a reserve would
be created. for use in time Of war,
or in time Of national emergency"
Labor has protested against he
entire subsidy bill and has been par
ticularly vigorous in protesting
against the naval reserve section and
the immigration section which would
nullify the freedom sections of the
seam ems act.
"Concession' Pure Fake.
There are indications that the ma
val reserve section may be dropped
from the subsidy bill, that it will be
made to appear that this Is a con-
cession to labor. But, any such
concession is meaningless in face Of
the fact that another bill provides
for the naval reserve strike-break-
ing agency!
H. r. 1906 makes complete and
minute specifications for g. naval
reserve for use in the merchant
marine service in time of national
emergency''-and there can be no
possible national emergency" ex-
cept a strike!
The merchant marine naval re-
serve proposal is purely a strike
breaking proposition and it has been
tactily admitted that such is the
case.
Meanwhile there are growing in
dications that congress will not dare
| vote the subsidy bill through until
after the fall elections. While the
/ through this tremendous gift to big
! shipping interests, it has some re-
| gard for the national anti-subsidy
sentiment insofar as the fall cleo
| tons are concerned. Plans now are
to drag out the hearings before COM
mittee for at least a month, even
though these hearings have already
become such perfunctory affairs that
proponents Of the bill never go near
them.
Labor Cost No Excuse.
It is admitted unofficially by
friends of the U. s. Shipping Board
that the principal reason for urging
a ship subsidy Is that without it
shipping interests will not make big
profits when the new tariff legis-
lation becomes effective. Shipping
is expected to suffer, so shipping
must be protected.
The Shipping Board, however, is
striving to make it appear that labor
conditions make the subsidy, neces-
sary. Its arguments are not based
on facts. It's principal contention Is
that a subsidy is necessary because
American ship owners pay higher
wages than other countries for man
ming ships and that the cost of SUBJ
sistence is higher. The fact is, as
everybody knows, that the Seamen's
Act equalized the wages of seamen
the world over and that the Shipping
Board and American shipping inter-
ests led in the reduction of seamen's
wages and that the other countries
followed. The wages Of American
seanen are now belOv those nf m nst
other countries 'lrl The salaries Of o.
ficers are higher on American ships
and their salaries constitute the only