The Connecticut labor news., 1924-11-22
Seamen's Union Heads Say Capital and Labor Should Share Pros perity's Benefits.

Staff Correspondent, International La bor News Service . Chicago, Nov. 22.-"Five years of In .. dustria1 peace" was the central idea O. : an interview that the Chicago cores . pondent of International Labor New! Service had with J. Havelock Wilson : for so years British labor leader ano } for 20 years member of the Englisf . Parliament, who is in America on busi . ness connected with the Internationa Seafarers' Federation, of which he i: , president. He Is accompanied by Chri: , ton, and several organizers, who are } making contracts with bona flde seamer of various nationalities on their arriva
 in American ports with the view of get
 ting them to obtain union membership cards.
 Another important item on the pro-
 gram of the visiting British delegation was to obtain an official interpretation
 of the meaning and application of the
 immigration act of 1924 in relation to I bona hde seamen MT. Wilson visited
 President Coolidge and Secretary James
 J. Davis of the Labor Department of
 Washington and offered the services of
 his organization to the United States
 Government at foreign ports, (which is
 the source of violations of the immigra-
 ton act" as Mr. Wilson said
 "I can not understand why you have
 permitted this beautiful country to be
 used as dumping ground for the un-
 desirables of Europe and other races
 as long as you have," said Mir. Wilson.
 Tt is the desire and purposes of my or
 ganiZation to cooperate III every way
 with your immigration officers to see
 that the act is enforced in its applica-
 ton to seamen. We have been assured
 by your government that bona fide sea-
 men will be treated in kindly manner
 and that they can obtain an extension
 of the 60 days which the law allows
 they wish to change ships.
 | Men are signed as sailors in Euro
 pean ports whose only aim IS to enter
 America as immigrants. No matter how
 alert your consular officers may be, large
 numbers of this class escape detection
 on the other side of the ocean and sue ceed in passing muster before the inn migration inspectors on this side. know 'crimp' i'll Genoa, Italy who has become wealthy III this traffic.
 "The message 1 would like to have you convey to American union men and women Is five years of industrial peace. This is the doctrine I am advocating on both sides of the water Both Great Britain and America are about to enter a period of great prosperity This should be taken advantage of by both employ CTS and employees. There IS only one way in which this can be done, and that Is by gathering about the council table and reaching an understanding.
 This is a significant statement, com ing from man who Is the head of the strongest labor union, from a financial standpoint, in the British Empire. The National Sailors, Bremen, Cooks, and D Ireland, of which Mr. Wilson is the founder and president, and which IS a constituent part of the International Seafarers' Federation has, according to Chris Damn, for 4 years secretary of the National Union and now general secretary of tlie federation, half mil Hon pouds sterling Approximately g. 500,00O) in its treasury.
 How did you accumulate such an enormous sunni of money?" asked both of these gentlemen.
 By coneiliation," both agreed Mir. Damn put it this way previous to introducing me to Mir. Wilson: We have done 1t through hard work icy. England has maritime board composed of ship owners and seamen, who meet from time to time to decide working hours, wages and conditions" Both Mfr. Wilson and MT. Damn went into a long explanation of fea- ture which we in America describe as the "closed shop" To make 1t plain to us, both said that they have an agree ment with British ship owners that a seamen must have union card before he is signed to assist in navigating a ship
 We had bitterly fought strike 25 years ago." said MT. Wilson, land we won substantial victory. I said to our
 fellows that we should not be arbitrary on account of our winning the fight and try to rub it in"
 l It should be said, too, that these gen 1 tlemen are not altogether interested in the welfare of British seamen. Through their "nationaT' organization they repre-