Evening star., 1934-09-16
ROPER ADVOCATES
SAFER j. 5. SHIPS
S !ggestion for Congress
Action Will Follow Dis
aSter Probe.
BY G. GOULD LINCOLN.

secretary of Commerce Roper yes
te day committed himself strongly to
a bigger, better and safer merchant
n lrine.
The Secretary was discussing the
n rchant marine in the light of the
n ,rro Castle disaster, into which his
d partment is at present carrying on
q searching investigation. The in
q Try may not be concluded for
a other week or more When it is,
q series of recommendation will be
n tde, and ultimately Congress will
b called upon to enact further
Il islation.
Without attempting to outline what
h final recommendations will be,
S cretary Roper said he believed fire.
p,of ships should be developed.
F-'eproof theaters and other build
ir,'s have been constructed. he said.
T cir development followed the de-
n nd for safety against fire after
Il ,usands Of lives had been lost.
Legislative Proposals Seen.
The Secretary indicated legislative
pi posals might be expected which
cs led for building regulations" re-
la ng to ships in a far greater
m asure than now exist.
,oper insisted, too, that everything
81 uld be done to bring about the
m nning of the American merchant
sh os with American citizens.
The crews" he said, should be
10 per cent American"
Jnder existing law-the law OF
10 Y-not less than two-thirds of the
Sc men on American vessels which
hs e ocean mail contracts must be
Al erican citizens. But this law has
be l made partially ineffective
th )ugh the ruling of the Attorney
CT leral, made not long after the
pa age of the law in 1923. The At
tol !ey General held that an earlier
lw which allows an alien seaman, who
hal taken out his first naturalization
pal .rs, and has served three years
on American vessels, to be considered
avs liable for all crew purposes. Lit
ERA thousands of aliens have taken
adv ntage of this ruling.
h addition to making the ships
col orm to fireproof requirements in
col truction, it is suggested that at
less q portion Of the crew be trained
firri- lighters, much as a fire depart
men is developed in a municipality.
Able Seamen Advocated.
1t is the contention of Secretary
Root, and other officials of the de-
part tent that crews aboard American
vesje S should be "able seamen" in
the Tict Interpretation Of that term.
cn, recommendation that may
cone result of the present in
quliy although the suggestion did
not ONE from Secretary Roper, is
that test of seamanship must be ap-
piled before a man can ship as an
sell It present, a sailor is required
only - file an affidavit of his own ex-
perier e at sea in order to be shipped
as earnan. In the past, the sea-
mems unions have opposed the ap-
plicati VI of such test as now sug-
gested
Secl ,tary Roper has been having
an In snsive study made by officials
Of his department and others of the
whole n,rchant marine problem. The
burnin of the Moro Castle has
brougf to the fore the problems Of
safety a sea.
Ropt is of the opinion that the
overset American merchant marine
should b. built up. If subsidies are
necesss :! and they seem, under all
the cir U instances, to be necessary
for the maintenance Of an adequate
merchs Il marine, he Is in favor Of
subsidit 5. He considers the present
mail &C l)racts merely subsidies, under
q diffel ut name.
It Is rs contention that the Gov
ernmen does not put up millions of
dollars year for these mail con-
tracts erely for the purpose Of hav-
ing ma, carried overseas. The Gov
ernmen $ putting up its millions in
order Il freight, goods, may be car
ried in .Anerican flag ships. If a
r1ercha line is to be subsidized, it
should e'eive its subsidy whether it
is a nls l. carrying line or not.
Secre ny Roper's entire merchant
marine u ogram will be submitted to
Presidel Roosevelt when the study
now bel s made has been completed.
It will n clude the recommendations
for inc a sed safety at sea growing
out of I IL MORO Castle inquiry. But
those CT lamentations, although of
great II irtance, will only be part
OF the h ,le program. The Secretary
firmly Il ewes it is up to Congress
to do it I at in meeting the shipping
problem I'd that the Commerce De-
PARTNER nd the United States Ship
ping Be / Bureau should not have
the enti burden laid upon them.
The specifies that all officers
OF Anne X an flag merchant vessels
must bC >merican citizens, and this
law has b en- very carefully enforced.
But VIII the law Of 1923 says that
at least y o-thirds of the crew must
be Anne &c an citizens-that provision
applies Mly to those 40-odd lines
having III il contracts On all other
America TeSSelS, there is no limita-
ton on Il ? number of aliens in the
crews. T ey may be 100 per cent
alien II h owners and masters en-
ploy the lens.
HO s. Passed Bill in 1882.
SeVera IOrtS nave Deen MADE TO
repeal tie provision of law under
which tie attorney General has ruled
that alit n; who have declared their
intention & becoming American citi-
zens ane ave sailed three years on
America 'essels shall be deemed an
America citizen for the purpose
of sailiny IN American vessels. The
House il 1882 passed a bill by former
RepreSer to I've Davis of Tennessee for
that pup Sc But opposition to the
measure pI evented a vote in the SEN
ate, and Il bill died. Representative
Bland o! Virginia renewed the fight in
the CnrnornSS haS