Evening star., 1936-11-08

Mail Steamship Co. to cancel yester-
days sailing Of the liner Oriente and
caused q two-hour delay in the de-
parture of the Grace liner Santa
Elena.
Cancellation of the Oriente's regular
trip to Havana was announced after
line officials had tried vainly for nearly
six hours to replace between ITO and
200 strikers. The Oriente, sister ship
of the ill-starred Moro Castle. had
booked 81 passengers, score Of whom
left before the sailing was cancelled.
As the passengers walked glumly
down the gankplanks they were con-
fronted by pickets who bore signs
warning against sailing with "scabs."
The line said the Oriente would leave
today If crew could be signed on.
Santa Elena Clears.
The Santa Elena cleared the harbor
with three substitute electricians hired
to replace men who had joined the
general maritime strike voted in New
York Friday night. She was bound
for San Francisco with ISL passengers.
including Representative Ralph o.
Brewster of Maine.
The American Merchant, Of the
American Merchant Line, also sailed
late yesterday after cancelling all
passenger bookings.
Secretary Hull and his party board
ed the American Legion a half hour
before the time set for sailing. He
arrived at the Munson Lines North
River pier in motorcade OF six cars,
accompanied by police escort.
The procession drove quickly past
two picket lines representing opposing
factions of the International Seamens
Union. One group of pickets bore
strike signs. They were picketed in
turn by another group Of union mem
bers who have denounced the general
maritime walkout as unauthorized.
Neither group made any demonstra-
ton as the official cars rolled into the
pier shed and deposited their oc-
cupants at the gangplank.
Presence of a special police detail
of half hundred men, together with
the adoption of special precautions to
prevent unauthorized persons from
boarding the ship, lent an air OF sup
pressed excitement to the sailing.
Hull Didn't Know.
Once in his cabin, Secretary Hull
issued a statement dealing with his
peace mission, but had little to say
about the strike.
II have been too busy with foreign
affairs to give it much attention." he
said. II did not know that this ship
might be affected by any strike
trouble"
Joseph Curran, chairman Of the
insurgent New York strike group
which overruled officers of the Inter-
national Seamen's Union in voting
strike action, estimated 10000 ship
workers have walked out in Gulf and
Atlantic ports outside New York. He
claimed three to four thousand strikers
in New York.
Miss Perkins, calling Curran's COM
mittee a trump" organization. accused
him of exaggerating the extent of the
EdSL OUdSt llc-up. I1CI ouoCA tCio, o1AS
said, found the figures too high.
Concrete Program Mapped.
She expressed confidence in As
sistant Labor Secretary Edward F.
McGrady's efforts to settle the West
Coast controversy, but asked If inter-
vention by the President would be
necessary, she said: Il don't know"
She gave assurance that the Labor
Department is working on a concrete
program, but declined to outline the
plans.
In San Francisco the Joint Policy
Committee of striking Pacific Coast
maritime unions last night lifted the
blockade on vessels away from but
bound for home ports, including seven
ships tied up in Honolulu. Their action
came as Government conciliators
started new move to bring strikers
and employers into peace negotiations
on clean slate" basis and both sides
studied q court decree ordering the
United States marshal to discharge a
banana consignment from q strike
bound ship at San Pedro.
The new peace move came after T.
@. Plant, shipowners' spokesman, re-
iterated his willingness to reopen ne
gotiations providing the unions would
not insist upon certain conditions as
q premise. McGrady Immediately