Evening star., 1936-12-27

Efforts to remedy this condition
were hindered by the fact that about
60 per cent of available union men,
hers were ut sea and another is or 20
per cent in port under contract, which
provided for imprisonment or forced
labor until the contract expired. That
left only 20 or Is per cent Of the men
available to nght for better conditions.
Desertion Law Abolished.
By the early eos. however, branches
OF the International Seamen's Union
had been established on the Pacific
and Atlantic Coasts and the Great
Lakes. With the aid Of the American
Federation Of Labor they were able
to secure passage Of the Mcguire act
in 1895, which abolished the penalty
Of imprisonment for deserting in the
United States from vessels in the
coastwise trade; and In 1898 OF the
White act, which amended the Nc
Guire act by abolishing the impris-
onment penalty in all cases except
American seamen deserting ships in
foreign ports. Not until passage Of
the La Toilette act in 1915 were all
penalties for desertion abolished. The
latter bill also extended the same pro-
lection to foreign seamen leaving
ships in United States ports.
The MCGUIRE act not only released
the seamen in the coastwise trade
from a form Of serfdom, but it also
abolished assignment Of wages, either
to the crimps or ship owners, and
prohibited the attachment Of a sea-
mans clothing. The White act lin
tied the penalty for desertion in any
port of the United States, Mexico, the
West Indies, Canada and Newfound-
land to loss Of pay due and clothing
left behind and reduced the penalty,
for deserting ship in q foreign port
from three months to one month.
Gernishment of wages and corporal
punishment by the ships officers were
abolished and other improvements in
conditions were secured.
Standards Are Raised.
Partly in response to public clamor
for greater safety at sea following the
sinking of the Titanic in 1912, and
partly in an effort to force foreign
ship owners to pay wages equal to
those paid by American firms, the La
Toilette act was passed in 1915, which
further raised the standards for sea-
men. even going 30 far as to specify
conditions aboard ship, such as food
and quarters. The provisions Of the
act limiting sailors to 12-hour day
and nremen to an eight-hour day,
and prohibiting seamen from working
alternately in the fire room and on
deck, are q commentary on conditions
existing at the time. The provision
requiring payment Of at least half
the wages due in any port was con-
sidered another distinct gain.
Attempting to consolidate its gains
the I. S. U. sought to secure strict
enforcement Of the La Toilette act and
strengthen itself for q campaign to
secure union recognition when the
United States entered the World War.
The United States Shipping Board
dominated maritime conditions in all
ltS tAllCllCS 0o1 Alk tAAaO eAAAAC a4AS AL
stituted Sea Service Bureau to do
all its hiring. After the war one OF
the first demands made by the seamen
was abolition of the Sea Service Bu-
reau It lost q strike in 1921 over that
issue and pay cuts and the bureau
still exists and handles all employ
ment for Shipping Board vessels. In
practice, however, the bureaus func-
ton today Is limited to formality, as
it secures its crews almost entirely
from the union hiring halls.
Lake Seamen Strike.
The fight to otain control Of the
hiring halls has been closely associated
with the seamen's fight against the
continuous discharge book. In 1909 the
seamen on the Great Lakes struck
against the Inauguration af . "wel-
fare plan" by the lake shippers. The
seamen were to receive certificate
emitting them to use Of club rooms
established by the lake ship owners
and to certain insurance benefits.
The club rooms, according to the
plan, were to serve also as hiring halls
and the seaman was to receive q rec
ord discharge book, which he would
have to present when seeking en-
ployment there. In the book the mas
ter or chief engineer was to place .
notation as to the quality Of the sea-
mans or fireman's work on cash trip.
The union officials claimed that the
ship owners were intending to discrim-
mate against their members by use
Of the discharge book because Of the
owners open-shop policy. The strike
was lost, but during the World War
the Shipping Board Investigated the
question and abolished the books. The
ship owners substituted . system Of
individual discharge certificates which.
in practice, accomplished the same |
purpose. BY demanding the discharge
certificates for the last several trips |
the shipping eLaployer could secure as
complete . record as though the book |
we're In use, the union officials pointed |
uut.
Blus Beok Passed Out
T55nA yassu~hn,.>~nnn >w~>~in.a>S . Il