The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1947-04-24

Washington, ID. C. - The Mari.
time Trades Department of tht
AFL has been given assurance BY
President William Green that tht
AFL will solidly support it's pro
test against sale of more Ameri
can commercial vessels to countrie!
which hitherto have shown M
record of export or import.
In a message to John r. Owens
executive secretary of the AFl
Maritime Trades Department, Mr.
Green said:
IL deeply appreciate the import
ance of the question raised in youl
message regarding the transfer OF
many American-built ships tt
foreign flags. Because of the sacri.
flee of interests in the transfer OF
American ships to Panama ane
other countries it becomes our duty
to do everything we can to pre-
vent the shift of these vessels. We
will join with representatives OF
the Seafarers' and Longshoremens
organizations in appealing to Con
gress to deal with this complaint
in a practical, constructive and
satisfactory way"
The resolution passed at the
meeting of the Maritime Trades
Department follows:
Whereas, The American Mer-
chant Marine, during World Wan
III, was built up to approximately
so million tons by American tax
payers, at a cost to them of APP
proximately 20 billion dollors; and
Whereas, The American Mer-
chant Marine today is rapidly de-
creasing and if nothing is done by
the Maritime Commission and Con-
gress to stop this decrease of
American ships we will find our
selves with an American Merchant
Marine Of less tonnage than we
had prior to the war; and
Whereas, In 1886 the Merchant
Marine Act was passed by Con-
gress, which had for its purpose
the building and maintaining of a
large and substantial American
Merchant Marine to take care of
the commerce of this country and
to establish national defense; and
Whereas, In the last few months
millions Of tonnage of American
built ships, built by the American
taxpayers money, has been bought
by foreign operators and trans
ferred to foreign flags, including
the Panamanian flag, and also
American capital has transferred
a number of u. S. Government
bought ships to Panamanian regis
try; and
Whereas, Today the Republic of
Panama has a merchant marine
tonnage twice as large as it had
prior to the war; and
Whereas, The Republic of Pana-
ma is not seafaring nation and
does not, by any stretch of the
imagination, need this type of ton
mage in connection with the export
and import trade of their country;
and
Whereas, American capital and
foreign countries who transferred
their ships under the Panamanian
flag obviously did this for several
reasons: namely, to save taxes, to
operate ships with cheaper crews,
and to avoid regular steamboat in
spection service; and
Whereas, This condition not only
weakens the American Merchant
Marine and puts thousands of sea-
men and American shipyard work
ers and longshoremen out of work,
but also weakens the national de-
fense of the United States of
America; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Maritime
Trades Department, composed of
250,000 American maritime trans
portation workers affiliated with
the American Federation of Labor,
hereby go ON record demanding
that the Maritime Commission,
which is charged by Congress un-
der the Marchant Marine Act of
1886 with promoting and safe
guarding and building a first-class
American Merchant Marine for