Berhant marine, to reorganize the steamboat inspection service, and ariate and property at sea. A deep interest in the proceedings manfested by the shipowners, the Steamboat Inspection Service, 1 e officers and crews of the ships. As a member of the last I herewith submit my views on the subject. 1. R, by Mr. Bland, provides for changing the title of the eur boat Inspection Service to the "Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation" Comment: The title should be changed to allow s to be inspected with the steamships. R 6035, by Mr. Bland, provides for a technical staff in the in Service to design and supervise the construction of vessels 1. by machinery. Comment: A technical staff would be an sation that may bring practical benefits. iK 42, by Mr Bland, provides for 10 traveling inspectors to ♫y supersede the present Board of Supervising Inspectors. ent Traveling inspectors will not assure any more safety than - prent Board of Stationary Inspectors. HR6, by Mr. Bland, provides for a safe load line for American Comment Great Britain, the leading maritime nation, comes a safe load line on her ships, and American lives should be as le as foreign lives. HR 6043, by Mr. Bland, provides for more safeguards for vessels d in the transportation of inflammable or dangerous cargoes. .ent Practical safeguards should be approved in all cases. HR 637, by Mr. Bland, provides for the inspection of all vessels ether than steam, by the Bureau of Marine Inspection and NavigaCoo, ment· Motor vessels are not more safe than steam vessels and should be inspected by the Bureau. : HR. 6203, by Mr. Sweeney, provides that all motor vessels over „sa tous, bé compelled to conform to the laws of the Steamboat tion Service. Comment: All motor vessels should be inted by the Steamboat Inspection Service. HR 6189, by Mr. Sweeney, provides that all steam vessels shall yahcensed engineer while the boiler is generating steam. :'ent. Economical shipowners are in the habit of laying off the ers, when the vessel is laying at the dock for a short period, aving the live boilers under the care of unlicensed men. The as fraught with danger. HR 639, by Mr. Bland, to provide all seamen on American with a continuous discharge book, from a shipping commis Comment: Some shipowners register their seamen at present terior purposes, and it would be a progressive move to persuade Government to register the seamen on American vessels. R640, 6041, and 6044, by Mr. Bland, provides a change in stguage of the act of March 4, 1915, the Seamen's Act. ComThese bills provide amendments to the Seamen's Act, or the lette Act to grant a certificate of competency to able seamen, an-hour day for seamen, and to provide healthy and comquarters for seamen in American steam and motor ships. d be enacted into law. 1.3, by Mr. La Follette, provides for the installation of shipping riissioners in ocean and Great Lakes ports where they are reComment: Government shipping commissioners are func tioning now in the ocean ports, and should be installed on the Great Lakes for the protection of lake seamen. H. R. 6202, by Mr. Sweeney, provides for the 8-hour day for licensed officers on all American-inspected vessels. Comment: This is most important bill before the committee. Safety of life and property at sea depends more on the ability and qualifications of the licensed officers than on any other factor in the navigation and operation of ships. To secure the best men for the service it must be made inviting. The 12-hour day is out of date. Forty years ago licensed officers on towboats worked 24 hours per day, catching a nap during a lull in the operation. After a series of strikes the 12-hour day was gained. Last year the towboat men on the Great Lakes went on strike for the 8-hour day. They arbitrated and a Government arbitrator made this strange decision. These towboats are on call, and are not operated continuously. The 12-hour day stands. Thirty years ago lake steamers of 4,500 gross tons and 2,300 horsepower engines were operated by 2 engineers and 2 oilers working 12 hours per day. Through a strike, they secured a third engineer, but the shipowners forbid them to install the 8-hour day. Last year, the licensed officers tried to secure the 8-hour day by legislation. This committee referred us to the shipping code. The code failed us. We are here again to request the 8-hour day through H. R. 6202. Do we get it? Even the shipowners granted the 8-hour day on lake vessels above 4,000 gross tons last year. The CHAIRMAN. That would really form a part of the hearings on those bills, Mr. Kelly. I do not see where it comes right in on this hearing we are having now. Mr. KELLY. Well, the notice for us to come here said it was hearings on the merchant marine. The CHAIRMAN. Yes; but these hearings on the seamen's legislation, some of them, are still pending Some of those bills we have concluded the hearngs on, and there are others that we have not taken up. If you will leave your name with the clerk you will notified when we get to the hearings on those other bills. I would put your statement in now in those hearings, but those hearngs have been already sent to the printer, those that have been concluded. But one of the bills you referred to we have no had hearings on. Mr. Brown testified on the other bills that we had here, so I think that the points were covered by Mr. Brown, on the bills on which we have had hearings, and the others we will be glad to hear you on. Mr. KELLY. I just want to make a further note here. I noticed. during the hearing today that we discussed generally the subsidy bill, and I would just like to state our position on it. It says the subsidy bill should be enacted into law to enable American ships to compete with foreign ships and to provide a permanent merchant marine. However, the subsidy is a special privilege, and the firm so favored should not enter into collective bargaining with their marine employees. No ocean ship firm should participate in the subsidy. The Shipping Board fleet officially ended collective bargaining with all its employees. Mr. CULKIN. What do you mean? You say there should be collective bargaining? V KILLY. Yes, sir; on all ships that are granted a subsidy. V- QUIRIN. You believe in the enforcement of that as applied to prestorang industry? Mr CUIKIN. I did not catch whom you represent. I was not here, Ce, Mr. Chairman, at the beginning of his statement. hy. The Marine Engineers Association. CHAIRMAN. Mr. Culkin, he read a statement that really had ence to the other bills, some of which we have had hearings on one of which we have not had hearings on. His remarks are a pertinent part of these hearings so far as they are concerned absidy. A-CUTKIN You believe that the question of manpower should be y considered in connection with the awarding of the subsidy? Kam. I think it is the most important factor. CUTKIN And should be contingent upon the awarding of the Mr CUKIN. And you believe that is one of the things that would for a permanent merchant marine in America? V KRILY. Yes, sir. CIKIN Did you hear the statement here that during the le Engash took their men to man the merchant marine off the erchant marine; that is, those converted boats of the merchant e that were used in the war by the English were manned by en of the merchant marine? CIIKIN and here in America we had to take men from the ytonan the merchant marine? VKY. Why, the reverse is the truth, sir. M- Culkin, Is it? Mr Kitty. Yes. I was in the Naval Auxiliary Reserve, and I d to place all the men aboard those ships that crossed the ocean- tur engineer department we appointed the engineers-and all our en were mostly merchant marine engineers. Mr CULKIN. They are, of course, more or less technical men, are KELLY Sure. M- CULKIN. Trained men with certificates? fr kitty. Licensed. Mr CUIKIN. And of course that would still hold really to the Le personnel down to the common sailor? V KELLY. Yes, sir. Mr CrIKIN. You think they have a right to a place in the sun retinection with the granting of these subsidies? V-KELLY. Yes, sir. MP CUIKIN. Within reason, of course? V KELLY. Yes. M. CULKIN You are for some provision for old-age security such Germany, England, and France have? Mr. KELLY. No. I do not know much about that; never gave much study to that. Mr. CULKIN. You do not get enthusiastic about that? Mr. KELLY. No; but what I want is collective bargaining, the same as what our labor union stands for. Mr. CULKIN. What you stand for is 7 (a), of course? Mr. KELLY. Yes; but 7 (a) does not provide a merchant marine. The President vetoed that bill. Mr. CULKIN. The principles of 7 (a)? Mr. KELLY. Yes. The CHAIRMAN. Is Mr. Jenkins here? Mr. R. H. HORTON. Will you hear me now, Mr. Chairman? The CHAIRMAN. Yes; those who wish to be heard and are here may proceed. STATEMENT OF R. H. HORTON, MANAGER PORT OF PHILADELPHIA OCEAN TRAFFIC BUREAU The CHAIRMAN. Just give your name and connection to the reporter, please. Mr. HORTON. R. H. Horton, manager Port of Philadelphia Ocean Traffic Bureau. The CHAIRMAN. You asked me to hear you tomorrow. It is just as agreeable to hear you now. Mr. HORTON. That is all right. Thank you. The CHAIRMAN. We will be glad to hear you now. Mr. HORTON. I am not going into the figures on the necessity for subsidy or the benefits of it, but to ask you gentlemen in your consideration of this to attempt to find some ways and means that there may be a more equitable distribution of the routes among the various ports. I have before me United States Shipping Board publication "Data relating to postal contracts under the Merchant Marine Act." I find there are 54 routes covered in 44 contracts. New York has 17 of them, Baltimore 2, Boston 2, and various others, including Galveston, Mobile, Savannah, Los Angeles. Philadelphia has none. delphia is the second port in the United States. Mr. CULKIN. In point of tonnage? Mr. HORTON. In point of tonnage. Mr. CULKIN. What is the tonnage there now? Mr. HORTON. Oh; it runs about 18 million. Phila The CHAIRMAN. Is that not very largely a question of the ports organizing and getting persons interested in developing a shipping line? Mr. HORTON. Well, we attempted to do that at one time, with rather a sad experience. The CHAIRMAN. That was just before the investigation? Mr. HORTON. That was just before the blow-up, you might say. The CHAIRMAN. Yes. Mr. HORTON. But we have had very little encouragement, and I think it is important in the whole scheme of things that it be not concentrated all at one locality, be spread out, and the various ports will develop themselves if it is made possible for the services to go through these ports, and these various companies that are anxious te ships will take those routes up if they are laid open to Anter feature that should deserve your consideration: The Act at present has a paragraph against discrimination be en ports in respect to rates, and I think that you should be inthat that discrimination is being carried on at the present subsidized lines, particularly in respect to the ports of Data, Boston, and Baltimore as against New York. You å in the Mediterranean trade and some of the South American or the West Indies trade more particularly, that higher rates anged to the out ports than to New York. They are exceptional, "her do exist We have a great deal of difficulty with it. Senate bill 1362 will help to some extent, because in many as the West Coast of Italy Conference, for example, we cannot t a copy of the tariff. I have seen a copy, but I had to hold nv hands under a subterfuge. CULKIN Who files those tariffs? HORTON. They are not filed, sir. ℗ Chairman. Does not the act require the conference agreements *Bed' HOPTON But they do not file the tariff as part of the agree d this west coast of Italy tariff, for example, has a clause in wh surcharges to Philadelphia and Baltimore are to be added. CIKIN. Does this Senate bill correct that? Ve Houros. I think it will correct that, and we are hopeful that Chairman Does not one of the present acts, either the 1916 The 1920 act, authorize hearings before the Shipping Board? Mr HORTON. Yes HAIRMAN To give the port an opportunity to file their matts and have their complaints heard as to any discriminations *tem" Mr HORTON. That complaint will be filed within the next few but you do not appreciate the difficulty in obtaining the eviAs a matter of fact, we do not know just what commodities discriminate against, and it is very difficult for us to find out. Mr CULKIN. Can you not get that information through the Car officers? Mr HORTON I doubt it, sir. M: CULKIN Oh, yes, you can- though I am not testifying. Mr CULKIN My understanding, Mr. Chairman, is that the characof those tonnages is available at the consular office. The CHAIRMAN. That is true, but I think the point is that the are not published and they cannot find wherein the discrimina༄ ༢། པརྟོཞེ Mr HORTON. And they change from day to day, as a matter of Mr CULKIN I understood him to say that he did not know what aracter of tonnage was. Mr HORTON. No; I mean I do not know just which articles have „rcharge applied to them. I know some of them. I do not whether I know all of them or not, and in those hearings you |