These two sets of figures finally have been checked up with the union rates for Atlantic and Pacific seamen and firemen, as furnished in telegrams by union officers.

FOREIGN SHIPPING.

In the vitally important question as to the trend of foreign wages under the seamen's act, it has not been possible, owing to the suspension during the war of official publications and the limited time for special investigation, to get figures comparable in completeness or accuracy with those presented for American shipping. However, some idea as to the trend of foreign wages, especially in the case of vessels plying in the American trade, has been obtained.

BRITISH VESSELS.

There are in the possession of Department of Commerce at Washington no official figures for the rates of pay on British shipping later than the year 1911. Parliamentary Paper, Cd. 6180, of session 1912, entitled "Progress of Merchant Shipping in the United Kingdom and the Principal Maritime Countries," prepared by the board of trade, gives the predominant rates for able seamen and firemen in 1911 as 80, 90, or 100 shillings. The rates for 1910 were usually 80 or 90 shillings, on which level rates are shown to have been practically stationary for the preceding 15 years.

The Shipbuilding and Shipping Record (London) is quoted in Appendix J of House of Representatives Document No. 2112, Sixty-fourth Congress, second session, entitled "Ocean Shipping," and there cited as authority for a scale of representative wages paid British seamen and firemen in 1914 and 1916. The predominant wage for both classes of labor is given as 5 pounds-10 in 1914 and 8 pounds in 1916. In special cases the wage in 1916 is given as 9 pounds.

Mr. Andrew Furuseth, president of the International Seamen's Union, is authority for the statement that prior to the war British seamen had been paid 5 pounds. When England went into the war the Admiralty increased the wages of seamen by 2 pounds, and in January, 1918, fixed wages at 12 pounds, mraking them equal to the American rate as paid at that time.

BRITISH VESSELS IN THE AMERICAN TRADE.

Special pains has been taken to gather as full data as possible with regard to wages paid on British and other foreign ships in the New York trade. Through the courtesy of the British consul our representative in New York City has obtained the records of wages paid on about 100 British vessels. The predominant wages have been found to be as follows:

Wages paid British sailors and firemen in the New York trade.
[Compiled from the records of the British consulate.]

Our representative in New York City has also obtained from the articles of British vessels arriving at or clearing from New York within the past week the following wage data:

Wages paid British sailors and firemen on vessels arriving at or clearing from New York around November 9, 1918, taken from the shipping articles.

The wage rate for British vessels operated by the International Mercantile Marine was given by an officer of that company as

Sailors.. Firemen

DANISH VESSELS.

$75 90

The wages paid sailors and firemen on two Danish vessels whose articles were examined by our representatitve in New York were found to be Sailors. Firemen

$60

75

The Danish stated that the following wage scale had been paid on Danish
Vessels:

Wages paid Danish sailors and firemen in the New York trade.
[Statement submitted by the Danish consul.]

The shipping articles of one Norwegian vessel in ballast were examined and the wage rate for the crew was found to be $75.

DUTCH VESSELS.

The consul for the Netherlands gave the following wage scale as that paid on Dutch vessels:

Wages paid Dutch sailors and firemen in the New York trade.
[Statement submitted by the Dutch consul.]

SPANISH VESSELS.

No consistent records were obtainable for Spanish vessels, but such information as could be obtained from the Spanish consul and from a captain on a Spanish vessel was to the effect that the Spanish wages had changed since 1914 by not more than 50 per cent, and in some cases not nearly so much.

BONUSES.

In the preparation of the statistical tables which follow bonuses which evidently had no connection with war hazard have been counted as wages and appear as a part of the wage rates.

War-zone bonuses, on the contrary, are not included in any of the wage rates here given. To obtain the total earnings of American seamen, firemen, and officers there should be added to the rates that appear in this report a bonus of 50 per cent in the case of all vessels sailing into the war zone in 1918. A 50 per cent bonus was also paid on most of the trans-Atlantic vessels listed for July, 1917. Prior to 1917 the war-zone bonuses were sometimes 50 per cent, while in other cases they were figured at various percentages or amounts, usually ranging from 50 per cent down.

On some of the ships whose wage scales were tabulated officers were paid 100 per cent war bonus in 1917.

(NOTE. The charts incorporated at this point in the report are omitted from the printed record of the hearings, there being no authority from the Joint Committee on Printing to insert the same.)

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