Show 0 OUR U PUBLIC aru 15 LIC FORUM annu R P schwerin on the bill the american plowmen are interested in sea commerce in e ace it is expensive and likewise humiliating to have to salute a foreign hag flag every time a farmer wants to ship a bushel of wheat a bale of cotton or a pound of farm products across the ocean the Amei american ican farmer is entitled to the protection of his lag flag in sending his products across the sea and congress should give such encourage ment to shipping interests as is necessary to meet foreign competition in ocean commerce A recent bill known a ai the he seamans rill bill became a law under the presidents signature and ar mr RP schwerin vice president of the pacific mall Steam steamship shiri company when asked to define this law and outline its effect upon american steamship lines said in part the bill pro broiles pr iles that no lie ship of any nationality shall be permitted to depart from any po port rt of the united states unless she has on board a crew not less than seventy five per of which in ili earh each department thereof is able abl to understand any older given by the officers of such vessel nor unless foisy p per cr in them the first icar forty five per in the second year fifty per in the third year antt per in the fourth year after the passage of 0 this act and thereafter sixty five dye per of 0 her deck crew exell isile of licensed officers and apprentices aie of gl a rating not less legs than able seamen the oversea trade of the he world is competitive therefore the original cost of the ship and tho operation of the ship have to be reckoned with in the keen competition on of these rival nations with one another the oriental sailor la Is obedient and competent and Is the cheapest sailor in the world it is 13 therefore manifestly clear that it if this law applied to all nationalities in the transpacific traffic all would be on the same economic basis but it works a single hardship to all the ships ot of the world except the japanese and american ships and with the latter it works two hardships with the european the cost of constructing a ship la Is no higher than the cost of constructing ting a japanese ship but it if they had to provide european crews while tho the japanese operated with japanese crews the condition of competition would be such that they could not oer overcome come the handicap and they we woud u d b de e driven oft off but the american ship would have to contend not only with the tremendous increase indrea of ost of wage in the substitution of the european crew tor for the chinese crew but also the greater initial cost of the ship As the japanese have now done away with their european officers and japanese crew B all ot of speak a common language there Is no difficulty tor for them to comply with all the condIt conditions lons ot of the bill and continue their japanese crews with oriental wages the law therefore instead of assisting the american ship adds another adoth heavy burden while it places none whatever upon the japanese ship but 01 0 the contrary turns over to r the japanese the traffic of 0 the pacific ocean 0 which the american ship Is forced to forego by act ot of congress or of w jhb united states |