Chapter XXIV: Appendix: I (2)

The law requires that masters, chief mates, second and third mates, if in charge of a watch, engineers, and pilots of all steam vessels, and the masters of sailing vessels of over 700 gross tons, and of other vessels over 100 gross tons carrying passengers for hire, shall be licensed and classified by the boards of local inspectors, and imposes a penalty of $100 for employing an unlicensed officer or for an unlicensed person to serve as an officer. These several boards of inspectors are under the direction of a Supervising Inspector General appointed by the President, and who is at the head of a Steamboat Inspection Service, and are further under the supervision of ten supervising inspectors, to each of whom is assigned general supervision of the work of inspection in a particular district. The law imposes large discretion upon the local inspectors in the examination and licensing of officers, limiting the licenses to a period of five years, and giving the inspectors authority to suspend licenses on proof of bad conduct, intemperate habits, incapacity, inattention to duties or a willful violation of inspection laws.

It is specially forbidden for any state or municipal government to impose on pilots any obligation to secure a license in addition to that issued by the Federal government.

One of the most important functions of the local inspectors is that which concerns the investigation of collisions and complaints of incompetency or misconduct committed by licensed officers. For this purpose the inspectors have power to summon the witnesses, to administer oaths and, upon hearing had after reasonable notice in writing to the alleged delinquent, to suspend or to revoke his license, if satisfied that he has been guilty of misbehavior, negligence or unskillfulness, or has endangered life. Appeals from the decision of the local inspectors may be made to the supervising inspector.

Where, however, the supervising or local inspector finds a licensed officer on board a vessel under the influence of liquor to such an extent as to unfit him for duty, or when a licensed officer uses abusive language to an officer or insults him while on duty, the local inspector is required to revoke the license of the offending officer without further trial or investigation.

The rules of the board classify vessels according to the general character of their trade, as

1. Ocean and coastwise. 2. Lakes, bays and sounds. 3. Rivers.

Qualifications for the officers properly vary according to these three classes of service, to which is added a number of other special classifications, as, for instance, ferry steamers on rivers, passenger barges on rivers, etc.; or in the case of engineers, as, for instance, condensing river steamer and noncondensing river steamer. These requirements are set forth in full detail in the Regulations of the Steamboat Inspection Service, with which all officers should be familiar.

Certain minimum requirements in the case of deck officers have been prescribed by statute, the latest law being that of March 11, 1918, which with certain minor exceptions, provides for one licensed master for every vessel; for vessels 1,000 gross tons or over, three licensed mates, and for vessels between 200 and 1,000 tons, two licensed mates; for vessels between 100 and 200 tons, one licensed mate. The inspectors, however, are permitted to increase these requirements if they consider the vessel not sufficiently manned for safe navigation.

The same law of 1918 prohibits officers from assuming deck watches on leaving port unless they have had at least six hours off duty within the twelve hours preceding sailing; and also prohibits licensed officers on both ocean and coastwise vessels from doing duty exceeding nine hours of any twenty-four while in port, or more than twelve hours of any twenty-four while at sea, except in case of emergency endangering life or property.

VIII. QUALIFICATIONS OF SEAMEN

Before the passage of the Seamen's Act in 1915, there were no statutory requirements as to the ability or experience of the crew, other than the general requirement that the vessel should be properly manned. This act, however, presents a body of highly stringent requirements. Its principal requirements may be summarized as follows:

=Age.=--In the matter of age the act provides that in the deck department of all vessels of more than 100 tons gross, except those navigating rivers exclusively and the smaller inland lakes, there shall be a certain proportion of seamen with the rating of able seamen, a classification which is limited to those of nineteen years of age. The lack of supply of able seamen has made it practically impossible to enforce this requirement.

=Service and Physical Qualification.=--The act requires the physical examination of able seamen in the deck department. It also divides able seamen into two classes, those engaged in vessels operating on the high seas and those engaged on the Great Lakes, smaller lakes, bays and sounds. For the former three years' service at sea or on the Great Lakes, etc., and an examination as to general physical condition, is required, or one year's experience on deck at sea or on the Great Lakes, etc., together with an oral examination on seamanship and for the latter eighteen months' experience at sea or on the Lakes.

=Lifeboat Men.=--The Seamen's Act, in connection with its elaborate provisions for the equipment of vessels with life-saving appliances, lays down the distribution of a specially designated class of certificated seamen known as lifeboat men to the various lifeboats and rafts required to be carried by a vessel, leaving the designation of the individuals to the discretion of the master. To secure a certificate as lifeboat man, a seaman is required to prove to the satisfaction of the inspection officers, or other officers designated for the purpose of issuing certificates, that he has been trained in all the operations in connection with launching lifeboats and the use of oars, is acquainted with the practical handling of the boats themselves, and is capable of understanding and answering the orders relative to lifeboat service.

=Language.=--Perhaps the most disputed proviso of the Seamen's Act is that which requires that not less than 75 per cent. of the crew of the vessel must be able to understand any order given by the officer--that is, the necessary orders given to the members of the crew in each department in the performance of their particular duties. This law, however, does not require the use of any particular language on the part of officers and crew of the vessel, nor does it require an English-speaking crew, nor that the members of the crew in one department of the vessel should understand orders given in another department.

IX. NATIONALITY OF OFFICERS AND CREW

=Officers.=--Since 1792 our laws have required that the officers of _all_ vessels of the United States who are in charge of a watch, including pilots, shall be citizens. This of course includes tugs, barges and all other vessels which are documented under our laws. The term "officer" includes the Chief Engineer and each Assistant Engineer in charge of the watch. The only exception to this rule is that which was made by the Ship Registry Act of 1914, and the executive order based upon it, under which foreign-built ships admitted to American registry under that act are permitted to retain their watch officers, without regard to citizenship, for a term of seven years, provided that after two years any vacancy must be filled by a citizen of the United States.

=Crew.=--There are no provisions or restrictions as to the nationality of the crew on vessels of the United States.

X. WAGES

The Seamen's Act requires that on _coasting_ voyages, wages shall be paid to every seaman within two days after the termination of the agreement under which he shipped, or at the time of his discharge if he should be discharged before the expiration of the agreement; and that on _foreign_ voyages wages shall be paid within twenty-four hours after the discharge of the cargo, or within four days after the discharge of the seaman, whichever shall first happen. The law further provides that a seaman is entitled in every case to be paid at the time of his discharge a sum equal to one-third of the balance of wages then due him. This proviso, however, is seldom observed in practice, nor is it insisted upon, as it would in general be impracticable for wages to be paid at the moment of discharge.

The question of payment of a certain portion of wages on demand, which is also covered by the Seamen's Act and earlier acts, has received considerable revision in the Merchant Marine Act. Under this law it is provided that _every_ seaman on a vessel of the United States may receive on demand of the master one-half of the balance of his wages earned at every port where the vessel loads or delivers cargo. This protection may not be waived by contract, but is subject to the proviso that the demand shall not be made before the expiration of, nor oftener than once in, five days, nor more than once in the same harbor. Failure on the part of the master to comply with this demand releases the seaman from his contract and entitles him to full payment of wages earned. At the end of the voyage the seaman is entitled to the remainder of his wages according to the provisions of the Seamen's Act, which also provides that notwithstanding the release, which is required to be signed before the Shipping Commissioner at the time of the seaman's discharge, the proper court may set aside the release upon good cause shown. The provision of the Merchant Marine Act is specially made applicable to the case of seamen on foreign vessels while in the harbors of the United States, and the courts of the United States are opened to such seamen for its enforcement.

=Advances.=--The law in regard to advances to seamen is also slightly amended by the Merchant Marine Act, which makes it unlawful to pay wages in advance of the time when actually earned, or to pay such advance wages or make any order or note or other evidence of indebtedness for the same to any other person, or to pay any other person for the shipment of seamen when payment is deducted or is to be deducted from the seaman's wages. Payment of such advance wages or allotment whether made within or without the United States does not absolve the vessel from libel and is no defense to a libel suit. This act also forbids any person to demand or receive from any seaman any remuneration whatever for providing him employment.

Seamen discharged by a consul in a foreign port on account of the voyage being continued contrary to agreement, or unseaworthiness of vessel, or bad provisions, or cruel treatment, are entitled to one month's extra wages and transportation to the United States. Seamen discharged at a foreign port at the request of the master, and not on account of neglect of duty, are entitled to employment on a vessel agreed to by the seaman and to one month's extra wages.

Seamen discharged before commencement of voyage without fault, are entitled to one month's additional wages, and all seamen are entitled to two days' extra wages for each day's delay in payment at end of voyage.

The laws also contain elaborate and beneficial provisions for the recovery of their wages by seamen through proceedings in the courts.

Seamen are disqualified by law from signing away their lien upon a vessel for wages; as also their rights to participate in salvage. It is to be noted that the seaman's right to a share in salvage, in the case of the saving of human life, on the part of a seaman who has taken part in the services rendered, is expressly conferred and protected by statute. Failure, unless unavoidable, to give help to persons at sea, in danger of being lost, is also made a serious criminal offense.

XI. WATCH AND WATCH AND WORK-DAY

Before the passage of the Seamen's Act there were no legal requirements as to hours of labor at sea, though long established custom had divided the deck crew into two watches and the engine crew into three watches, with certain variations in this plan in special trades. Under the Seamen's Act it is now provided that on merchant vessels of over 100 tons, except those engaged in river and harbor navigation, the sailors must be divided into at least two watches, and the firemen, oilers and water tenders into at least three watches, which are to be kept on duty successively for the performance of ordinary work, incident to the sailing and management of the vessel.

Seamen may not be shipped to work alternately in the fireroom and on deck, nor may those shipped to work on deck be shifted to the fireroom, or vice versa, subject to cases of emergency, in the judgment of the master or other officer. These provisions, however, do not prohibit the master or other officers from requiring the whole or any part of the crew to participate in fire, lifeboat and other drills when the vessel is in a safe harbor nine hours, inclusive of the anchor watch, which is a legal day, but in such case no seaman may be required to do unnecessary work on Sundays or on New Year's, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas, provided that this does not prevent the dispatch of the vessel on regular schedule or when ready to proceed on her voyage.

XII. PROVISIONS FOR CREW

=Sleeping Quarters.=--The Seamen's Act provides that on all vessels (except yachts, pilot boats and vessels of less than 100 tons) whose construction is thereafter begun, there shall be a crew space of not more than 100 cubic feet or not less than 16 square feet for each seaman lodged therein; also that each seaman shall have a separate berth, and that not more than one berth shall be placed above another; that the seamen's quarters shall be properly lighted, drained, heated, ventilated, constructed and protected and shut off; and that crew space shall be kept free from goods and stores. This law increased the crew quarters from 72 cubic feet and 12 square feet in the case of steamships, and from 100 cubic feet in the case of sailing vessels. It is noted that the Seamen's Act applies to _all_ merchant vessels of the United States, in this respect differing from the earlier acts which applied only to seagoing vessels.

=Washing Places.=--The Seamen's Act requires that all merchant vessels whose construction is begun after its passage, having more than ten men on deck, shall have a light, clean and properly ventilated washing place, at least one washing outfit for every two men of the watch, and a separate washing place for the fire-room and engine-room men, if more than ten in number, which shall be large enough to accommodate at least one-sixth of them at the same time, and shall have hot and cold water supply and a sufficient number of wash basins, sinks and shower baths.

=Provisions Scale.=--Since 1790 the laws of the United States have specified a scale of provisions required to be carried upon vessels. With minor alterations included in the Seamen's Act, the present scale, with permissible substitutions, was fixed by law on December 21, 1898. Under this law seamen have the option of accepting the provisions offered or of demanding the legal scale, which is required to be inserted in all ship articles and to be posted in the galley and forecastle. The laws contain provisos for complaints to be made to the officer in command of the vessel or to the United States consular officer or Shipping Commissioner or chief officer of the customs, who has authority to take action to see that the deficiency is corrected, subject to a penalty for default.

For allowing the supply of provisions to be reduced below the legal scale during the voyage, except for unavoidable causes, compensation must be paid to every seaman according to the time of its continuance and in accordance with the scheduled allowances fixed by law.

=Hospital Accommodations.=--In addition to crew space already referred to all merchant vessels which ordinarily make voyages of more than three days' duration and carry a crew of twelve or more seamen, are required to have a separate compartment for hospital purposes with at least one bunk for every twelve seamen, provided that not more than six bunks in all may be required.

=Warm Room and Woolen Clothing.=--Every vessel bound on a voyage over fourteen days in length must, in addition to a slop chest, provide for each seaman one suit of woolen clothing, as also a "safe and warm room" for cold weather.

XIII. PERSONAL INJURIES TO SEAMEN AND RECOVERIES FOR DEATH

Prior to the passage of the recent Merchant Marine Act (1920) recovery by a seaman for injuries received by him in the service of the ship was subject to the maritime law under which (except in case of the unseaworthiness of the vessel, where full recovery might be claimed) the seaman was entitled to, but only to, his maintenance and cure, and to wages so long at least as the voyage continued, regardless of his own negligence (unless it amounted to willful misconduct) or of that of any other person. Where his contract extended beyond the voyage or there was fault on the part of the ship, recovery of wages was allowable even beyond the termination of the voyage.

This liability could not be enlarged or diminished by any law of the states on the subject of employer's liability or workmen's compensation.

The Seamen's Act of 1915 undertook to enlarge the protection of seamen by providing that in suits to recover damages for injuries received on board a vessel, or in its service, seamen "having command," _e.g._, masters, etc., should not be held to be fellow servants with those under their authority, but this was held not to affect those cases covered by the general rule of the maritime law above stated, under which the fellow servant question is immaterial.

A more successful effort at extending the seaman's right, however, was made in the recent Merchant Marine Act, which permits any seaman who suffers injury in the course of his employment, to maintain, at his election, an action for damages at law, with the right of trial by jury, and in such case to have the benefit of the United States statutes modifying or extending the rights of railroad employees in analogous cases.

The same act also covers the question of actions for the death of seamen, giving to their personal representatives the right to sue for damages at law and the benefit of a trial by jury, and the similar benefit of the laws covering actions for death in the case of railroad employees.

This provision, it is observed, is in sharp contrast, and perhaps in some conflict with the provision of an act passed at the same session of Congress, on March 30, 1920, giving a general right to maintain actions for all deaths occurring on the high seas by some wrongful act or neglect. This law, which in its broad terms covers also the case of seamen, permits suits to be brought in the admiralty courts and fixes the recovery at the amount of pecuniary loss sustained by the persons for whose benefit suit is brought. It further provides that in such action the fact that the decedent has been guilty of contributory negligence is not to be considered a bar to recovery, but is to be taken into consideration by the court in fixing the degree of negligence and in reducing the recovery accordingly.

A discussion of the technical questions involved in the relations of these two acts is beyond the scope of this summary.

XIV. OFFENSES BY SEAMEN

Offenses by seamen are punishable under the laws of the United States, generally, when committed on the high seas, or on any waters within the jurisdiction of the admiralty courts, or on lands under the exclusive jurisdiction of the United States. The list of crimes covers those familiar to the criminal law, such as murder, manslaughter, assault, rape, robbery, arson, larceny, forgery, receiving stolen property, etc. Other offenses peculiar to marine life may be noted as follows.

=Mutiny, Desertion and Disobedience.=--Inciting to or participation in a mutiny on a United States vessel is punished by a fine of not over $1,000 or imprisonment of not over five years or both. This offense includes the stirring up of the crew to resist lawful orders or "to refuse or neglect their proper duty, or to betray their proper trust," also "the assembly with others in a tumultuous and mutinous manner." The actual revolt or mutiny--the usurping of the command of a vessel, is punishable by a fine of not over $2,000 or imprisonment of not over ten years, or both.

Willful disobedience is punishable under the Seamen's Act by being placed in irons until the disobedience ceases, and, on arrival in port, by forfeiture of wages, not exceeding four days' pay, or, at the discretion of the court, by imprisonment not exceeding a month.

Continued willful disobedience subjects the offender to being placed in irons on bread and water, with full rations every fifth day, until the disobedience ceases, and the forfeiture, on arrival in port, of twelve days' pay for every twenty-four hours' disobedience, or by imprisonment not over three months, at the discretion of the court.

Desertion is punishable under the Seamen's Act by forfeiture of clothes and effects left on the vessel, and of wages due, the former penalty of imprisonment for desertion in a foreign port having been abolished, as also the provision for the arrest of seamen deserting from foreign vessels. This proviso is much more lenient than the laws of most foreign countries. In the case of England, if the desertion takes place outside the United Kingdom the deserter is liable to imprisonment for a period not exceeding twelve weeks. Imprisonment for desertion in the coastwise trade was abolished by the Maguire Act in 1895.

=Miscellaneous Offenses.=--Among these may be mentioned the following:

_Seduction_ of a female passenger, by master, officer, crew or employee is punishable by a fine not exceeding $1,000 and imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both. A subsequent marriage may be pleaded in bar of conviction. _Misconduct_, neglect or inattention to duty, resulting in loss of life, is punishable by fine not exceeding $10,000, or imprisonment not more than ten years, or both. _Abandonment of seamen_ is punishable by a fine not over $500, or imprisonment not over six months, or both. _Barratry_--the attempt to injure or destroy a vessel for her insurance--is punishable by a fine not over $10,000 and imprisonment not over ten years. _Wrecking_--plundering or stealing from a wrecked vessel--calls for a fine not exceeding $5,000 and imprisonment not exceeding ten years. _Willfully Obstructing Escape_ from a wrecked vessel subjects the offender to a minimum imprisonment of ten years, with a maximum punishment of imprisonment for life. _Plundering_ a vessel,--fine $5,000 maximum, and imprisonment not exceeding ten years. _Entering_ a vessel with intent to commit felony,--fine $10,000 maximum, and imprisonment not exceeding five years. _Casting away_ or otherwise destroying vessel by owner,--imprisonment for life or any lesser term; by other person, imprisonment not exceeding ten years.

The carrying of sheath-knives by seamen in the merchant service is forbidden, and penalties for allowing violation of this prohibition are imposed upon the master.

Officers, seamen and employees are forbidden to visit passengers' quarters except by permission of the master. Severe penalties are imposed upon both the offending person and upon the master permitting the violation.

Corporal punishment is prohibited by the Seamen's Act under penalties not only of fine and imprisonment, but of liability to civil damages.

Ill treatment of a seaman, beating without justifiable cause, wounding or beating, or the withholding of suitable food and nourishment, or the infliction of any cruel and unusual punishment is punished by fine of not over $1,000 or imprisonment of not over five years.

Shanghaiing was prohibited, under severe penalties, in 1909.

=Assistance in Case of Collision.=--The law requires every master, in the case of a collision, so far as he can do so without serious danger to his own vessel or its crew or passengers, to stand by the other vessel until he has ascertained that she has no need of further assistance, and to render such assistance as may be practical, also to give the name of his own vessel, her port of registry, and other material information. For failure to do so and in the absence of reasonable cause shown for such failure, a collision, in the absence of proof to the contrary, is deemed to have been caused by such master's wrongful act or neglect.

For failing to render such assistance, or giving the information required, masters are liable to a fine of $1,000 or a year's imprisonment, and the vessel is expressly made liable for the amount named, one-half of which is payable to the informer.

XV. RULES OF THE ROAD

There are three general bodies of rules covering the navigation of vessels with respect to the rules of the road.

The first of these are the International Rules which were adopted at a conference of maritime nations held in the United States in 1889, which are now in force in practically all maritime countries. They apply only to vessels on the high seas, the boundary line of which, so far as the United States is concerned, has been defined by an act of Congress passed in 1913, under which the Secretary of Commerce, having been authorized to fix lines separating the high seas from inland waters for the purposes of the rules of the road, has defined a water line from Cutler Harbor, Maine, to Puget Sound.

The second body of rules is known as the Inland Rules, embodied in a federal statute passed in 1897, and applicable only to the waters within the line thus defined. These rules, generally speaking, are similar to the International Rules but differ in a number of details.

The third body of rules is what is known as the Pilot Rules for certain inland waters of the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and of the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, adopted by the supervising inspectors of the Steamboat Inspection Service, approved by the Secretary of Commerce under authority of the Act of June, 1897, establishing the Inland Rules, and of subsequent acts passed in 1903 and 1913, establishing the Department of Commerce. These rules are also to a large extent similar to, and are generally in harmony with the inland rules, to which they yield in case of conflict. More extended reference to these rules, the knowledge of which should be a matter of second nature to seafaring men, is beyond the scope of this summary.

XVI. PILOTAGE

As the states had enacted pilotage laws before the adoption of the Constitution, the right of the states to a certain measure of control over pilotage, within their boundaries, has always been recognized, and consequently a dual system has grown up. The state laws are effective except where the subject is specifically covered by a federal law.

As to the federal requirements, all vessels engaged in the _coasting_ trade are required, when under way and within the jurisdiction of the United States, that is, except on the high seas, to be piloted by officers duly licensed under the federal law as pilots for the particular waters covered. This is covered by the qualifications laid down for the various classes of vessels by the Board of Supervising Inspectors, and by the provision of our law that the qualifications necessary for obtaining a license as master, mate or pilot of all steam vessels shall be as prescribed by the Board.

Registered steam vessels, when engaged in _foreign_ trade, and all sailing vessels of the United States in the foreign or coasting trade, are exempt from this requirement, but are subject to the requirements of the pilotage laws of the several states.

The master of a foreign vessel is not required to employ a pilot licensed under the laws of the United States.

As to state laws, the pilotage of all vessels in state waters (except enrolled steam vessels employed in the coasting trade, which are exempted from state supervision by act of Congress), is regulated by the laws of the respective states. There are, however, a number of special prohibitions designed to prevent controversy between the states. Thus, no regulation may be adopted by one state making the discrimination of a lower pilotage as to vessels sailing between ports of one state and vessels sailing between ports of different states, nor any discrimination against steam vessels; nor may a state require pilots to procure a state license in addition to that issued by the United States. It is to be noted that the federal law, which forbids the states to require enrolled coastwise steamers to take on state pilots, does not apply to _sailing vessels_ even though they may be in a tow of a steam tug carrying a licensed pilot, a discrimination difficult to justify.

In this connection, thrifty ship agents handling _registered_ vessels which for the time being happen to be engaged in the _coasting_ trade, will naturally see to it that registers are exchanged for enrollments, wherever a substantial saving in the matter of exemption from state pilotage fees can be figured out.

It is to be noted, however, that in order to permit this very saving, in another direction, the government permits vessels engaged in trade through the canal to be enrolled and licensed. By thus obviating the necessity for registry, state pilotage is avoided.

XVII. LENGTH OF HAWSERS

The law provides a special procedure covering length of hawsers in the case of tows. The Commissioner of Lighthouses, the Supervising Inspector of the Steamboat Inspection Service, and the Commissioner of Navigation are directed to convene as a board, under directions of the Secretary of Commerce, and to prepare regulations limiting the length of hawsers between towing vessels and seagoing barges in tow, and the length of such tows within any of the inland waters of the United States. Willful violation of these regulations subjects the license of the master of the towing vessel to suspension or revocation.

XVIII. INSPECTION OF STEAM VESSELS

All steam vessels must be inspected yearly as to their hulls, and generally as to whether they have complied with all the requirements of the law in regard to fires, boats, pumps, hose, life preservers, floats, anchors, etc., as laid down in the Rules and Regulations of the United States Board of Supervising Inspectors, which should be familiar to all masters. Inspectors, however, have the widest latitude. The law requires that they shall satisfy themselves that the boat is in a condition to warrant their belief that she may be used in navigation with safety for life. In making this test they may have her put under way or may adopt any other suitable means to test her sufficiency or that of her equipment. This yearly inspection, however, may be suspended under special regulations, when vessels are laid up and dismantled and out of commission. In this connection it is perhaps worth remembering that the laws of the United States make it a criminal offense for any person knowingly to send to sea an American ship, whether in the coast, foreign or coastwise trade, in such an unseaworthy state that the life of any person is liable to be endangered. The punishment for this offense is properly severe--imprisonment not exceeding five years or a fine not exceeding $1,000 or both at the discretion of the court.

The law also provides for the yearly inspection of the boilers of all steam vessels, including tug-boats, to insure compliance with the requirements of the standards issued by the board.

=Barges.=--Seagoing barges of over 100 tons gross are also subject to yearly inspection. The standard applied by the local inspectors is the elastic one that they shall satisfy themselves that the barge is "of a structure suitable for the service in which she is to be employed, has suitable accommodations for the crew, and is in a condition to warrant the belief that she may be used in navigation with safety to life." In the case of such barges the law also specially provides that there shall be at least one lifeboat, one anchor with suitable chain or cable, and at least one life preserver for each person on board.

Without such certificate of inspection actually in force at the time, no document can be issued for a barge, and for navigating a barge without a certificate or without the equipment referred to the owner is liable to a penalty of $500. Certificates of inspection for barges are issued in the same manner as for seagoing vessels generally. Where the certificate is not available at the time of securing a new document, evidence that it is still in force must be produced to the Collector, which may be in the form of a telegraphic confirmation of the fact, from the office of the Steamboat Inspection Bureau, Department of Commerce, Washington.

=The Certificate of Inspection.=--Upon the making of every inspection, if the inspectors refuse to grant a certificate, they are required to sign a written statement of their reasons for their disapproval. If approval is granted, however, it is their duty to immediately deliver to the master or owner a temporary certificate, which is good until the regular certificate has been delivered. Copies of these certificates are kept on file in the inspector's office or in the office of the Collector of Customs. The original is required to be posted in a conspicuous place in the vessel, to be kept there at all times except where it is otherwise permitted in special cases under the regulations.

=Manning of Inspected Vessels.=--The inspection of the local inspectors covers not only the hull and boiler and equipment, but also the questions of manning, character of merchandise to be carried, and the mode of packing dangerous articles, etc.

The local inspectors, on making the general inspection of the vessel, are required to make entry in the certificate of inspection of such complement of licensed officers and crew, including certificated lifeboat men, as they consider necessary for her safety, this entry being subject to right of appeal to the Supervising Inspector General.

Where such a vessel is for any reason deprived of the services of any number of the crew, without the consent or fault of the master or any person interested in the vessel, she is permitted to proceed on her voyage if, in the judgment of the master, she is still sufficiently manned. It is required, however, that the master shall ship, if obtainable, a number equal to those whose services he has been deprived of, and of the same or higher grade, also that he shall explain in writing the situation to the local inspectors within twelve hours of the arrival of the vessel at its destination under penalty of $50. The penalty for undermanning the vessel is $100, or in case of an insufficient number of licensed officers $500.

XIX. REGISTER TONNAGE

Three methods of measuring the capacity of a ship are more or less in general use in the maritime world.

The displacement tonnage, or weight of the volume of water displaced by the ship when fully loaded with all her crew, coal, supplies, etc., is in general use by the navies of the world for assuring accuracy and uniformity, but of course is not adapted to merchant vessels on which the cargo varies from voyage to voyage.

The deadweight tonnage, or actual weight of the cargo which a merchant ship will transport, obviously is adaptable only for vessels carrying bulk cargoes and not for general cargo ships. Each of these measurements is recorded in long tons avoirdupois.

The American registered tonnage system follows the Moorsom rules adopted in England in 1854, which are now in effect in practically every maritime country. It aims to express the entire cubical content of a merchant ship in unit tons of 100 cubic feet, this figure having been arrived at in England, on the adoption of the present system, when it was found that the ratio of the total registered tonnage of the British merchant marine to cubic feet of contents was slightly over 98.

The measurement rules of the United States are carefully and elaborately defined in the statutes themselves.

Under the statutes net tonnage is ascertained by deducting from gross tonnage that proportion of the ship's space occupied by engine's machinery, boilers, coal bunkers and certain other minor spaces, such as those which inclose the steering gear below deck, the boatman's stores, chart-houses, donkey engine and sail room.

To encourage the building of ample forecastles, crews' quarters, etc., as well as for other reasons, the rule is adopted by almost all maritime nations that tonnage taxes and other tonnage dues shall be collected not on gross but upon the net tonnage. This also includes the usual commercial charges for towage, dockage and wharfage. Official U. S. statistics of entrances and clearances are in terms of net-register tonnage, as also time charter rates when not specifically based on deadweight tonnage. The incentive to understate net register is thus strong.

In the case of tugs engaged in foreign service and which are therefore subject to tonnage duties, it becomes important to see that the net tonnage, which should ordinarily be a very small figure, is held to the lowest limit. For instance, seagoing and oceangoing tugs have been reported with a tonnage as low as eight and ten tons. On the other hand, many American tugs of no larger capacity are in the habit of carrying a net tonnage far exceeding this amount.

XX. TONNAGE TAXES

Tonnage tax is levied on every vessel engaged in trade upon her arrival by sea from a foreign port unless she is in distress. It is not levied on more than five entries at the same rate during any one year nor on vessels arriving otherwise than by sea from foreign ports at which equivalent taxes or dues are not imposed on vessels of the United States.

This tax varies from two to six cents per net ton, the two cent rate applying to ports in North and Central America, the West Indies, including Cuba and the Bermuda Islands, the coast of South America bordering on the Caribbean Sea, and New Foundland. By special treaty arrangement it also applies to Norway and Sweden. The six cent rate applies to all other trade.

Vessels entering otherwise than by sea from a foreign port at which tonnage or lighthouse dues or other equivalent tax or taxes are not imposed on vessels of the United States, are exempt from the tonnage duty of two cents per ton, not to exceed in the aggregate ten cents per ton in any one year.

These tonnage duties are substantially similar to the corresponding English rates, but are materially lower than corresponding charges in European continental ports. There are a number of special instances of exceptional cases, but which are not of sufficient frequency or importance to deserve special mention. It is well to remember, however, that if any officer of an American vessel should happen not to be a citizen a penalty of fifty cents a ton is imposed, except as provided by presidential proclamation in the case of certain vessels of foreign origin.

Foreign steam tugs employed in towing coastwise vessels are liable to a tonnage of fifty cents a ton on the measurement of the vessel towed, unless the towing is done in whole, or in part, within or upon foreign waters, or when the tug-boat is owned by a foreign railway company whose cars enter into the United States by means of such transportation.

XXI. NAVIGATION FEES

Vessels engaged in foreign trade with other than Canadian ports are subject to navigation fees upon entry. Thus if she is less than 100 tons burden the fee is $1.50. Over that amount the fee is $2.50. Her clearance fee is at the same rate.

In the event that she might have any dutiable merchandise on board she would also be liable under similar conditions to the usual fees for surveyor's services in connection with her customs entries, to wit, $1.50, if less than 100 tons, and $3 if more than 100 tons. Where she carries no dutiable merchandise, however, the fee is a nominal one of sixty-seven cents, which applies, of course, in the case of foreign ballast which is not dutiable.

XXII. ANNUAL LIST OF MERCHANT VESSELS

The law provides that the Commissioner of Navigation shall publish annually a list of vessels of the United States belonging to the commercial marine, specifying their official number, signal letters, name, rig, tonnage, home port, and place and date of build, distinguishing sailing vessels from those propelled by steam or other motive power. The list for the year 1919 was the fifty-first list so published.

Under the provisions of an act passed in 1912 it is required that upon affidavit by a reputable ship builder as to the rebuilding of _unrigged_ wooden vessels, giving date and place of their rebuilding, and certifying that they are sound and free from rotten wood and in every respect seaworthy, a notation to this effect shall be included in the list. It is noted that the provision applies only to _unrigged_ wooden vessels, and thus does not cover the case of rigged barges, whatever their size.

XXIII. NUMBERING OF UNDOCUMENTED MOTOR BOATS

In 1918 a law was passed requiring the numbering of all theretofore undocumented motor boats, except vessels under sixteen feet temporarily equipped with detachable motors. These numbers are awarded by the collectors of customs on application of the owner or master, and are required to be painted, or otherwise attached, to the bow of the vessel, and to be not less than three inches in size. Violation of the act is subject to a penalty of $10.

From the date of the passage of the act on December 7, 1917, up to July 1, 1919, nearly 100,000 such vessels had been numbered, and the experiment had proved highly successful in assisting the enforcement of the navigation laws and the collection of taxes as well as the enforcement of harbor police laws and regulations.

XXIV. ADMINISTRATION OF NAVIGATION LAWS

Practically every department of the government has to do with some feature or other of the navigation laws as affecting ship building, maritime commerce and ocean transportation. Primarily, however, the administration of the laws is in the hands of the Department of Commerce, under the immediate direction of the Bureau of Navigation, the Steamboat Inspection Service and the United States Shipping Commissioners. Other branches of government service whose functions touch on some phase of navigation are the Public Health Service, with its hospitals and quarantine stations, and the Coast Guard which, since 1915, has included the Revenue Cutter and Life Saving Service. The War and Navy departments also have various functions related primarily to the national defense. The activities of the Shipping Board will be separately reviewed.

=Commissioner of Navigation.=--The Bureau of Navigation, under the head of the Commissioner of Navigation, has general superintendence of the merchant marine and seamen so far as they are not directly subject to other departments; it controls the documentation of vessels and has supervision of the laws relating to measurement of vessels, signal numbers and the questions relating to the tonnage tax. It is charged further with the preparation of the annual list of vessels belonging to the merchant marine, has authority to change the names of vessels, and is charged with the preparation of annual reports to the Secretary, and with numerous other miscellaneous but important duties.

=Steamboat Inspection Service.=--The Steamboat Inspection Service is under the direction of a Supervising Inspector General appointed by the President, in addition to which there are ten supervising inspectors who meet as a Board in Washington at least once a year and establish regulations necessary to carry out the inspection laws relating to vessels, subject to the right of the Secretary of Commerce to convene a special executive committee, composed of the Supervising Inspector General and two supervising inspectors, who have power to alter and amend these rules with the approval of the secretary.

The principal duty of the supervising inspectors is to supervise the work of a large number of local inspectors of hulls and of boilers, and who in their respective districts, upon designation of the Secretary of Commerce, constitute the Board of Local Inspectors charged with the duties of inspection and the issuance and supervision of licenses already referred to.

=Shipping Commissioners.=--The Shipping Commissioners of the United States form a highly responsible body of officers with semi-judicial functions, who are directly responsible to the Secretary of Commerce, by whom they are appointed. The law provides one such officer for each port of entry which is a port of ocean navigation, and which in the judgment of the Secretary shall require the services of a Commissioner, and for whom Congress has made an appropriation. Generally speaking, the duties of the Shipping Commissioner are to afford facilities for engaging seamen; to superintend their engagement and discharge in the manner prescribed by law; to provide means for securing their presence on the board at the proper time; to facilitate the making of apprentices in the sea service; and to perform other duties imposed upon them.

One of the most important and useful functions of a Shipping Commissioner, particularly when the office is in capable hands, is that of arbitrating claims between master, consignee, agent or owner or any of the crew, when both parties agree in writing to submit to the award, it being provided by law that an award made by a Commissioner in such case is binding on both parties and in any legal proceedings is to be deemed conclusive of the rights of the party.

The Commissioners are given authority to call upon owners, agents, masters, for proof or production of books, papers, etc., or to give evidence before the Commissioner subject to a penalty and punishment for contempt for failure to so comply.

As it is the practice to insert arbitration clauses in all steamers' shipping articles, excepting those operated by the Shipping Board, which should be carefully read to the crews before they are signed, this duty is generally viewed by captains and owners as an invaluable aid to shipping and has been accepted also by the majority of seamen. The work of the Commissioners in this direction has been so successful that an effort was recently made to confer upon the Commissioners by law certain magisterial powers subject to appeal to the United States District Courts. So far the effort has been unsuccessful.

Having in mind their responsibilities and enormous possibilities of service to navigation, Shipping Commissioners are among the most pitifully underpaid of government officials. As an illustration of this it may be noted that the Commissioners in the great ports of Philadelphia and of Norfolk receive salaries of $2,400 and of $1,800, respectively.

XXV. THE SHIPPING BOARD

The United States Shipping Board was created before the war, by the Shipping Act of 1916, with the dual function and purpose, first of acting as the administrative agent of the government in developing the merchant marine and the naval auxiliary in peace time, and, second, that of meeting the shipping problems incident to a possible war.

Its most important powers have heretofore been exercised through the instrumentality of the United States Shipping Board Emergency Fleet Corporation, organized by, and the stock of which has been held by, the Shipping Board, for the Government. The primary function of the Corporation was the construction of vessels, but its work was soon extended to include their operation, in an effort to avoid the embarrassments, prior to our entering the war, of having our vessels, if operated by such purely public administrative agency as the Shipping Board, treated as public vessels in foreign ports. In the beginning it was intended that the Corporation should function in the character of a private corporation, and 50,000,000 dollars was appropriated to it for the construction of vessels, but during the war it acted primarily as the agent of the President, claiming the immunities and privileges incident to that somewhat anomalous relation, and has expended upwards of 3,000,000,000 dollars, its capital remaining intact. The actual operation of vessels by the Corporation has been carried out through the instrumentality of a specially organized Division of Operations, which was largely separate from the Corporation itself, and subject to the direction and supervision of the Shipping Board.

The jurisdiction of the Shipping Board, however, has not been confined to vessels in which the government is interested as owner or charterer. From the first the Board has had authority to enforce a general prohibition against unfair discrimination and preferences and against the improper influencing of marine insurance companies by common carriers by water, whether in foreign or interstate commerce, not including tramps, and has also exercised the right of supervising and regulating tariffs fixed by common carriers in _interstate_ commerce. In this field, however, the jurisdiction of the Board does not overlap the jurisdiction of the Interstate Commerce Commission, which has authority to establish through routes and joint rates where they involve water transportation. Like the Interstate Commerce Commission the orders of the Shipping Board are subject to review by the federal courts.

A recent provision of the Merchant Marine Act (1920) reorganizes and strengthens the Shipping Board, consolidating and centralizing its control and giving it wide powers in the matter of developing the American merchant marine and of encouraging the establishment of new lines and the investigation generally of all matters relative to the advancement of merchant marine.

Among other new powers of general scope given to the Board is that under which it is authorized to make rules and regulations affecting shipping in the _foreign_ trade, wherever necessary, in order to meet special conditions in foreign trade arising out of foreign laws or competitive methods practiced in foreign countries. The Board is also authorized to request the heads of departments to suspend and modify regulations or to make new regulations affecting shipping in the foreign trade, except those relating to the Public Health Service, the Consular Service and the Steamboat Inspection Service, and no rules or regulations excepting those affecting the services named, may be established by any department without being first submitted to the Board for its approval and final action taken thereon by the Board or the President.

[33] Of the Philadelphia Bar.