They are attracted to this service because they receive and are paid better wages. If we did not do anything that would enable American shipowners to pay these wages. of course the sailors would not receive any better wages than they receive in foreign service. but the fact that we are equalizing the wages and that we are able to pay 100 per cent more wages than are paid by European nations will attract sailors to the American merchant marine. As a natural result of that course they will soon become citizens of the United States. as nearly all immigrants become citizens in time. This bill. in that feature of it. proposes to lay the foundation for just what the Senator suggests. If people who are American born are not attracted to the sea for the reason that they can do better elsewhere. then. when immigrants come to this country. who have been accustomed to following the sea. and are attracted to our ships by the fact that they will receive higher wages. owing to the steadily increasing demand for that kind of labor. the result will naturally be worked out which the Senator has in mind. [At this point Mr. JoNEs of Arkansas raised the question of the presence of a quorum. and the roll was called.]
Keywords matched
immigrants