President. I want to explain what was done about the matter of alien seamen. The Senate Immigration Committee had stricken out all references to alien seamen because we thought that matter ought to await further consideration and be treated in a separate bill. The House had a rather complicated and intricate method of handling alien seamen. and we went into conference with this elaborate House provision and nothing at all on the subject in the Senate provisions. We had two things in mind. In the first place. we did not want to change the provisions of the La Follette seamens law. not because we were convinced that they were all so wise and beneficial but because we had not studied the subject enough to tinker with that law in any way. All the Senate conferees felt that way about it. In the next place. tie various interests involved. the shipping companies on one part. the immigration authorities on another part. and the seamens association for a third group. could no two of them agree on what ought to be done about the alien seamen. There was no agreement on any provision by those three groups which were interested in that question. What we have done finally has been to take that provision in the bill as it passed the House. which was a mere restatement of the present immigration law of 1917 and will be found in section 19 of the law. which merely provides that no alien seaman who is ineligible as an immigrant shall be permitted to land. except temporarily and under such regulations as the Department of Labor may establish. That is the present law. There is no change in that whatever.
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