Speech #780028410

I want to finish my argument on the bill. I do not want to go into an extraneous discussion with the gentleman. Now if these men are to be deported and the foreign shipowners know that these men are going to be deported. certainly the foreign shipowners are not going to sit down with a representative of the Government of the United States and work out decent living conditions and working standards on these ships. They have been given a weapon. This bill gives them a weapon with which they will seek to continue the terrible conditions that exist on these foreignflag ships. You give enormous profits to the shipowners and by this bill you guarantee to them their privileges of exploiting these seamen. The failure to pass this bill is not going to hold up the ships. and by passing it you are not going to sail the ships. Do not think that by the threat of deportation. you will force these seamen to sail these ships. You are very much mistaken. Without this bill these men may now be apprehended and they may be detained at Ellis Island or any other place. In fact. many of them are. and even this imprisonment does not force these men to sail these ships. So neither deportation nor detention brings about the sailing of these ships. and therefore we do not accomplish what we seek to accomplish- .the sailing of these ships on time and on schedule. So what will do it? As deportation will not do it. and as detention does not do it. then I think the honest and intelligent thing to do is for our Shipping Administration to set up a pool of foreign seamen. to regulate this pool and control it completely. and to negotiate with the owners of these foreignflag ships. and bring about agreements as to wages and conditions. This method will bring these seamen to ships and sail them. To give to .the foreignflag shipowners this weapon which you give under this bill Is disastrous to our interests. By this bill you give them that weapon. you strengthen their position. and thus permit them to collect from our Government for delivering our supplies and permit them to continue substandard wages and indecent conditions. With a pool of foreign seamen controlled by our Government and decent wages and conditions established. you will be able to have these ships sail on schedule. Intimidations and deportations will not work because detention has not worked. Many of these seamen .are detained and it has not accomplished the purposes we seek to accom* plish. The only way we can accomplish the purpose of having these ships sail on time is to have a pool regulated by our own Administration and have our Shipping Administration force living wages and decent conditions on the foreign shipowners. If legislation is needed it should come from the Committee on the Merchant Marine and Fisheries. This is not an immigration problem. You are giving it the wrong cure. You are just going to cause more confusion and delays. and you are giving the foreignflag shipowners a weapon which they can hold over the heads of these seamen and thereby continue to pay the horribly low wages that they are now paying.