I have sat here as a spectator, in the audience, and have heard this committee criticised by some of the witnesses who have appeared before it. But if some of the witnesses knew as much about the activities of this committee as I happen to know I do not believe that their criticism would have been such as it has been. I do not like it. Furthermore, I do not like a lot of the press reports and the radio reports that are going out regarding our merchant seamen. I think we have some of the best American seamen-or, rather, we have some of the best seamen on our American vessels, better seamen than any other country in the world has. From some of the press reports going out and some of the radio programs going out it would seem that all of our seamen are a bunch of guttersnipes. That is a damned lie! In the American merchant marine today we have a lot of World War veterans, very good seamen, very efficient, very competent, many of them. They received their training through the Navy. And I don't like some of these reports that are going out; and I would like to say that the entire story is manufactured entirely out of whole cloth. But there is beyond all reasonable doubt some foundation for some of these reports. Not all of them. You know, Mr. Chairman, the shipping industry of England is advertising in our American papers. They are looking for business; and you will recall, Mr. Chairman, that I showed you a clipping 3 or 4 or 5 weeks ago, showing that the merchant marine of Great Britain stresses in its advertisements the fact that their seamen are trained, highly trained, competent, and efficient. I watch the newspapers and I get quite a few newspapers, but I have as yet to see one newspaper in the United States stress the fact in its advertising that our seamen are competent, efficient, and trained. I know that people are going to read this testimony that I am now giving, and I know that I am going to have my hand called. But what the heck do I care? I am stating facts. Mr. Chairman, I would like to see somebody produce a law showing that in the past 50 years any provision has been made to train our seamen for the American merchant marine. As Will Rogers used to say on Broadway, "There ain't no such thing." We have no such law-or, if there is such a law, I have never seen it-to train our unlicensed personnel. There has never to my knowledge been any law enacted by Congress to provide money for training our merchant marine seamen. If I might digress a moment I would like to tell a little story regarding the training of our unlicensed personnel. Some time ago, I think it was about a year ago, a member of the Legion employment committee called me up one morning and said, "Mac, are you awfully busy?" I said, "Well, I am quite busy.' He said, "Could you talk to a fellow that is trying to get a job?" I said, "My Lord! I am trying to get a job myself, and I can't make it." "Well," he said, "could you talk to another fellow?" I said I could. This is not a hypothetical case, Mr. Chairman, but I would like to refer to it as a hypothetical case so that I would not have to present names. I met this fellow and we had lunch-a bowl of soup and a cup of coffee, a typical McVay lunch. I go by pocketbook rather than by appetite. I met the gentleman, and he said, "Mr. So-and-so of the Legion said, 'Supposing you meet Mac and see what he can do to help you out."" This is pertinent, and my remarks are germane. He said, "Mac, I am a World War veteran. I followed the sea for a living, but I have encountered difficulties. Can you help me out?" I said, "Let us see what it is all about." He said, "I got into the World War as a kid. After the World War I tried to get a job and I couldn't make it." He said, "I understand that you have had a lot of experience in trying to help fellows get a job, and I am kind of up against it." I said, "Well, let us have our bowl of soup and cup of coffee and talk it over." He said, "After I came out of the Army I rambled around from post to pillar and eventually I landed in Baltimore, and I had a chance to get a job on a tramp ship; and," he said, "believe me, it was a tramp ship!" He said, "You know, when I went into the Army I had to camouflage my age. I was only a kid then, and I was only a kid when I came out of the Army, but I rambled around and finally got a job as an ordinary seaman." He said, "Of course, you appreciate the difference between an ordinary seaman and an able-bodied seaman; but, anyhow, I got a job as an ordinary seaman." He said, "Mac, the grub was rotten." He said, "The forecastle-have you ever been in a forecastle, Mr. McVay?" I said, "Eliminate the 'Mister."" I said, "Hell, yes; I have been in forecastles before you were born." He said, "The sleeping quarters were rotten and the grub was rotten and the working conditions were rotten, but," he said, "the job paid me," I think he said, "$27.50 a month." I am not sure of that figure. He said that was a whole. lot better-he didn't say "a whole lot" better; he used soldier language that would not look so good in the record. But he said, “I took the job, Mac, because it kept me off the street. Then I became an ordinary seaman." I am talking about the training program, now, Mr. Chairman, trying to cite an illustration. He said, "I took the job and I worked at it for a while, and I finally met the boatswain, who was a pretty decent sort of a fellow. He happened to be a former lieutenant commander in the Navy during the World War, and he was having a blankety-blank hard time making a go of it. The boatswain happened to have unlimited papers as a master. So I got this job, but I had a blankety-blankety hard time of it. But I stuck with it because I needed a job. This former lieutenant commander was in charge of a torpedo-boat destroyer during the World War, and he gave me some very good advice. Then I decided that I would like to follow the sea for a living. He gave me some books to read. I read the books and I studied, and eventually I was promoted from an ordinary seaman to an able-bodied seaman. Then later on I became anxious to become an officer, but I merely had a fifth-grade education, so I had an awful hard time. Eventually, with the assist ance of the boatswain, I took the examination and got my ticket as a third mate." He said, "Now, what provisions are there in the law or what provisions are there available for me to secure further training to become a second mate?" I am citing the case of a man with a fifth-grade education, where there are no provisions available in the law for such a man to be promoted. If there is any such law providing training for the unlicensed personnel, I would like to see it. I am heartily in favor of some sort of an appropriation for some sort of a training program that would make such opportunities available for the unlicensed personnel. Last Saturday, January 22, Andy Furuseth died. On Monday morning I received a letter with no salutation and no signature. It was mailed Saturday and, Mr. Chairman, I would like to offer that letter into the record. It is very much in keeping with the statement that I have just made (handing a paper to the chairman). The CHAIRMAN. This is from a letter from Andrew Furuseth, published in the Washington Post on Tuesday, February 5, 1929, and it states [reading]: Mr. Furuseth commented upon an article which had appeared in the Washington Post the previous day, in which Captain George Fried was quoted as saying: "The greatest need of the American merchant marine is men-enough men and the right men." In closing his comment upon the subject, Mr. Furuseth said: "Among the practical things to be done in the future, aside from carrying out existing laws, would be to give to the man who has served 3 years in the merchant service an opportunity to join the Navy for 1 year, to be there trained as a man-of-war's man and a boatman. "He will then make the best kind of merchant service seaman and the best kind of man-of-war's man because he has knowledge and the hardening that comes from experience of the sea. "It will cost the United States nothing beyond the cost that it now bears in training men for the Navy, and will give to the seaman again the selfrespect and the pride in his calling that constitute the real seaman, no matter whether he is a man-of-war's man or a merchantman." I Those are wise words. Mr. McVAY. During the course of the testimony, Mr. Chairman, Andy Furuseth's name was brought into the hearings. Some of the witnesses who appeared before your committee referred to Andy as being apparently incompetent during the past couple of years. agree with that. If I may relate a little incident: a couple of years ago I met Andy out in the hallway. I have known him for years, and we talked for about 8 minutes. Finally he said, "Well, I have to leave you now"-it is hard to talk, Mr. Chairman, very difficult to talk. I knew Andy very well. Andy was a good friend of mine. I am not a laborite, but I believe in unions; I believe in strikes; I believe in the right to strike-well, getting away from the apparent melodrama, but it is not melodrama, I talked to Andy out in the hall there and he said, "I will see you later; I have got to go over to see Senator Copeland"; and then he waved his hand in his usual old Viking manner and said, "I will see you later. I want to talk about maritime affairs, and not only that, but I want to see if Senator Copeland knows where McVay is.' 32437-38-pt. 8- -8 I had just talked to him for 8 minutes, and yet he wanted to come over to see the chairman of this committee to find out where McVay was. Of course Andy was incompetent during the last few years. But might I refer back to this letter that you have just read. This is a letter referring to an article published on February 5, 1929. Andy was not incompetent in 1929. I sincerely hope that some of Andy's successors will succeed as well in Congress as my good old friend Andy succeeded during his many years before this committee. He is being buried this afternoon. I am not attending his funeral. I sent a bouquet of flowers. Andy in 1929 said-may I repeat? [Reading]: In a letter from Andrew Furuseth, published in the Washington Post on Tuesday, February 5, 1929, Mr. Furuseth commented upon an article which had appeared in the Washington Post the previous day, in which Capt. George Fried was quoted as saying We all know who Captain Fried is. If we don't know who Captain Fried is we don't know anything about the merchant marine. I continue reading: "The greatest need of the American merchant marine is men-enough men and the right men." In closing his comment upon the subject, Mr. Furuseth said: "Among the practical things to be done in the future, aside from carrying out existing laws, would be to give to the man who has served 3 years in the merchant service an opportunity to join the Navy for 1 year, to be there trained as a man-of-war's man and a boatman. "He will then make the best kind of merchant service seaman and the best kind of man-of-war's man because he has knowledge and the hardening that comes from experience of the sea. "It will cost the United States nothing beyond the cost that it now bears in training men for the Navy, and will give to the seaman again the selfrespect and the pride in his calling that constitute the real seaman, no matter whether he is a man-of-war's man or a merchantman.” I have just quoted from a statement of that grand old Viking which he made in 1929, when he did have all his faculties, mental and, no doubt, otherwise. The veterans' organizations, if I may revert to them for the benefit of Senator Gibson and Senator Caraway, are very much interested in the American merchant marine. And I am particularly glad to see that Senator Caraway is present. We are interested, first, as a peacetime unit to carry our products abroad, and, second, as a unit for national defense. We are interested in the program to build up an adequate American merchant marine. All the veterans' organizations agree with my program. I happened to serve as coordinator for all of the veterans' organizations, and my or their program is to promote legislation that will create job opportunities for citizens of the United States or aliens who have been legally admitted to the United States for permanent residence. A while ago I introduced some figures regarding the passenger traffic, the number of passengers arriving in and departing from the United States. Now I would like also, with the permission of the chairman, to offer for the record an official report from the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, Department of Commerce, regarding the cargo ships that arrive in the United States. The CHAIRMAN. That may be inserted in the record. (The document referred to is here printed in full as follows:) No. 489.-Net tonnage of vessels entered and cleared at seaports in foreign NOTE. In thousands of net tons. Only traffic by sea and to and from foreign countries is included. The Source of tables 488 and 489: Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce. |