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FROM COMMITTEE ON

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS.

NEW YORK, December.-At last, in America, Jack is every inch a sailor, and is no longer a chattel slave. The Twentieth Annual Convention of the International Seamen's Union of America, which has just closed an historic session in New York City, celebrated this fact by sending to President Wilson, as its first official act, the following telegram of congratulation:

"The International Seamen's Union of America, in twentieth annual convention assembled, sends best wishes and heartiest congratulations upon your re-election.

"For the first time in history the seamen of America are now meeting as freemen. With your own good self at the helm for four years more we feel confident of our ability to demonstrate to all America that the Seamen's Act, to which you affixed your signature, stands first for human freedom, second for greater safety of life at sea, and last but not least for equality of opportunity for the American ship and the American ship

No. 12

The prophecy of Andrew Furuseth, president of the union, Able Seaman, and a supvival of the old Vikings, is coming "The American sailor is going back to the sea and he is going back a free man."

true:

Just what that means, in its many ways, to the United States and to the internationalism of the Seven Seas was briefly indicated in statements made to the Committee on Industrial Relations by Paul Scharrenberg, editor of the Coast Seamen's Journal of San Francisco and a delegate to the convention, and was set forth in the report of T. A. Hanson, International Secretary of the Seamen.

"Everybody connected with the sea trades has been benefited immensely already," said Mr. Scharrengerg, “except the American investor in foreign ships whose interest was to drive American ships and sailors from the seas and to keep all sailors in every world port slaves, subject to be run down and captured and turned over to slave chains if they dared to exercise the right of every free man and quit their jobs. These same investors in foreign ships, and members of the international shipping trust, have been the same ones, by the way, who have talked so loudly about the American flag, and yet have hired Orientals at indecent wages to the practical exclusion of the American seamen.

"The American flag is being restored to the sea, along with the American sailor, by the Seamen's Act. Just consider one side of the advantage which this means. The merchantman sailor is the recruit for the nation's navy. Of the 100,000 or more union sailors in the British merchant fleets, more than 16,000 are now serving on the British men-ofwar. America's necessarily growing navy will have the reserve force for time of need of the young men trained in the ways of the sea on her merchant vessels and having the fine spirit and strength that belongs only to free men.