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rect. There is absolutely no quick way of maintaining discipline on merchant ships. It depends more or less on the luck you have with your crews. If you have bad actors you have trouble.

Under the present navigation laws you fine a man 1 or 2 days' pay and that is all and, as my predecessors testified, the man goes to sea again.

I really have not much more to say. I am in favor of this bill and would like to see it passed, but anyway, we need something. We have had nothing since June 11 and we are absolutely helpless. This is from the practical standpoint. I am in favor of it. If you gentle men have any questions, I shall be glad to answer them.

Mr. GRAHAM. Any questions?

No questions. Thank you Captain.

Mr. Harry Hayden of the American Legion.

STATEMENT OF HARRY HAYDEN, REPRESENTING THE AMERICAN

LEGION

Mr. HAYDEN. I want to thank the chairman for the opportunity to appear for the Legion on behalf of the bill under consideration,

S. 1077.

The American Legion, of course, is not especially interested from the standpoint of the shipbuilders or ship operators or the unions or others. We appear on behalf of all of them and the American people because the Legion has always been aware of the extreme importance to our national security of an adequate and strong merchant marine. They have followed that policy right along and we have a national merchant marine committee of men who devote a great deal of their time to keeping in touch with these things and making recommendations. As a result of that, they adopted a very comprehensive resolution at our last convention. I would like to refer to that later.

Mr. GRAHAM. May I interrupt? Have you a copy of that resolution?

Mr. HAYDEN. I have a copy that I will put in the record.

Referring again to discipline, Mr. Chairman. Of course, there are those of us who were in the service and particularly in the Navy and we realize the necessity of discipline on board ship. I say that, not as a former member of Navy brass, but as one who served as a chief during the war. I also had personal observation of discipline and lack of it in some cases in the Navy. In more cases than I would like to talk of in the merchant marine in wartime I saw lack of discipline.

We are not at war right now but we seem to be paying more attention to these things and rightly so. I hope we may have them corrected in time to make an impression if they are to be needed.

The only manner that discipline can be maintained with respect to seagoing personnel is through control and exercise of licenses or certificates that men carry. In other words, suspension or revocation of the license of an officer or the certificate of a crew member takes that man off the sea and effectively prevents a recurrence of trouble.

Prior to 1942, disciplinary matters were within the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation of the Commerce Department, and hearings were conducted by "boards" made up of highly skilled personnel within the Bureau.

In 1942, jurisdiction over merchant marine disciplinary matters was transferred temporarily to the Coast Guard, which service found it expedient to have hearings conducted by individual officers designated "hearing officers." An exceedingly good job was done by the Coast Guard in this respect during the war and, while complaints have been heard both from labor and management as to the conduct of individual cases, on the whole the job was well done and the hearings were characterized by fairness and impartiality.

The Legion's resolution I should like to introduce here because I wish to offer some comments on it:

MERCHANT MARINE

Resolutions Nos. 49, 119, 390, 392, 482, and 830 were all approved and incorporated into one resolution.

Whereas it has been demonstrated twice within the present generation that your Government has neglected to provide for the development and maintenance of a merchant marine adequate to safeguard the Nation in the event of an emergency, and in view of the fact that we are again faced with a comparable situation in that:

(a) New construction of vessels has diminished to the extent that many shipyards have been shut down and others will soon be closed;

(b) Construction subsidies are not sufficient to induce further private investment in the building of new vessels for foreign operation, and no subsidies at all are available to vessels constructed for domestic operation;

(c) Appropriations have been curtailed by Congress to train seagoing personnel required for the efficient operation of American ships;

(d) There has been inadequate screening from the standpoint of loyalty and inadequate orientation of ship personnel;

(e) Insufficient appropriations have been made by Congress for the upkeep and maintenance of a nucleus of experienced management, skilled and trained personnel in standby shipyards and on usable surplus vessels;

(f) The present situation of our merchant marine and shipbuilding industry is deplorable and a threat to our national security, and demands that vigorous measures must be applied if the industries are to survive on a sound economic basis;

(g) That the necessities of our merchant marine demand positive and aggressive action by the American Legion: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the American Legion advocate:

1. That the Congress make the necessary appropriations and enact such legislation as will carry out the true intent of the Merchant Marine Act of 1936; 2. That the Maritime Commission formulate a plan to be intelligently and aggressively administered in carrying out a program to effectuate the rehabilitation and maintenance of the American merchant marine:

3. The immediate cessation of sales of American war-built dry cargo vessels to persons who are not citizens of the United States, and that we aggressively oppose any sales, charters or deliveries of American war-built vessels to nations, persons or organizations of those nations who were at any time enemies of the United States during the course of World War II;

4. That Congress insist that the Interstate Commerce Commission not permit the charging of discriminatory and noncompensatory rates by other carriers of commerce on goods which would otherwise move by water;

5. That steamship operators should be encouraged to participate in overseas air transport, under proper regulation, on an equitable basis; and should be given the same consideration in granting certificates for overseas air service as any other applicant;

6. That a construction allowance effected by the laws of the United States Congress be granted to all American oceangoing vessels hereafter to be constructed, whether to be employed in foreign or domestic trades, in an amount sufficient to attract private capital and to induce new construction;

7. The maintenance of a nucleus of shipbuilding facilities, experienced management and trained personnel;

8. The extension by specific direction under a universal military training program to include the training of personnel in ship construction and ship operation.

9. That there be maintained a training program sufficient to provide an efficient personnel for the American merchant marine to meet the needs of national security;

10. That there be a congressional study for the purpose of making available, in the event of a national emergency, to the Department of National Defense the services of all maritime personnel;

11. That the United States Coast Guard be required to investigate and determine the loyalty to the United States of all persons whom they certificate or license in the maritime industry;

12. That there be an immediate survey of all surplus vessels in order that those unfit for further use from a national security standpoint be sold for prompt scrapping;

13. That an immediate program be adopted for the adequate preservation of all usable vessels retained as surplus to be available in the event of a national emergency;

14. That the functions of all Government agencies affecting the construction, ownership, and operation of merchant vessels be consolidated, merged, and reorganized in order to effect economy and promote efficiency;

15. That the Congress enact legislation to care for the present and future economic needs of the Territories of the United States, and in particular to adéquately care for the shipping requirements of these great areas; and be it further

Resolved, That the American Legion does hereby reaffirm its previous national convention actions with respect to the merchant marine; and be it further

Resolved, That the American Legion initiate a study and invite participation therein by representatives of the United States Department of National Defense, United States Coast Guard, the United States Maritime Commission, shipowners, builders, and operators, and of labor, so as to recommend to the United States Congress a specific program for the strengthening of our merchant marine and allied industries so as to assure their adequacy for national security. Resolution No. 831 was approved.

Whereas the American Legion has adopted a program of direct action for the purpose of implementing and maintaining a strong merchant marine; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the director of the National Defense Division of the American Legion be and he is hereby directed to seek and obtain from all possible sources such information and assistance as will insure the effectiveness of the mandates of the convention concerning merchant marine, and further that the director be and he is hereby authorized to participate in all public hearings affecting the said program; and be it further

Resolved, That the American Legion, Twenty-ninth Annual National Convention, assembled in New York City, August 28-31, 1947, instructs the national headquarters of the American Legion to prepare and carry out an extensive educational campaign in the interest of the American merchant marine to acquaint the American people with the necessity for, needs of and requirement of that service.

The preamble to the resolution shows the awareness of the Legion that twice within the present generation our Government has neglected to provide for the development and maintenance of a merchant marine adequate to safeguard the Nation in the event of an emergency, and finds that we are again faced with a comparable situation. Furthermore, the preamble finds that there has been inadequate screening from the standpoint of loyalty and inadequate orientation of ship personnel, and concludes that the necessities of our merchant marine demand positive and aggressive action by the American Legion.

Following these findings the Legion set forth 15 points on which it resolved to assist the merchant marine. Closest in point is paragraph II wherein there is a recognition of the Coast Guard as the supervising authority and a statement that they should more carefully screen the loyalty of applicants for licenses or certificates. But one cannot read the resolution without concluding that the Legion is violently opposed to anything which damages or weakens the American merchant marine as a vital arm of national defense. Unquestionably a merchant fleet

which deteriorates in time of peace cannot be changed into an effective weapon in time of war. A crew which lacks discipline and which disobeys the orders of the master or the officer-in-charge will not be galvanized into an efficient team by the outbreak of war. Disdain of authority destroys all respect for officers aboard ship. The officer himself becomes less efficient when he knows that his order may not be followed, and when he knows that there is nothing that he can do about it.

There is not better example of this than the recent disgrace on board the flagship of the American merchant marine, the S. S. America, where a radical element in the crew announced on arrival that the vessel would be unable to secure a crew for her next voyage unless certain supervisory personnel were fired. You will recall that this brought forth a statement from Commodore Manning, master of the ship, that discipline on American vessels had sunk to the point where the master could not longer run his ship and labor elements on board endeavored to take over the entire management of the vessel.

These actions, which are typical of those which steamship operators have faced in the last 9 months, follow closely the pattern used by all subversive groups. Obviously the American merchant marine cannot thrive if the American skipper and the American passenger have no confidence in its operation. What passenger would be willing to take his chances on sailing on schedule on an American ship? What shipper is patriotic enough to prejudice prompt arrival of his shipment abroad by relying on ships which may lie idle at the dock for weeks because of irresponsible elements in our maritime personnel? Vessels which are not patronized become laid-up vessels and the business goes to our foreign flag competitors.

What, then, in time of war? Foreign flagships are immediately recalled to the country of their flag. Not only are shippers but our armed services are deprived of the water transportation so necessary in any national emergency. It is not at all far-fetched to conclude that it is this point to which the subversive elements on our ships are directing their actions so that in another emergency, if it should come, our military forces will not have this vital auxiliary.

I might say for the record that we have a very definite legislative procedure within the Legion. We have a membership of approximately three and a quarter million men and women voters; an auxiliary of practically one million ladies. No one in that organization has any autocratic or dictatorial power to establish the policy of the Legion. It is established by mandates of our two governing bodies, the annual convention and the national executive committee, and the members of the convention and that committee are elected by the local organization which is about as democratic as we can have it.

Mr. GRAHAM. Have you any knowledge of infiltration of communistic practices and teachings into the merchant marine?

Mr. HAYDEN. I think there is no question of that. Our people felt that a lot of this lack of discipline is deliberately due to deliberate action of subversive elements. There is no question about it. The preamble of the constitution shows the awareness of the Legion that twice in the present generation our Government has failed to provide for the development of the merchant marine in the event of an emerand feels that we are again faced with the same situation.

gency,

Mr. Chairman, we petition Congress to act favorably and promptly on S. 1077.

Mr. GRAHAM. Are there any questions?

No questions. Thank you Mr. Hayden.

Mr. HAROLDS. I have a supplementary statement I would like to put in. I only make this statement in rebuttal because I was asked to come back this morning, I suppose for that very purpose.

Mr. GRAHAM. Go ahead, Mr. Harolds.

Mr. HAROLDS. I respectfully submit that, so far, the witnesses that have testified have entirely avoided the issue that is before this subcommittee.

The issue here, as I understand it, is whether the Coast Guard should be exempted from the Administrative Procedure Act; and whether it shall continue to exercise jurisdiction in seamen's misconduct cases under section 4450 of the Revised Statutes.

When I was here last week, I cited specific instances to show that the persons who were conducting it under the Coast Guard were in a large sense not qualified nor were they impartial.

Mr. Maloney has stated that a lot of the criticism which I gave of the Coast Guard I also gave of the old Bureau of Inspection and Navigation. That is true. It was severely criticized in the Attorney General's report and many of the things which warranted criticisms in that report were carried over when the Coast Guard took over the hearing of these cases under our S. 4450 as amended.

As a matter of fact, as I pointed out the last time, many of the personnel were retained from the old Legal Bureau. The Administrative Procedure Act was adopted for the purpose of providing a uniform safeguard for various people who appeared before administrative tribunals; and I still have heard no reason why the Coast Guard along with all other administrative agencies should be able to dispense with these legal requirements which other agencies are required to follow under the law. If we exempt them, every agency will have justification for coming forward and asking for a similar exemption on the ground that they too have specialized knowledge or training for the field in which they operate.

Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. Harolds, may I ask if a national emergency should develop quickly, do you feel that the provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act should stand in the way of national safety?

Mr. HAROLDS. When an emergency arises, particularly in the merchant marine industry, the President generally takes control and places all means of transportation under his direct supervision under his War Powers Act and I assume that would happen again. But at present we are speaking of a peacetime long-range situation.

Mr. KEATING. You are not envisaging a national emergency in your testimony?

Mr. HAROLDS. No. I am speaking of the legislation that exists today. R. S. 4450 has been on the books a long time. When the Coast Guard stepped in it was under a war situation. The war is now at an end and they want to continue.

Mr. GRAHAM. We hope the war is at an end!

Mr. HAROLDS. Yes.

Now, Captain Cumings pointed out that certain seamen who are permitted to sail are menaces. We say such men should not be pro

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