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October, 1924 MARINE REVIEW How New Immigration Law Adds Burden to Vessel Owner and Master EC. 20. (a) The owner, charterer, agent, con- signee, or master of any vessel arriving in the United States from any place outside thereof who fails to detain on board any alien seaman employed on such vessel until the immigration officer in charge at the port of arrival has inspected such seaman (which inspection in all cases shall include a per- sonal physical examination by the medical examiners), or who fails to detain such seaman on board after such inspection or to deport such seaman if required by such immigration officer or the secretary of labor to do so, shall pay to the collector of customs of the customs district in which the port of arrival is lo- cated the sum of $1000 for each alien seaman in re- spect of whom such failure occurs. No vessel shall be granted clearance pending the determination of the liability to the payment of such fine, or while the fine remains unpaid, except that clearance may be granted prior to the determination of such ques-_ tion upon the deposit of a sum sufficient to cover such fine, or of a bond with sufficient surety to se- cure the payment thereof approved by the collector of customs. (b) Proof that an alien seaman did not appear upon the outgoing manifest of the vessel on which he ar- rived in the United States from any place outside thereof, or that he was reported by the master of such vessel as a deserter, shall be prima facie evi- dence of a failure to detain or deport after require- ment by the immigration officer or the secretary of labor. (c) If the secretary of labor finds that deportation of the alien seaman on the vessel on which he ar- rived would cause undue hardship to such seaman he may cause him to be deported on another vessel at the expense of the vessel on which he arrived, and such vessel shall not be granted clearance until such expense has been paid or its payment guaranteed to the satisfaction of the secretary of labor. (d) Section 32 of the immigration act of 1917 is repealed, but shall remain in force as to all vessels, their owners, agents, consignees, and masters, and as to all seamen, arriving in the United States prior to the enactment of this act. tion, and it also includes a medical ex- amination. Should the immigration inspecting offi- cer be uncertain about any of these sailors, he designates the latter to be detained on board while the vessel is in port. Failure of the shipmaster to de- tain the men designated for further examination and possible deportation sub- jects him to a fine of $1000 for each seaman not detained, the amount to be paid to the collector of customs of the customs district in which the port of arrival is located. Pending determination of the liability for the payment of such fine, or while the fine remains unpaid, no vessel shall be granted clearance unless a deposit of a sum is made which is sufficient to cover the fine, or a bond is submitted with sufficient surety to cover the payment, the surety to be approved by the collector of customs. Proof that an alien seaman did not appear upon the outgoing manifest of the vessel on which he arrived in the United States, or that he was reported by the master of the vessel as a deserter, shall be prima facie evidence of a fail- ure to detain or deport after require- ment by the immigration officer or the secretary of labor. If the secretary of labor finds that deportation of the alien seaman on the vessel upon which he arrived would cause the alien undue hardship, he may order him deported on another ship at the expense of the vessel on which he arrived, and the latter vessel shall not be granted clearance until the expense has been paid or its payment guaranteed by some sufficient bond or otherwise. Section 32 of the immigration act of 1917 provided easy access by which the seaman could change his status from that of a sailor to an immigrant. He could leave the ship and apply for en- trance papers by the payment of a head tax and could apply for citizen- ship papers in the same manner as an ordinary immigrant. This section, how- ever, has been repealed in the new law, and remains in force only as to vessels, owners, agents, consignees and masters, and as to all seamen, arriving in the United States prior to the immigration law of 1924, Obviously, it would be im- possible, under the present law, to gain legal entrance under any conditions with- out a vise obtained from consuls at the port of embarkation. Officials Promise Co-operation As pointed out by government off- cials, no vessel meed be inconvenienced to any extent. Before the ship docks, the immigration officer boards the ves- sel, under the present regulations, lines up the crew and makes his examination. The immigration officer at the various ports learns to know the bona fide sea- man, and against the latter there will be no restrictions. Should members of the crew be suspected as_ prospective immigrants under the guise of seamen, these will be ordered detained while the vessel is in port until a decision is made as to their deportation. The oth- ers of the crew are allowed their free- dom in port without further scrutiny. They may even leave the ship and re- ship on another vessel. Authorities of the department of la- bor point out that shipmasters in recruit- ing their crews can help minimize the number to be detained on board the vessel while in a United States port by exercising careful discrimination. American shipmasters recruiting their crews in foreign ports are subject to the same regulations. Officials of the bureau of navigation, of the department of commerce, have cited numerous difficulties encountered by shipping commissioners in signing up American college students and others by foreign shipmasters in this country. Many are left stranded in foreign coun- tries. Unless they take the precaution to establish their identity as American citi- zens through the customs offices, the American state department can not legally bring them back to this country at the expense of the United States government. Large numbers of this class of “sea- men” have been stranded in foreign coun- tries in the last few years. Section 20 of the 1924 immigration act is given in full in the accompanying box, Great interest is being taken in the contract lately given out for building two ships to the order of Alfred Holt & Co. Ltd., Liverpool. The ships are to employ plates much thinner than usual, made of a steel invented by F. G. Martin, the chief metallurgist of the company. The steel has a much higher elastic limit than that commonly used, enabling the plates to be thinned considerably without any reduction of strength. This increas- ing lightness gives a larger proportion of horsepower for moving cargo.