The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

MUETUATEA ALLL UTIL IIUUTUUTIUAIT 1 A i TITLE RUMAH MUU IIIT INNA UIIITUIUUTTUI UVTI INN TALULA IN WH) (aims AAA HLL VOL. 46 CLEVELAND MAY, 1916 NEW YORK Facing Greatest Season in History, Ship Owners on Coasts and Lakes Are Hampered by Scarcity of ‘‘Certificated’’ Seamen—Who is to Blame? HIP owners on the Great Lakes—and on both S coasts, too, for that matter—are today so en- | meshed in a snarled tangle of red tape and legal restrictions that some have begun to doubt their ability to cut their way through. The major constriction is the requirement of the La Follette law that 40 per cent of the deck crew must be certificated seamen. .An alarmist survey of the situation visualizes a plight of such serious import that this country’s great manufacturing industries which look to lake vessels for their raw materials or for cheap freight rates, would find their activities seriously curtailed. And that this viewpoint cannot be ignored, one has only to read the deductions made by one of the Lakes’ most prominent vessel men, presented on page 161, that this legal requirement means a shortage of 10,000 men. From a Sane Point of View The most careful analysis of the situation possible to make—an analysis that has its foundation on the best knowledge of ship owners, government officials, and close students of lake conditions—indicates that the present shortage of legalized A. B.’s on the Great Lakes is between 1,700 and 2,000. The maximum figure may even carry too strong a tinge of con- servatism, but if that number of certificated seamen could be secured immediately, the situation would no longer be acute. What are the primary elements of this situation? The shipping plans of the iron and steel industry call for an iron ore movement of close to 55,000,000 tons, or about 6,000,000 more than ever handled pre- viously. The coal movement will reach 33,000,000 tons. The grain movement will amount to 14,000,000 tons, or 480,000,000 bushels. The lumber trade is prosperous. Railroad freight congestion insures good business for the package freighters. Prosperous times like the present spell increased travel on the passenger boats. Many lake vessels have been sold during the past few months to seaboard interests and will go to salt water at the earliest date possible. The conjunction of all of these elements was fore- seen some months ahead. The steps taken were 159 characteristic and under normal conditions, decisive. Where a year ago found but one bulk freighter on the stocks, every Great Lakes building berth for 1916 delivery is taken and some contracts-have been let fo1 1917. The unprecedented number of boat sales and fleet consolidations occurring during the winter were the outward indications of the efforts being made to prepare for a record-smashing season. Some boats that have been laid up for several seasons will ply the lakes this summer again. The Drift Log in the Propeller Now for the fly in the ointment—or one might say, the driftwood in the propeller. The numerous and varied provisions of the sea- men’s act with which the owners could comply un- aided, have been met. The attitude assumed last autumn by the Lake Carriers’ Association and by the various vessel interests assured a prompt compliance with the law’s provisions. But against one provision —that requiring two-fifths of the deck crew to be certificated, it was beyond the power of the vessel owner to safeguard himself. The sailors themselves bore the responsibility of securing certificates. The failure of a sufficient num- ber to take this responsibility seriously has precipitated the present situation. For “slaves who are shedding their shackles” (according to the author of the sea- men’s bill), they act altogether unlike the popular impression of a newly-freed bondsman. Washington is Responsible And yet should we place the responsibility on the sailors? Can any seaman who has sailed the lakes with entire satisfaction to his master and himself, be blamed for his failure to break his neck to secure a certificate? All it means to him is that he can continue doing the same work he has always done. Why un- dergo the trouble of an examination to determine his fitness for duties he fulfilled satisfactorily in the past? The backward trail of responsibility leads beyond the vessel owner, and beyond the sailor. Who can doubt that it leads direct to Washington, D. C.?