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May, 1916 reduced: with resultant losses to both the vessel owner and the shipper. A constriction of lake trade, if it materializes along the lines feared, will result from governmental inter- ference through legislative restrictions. Of these, the clause in the seamen’s law requiring that 40 per cent of the deck crew must be “certificated” has aroused the most concern. It is stip- ulated that the sailor before obtain- ing a certificate must have served at least 18 months on deck, and must pass a physical and mental examina- tion. With the opening of the season only a few days away, it is impossible to obtain correct figures as to the actual shortage of such “certificated” men. The best informed students of lake marine conditions are convinced that there DHE; MARINE: REVIEW ever, is not as heavy as the necessi- ties of the situation demand. When navigation actually opens, the shortage will doubtless be well below the esti- mate of from 1,700 to 2,000 mery but there is no reason to doubt that a shortage will exist. Estimates as to the shortage range from 1,500 to 9,000 men. that the shortage of these “certificated” A. Bs. will reach 9,000, but the over- whelming opinion in lake circles fa- vors the estimate of less than 2,000 men. This manager reaches his con- clusion by estimating the number of “certificated” men required on all boats of the American merchant marine to be 50,000. With the number actually certified only reaching 32,000, the apparent shortage is 18,000. Since one- One vessel manager of years’ experience asserts 161 men to each boat, the total require- ments are 4,200. Deducting the 2,500 who have ‘already received certifi- cates the shortage would be 1,700 men. The first instance in which this re- striction has delayed a ship going into commission, occurred a few days ago at Detroit when WauKETA of the White Star Line was forced to postpone her initial trip through inability to se- cure the required percentage of cer- tificate-carrying sailors. To Give Act Fair Trial The vessel-owning interests of the Great Lakes have already shown their intention. to comply with the pro- visions of the law, which they had op- posed prior to its enactment. They rescued the government from serious Section of Seamen’s Law Which May Disturb Lake Trade Sec. 13.—That no vessel of 100 gross tons and upward, except those navigating rivers exclusively and the smaller inland lakes and except as provided in section 1 of this Act, shall be permitted to depart from any port of the United States unless she has on board a crew not less than 40 per centum of which in the first year, 45 per centum in the second year, 50 per centum in the third year, 55 per centum in the fourth year after the passage of this act, and thereafter 65 per centum of her deck crew, exclusive of licensed officers and apprentices, are of a rating not less than able seamen. Every person shall be rated an able seaman, and qualified for service as such on the seas, who is 19 years of age or upward, and has had at least three years’ service on deck at sea or on. the Great Lakes, on a vessel or vessels to which this sec- tion applies, including decked fishing vessels, naval ves- sels or coast guard vessels; and every person shall be rated an able seaman, and qualified to serve as such on the Great Lakes and on the smaller lakes, bays or sounds, who ts 19 years of age or upward and has had at least 18 months’ service on deck at sea or on the Great Lakes or on the smaller lakes, bays, or sounds, on a vessel or ves- sels to which this section applies, including decked fishing vessels, naval vessels, or coast guard vessels; and gradu- ates of school ships approved by and conducted under rules prescribed by the Secretary of Commerce may be rated able seamen after 12 months’ service at sea; Pro- vided, That upon examination, under rules prescribed by the Department of Commerce as to eyesight, hearing and physical condition, such person or graduates are found to be competent; Provided further, That upon examination, under rules prescribed by the Department of Commerce as to eyesight, hearing, physical condition, and knowledge of the duties of seamanship a person found competent may be rated as able seaman after having served on deck 12 months at sea, or on the Great Lakes; but seamen ex- amined and rated able seamen under this proviso shall not in any case compose more than one-fourth of the number of able seamen required by this section to be shipped or employed upon any vessel. will be a shortage and that some boats will be delayed due to their inability to meet this governmental restriction. The exact extent of the shortage is indeterminate and probably will be until the rush to place boats in com- mission really begins. Shortage Estimates Vary Available estimates differ but it is practically certain at present that the number of “certificated” men falls short of meeting the needs. of the lake fleet by from _ 1,700 to 2,000 men. It must be remem- bered that at the time this story is written, the opening of the season is still several weeks ahead, and that the number of sailors applying for certificates shows an encouraging in- crease during the opening weeks of April. The rush of applicants, how- half of the American-owned boats ply the Great Lakes, the shortage, ac- cording to this manager, is one-half of the total or 9,000. The general assumption, however, is that the total number of men re- quired aboard ships on the Great Lakes is 30;000. Of these about 10,000 are required for deck duty, so the restrictive requirement that 40 per cent of the deck crew be “certificated” demands that 4,000 receive certificates. The number of such certificates ac- tually issued is about 2,500 so that 1,500 more must apply and pass the examinations before the full fleet can go into service. Supporting this as- sumption, it is known that there are about 1,400 vessels of more than 100 tons on the Great Lakes which come under the provisions of the seamen’s law. On the basis of three “certificated” embarrassment last fall when the law became effective by voluntarily fur- nishing the help to the inspectors, which the government should have provided. Due largely to the efforts of these interests on whom the law places its heaviest burdens, a large number of certificates were issued at that time. Their efforts to give the act a fair trial elicited approval from Secretary of Commerce Redfield, in whose hands rests the enforcement of the law. - The department of commerce ruled last fall that when inspectors were convinced of the sincerity of the master’s efforts to comply with the act, he could be permitted to sail without the required 40 per cent. This ruling was rendered necessary by the non-existence of anything like the number of “certificated” men re-