Seafarers Log: Vol. 18 No. 26 (1956-12-21)

V

SEAFARERS LOG
AWARDED FIRST PRIZE m GENERAL EDITORIAL EXCEt^NCE • UBS • INTERNATIONAL LABOR PRESS. OF AMERICA

• OFFICIAL ORGAN OP THE SEAFARERS INTERNATIONAL UNION • ATLANTIC AND GULF DISTRICT • AFL-CIO •

SIU JOBS REACH
THREE-YEAR PEAK

-Story On Page 3

'Nobody Understands Me'
^ Ff 2 Ships In Crashes

An irresponsible, attack against every major US mari­
time union by NMU president Jbseph Curran adds, em­
phasis to the question of his reliability in dealing with'
maritime union issues. The attack was front-paged in
the last NMU "Pilot''* (See story oil Page 2;) • '

L, M Em ms Company employee points out damage to Bull Line
\ifOSn AifCrfllOffl* C-2 Elizabeth after SIU ship was involved in colli­
sion with Chinese tanker Hai Kwang off Scotland Lightship. In separate crash, Alcoa
Pilgrim dbllided with Farrell Lines freighter African Star near Statue of Liberty last
Tuesday ni^t. No one was hurt in either mishap. (Story on Page 4.)

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Pace Twe SEAF ARETtS LOG December 21, 1956

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The Facts vs. Joe Curran
The last issue of the "Pilot," official organ of the National Maritime Union, features a

mouth-foaming diatribe by Joseph Curran, president of that union. It consists of a scatter­
shot blast against the SIU, the Sailors Union, the Marine Engineers (both BME and MEBA)
the Masters, Mates—in fact, against every organization of consequence in maritime with
the exception of the International Longshoremen's Association and Harry Bridges. The
diatribe is supported by' edi-»-

preatDted <o tliWHSTlor^i ReflninK ihip* Waicate ihat pio-
torials, .stories and other ma­
terial in the paper.

The purpose of this article
is to correct a number of fiat misr
Blatements of fact appearing under
Curran's name, and several othel*
transparent distortions, so that
Seafarers and other LOG readers
(including NMU members) can
keep the record straight.

Taking the issues as they come,
here is what the NMU presidfent
said, and what actually happened:

UNION HIRING HALLS
The NMU president claims

that the SIU's filing of unfair
labor practice charges against
h shipowner—in this case,
American Coal Shipping—"is
actually an attack on the foun­
dation of all maritime unions
—the hiring hall."
The facts-in this case are to the

contrary and are very simple. A
considerable number of Seafarers,
learning of the formation of a new
shipping company which had not
yet obtained ships or crews, ap­
plied for employment at the com­
pany's offices. In each and every
ease, without exception, they w ere

"rejected by the company without
even having their credentials ex­
amined. The SIU general counsel's
office then took action to protect
Seafarers' employment rights by
filing charges against American
Coal Shipping, a ship operator.

Several years ago, the NMU it­
self saw nothing wrong in filing
unfair labor charges against Isth­
mian Steamship Company and
AGAINST THE SIU. The charges
In that instance were filed after
the SIU had already organized
Isthmian and won an Section in
the fleet. ;

MARITIME CONTRACTS
The NMU president cries

shrilly that the Sailors Union
"scrapped" the 40 hour week
and that SIU and SUP sign
"bargain" agreements. "Our
union has led the way" he pon­
tificates, "to decent wages,

.shorter hours, overtime pay,,
vacations, pensions, welfare'
benefits, supplementary unem­
ployment insurance 'elimina­
tion' of loggings."
First, as to the 40 hour week, it

Is fully known to the NMU presi­
dent that the Sailors Union has
incorporated the 16 hours of week­
end overtime into the base pay.
The SUP base wage is figured on
the basis of 40 straight time hours
and 16 overtime rate hours. The
other unions arrive at the same
objective by figuring base pay on
a 40-hour standard and computing
weekend overtime separately. So
much for the nonsense about
"scrapping" the 40-hgur, week. All
watchstanders—NMU, SUP, SIU
and what have you—are still work­
ing 56 hours weekly, no matter
how you slice it.

"The second claim, about NMU
"leading the way" is not only in­
accurate but downright childish.
All maritime unions have contrib­
uted in one form or another to sea­
men's present-day gai^, and all
haVe "led the way" in particular
accomplishments. The fact is that
thie NMU has not "led the way" in
a great many areas. Here are a
few:

• Ttie SUP.was first with an in­
dustry-wide welfare plan.

.The SlU^was fbiitt ip.-.
.0061 ban <jcei ojsl atj jbae-i ed illv/

Brief Charges SIU
Isthmian Collusion

In a continuation of its charge to the
NLRB of collusion between the Isthmian
Steamship Co. and the SIU, the NMU has sub­
mitted a legal brief selling
forlli seven objcction.s to the
conduct of the collective
bargaining election.

has_

ployment. This asreemciu, IU«
l.'nion cont^s further, was car­
ried outJiKS advantage of

Clipping from NMU "Pilot" reports how NMU tiled Labor
Board charges against-Isthmian and SIU after SIU won- elec­
tion In that fleet. Curran now says that filing similar charges
against American Coal (not the NMU) is "attack on hiring
hall."

dustry-wide pooled vacation
plan.

• SUP pensioners get $100
month. Disabled Seafarers
who are unemployable' and
pensioners get $150 a month.
NMU pensioners get $65 a
month.

• The NMU Instituted unlimited
hospital benefits tor seamen
and maternity benefits for
married men only after the
SIU had them for years.

• The NMU obtained a limit on
loggings only after the SIU
won it. (More on this later.)

• On numerous occasions in re­
cent years, the NMU had to
reopen negotiations on so-
called "inequities" after the
SIU and SUP had obtained
superior working rules.

• The NMU salvaged the re­
mains of its hiring hall by
Instituting a seniority sys­
tem after the SIU had estab­
lished seniority protection
for regular seamen.

In the long run, of course, it
matters little "who got there firs't,"
but matters more that all seamen
get protection and conditions. If
it is important that the record
show who was first with what, the
record is clear: The Sailors Union
founded the hiring hall. On wages,
conditions and overtime the SUP
standards are the highest in the
industry.

It is interesting to note that in
all this diatribe over contracts
there Is no mention of the terms
and conditions of the agreement
signed with American Coal Ship­
ping or how that agreement came
into being. However, it is known
that Curran has a reputation on
the shipowner-side of the industry
of energetically advertising NMU
contracts as "7 percent cheaper."
Where the "7 percent cheaper"
comes in (and that is the phrase
Curran uses in the industry) is
through a "soft deal" on contract
enforcement, poorer feeding, etc.
Tjp:is was one of the arguments Cur­
ran used when he ran to the States
Marine outfit after it bought it
Isthmian, and cried, "Don't rake
our ships away, we're cheaper!"

By undercutting the SIU accord­
ingly, the NMU has served' as a
drag on SIU conditions on this
coast.

LOGGING IIMITS
The SIU's success in first

establjehl^ that-seameh can>:

not be logged in excess of ac­
tual time off the job, appar­
ently has been a source of vast
personal irritation to the NMU
president. Consequently, he
accuses the SIU of signing a
bargain agreement on loggings
"far short of what NMU had
told the employers they would
accept... we won this fight in
spite of the handicap which
the employers set for us with
the aid of SIU ... we have es­
tablished once and for all the
principle that companies may
not withhold earned pay from
a seaman" (emphasis ours).
The facts are, as reported in the

SEAFARERS LOCI of November 9,
that the NMU logging limit is vir­
tually Identical with the SIU's;
with one significant difference. The
SIU clause on logging is written
into the contract and must be en­
forced. The NMU'S consists of a
letter from the operator's labor re­
lations representative.

NMU, after proclaiming in head­
lines "No More Logs" finds it dif­
ficult to concede that loggings for
time lost from work continue after
all. The SIU made no pretense of
eliminating all,logs, but did away
with the "two for one" practice.
Consequently, both unions provide,
to quote Mr. Curran, "that com­
panies may not withhold earned
pay from a seaman." _ Is the NMU
president trying to kid the NMU
membership?

'DOLE' VS. VACATION $
The NMU president de­

clares, "this year SIU and SUP
were persuaded by their com­
panies not to press for the sup­
plementary unemployment in­
surance plan which we woil4n
1955 . . . Instead . . . SIU
and SUP settled for a lousy
one percent increase . . ."
The facts are that the SIU

membership rejected supplemental
unemployment insurance at the
June 29, 1955, membership meet­
ings. Instead the membership in­
structed the negotiating commit­
tee to seek intreases in vacation
pay, on the grounds that it would
provide more benefits for the
greatest number."

Th^ reason for this action, as
stated in the LOG of July 8, 1955,
was to assure that every Seafarer
would receive additional benefits,
not just low-seniority men on the
beach. In addit^n, the SIU mem-

- -pulsory vacation plan to whl^ the
NMU unemployment benefit was
tied. The SIU needed no "persuad­
ing" last year or this year, to re­
ject an. inferior and undesirable
syptem.

Instead of an unemployment
dole, the SIU in 1955 negotiated a
$68 increase in annual vacation
pa)? for all Seafarers, plus the
health and safety program, as well
as increases for cooks and stew­
ards. One outcome of the SIU's
action is that Seafarers will soon
have their own health, center in
New York, the first in maritime.

Having gone for a big vacation
and welfare boost in 1955, instead
of the unemployment dote, the
SIU, in 1956, negotiated a 7.1 per­
cent increase (as compared to
NMU's 6 percent), plus the logging
limit, plus a further increase in
vacation pay, plus payment of hos­
pital-surgical benefits to Seafarers'
dependent parents. This is what
Curran describes as "a lousy one
percent."

NLRB ELECTIONS
"If they (the SIU) win,"

Curran warns, "it may be nec­
essary in the future to fight
out elections on a ship by ship
basis . . . that will be a great
day for union-busters."

(CAMU). That was until Curran
ran into a storm of internal oppo­
sition for insisting that NMU open
its hiring hall to all comers.

To block this uprising, he under­
took a diversionary move, launch­
ing a tub-thumping attack on SUP
President Harry Lundeberg for
signing a bulk cargo agreement.
That led to the withdrawal of AFL
unions from CAMU.

When the AFL and CIO merged,
Curran again preached unity... But
he made no approach to member*
ship in the AFL-CIO Maritime
Trades Department, the only rec­
ognized department in the AFL-
CIO constitution dealing with
marine affairs. Instead he recon­
stituted the CIO Maritime Com­
mittee as the "AFL-CIO Maritime
pomraittee." . The only members
iof this committee were Curran
himself, the CIO radio operators
and the CIO engineers, who have
since severed their relationship.

On the New York waterfront, the
leadership of the AFL-CIO, head­
ed by President George Meany,
was recorded as strongly support­
ing an election move by the In­
ternational Brotherhood of Long­
shoremen. Curran, the self-ap­
pointed apostle of "unity," pro­
moted ILA efforts to evade an elec­
tion and openly endorsed ILA on

Here, apparently, lies the real fthe eve of the vote.
concern of the NMU president—
that seamen in the employ of
American Coal Shipping, or any
other company, might be free to
decide the union of their choice by
secret ballot. Perhaps it is no ac­
cident that -he recently opposed a
similar freedom of choice for New
York longshoremen.

Curran's attitude pn elections is
not without foundation. Two very
recent contests have left him un­
derstandably, jittery.. Offshore oil
workers in Louisiana employed by
Tidelands Marine Services, Inc.,
voted this way: - ,

SIU ..53
NMU 7
No Union 50

In an election two weeks ago in
Philadelphia, employees of C. G.
Willis, Inc., tug operators, voted
this way:

SIU 69
NMU ....; 2
No Union 1

These elections, incidentally,
were fleet-wide; not "ship by
ship."

Of course in the biggest mari­
time election ever held, in the Isth­
mian Steamship fleet which then
contained over ICQ vessels, the
score was:

SIU 1,256
NMU 813
No Union 69

It seems clear that Curran
doesn't care for electioijs except
when he is certain they will fall
his way. The SIU, for its part, be­
lieves in the right of seamen and
other waterfront workers to vote
for a union of th^ir choice.

i i 1"
LABOR UNITY

Curran constantly poses as
the apostle of labor unity, both
in and out of the maritime in­
dustry, "No one can say,"
he piously proclaims, "that
NMU has tried to throw its
weight around . . . We have
never tried to take advantage
of our smaller sister unions .
. . . We had hopes thdft thiere
would be unity in this indus­
try . .
In contradiction to the platitudes

Curran haS'-'acted time and again
to buck unity. Back in March,
ft55, marino unions had a working
organization called the Conference

Unions rership wanted no.^Kuit 'Pf « comn.) of Americ^g ,,l)J^iti<ijp;
Isoi.Ol'e IIlw i^iiia w?r; odT " ''

Just a few weeks ago, the Marine
Engineers Beneficial Association
came to Curran asking for his sup­
port in their fight for a contract
with American Coal Shipping.
MEBA had been with Curran
through thick and thin for 20
years in the CIO Maritime Com­
mittee and predecessor organiza­
tions. But Curran's response to
their plea for help was to declare
"the job requires more guts, brains
and honest effort than you have
been willing to put in it . .

Curran then announced that tho
NMU would cross MEBA picket-
lines.

* * *
It is a tasteless and unpleasant

spectacle to, watch these antics.
The only conclusion that can be.
drawn is that the NMU president
has proven himself an irrespon^
sible, unstable element in the laboif
movement.

This conclusion is not surprising
in light of a long record of oppor­
tunism which began as a ten-yeair
partnership with the Communist
Party. That association was later
broken, more by the pressure of
cireum.stance than any other fac­
tor, but unfortunately the tactics
and attitudes which characteriaed
the Party's way of doing things
still survive.

A standard CP tactic of oppor­
tunism in dealing with personali­
ties is to call a man a hero when
he suits their purposes; a bum if
he disagrees. The NMU President
has clung stubbornly to that tactic.

For exqmple, in the NMU elec­
tion previous to the last one, M..
Hedley Stone-was a hero in Cur­
ran's eyes. He said. In.effect: "If
Hedley Stone is defeated, I will
resign." Two years later Stone
dared disagree with Curran on the
hiring hall issue and tfte word in
effect was: "If Hedley Stone is
elected, I resign."

The same opportunism charac­
terized his embrace of the ILA, an
organization condemned by the la­
bor movement. While serea'mlng '
"unfair" at other unions, Curran '
calmly stabbed the IBL in the back
while it was fighting for decent
representation for dock workers.

Irresponsible opportunism like
this contrasts strangely with the
cries for "unity" and the charge
"unfair" which CUrrah so often dl- -
rects at the affiliates 6f the SIU 6f'
Noath.Auerieai't • •• •''

_^Jl .sqana gnillss cl'ii eqirfa



December 21, 1956
SEAFARERS LOG Pare Three

GET RATING NOW!
. With shipping literally "busting out all over" and n'tew
l^eakouts in the works, Seafarers are being urged by
the Union to upgrade themselves now. Men who have
been sailing as ordinaries and wipers ^re asked to get
themselves a rating so as to assure that enough men are
available to man all the ships coming the SIU's way.

To assist in the upgrading procedure, patrolmen will
be assigned in headquarters and in the outports for the
purpose of advising Seafarers on how to proceed.

In addition to the greater earning power the upgrading
provides, headquarters pointed out that class B Seafarers"
who do not have ratings are not eligible for class A
seniority under the terms of the hiring clause of the
contract. Only rated men are eligible for such seniority
promotions.

Those m^n who do not have ratings but who qualify
as to seatime provisions for class A seniority, assure
themselves of promotion to class A-by getting" a ticket for
their particular department.

Operators Seek
300 US Ships

WASHINGTON—A mad rush for Government charters
is on in this city with private shipping operators asking
for over 300 vessels. No less than 29 shipping concerns have
asked for 146 ships to handle —
farm surplus and foreign aid.
Another 20 companies in a
separate proceeding have asked for
157 vessels to carry coal to Europe.

To meet the demand, the Mari­
time Administration announced on
Tuesday that it was releasing an­
other 40 vessels, to as yet unan­
nounced ship operators. It is not
expected that the 40 ships will be
the end of the allocations.

On Wednesday, an agency ex­
aminer recommended that, "as
many as 69 more" be brought out
also.

This would bring the total au­
thorized breakout to 185 ships
sirfce January 1st. In addition to
the 40 and 69, 46 were approved in
one breakout plan for various
operators and 30 more for Ameri­
can Coal.

SIU Go's Ask 85
SlU coinpaiiies have made bids

for about 85 of the 300 vessels. It
Is not expected though, that the
breakout will be anywhere near as
extensive as the requests for ships
Indicate.

Among SlU-contracted operators
making bids are Bull Steamship
Corp. which is seeking 20 Llbertys
for the coal trade. Bull is now in
the process of transferring its
ownership to American Coal Ship­
ping. However, It will retain its
separate identity, and continue its
Puerto Rican operations with its
present C-2 ships.

A spokesman for the company
said the Bull application had no
connection with ACS plans as the
sale of the company had not been
consummated at the time of the
application.

He also.said that in his view, al­
locations of ships should be made
to owners of, American flag ton­
nage who have no connection with
foreign operations.

Waterman Also Bids
Waterman Steamship Corpora­

tion also had a bid in for ten Lib­
erty ships. Other SIU companies
bidding are Liberty Navigation,
Grainfleet, Martis SS Corp., New

' Jersey Industries, Oceari Carriers,
Veritas Steamship, World Carriers,
Dolphin Steamship, James Poll,
New England Industries and Trad­
ers Steamship Corp.

Grain for Turkey, where food
supplies are short, and coal for
France are the most immediate
needs for which tonnage is being
sought. An varly decision is ex­
pected from Maritime in view of
the urgency of the need nnd the
month to six weeks required to put
breakout ships into sailing shape.

State Okays
SIU Stand
On Welfare

Agreeing with the position
of the Seafarers Welfaire Plan
and the SIU as expressed in
oral arguments and a format brief.
New York State Attorney-General
Jacob JavUs has upheld the prin­
ciple of self-insured welfare plans.
In his opinion, Javits said that
these plans, such as the one joint­
ly operated by the SIU and its con­
tracted companies, are exempt
from licensing as insurance com­
panies.

The ruling is of direct benefit to
Seafarers inasmuch as it stymies,
for the time being at least, any
moves by insurance companies to
take over self-insured plans. In­
surance company premiums, if re­
quired, would cost the SIU Wel­
fare Plan about $110,000 a year
aqd cut down welfare benefits ac­
cordingly.

SIU General Counsel Seymour
W. Miller, was quoted by the "NY

(Continued on page 15)

SCHEDULE OF
-SIU MEETINGS

SLU membership meet­
ings are held regularly
every two weeks on Wed­
nesday nights 'at 7 PM in
all SIU ports. All Sea­
farers are expected to
attend; those who wish to
be excused should request
permission by telegram
(be sure to include reg­
istration number). The
next SIU meetings will be:

December 26
January 9
January 23
February^ 6..
February 20

SIU Shipping Hits [
Three-Year Peak;
Job Outlook Rosy

A record-breaking shipping surge for Seafarers surpassing anything in the past three
years reflect the increasing pace of the current shipping boom. Forecast many times in
the- SEAFARERS LOG the past few months, indications are that the hdom in shipping will
grow bigger and carry weliti ^ ,,un,u
into 1957.

All told, the SIU shipped
1,656 jobs oft the board in the two-
week period ending Deceihber 11.
There is every indication that the
figures will be even higher for the
period through Christmas Day.
Not since December, 1953, has SIU
shipping approached this total.;

It's an old story that the mari­
time industry thrives on interna­
tional emergencies, which is exact­
ly what happening now. De­
spite endless diplomatic maneuv­
ers, the Suez Canal is still closed
and will be closed for at least three
to six months. Even after the
canal is opened again, there will be
a long period of replenishment for
Europe's oil and heavy shipments
of farm products, coal, and foreign
aid to many nations which have
been seriously affected by the shut­
down.

Countries which will be on the
receiving end of US cargoes in­
clude England, France, Italy, India,
Turkey, Spain, Yugoslavia, possib­
ly many of the Arab countries and
even Poland.

Go's Seek Subsidies e
As far as Seafarers are con­

cerned, the current shipping pic­
ture is rosy for them. Prospering
SIU companies are digging for
charters of niore ships to help
carry abundant cargoes. In addi­
tion, two major operators are in the
market for US Government subsi­
dies. The pressure on shipping is
such that 353 class C men—men on
the lowest rung of the seniority
ladder—have gotten jobs in the
last two-week period alone.

Diplomatic maneuvers still snarl the start of Suez Canal sal-,
vage work, although some work has been done in Port Said.
Stacks of a sunken hopper lifted by two powerful German
salvage craft can be seen between the Energie I left) and
the Ausdauer. The salvage delay is one cause of mounting
demand for more ships.

To help meet the ever-growing the
demand, for manpower, headquar­
ters is making arrangements to as­
sist Seafarers in upgrading them­
selves. Particularly needed are
men with engine room ratings,
with many ports combing the ranks
for such ratings as oiler and elec­
trician.

The only cloud on the horizon is

long-range prospect for the
traihp segment of the industry
which would dwindle beginning in
1958 under present tentative trans­
fer plans. Even this has its bright
side in that huge, modern tankers
would partially replace the trans­
ferred tramps:

Also, Congress will be pressed
to act on tramp problems.

SIU Co. Orders 'Biggest Ship'
Agreement on construction of a .100,000-ton tanker and two 46,000 ton "medium size"

oil carriers has been reached between the SlU-contracted Victory Carriers Inc. and the
Federal Maritime Board. Orders have already beep placed with "Bethlehem Steel for con­
struction of the vessels. Dis->
cussiops are now underway
for a possible second 100,000-
tonner by the same company.

Another operator has put in an
order for a similar-sized ship for
Liberian-flag operation.

However, Seafarers who are
anxious to be the first to ride the
world's largest vessel have a long
time to wait, as the keel of the ship
will probably not be put down
before 1958. In addition, the con­
struction of the new ships will
involve tran.?ferring an indeter-
miilate number of older vessels
operated by Aristotle Onassis in­
terests which control Victory Car­
riers, US Petroleum Carriers,
Trafalger Steamship and Western
Tankers.

Maritime Administrator Clarence
Morse indicated that the transfers
will not be authorized until actual
construction on the ships gets
underway.

Some Vessels Are Longer
There are longer ships in ex­

istence than the new tanker, among
them the Queens Eiizabeth and
Mary, the United States and the
various Forrestal class aircraft
carriers. However, none of them
have more deadweight tonnage
than the tahkship. - . .

The new ship will bO 940 feet

long, aq;! 132 feet in the beam, 14
feet wider than the British Queens.

In its ability to deliver petro­
leum, the 100,000-tonner will be
the equivalent of eight T-2 tankers.
On a- given trio it will tote a capac­
ity of 850,000 barrels, which is
six times a T-2's capacity. But "in
addition to that, its 17 knot speed,
compared to the 14 knots plus of
the T-2, gives it the capacity of two
additional World War II tankers
in a given time period.

Each of the 46,000-ton "medium
size" tankers will have the equiva­
lent capacity of three T-2s.

Other information culled about
the. new tanker are as follows:

• If there was water at the equator
all around the globe, she would
be capable of circling the earth

&u&£crioi
ctcmVBCi^l

and traveling another 1,000 miles
without refueling.

• The gasoline capacity of the ship
could fill the tanks of two million
automobiles.

• Her decks will be so spacious
that they will be able to accom­
modate more than 50 airplanes.

• Fully-loaded, the ship would
displace 130,000 tons of sea
water.

Grew About 70 Men
Previous information about the

vessel indicated that she will carry
a crew of about 70. Manning scales,
of course, are subject to negotia­
tion betweeq the unions involved
and the operator.

All three of the ships will oper­
ate in service between the Persian
Gulf and the United States. When
the big ship is fully-loaded, it will
have to circle the Cape of Good
Hope bu,t it will be'able to transit
Shez in ballast on its outbound
voyage.

It is possible that Suez will be
dredged in the next few years to
accommodate monster tankers.

The construction schedules call
for delivery on the 100,000-ton
vessel in the middle of 1960, or 3V^
years from now. The other two
wiU be ready in late 1959 and 1960.

U \

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Fase Four SEAFARERS LOG Doeember 21, I95t

iSl-

'b;

I-

1

79 Draw Benefits §
As Disability i/sf |
Hits All-Time High i

A total of 79 disabled Seafarers, the highest figure yet,
are now receiving the $35 weekly SIU disability benefit.
The new high results from the addition of 13 more disabled
Seafarers in the past few-*- —

Shipyard officials look over the damaged bow of the Elizabeth at the Bull Line docks In Brook­
lyn a few hours after her collision with a Nationalist Chinese tanker. Force, of the impact
drove the port anchor down into the forepeak I inset) r damaged the gangway-and some foc'-
sles, but caused no injuries. Red Rodrigi^ez, AB on the Elizabeth (inset), looks over the
damage in the forepeak. The ship will be out of action about a month.

2 SIU Ships In Crashes
Two SIU ships have been knocked out of action for about a month by tw^ separate col­

lisions within a week of each other in New York harbor. No injuries were suffered on any
of the four ships involved.

On Tuesday night, the SIU-^
manhed Alcoa Pilgrim col­
lided with Farrell Lines' Afri­
can Star in the Upper Bay near the
Statue of Liberty. Just one week
earlier, the Elizabeth was damaged
In a collision with Nationalist
China's biggest and most modern
merchant ship, the 28,000-ton
tanker Hai Kwang.

Full details on the damage in
the Pilgrim-Star collision three
days ago are still not available.
The Pilgrim sustained consider­
able bow damage, but the sum of
It will not be known for certain
until she completes dischai-ging of
her bauxite cargo in Weehawken,
NJ.

A 25-foot hole was torn in the
port side of the African Star, de­
molishing four crew foc'sles. At
first thought to be a total loss, she
had immediately begun to take
water in the engine room, but
eventually was beached on the
mudflats about 1,000. feet from the
Statue of Liberty.

The Pilgrim was shifting from
her Brooklyn pier to Weehawken
at the time of the smash-up, and
the African Star was inbound from
Boston on the way to Staten Is­
land. The accident occnrred
about 7:40 PM, with visibility re­
ported to be very good.

In the earlier smash-up, the
force of the initial impact drove
the Elizabeth's port anchor well
Into her forepeak, tore up her bow
on both sides and buckled some

SEAFARERS
Dae. 21.1956 Vot. XVMI

LOG
No. 26

' PAUL HALL, aecreiary-Treasurer
HEDBERT BRAND, Editor; RAV OEKISON,.

Mlanaging Editor; BERNARD SEAMAN, Art.
Editor; HERMAN ARTHUR, IRWIN SPIVACK,
Staff Writers; BILL MOODV, Gulf Area
Representative.

published blweemy at itie headquarter*
of the Seafarers International Union, At­
lantic a Gulf District, AFL-CIO, «75 Fourth
Avenue, Brooklyn 32, NY. Tel HYaclnth
9-4600. Entered as second class matter
at the Post Offlco in Brooklyn, NY, under
fBe Act of Auf. 34, ItIZ

|13»

deck plating. A second blow from
the stem of the tanker demolished
part of the gangway and »nashed
up the after four foc'sles on the
port side as the Chinese tankship
tried to pull away.

Boats Ready
, Levelheadedness at the time of

the hit was credited by Seafarer
John Stanley, the Elizabeth's bo­
sun, for having the starboard boats
rigged and ready to go "within two
minutes of the alarm." Sleepy-
eyed crewmembers hustled right
up on deck for emergency details,
but since the damage was well
above the waterline, the Elizabeth

soon got underway again. It an­
chored out in the bay until morn­
ing. .

The collision took place in poor
visfbility off Scotland Lightship,
and was the subject of a formal in-
quiiT by the Coast Guard last
week, with no conclusions yet an­
nounced. The Chinese ship apparr
ently was in sight of the Elizabeth
visually and by radar about ten
minutes before the smack-up.

Probably the most fortunate
Elizabeth crewmember was J. Pas-
sapera, OS, who was lookout on
the bridge instead of the bow at
the time.

Little

in
moQths. Three disability
beneficiaries died during that
period.

Since the SIU plan began on
May 1, 1952, it has assisted 98
Seafarers w ho
,were unable to
continue working
because of illness
or injury. Of
course, many of
the 98 were men
i[>ast the age of
65, but a good
number of them
are younger men
who would not
qualify for Federal old age bene­
fits and thus would have no other
source of income. Eighteen of the
98 have since died and one has
withdrawn, leaving the 79 now on
the rolls.

This year. Congress "caught up"
with the SIU plan by providing
Federal Social Security benefits
for disabled men and women over
50. They will be eligible for such
benefits next June.

The combination of SIU disa­
bility plus Social Security benefits
can mean as much as $258 a month
for disabled Seafarers. Indicative
of the progress in the maritime
industry, this $258 figure is more
than the base wage of working ABs
under SIU contracts just six years
ago.

Among the disabled Seafarers
who died recently was veteran Sea­
farer Matt Little, 95, an almost
legendary figure. One of the orig­
inal group of beneficiaries of the
plan. Little claimed no less than
65 years at sea.. At 83 he was still
sailing bosun, and only retired at
the request of the War Shipping
Administration after the Christo­
pher Newport was torpedoed in
1944.

Little had been an active union

Seafarers Crew 1st 'Roll-On'
JACKSONVILLE—The first true US-flag "roll on-roll off" service was kicked off here

this week when Seafarers crewed the converted Landing Ship Dock, Carib Queen, for
TMT Trailer Ferry, Inc.

Although normally the Carib
Queen is to haul loaded truck
trailers between Jacksonville,
Fla., and Caribbean and South
American ports, the ship is ex­
pected to be at the Brooklyn Army
Base by January 1 to begin an
initial experimental run to Brem-
erhaven for the Military Sea
Transportation Service.

Except during World War II,
when Seatralns carried tanks over­
seas, no piggyback-type ship has
ever operated in transatlantic serv­
ice. The run under MSTS charter
is expected to test the Carib
Queen's efficiency in carrying
Army supplies overseas as com­
pared with conventional methods.

In theory, at least, the Carib
Queen should be able to carry 2V^
times the cargo load of a C-2 in a
year's time because of Its much
faster turn-around.

The Carib Queen, which will
later be joined by a sister ship, is
TMT Trailer—Ferry's first self-
propelled trailership. Since Octo­
ber, when it was signed to an SIU
contract, the company has been
hauling LSTs loaded with trailer
trucks to Caribbean ports by means
of two deep-sea V4 tugs chartered
from the Maritime Administration.

Both of these, the Sombrero Key
and Dfy viioij^ugas .Key* have b6to^

crewed by members of the SIU's
Harbor and Inland Waterways Di­
vision, which has also supplied
TMT shore gangs in both Jackson­
ville and Pflerto Rico.

The crewing of the Carib Queen
was done under the terms of the

deep-sea section of the Union's
agreement with the'^ company.

An 8,000-tonner, the Carib
Queen is capable of carrying 92
trailers and 97 automobiles, as well
as 500 tons of package cargo and
some tank cargo.

Why Some Seafarers Ride Tankers

One year and 16 days as chief steward on the Camp Namanu
(USPC) meant a payoff which explains this expensive, brand-
new Jaguar which Arthur W. Brown Is sporting here.

';^jp^d cas^'tdpi^
He

V • ,
, I',:

member since back, in 1886 when
he joined the Sailors Union of the
Pacific.
- When the disability, benefit was
put into effect in 1952, payments
were pegged at $15 a week. The
first Seafarer to retire on the ben­
efit was James Hopluns, who is
now 80. Benefits have been in­
creased twice since then to the $33
weekly figure.

The disability benefit program
was designed to assist those Sea­
farers who were most in need be­
cause thdy were physically unfit
for duty and unable to earn a liv­
ing. It .was felt that these men
should have first call on'any long-
range assistance from the Welfare
Plan.

^ge is not a factor in the pro­
gram, since it is immaterial how
many years a man has lived if he
is no longer able to support him­
self and his family.

Under the set-up in the SIU hir­
ing hall. Seafarers who are over
65 and who are still hearty and
able to turn to, can make one or
two trips a year or more if they
so desire. They can earn up to the
$1,200 allowed under the Social
Security program, and collect their
Social Security benefits the re­
mainder of the time.

Union To Be
Dinner Host
On Holidays

Vying with Santa for the honors
of the day, the SIU will hold tradi­
tional holiday dinners in all ports
next Tuesday, Christmas Day, for
Seafarers, SIU families and
friends, followed by a similar af­
fair New Year's Day.

Union-operated dining facilitiea
in New York, Baltimore and Me-
bile, and neighboring restaurants
in other ports will be utilized as
they were for Thanksgiving din­
ners last month. About 2,000
diners were entertained through­
out the District on that occasion.

In addition, plans have been
made for a spread on New Year's
Day, to assure some solid nourish­
ment to start 1957 off right. Faci­
lities will be open for dining on
both days from 10 PM to "2 AM.

An elaborate menu has been
^prepared for the yule dinners
next week at SIU headquar­
ters, similar to the one which
greeted "turkey day" d few weeks-
ago. Roast tom turkey 'n' dress­
ing, prime ribs and baked Virginia
ham again head the list of entrees.

A choice of soups, tomato juice
and shrimp cocktail are offered as
appetizers, plus chef's salad, re­
lishes of celery and olives and six
vegetables. -For those who still
have room for dessert, there will be
a choice of pumpkin, apple and
hot minced pie, fruit cake, assort­
ed nuts and candy, coffee, milk,
tea or apple cider.

(Urp!)
Seafarers at sea will enjoy much

of the same aboard ship, since the
major holidays are always an oc­
casion for extra special effort by
SIU steward departments. Elabo­
rate menus and decorations will

shipa.,^ I.;



Dewmber 21, 19SI SEAFARERB LOG Pa*e Hv#
...

V -I

i
'.••ojS

Salem Maritime Is shown lying dead In water with flames still burning day after she exploded
last January 17. Coast Guard findings Indicate that static electricity In kerosene set off
the disaster.

Blame Salem Maritime Blast
On Static Charge, Gas Vapors

A wmbination of static electricity on or near the surface of kerosene, water left over
from butterworthing and gasoline vapor was probably responsible for the disastrous ex­
plosion of the Salem Maritime last January. That is the conclusion reached in an article
in the "Proceedings. Of Thet-
Merchant Marine Council,"'
December, 1956, issue, a pub­
lication of the US Coast Guard.

The article's conclusions were
strengthened by analysis of a simi­
lar explosion on board the Esso
Paterson last March, also involv­
ing kerosene loading in a tank
that had formerly carried gasoline.
It warns that the two explosions
show the need for avoiding con­
tamination of kerosene with gaso­
line.

14 Seafarers Killed

Fourteen Se^arers, four other
crewmembers and three shoreside
workers died when the Cities Serv­
ice tanker blew up on January 17
while at the dock in Lake Charles.
Ever since the explosion, the com­
pany has been loading dry ice in its
kerosene tanks as a safety meas-
up. That tactic did not prevent
an explosion aboard the Govern­
ment Camp in October in which
five men were injured while load­
ing the dry ice.

The Coast Guard analysis of the
disaster pretty weil follows the
initial reports carried in the SEA­
FARERS LOG at the time. '^The
available evidence indicates," the
Coast Guard writer reports, "that
gasoline from No. 9 tanks was

Profit isn't
SlU Motive

Emphasizing that SIU serv­
ices are not ruled solely by the
profit motive, as in other busi­
ness operations. Seafarers at
last week's headquarters branch
meeting voted to write off the
Sea Chest debts of'three de­
ceased brothers as "non-collec­
table." The three men -had
purchased" gear on credit from
the Sea Chest in amounts total­
ling $139.86. The vote approved
the recommendation of the Sea
Chest Corp. manager that any
legal action against the estates
of thie departed brothers would
be "contrary to Union policy
and principles." The men were
Wilmer Clark, who died in last
January's Salem Maritime ex­
plosion; Harvey Guenther, who
died of a heart attack on the
Steel Fabi'icator March 25, and
Frank Barenthin, wlio perished
with 73 others last June when
a Venezuelan airliner crashed
into the Atlantic near New York.
He was headed for a berth on
the dredge Sandqaptain in Mara-
caibo.

leaking through a defective bulk­
head Into No. 8 tank. When the
loading of kerosene under pump
pressure into No. 8 tanks was be­
gun, it is certain that the turbu­
lence and agitation thqs caused
generated considerable gasoline va­
por in this tank ..."

Leak Discovered

He goes on to describe that the
leak was discovered and it was
decided not to load kerosene in
No. 8 port and starboard wing
tanks. "It is not clear whether this
decision included No. 8 -center
tank." At any rate, he goes on,
the explosion took place while the
kerosene was being pumped in "in
the completing stages of No. 7

across or tl^e first stage of No." 8
center."

He concludes, "the- most logical
conclusion as to the source of igni­
tion of this costly fire was static
discharge on or near the surface
of the kerosene, caused by splash­
ing and turbulence and the pres­
ence of small amounts of water left
over from butterworthing, with
gasoline vapor probably supplying
most of the original explosive
charge."

In the Esso Paterson case, which
was startingly similar, the same
tank blew up, loading the same
product, kerosene, into a tank
which had contained gasoline on
the last voyage. The tank had not
been gas freed.

INQUIRING SEAFARER
Question: What plans do you have for the holiday season?
J. Johnson, OS: 1 plan to ship

out now, and get a long run if
possible, but I
hope to be home
for the " Easter
holidays. It's
much easier to
get a ship during
the Christmas
season, but after
the holidays you
run into plenty
of competition.
^

Henry A. Simmons, night cook
and baker: A three or four-month
trip is what . I ,
have in mind. It's,
the best Christ­
mas present I
can think of. By
spending the.
holidays at sea
as 1 plan to do,

keep myself-
out of trouble
and besides I can
save myseff some money too.

. ' ii, i. ^
William Trachan, FWT: I just

took a job on a coastwise tanker
and I'm sailing
tomorrow, so that
will take care of
my holiday plans.
I've usually been
on ships oVer the
Jiolidays in the
past. As a mat­
ter of factit is
a rare thing for
me >tp-- stay home

at this time of the year.

William M. Drew. FWT: I will
probably take a ship out because

. I have no par-
ticular place to
go for the holi­
days. 1 have been
shipping over the
Christmas holi­
days pretty regu­
larly in recent
years, although
last year I spent
Christmas Day

at the SIU dinner in the Baltimore
hall. And 1 prefer to do it that
way.

"SJI t it
Jack W. Broad, night cook and

baker: I hope I'm not here for the
holidays.' I ex­
pect to ship out
very shortly, I
haven't been
home f 0 r^t h e
holiday sea's on
for about five
years now. It's
true it's a little
more work in the
galley but it
doesn't matter that much. This year
it looks as if it's back to sea for me.

Pickets Stymie
Coal SA/p Plans

Picket lines up and down
fleers' unions are continuing
American Coal Shipping Inc.
is having great difficulty mak­
ing headway in its plans to* op­
erate 30 Government-owned
Libertys on the coal run.

The Masters, Mates and Pilots
and the Marine Engineers Ben^
ficial Association, which are joint­
ly carrying out picket action in the
coal beef, have scored two suc­
cesses thus far. vln Savannah, they
have succeeded .in hanging up two
Liberty ships, the Harry L. Glucks-
^an and the Martha Berry, where
the local shipyard, has refused to
take the vessels until the picketing
dispute was.resolved.

In addition, the company has
run into heavy weather in trying
to obtain officers to man its ships
and has been running ads in daily
newspapers seeking to come up
with the necessary manpower.

Personnel Scarce
In light of the already-prevail­

ing' scarcity of engine room of­
ficers and additional breakouts of
Government tonnage for regular
liner operators, the officers' un­
ions are confident that ACS will
not be able to man its ships unless
it comes to terms.

In another, unrelated develop­
ment, the Interstate Commerce
Commission said it may act to pre­
vent ACS from acquiring owner­
ship of the Bull Steamship Com­
pany. The ICC said that the Chesa­
peake and Ohio Railroad, one of
the owners of ACS, would be in a
position of owming a steamship
company with coastwise rights.

When the two vessels hit Savan­
nah, company attorneys went to
court seeking an injunction against
the picket line. To their astonish­
ment the injunction petition was
dismissed by Judge Edwin A.
McWhorter who maintained that
there was no reason why peaceful
picketing could not continue.

A witness for the Savannah Ma­
chine and Foundry Company testi­
fied that his concern would not ac-

Frisco Reports
Shipping's Hot

SAN FRANCISCO—The shipping
rush has relaxed somewhat here,
though job activity is still, good.

According to the crystal ball, the
current two weeks should be a bit
slower than usual, with only one
payoff due. However, in-transit
ship activity should fill the gap and
there may be a few surprise callers
as well, Leon Johnson, SIU port
agent, said.

The Fairport (Waterman) was the
lone ship on the payoff roster last
period, and was ^signed on again
along with two other Waterman
wagons, the Wild Ranger and City
of Alma. ^

Ten in-transit vessels also made
an appearance, which helped things
along. These were the Seamar,
Portmar (Calmar); Ocean Eva
(Oceans Trans); Steel Age, Steel
Designer, Steel Voyager (Isthmian);
Fairland, Yaka (Waterman); Ames
Victory (Victory Carriers), and
Seamonitor (Excelsior).

Mm Mm

the coast manned by ship of-
to carry on the fight against'

The result is. that the company

cept the ships for repair. "If I
bring a 'hot ship' into ipy yards,"!
he said; "my men won't cross tha
picket line and we would be forced
to close down operations."

An ACS assistant operating man­
ager then told the local newspapers
that "Due to the decision rendered
against us we are powerless to
bring our ships to Savannah for
repairs or to pick up cargoes." He
added that he wasn't peeved at all
the unions in Savannah as the In­
ternational Longshoremen's Asso­
ciation was very cooperative.

Pickets Restrained
However, company injunction

moves scored in Charleston, South
Carolina, where two ships are be­
ing overhauled in the Charleston
drydock. A temporary restraining
order was issued against M:EBA-
MM&P pickets there.'

Two other ships are being pick­
eted in Baltimore, one at Mary­
land Drydock and the other at Key
Highway.

Although American Coal is
scheduled to get 30 vessels, no ad-
diUonal tonnage has yet been
brbken put for the company.

BernsteinTo
Bid On Last
US Mariner

WASHINGTON—Bids for the
last of the Government's 35 Mari­
ner ships, built during the Korean
war, will be opened by the Mari­
time Administration on December
28, paving the way for a new.,
transatlantic passenger service.

The ship, the 13,000-ton Badger
Mariner, was set aside by the MA
for Arnold Bernstein Line's . pro­
posed low-cost transatlantic pas­
senger service, but maritime law^
requii'es the MA to offer the ship
for public sale.

Conditions for the sale, ho^'ever,
specify that the Badger Mariner
must be converted into a combina­
tion passenger-cargo vessel to be
operated on the North Atlantic to,
ports in Belgium and the Nether­
lands. This is just the service
Bernstein proposes to offer. ,

One Bid Seen
It is unlikely that any other com­

pany could meet all. of the bid
specifications before the bids are"
opened.

Bernstein's plans, if carTied
through, would mean conversion:
of the Mariner to a ship which
would carry about 900 passengers
and a crew of about 300. One-
class accommodations and cafete­
ria-style feeding would provide the
low-Cost aspects of the service.

The MA's minimum price for the
vessel — $4,730,756 — is somewhat
below the prices obtained in the
sale of Mariners for dry cargo ves­
sels. But the MA pointed out that
the buyer would have to spend at
least $10 million for conversion
and could not obtain any revenue
for at least 11 months, the esti­
mated time of conversion.

The low bid for conversion has
come from Ingalls Shipbuilding in
Mississippi, which has asked $11.9
million.

What's more, thcf MA said, the
buyer would have to build a sister
ship which would also be restricted
to use in the North Atlantic pas­
senger service;'

'A,

js

'"I
: '4

J

-c I

>'41
••M

m
•>15'

.,41



Pace Sis SEAFARERS LOG Veeember 21, 195i

..

e;;S

-'f

I
1

•iy-
5ft

This trio of youngsters at the W, S. Daniel home In Savannah,
Ga., are (1 to r) Tonl Ann, 2; Walter Allen, who was one year
old Monday, and Tommy, who's 10.

"Brothers In arms" are Larry, 1, and
Mike, 6, sons of Robert G. Powell of
Pittsburgh, Pa.

The Achee girls of Covington, La., are newcomer Kyran Sue,
now 6 months but only 10 days old here, and grown-up Kathy
Eileen, iMt. Dad is Edward P. Achee.

With S I U
families

Here's E. J. Sander's "Little Nell" In
Long Beach, Miss., (left), and John
Livanos Jr. of Brooklyn, both V/i.

^ Big brother David F. "Butch" Sykes, now in US Air Force^
poses with sister Joyce Elaine, 12, and Michael, 10. Their
father is David F. M. Sykes of Mobile.

AH decked out In her Western riding Here's C. M. TannehlH's boys after a
putfit ds Gloria, .3V^, daughter of. good story. Mac, 3, and Tom, 6 months,
Floyd Crumpler of• MobUe. ^ i - ^.are fromHohston. -

j. r.: ii tiori:'ft i 5 it. f ^i•'v I - ;:r;vrii' \<

Wearing glasses—and liUle else, pert Dinah B. Ferreira catches up on her reading,
at her Flushing, NY, home. Dad is Seafarer Antonio Feireira, Even, at 10

^ months, Dinah never lidsses the LOG, '
. . iflih-); I r ''it!*!- !• •'••f '"". ''C-'iJ



December 21^ 19M

:-y,:

•"...V..''i'.'fe;

ShAFARERS LOG PMge 8^em

TOUR DOLLARS WORTH
Seafarer's Guide To Better Buying

By Sidney Margolitis

This Stack Better Not Blow

Don't Enter Revolving Credit Door
Families are now being subjected to unusually strong and often de-

centlve pressures to buy on credit not only the usual large items like
cairs and appliances, but even clothing and other goods usually bought
for cash. ,

The device being promoted to get people to buy most of their needs
except food on installment plans is a seductive but eventually costly
plan called revolving credit. It is also advertised by many stores as
"Permanent Budget Account," "Convenient Payment Account," "Re­
volving Charge Plan," etc. It is gradually, taking the place of the
traditional charge accounts. But it has one important difference.
Charge accounts entail no credit fee.- Revolvipg credit,often costs the
buyer an annual Interest rate of 18-22 per cent.

Revolving credit is actually the add-on installment plan iii new and
more respectable garb. Add-on installment accounts have long been
used by "easy-credit" stores tp get people to buy up to the last dollar
of their abilitj' to meet the,, payments. In the revolvjng-credit version,
the customer is granted a fixed amount of credit for a fixed monthly
payment. For example," the buyer
can open a $300 revolving credit
account by agreeing to pay $19 a
month. When he wishes to buy
more goods, he simply adds the
new purchases to his account. He
doesn't even need to make a down
payment on the ,new purchases.
Unless his new purchases exceed
the limit of his' account, he con- ,
tinues to make the same monthly ^
payment.

If the family with a $300 account
regularly is kept buying up to this
limit, it would add to its living ex­
penses a permanent new cost of
$54 to $66 a year. Actually this is
a useless expense, for the family
would- merely be paying a credit
fee on the smaller items it gener­
ally could manage to buy for cash
by doing its own budgeting. In­
stead of putting aside so much a
month for these items, the family
is paying the retailer a sizable fee for this budgetary discipline.

Significantly, the fee for revolving credit even among reputable re
tailers is much higher than the usual finance charge on hard goods.
In comparison, you can finance a car at a cost of 13-14 per cent of the
balance you owe each month. The finance charge on small items of
necessity is always larger than on sizable balances.

Mail Order Houses Pushing Plan
The country's largest mail-order houses and department stores cur­

rently are actively pushing revolving credit in addition to the regular
installment plans for appliances and other large items. One out of
every US families now has a credit account with Sears, Roebuck
of either the revolving-credit or regular-installment type, this firm
has revealed. Sears even is now establishing its own finance company
to handle this gigantic credit buying. Montgomery Ward and Spiegels
similarly are pushing revolving credit. One alert reader, Mr. J. K., of
St. Louis, reports to this department that recently he requested a Spie­
gel catalog. He got back a credit application blank and a letter stating
that "the limited supply (of catalogs) is reserved for those who accept
our invitation to open a Spiegel Account." (But Mr. J. K. was alert to
the high cost of credit accounts and dodged the invite.)

The methods employed even by usually careful and reputable retail­
ers to promote revolving credit are high pressure to the point of being
actually deceptive. One of the biggest mail-order houses advertises
"Make Your Income Buy More." The fact is, the cost of the finance
charge on the revolving credit plan means the customer eventually
must buy less.

Tied Up To One Store
Chief purpose of the big mail-order houses and department stores,

in promoting revolving credit, is to tie you to them. But in the hands
of unscrupulous stores, add-on sales can become an outright racket.
Dr. Persia Campbell, New York State. Consumer Counsel, has warned
consumers there that if an additional purchase is added to a conditional
sales contract, the original goods may be repossessed as well as the
second purchase, even though the purchaser has paid enough to coyer
the cost of the original goods. In a typical case, a family buys a tele­
vision set, makes all payments except the last $50, then buys a vacuum
cleaner. This is added to the balance outstanding on the television.
If the family falls behind in payments, not only the cleaner but the TV
set can be repossessed. This is legal because the payments had been
applied partially to both items.

Our Advice:
—Avoid all add-on plans, whether the dangerous contract add-ons of

fringe credit stores, or the merely expensive revolving-credit plans of
the larger retailers,

—If you have not been able to put aside money for periods of peak
need, you can borrow from a credit union or commercial bank at less
cost than revolving-credit plans charge. Significantly, in this period
of rising finance charges, credit unions have not raised loan rates, and
in fact, are limited to i true rate of 12 per cent a year. Some of the
largest credit unions charge as little as 6, 7 and 8 per cent. The aver­
age for all credit unions is about 10 per cent. Commercial banks have
teinded to tighten up a little on personal loans because of the generally,
tight money situation. But most still make loans to regularly-employed
wage-earners with good credit standing at a true rate of 12 per cent
a year, In a few areas where banks cut rates, such as Washington, QC,
Delaware, New York City and some parts of Pennsylvania, their rates
have been upped but are still under 12 per cent.

Huge tower is shown on the 21 st Street Bull Line dock before ,
boing loaded aboard the Frances for shipment to a Puerto
Rican oil refinery.

Many Applying For
1957 Srholarships

Some 30 Seafarers and children of Seafarers have taken
preliminary steps toward applying for the five Seafarers
Scholarships which will be awarded in 1957, the Seafearers
Welfare Plan has reported.

Of these, two Seafarers and
three childrjen of Seafarers
have already completed all the re­
quirements and are now eligible
to take the standard College En­
trance Examination Board tests.
The other preliminary applications
are now being processed.

In previous years, completion of
an application made a scholarship
candidate eligible for a specific En­
trance Board examination. This
year.the Welfare Plan is using a
somewhat different application
form which makes candidates eligi­
ble to take any of the examinations
—either January 12, February 16
or March 16. There is also an ex­
amination on May 18 but this is so
close to the award date that the
results might not be available
when the scholarships are award­
ed. The exams are given in all
major cities 6f the US and over­
seas possessions.

Candidates for the scholarships,
Ivhich are worth $6,000 each, are
required to show three years on
SIU ships—either their own sea-

time or their father's. They should
be in the upper third of their high
school graduating class. They
must submit a transcript of their
high school record plus three let­
ters of reference, including one
from their high school principal.

Further information can be ob­
tained from the Seafarers Welfare
Plan, 11 Broadway, New York City.

$350 Logs
Wiped Out
At Payoff

NEW YORK—The Irritation disi
played by the captain of the
Queenston Heights when his ship
was ordered to turn around after
it got four hours out was nothing
compared to how he felt after the
ship paid off here.

SIU Assistant Secretary-Treas4
urer Claude Simmons reported the
incident as "one for the books,"
once the skipper was straightened
out.

The tanker's master had logged
two Seafarers a penalty of $350 for
the fuel and water he claimed he
used when the ship was ordered
to return to Manila to pick up the
two men he had left behind. The
entire crew was eventually flown
back here after shuttling between
the Persian Gulf and the Far East
for a year.

SIU officials who covered the
payoff knocked out the logs, and
also collected all the disputed
overtime from the ship. "It's easy
to see why all hands were happy
except the skipper," Simmons
added.

Another welcome note is the
current upward spurt in shipping.
Jobs for key ratings are again
hanging on the board for several
hours with no takers. This port
also benefitted somewhat from the
job boom in Philadelphia, where
replacements were needed for
several tankers that paid off from
12-13 month trips.

A total of 19 ships were paid off,
five signed on and 14 were seiwiced
in transit here during the last two
weeks.

L-ermKnowi.
-ro-MBulS

AMONG OUR AFFILIATES

Fair Shipping
Marks Tampa

TAMPA—Fair shipping is in pros­
pect here for the holiday period. Job
activity is currently what might be
described as "sluggish," but still
no one on the beach need wait too
long to get out.

There were no payoffs or sign-
ons during th^ last period. Port
Agent Tom Banning reported, so
the six Ip-transit vessels in port
had to carry things along by them­
selves.

'These ships were the Beaure­
gard, Chickasaw (Pan Atlantic); La
Salle (Waterman); Longview Vic­
tory (Victory Carriers); Del Campo
.(Mississippi), and Council Grove
(CltiM Service). All of them were
in good shape.

The Sailors Union of the Pacific
contracted fleet will be increased
by seven Mariner-type ships as the
result of recent successful bidding
by three SUP-contracted com­
panies. The three companies whose
bids were accepted by the Mari­
time Administration are Pacific
Far East Lines, American Presi­
dent Lines and States Steamship
Company. Award of the seven
Mariners leaves only one of these
speedy cargo carriers still in the
former 35-Mariner Government
reserve fleet. This is the ship ear­
marked for the Arnold Bernstein
Lines for conversion into a low-
cost transatlantic passenger ship.
It is now up for sale, with Bern­
stein likely to be the sole bidder,

i it it
A heavy vote is being forecast

in the Brotherhood of Marine Engi­
neers referendum which got under
way November 1 and will continue
until December 31, The engineers
are voting on two constitutioifal
amendments and on assessments to
establish a BME strike fund and a
new organizational and legislative
fund.

A complete financial report on
its various welfare funds during
its last fiscal year has recently been
published by the Marine Cooks and
Steward Union.. Designed to pro­
vide a clear-cut picture of financial
operations for all members and

anyone else interested, the report
details stock and bond investments
as well as the assets and liabilities
of the various funds. Covered in
tl-e report are the union's welfare
plan, vacation fund, training aiid
recreation plan, and pension fund.

4^ 4-
.The recently concluded general

election of the SIU Canadian Dis­
trict has resulted in a landslide
vote of confidence for the present
otficials, according to the report
of the rank-and-file membership
committee on the election. Re­
elected to the post, of secretary-
treasurer of the district was Leon­
ard J. McLaughlin with 1.002 votes.

4" 4 3»
Members of the Atlantic Fisher­

men's Union have joined with other
New England fishermen in assail­
ing President Eisenhower's refusal
to raise import duties on fillets of
groundfish. The imports come
mainly from Canada, Iceland and
Norway.

Speaking for the AFU. secre-
tary-treasiu-er Victor Turpin de­
clared in New Bedford that "it is
ridiculous to suppose that Canada
and Newfoundland are going Com­
munistic just because we don't take
all their fish."

Pi-esident Eisenhower's state­
ment said that the economic
strength of those nations exporting
fish to the US was "of strategic im­
portance to us in the struggle
against world communism."

-

' • -it
:• ijl

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•1

1

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1

I



Pa«:e Eight SEAFARERS LOG December 21, 1956

i
V '

i

Liquified natural gas will be carried in "thermos bottles" sim­
ilar to those shown above on barges of Coyle Lines which
pioneered in transportation of hot liquid sulphur. Successful
use of this technique has spurred development of similar tech­
niques for transporting other products in liquid form.

New Tankship Trade:
Natural Gas Cargo

A new kind of tanker run may be in the offing for Seafarers,
this one carrying liquified natural gas instead of oil cargoes.

With the transportation of hot liquid sulphur and other
chemicals already a reality,
the maritime industry is now
making plans for transporting
the natural gas in liquid form for
heating, cooking and industrial
uses.

The gas would be carried in
tanks and in above-decks "thermos
bottles." The Coast Guard already
has before it a tentative safety
code for the transportation of LNG
at atmospheric temperatures. Ap­
proval of this code would pave the
way for the actual construction of
special tankers and LNG contain­
ers.

Under present plans, LNG trans­
portation would first be employed
on the Mississippi River, where the
transportation of hot liquid sulphur
was first tried. Later the tech-

See $5,000
In Hospital
Bonus Pay

SIU Welfare Services repre­
sentatives this week are continuing
an SIU tradition by distributing
Christmas bonuses to hospitalized
Seafarers.

Any Seafarer who was a hospital
in-patient more than one day in the
period covered is eligible for the
$25 bonus, which was recently
authorized by trustees of the Sea­
farers Welfare Plan.

The $25 holiday payment is in
addition to the regular $21 weekly
hospital benefit.

In addition, all Seafarers on the
disability benefits list will get a $25
bonus. This is being forwarded to
them along with their regular $150
monthly check covering their $35
weekly SIU disability benefit.

The bonus payments, which have
become a holiday tradition since,
the Welfare Plan began in 1950,
have averaged around $5,000 in
previous years.

The additional cash enables the
men to do a little holiday shop­
ping—^for themselves, friends or
families—without digging into
their regular, benefits.

nique would be extended to deep
water trade.

At present, millions of cubic feet
of natural gas are being burned
off in the oil-rich fields of the Mid­
dle East and elsewhere because of
the lack of suitable transportation
facilities.

The dangers attending LNG
transportation, however, have been
one of the factors standing in the
way of reaching this goal. But
now, according to the American
Petroleum Institute, the safety
code would permit LNG to be
transported by water without creat­
ing safety hazards "in excess of
those normally encountered in the
water movement of grade *A' in­
flammable liquids or liquified pet­
roleum gases under pressure."

Gas Must Be Cooled
In one respect, "thermos bottle"

transportation of -LNG would dif­
fer from the "thermos bottle"
transportation of liquid sulphur.
In order to be carried in liquid
form, sulphur must be kept at a
temperature of 290 degrees. Na­
tural gas must be cooled to minus
260 degrees in order to liquify.

The transportation of the hot
liquid sulphur has been accomp­
lished by building tanks insulated
with foam glass and given an ad­
ditional boost with heating coils.
These tanks, mounted on barges,
are then towed up the Mississippi
by towboats manned by members
of the SlU-affiliated Marine Allied
Workers.

Immediate Handling
In the first such run about a year

and a half ago (LOG, June 24,1955)
one of these towboats pushed two
barges 1,100 miles up the river
from New Orleans to St. Louis in
5^/2 days, and permitted the sul­
phur to be discharged in liquid
form ready for immediate process­
ing.

November 28 Through December 11

Registered
Port

Boston
Now York
Philadelphia
Baltimore
Norfolk If.
Savannah • • •«

Seattle

Total ^27

Deck
A

Deck
B

Eng. En^g. Stew.
A

Stew..
B

TotlU Total
B

11 13 8 8 4 9 23 26
.95 17 73 14 63 10 231 41
45 6 24 6 29 8 98 20
44 18 34 20 26 14 104 52
23 9 19 19 15 13 57 41
16 2 10 5 6 2 32 9

0 2 2 9 4 20 6
32 7 25 12 • 15 - 10 72 29
66 21 38 17 54 22 158 60
12 11 13 12 8 8 33 31
33 28 30 27 17 9 80 64
14 4 - 5 •5 "5 2 . - 24 11
21 3 14 14 24 8 89 25
6 7. 6 6 . 7 3 19 16

Deck Deck Eng. Eng. . Stew Stew. Total Total
A B A B A B ' ' A ' B

427 - 146 301 167 282 118 1010 431
Shipped

Total
Reg.
49
272
118
156
98
41
26
101
218
64
144
35
84
35

Total
Reg.

1441

Port Deck Deck Deck Bng. Eng. Stew, Stew. Stew. ToUl Total . Total rotal
A B C A B- A B C A B C Ship

Boston ...;. 2 4 0 1 4 3 0 0 1 3 8 4 15
New York ..... 91 11 12 67 12 32 73 17 9 231 40 53 324
Philadelphia 8 24 32 ' 11 27 15 7 28 88 26 79 193
Baltimore 20 18 55 15 24 30 23 ' ' 11 144 58 53 255
Norfolk 7 6. 7 7 5 7 6 3 24 20 14 58
Savannah 3 0 9 2 0 3 2 1 22 7 1 30
Tampa 1 2 1 2 3 5 3 3 9 6 8 23
Mobile 2 0 26 11 2 21 13 6 72 26 8 106
New Orleans 58 11 4 35 20 5 52 27 3 145 58 12 215
Lake Charles ..... 16 11 5 10 10 9 7 9 8 • 33 30 20 83
Houston 35 20 2 24 11 15 14 5 9 73 36 26 135
Wilmington 5 9 7 5 7 4 3 1 23 13 17 53
San Francisco 10 12 8 9 9 10 6 2 33 25 23 81
Seattle 7 14 7 12 11 9 1 10 30 20. 35 85

Deck Deck Deck Eng. Eng. Eng. stew. stew stew. Total Total Total Total
A B C A B

Eng.
A B C A B C Ship.

Total 391 120 108 289 131 152 250 122 93 930 373 353 1656

USPHS Has Last
Say On Duty Slip

Under the S'lU contract, US
Public Health Service doctors
have the final say on whether
or not a man is fit for duty. If
there is any question about
your fitness to sail, check with
the nearest USPHS hospital or
out-patient clinic for a ruling.

SEAFARERS IN ACTION
Fox, W. Adams, J. D. Brock and
R. M. Hampshire held the meeting
jobs.

4" t 4»
You can take the patrolmen's

word for it that they've seldom had
a cleaner, more orderly payoff
than the one on the Steel Vendor
in New York this past week. A
topnotch gang on board her
brought her in without any loose
ends, they reported. Delegates
aboard the Vendor were Henry
Faile, ship's delegate; H. Miller,
deck; Lawrence McMillin, engine,
and Ellott Gorin, steward.

SIU shipping burst over the 1,600-job mark last period for the first time in three years,
dowever, the total of 1,656 jobs dispatched was still 350 jobs short of the December, 1953,
tiigh. Registration was 1,441.

The three-year high mark
may be a prelude to even
leavier job activity in the cur­
rent period, due to the normal
heavy job turnover at Christmas
plus the general prosperity of US
shipping at this time. The addi­
tional ship breakouts in prospect
mean more jobs all around in the
coming weeks and months.

Eight SIU ports shared in the
increase over the .previous period,
especially New Orleans and Balti­
more which both recovered sub­
stantially. New York, Philadel­
phia, Savannah, Mobile, Lake
Charles and Houston also showed
gains.

West Coast Dips
On the other side of the ledger,

all three West Coast ports de­
clined, along with Boston, Norfolk
and Tampa. Norfolk's hectic ac­
tivity has simmered down some­
what because its berthing spaces
for ships are jammed up. The
West Coast area is still relatively
busy, despite the drop, .
"The heavy .shipping for the Dis­

trict inevitably brought with it a
big demand for class C seamen,
who have no seniority in the SIU,
when A and B men passed up the
jobs or were unavailable where
needed. But the number of class
C men shipped during the period
was by no means a record.

This period's figures also show
that the lag between supply and
demand is still greatest in the en­
gine department.

Overall, class A accounted for 56
percent of the total shipping, class
B for 23 percent and class C for
the remainder. The class B por­
tion, percentagewise, was the low­
est since the SIU seniority hiring
system got underway early in 1955.

The following is the forecast
port by port ; ^

Boston: Uncertain . . . New
York: Good . . . Philadelphia:
Good . .. Baltimore: Good ... Nor­
folk: Good . . . Savannah: Fair . . .
Tampa: Fair . . . Mobile Good . . .
New Orleans Good; back to normal

Lake Charles: Good . . . Hous­
ton Good ... Wilmington: Fair . . .
San Francisco; Good . . . Seattle:
Good; short on men.

If you can cook beef and you can
settle a beef you've got it made.

At least that's
the story on
the Queenstown
Heights, where
Seafarer Eugene
Ray is the pride
of the ship. He
earned himself a
vote of confi­
dence and thanks
for his "outstand­
ing job as ship's

delegate along with is culinary
art." What more could a crew
ask?

4" l" 4> ,
Ship's delegate James J. Lubeny

on the Rebecca can't cook, but he's
got what it takes to make a good
delegate just the same. It was
noted that Lubeny had done a good
job all trip in the delegate's spot.

4» 4" t
No names were mentioned unfor­

tunately, but the following ships
*are being satisfactorily—if anony­

mously—fed. The Chilore gang ap­
proved a special vote of thanks for
the chief cook and the crew mess-
man, while the Robin Goodfellow
thought the night cook and baker
deserved particular mention for his
work throughout the entire voyage.
On the Topa Topa it was pizza pie
which brought plaudits to the chief
cook, while the Steel Traveler
just said the food and service was
excellent" and let it go at that.

4> 4 4*
Seafarers who participated as

meeting officers at the November
14 membership
meeting included
S..Cieslak and R.
Lee in Boston; M.^
Kleiber in Phila-'
delphia; M. Hauf
in Baltimore; J.
H. Thompson in
Mobile and K. O.
Sanford in Lake
Charles. Houston
had D. Jones and

H. Hutcherson on the dais while
on the West Coast Seafarers P.

Brock
•iisssi

Beef On Age
Halts Ri Tugs

BOSTON —The only item of
ifaaritime labor interest in the New
England area this period concerns
the tugboat strike in Rhode Island,
which still remains unsettled.

Employees of the Providence
Steam Boat Company are disputing
the right of the company to deter­
mine when a worker who has
reached age 65 and who has been
employed 20 years should retire.
The company is the port's only
towing firm. Meetings to settle the
dispute have so far been unsuccess­
ful.

Meanwhile, shipping here ha"s
slowed down again and the outlook
is still uncertain, according to Port
Agent James Sheehan.

Despite the payoff and sign-on
of two ships, the Council Grove
(Cities Service) and the Big Bend
(American Tramp Shipping), few
replacements were called. In tran­
sit were the • Robin Kirk (Seas
Shipping) and the Bents Fort
(Cities Service).

Only outstanding beef on any of
them was a delayed sailing beef on
the Council Grove, which is still
pending. <



December JSl^ 1956
SEAFARERS LOG Peffe Nine

US Tramps 'Dying On
Vine,' Morse Declares

WASHINGTON—^While defending his agency's ship trans­
fer policy, Maritime Administrator Clarence G. Morse has
admitted that the US merchant marine is doing only "fairly
well" in the tanker field, is-^-^
"dying on th^ vine" in the
tramp field, and is "virtually
non-existent" in the bulk ore area.

At the same time, Morse de­
clared that Congress and the mari­
time Industry must increase the
tanker, tramp and ore-carrying
fleet to provide jobs for skilled
men displaced by the construction
of giant-sized vessels like super­
tankers. The supertankers carry
far less men than the total of the
ships they are replacing.

Addressing the National Defense
Transportation Association, Morse
cited only the liner trades as doing
well "within the 'normal* frame­
work of peacetime economy and
business activity."

In defense of the transfer pol­
icy, Morse said that US controls
still make the vessels available for
defense mobilization. Also, he
said, the policy protects US inter­
ests in relation to trade with Iron
Curtain are§s, and spurs construc­
tion in US shipyards of new, big­
ger and faster ships for the Amer-
Icah-flag fleet. The SIU and other
maritime unions have opposed the
transfer policy as actually creating
new problems of cut-rate competi­
tion for US flag ships.

At present, Morse said, 58 ships
are either being built, or are on
order, including ships for several
major shipping companies who
have agreed to replace their entire
fleets through construction or con­
version.

Morse said that 24 tankers are
now being built or on order for
private operators; 12 tankers are
being converted by private opera­
tors to Increase their speed and
capacity, and 7 tankers are being
built for the Government. The
last group includes the prototype
of a 20-knot national defense tank­
er which, Morse said, could sail in­
dependent of convoys.

In addition, Morse said, the
transfers of older tonnage have
made it possible for the MA to ap­
prove "in principle" the construc­

tion of 45 more tankers, including
supertankers of up to 100,000 dead­
weight tons. He conceded that this
program would result In loss of
jobs for large numbers of Amer­
ican seamen because of the' trans­
fers involved.

However, hampering all ship
construction, Morse said, is the
shortage of suitable steel which is
causing a growing backlog of
orders in the yards.

Lk. Charles
Unions Back
IBL On Beef

LAKE CHARLES —Picketing at
the freight docks by the AFL-CIO
International Brotherhood of Long­
shoremen was curbed by a court
order last week; Meanwhile, mem­
bers of the AFL-ousted old ILA are
working the docks here.

The IBL hassle with the steve­
dores led to a lockout by the ship­
pers, after which an IBL picket-
line was posted on the docks. The
employers next got an injunction
and restraining order against pick­
eting. It now limits the IBL to
three pickets at the dock gates.
All local labor groups are sup­
porting the IBL beef.

Shipping Gains'^
Shipping really picked up here

during the past two weeks. Houston
had to be called to handle the
overflow of job calls which couldn't
be handled locally, according to
Port Agent Leroy Clarke.

Ten Cities Service tankers put
in an appearance, including the
new supertanker Cities Service
Norfolk on her maiden voyage.
In addition, the Robin Tuxford
(Seas Shipping) arrived for payoff,
and the William Carruth (Trans-
fuel), Sweetwater (Metro), Big
Bend (American Tramp Shipping)
aiid Ivy (Colonial) were in transit.

A three-week South American
tour by AFL-CIO leaders returned
with encouraging news that "Gov­
ernment and trade union leaders
are fully aware" of the need to
prevent Communist or Fascist dic­
tatorships from taking over, AFL-
CIO President George Meany re­
ported. The mission visited Brazil,
Uruguay, Argentina, Peru and
Panama and discussed US labor
policy with local trade unionists.

.
Two unions in the afrcraft in­

dustry, the International Associa­
tion of Machinists and the United
Auto Workers, have formed a joint
committee to direct their efforts
in the field. The aircraft industry
plus allied industries such as
guided missiles and other defense
work, has become one of the na­
tion's largest employer groups. The
joint committee will coordinate
organizing in non-union sections of
the industry. '

3; 4) 4)
New merger talk comes from

two unions in the shoe industry,
the United Shoe Workers and the
Boot and Shoe Workers. Their coih-
bined memberships are estimated
at 100,000. A unity committee has
been set up to work out details.

Long distance operators and
other employees of the Bell System
in 42 states are in process of voting
on new agreements providing in­
creases of $2 to $5 weekly. The
contracts were negotiated by the
Communications Workers of
America.

4) 4" 4l'
Two more Miami Beach hotels

have signed union contracts in the
long-term battle of the Hotel and
Restaurant Employees Union to
organize that city's resort spots.
The new signers are the Empress,
one of the original group of struck
hotels, and the American, the new­
est hotel in the city. Fourteen
Miami Beach hotels are now signed
up, three of them among the group
originally struck by the union last
year.

4> 4i' 4)
Higher interest rates on home

mortgages which are government-
insured by the Federal Housing
Authority have been attacked by,
Harry C. Bates, chairman of the
AFL - CIO Housing Committee.
Bates declared the move would
force more workers' families out
of the housing market. The effec­
tive rate on FHA loans is now 5^
percent.



Pact TeA SEAFARERS LOU Diwem^eitLgl, i9M

HOW AMERICAN ONIONS SERVE
EVERY AMERICAN

In many American cities, even
some of the largest, it is not un­
common to. find one publisher
owning all of the city's daily
newspapers and even the local
TV channel and radio stations as
well. The result is that on many
controversial issues, the citizens
are bombarded with one point of
view.

American unions help counter
this trend to news monopoly
through the labor press, and
unioii-sponsored news broadcasts
to promote full and free discus­
sion of issues.

Dock Future Fogged;
Still No ILA Pact

With leaders of the International Longshoremen's Asso­
ciation still insistent on making .coastwide bargaining their
No. 1 contract demand, it appears unlikely now that the
ILA's contract differences with

'ifc

the New York shippers will be
resolved in the near future.

The ILA has resumed contract
negotiations. But at the same
time it announced that it will ap­
peal against demanding coastwise
bargaining slapped on it by a Ted-
eral Court last week.

Because of the Christmas court
recess, a hearing on the appeal
could not be heard before January
7, only 26 days before expiration
of the no-strike injunction.

Contract negotiations with the
shippers have made no progress as

P-A Expansion
Plans Advance

WASHINGTON —Authority for
the Pan-Atlantic Steamship Corpo­
ration to engage in permanent
intercoastal service on an expanded
basis has been recommended by
an examiner for the Interstate

I .Commerce Commission.
Up until now Pan-Atlantic has

been restricted to temporary ser­
vice between California and Phila­
delphia, but has not been permitted
to operate in ports further north
on either coast. The examiner's
recommendation would extend the
company's operation to ports in
Washington and Oregon on the
West Coast and Massachusetts,
New York, Delaware and Connecti­
cut on the Atlan'ic seaboard.

Ttie intercoastal route sought
by Pan-Atlanfc is the same as
that operated by the Waterman
Steamship Corporation before Wa­
terman discontinued the service.
Both Pan-Atlantic and Waterman
ai-e owned by McLean Industries
of Mobile.

In addition, the examiner recom­
mended approval of Pan-Atlantic's

"application to conduct a passenger
gervice in the coastwise and inter­
coastal trade except between Bal-

- tlmore, Md., and Norfoljt aiid. New­
port News,. Va^

a result of the ILA's putting the
coastwise bargaining demand ahead
of all demands on pork chop issues
for the longshoremen.

The original breakdown of ne­
gotiations, over the coastwide bar­
gaining issue, led to the ILA's nine-
day strike which tied up some 300
ships in Atlantic and Gulf coast
ports. This was ended by a 10-day
Government injunction which sent
the men back to work on Novem­
ber 25. The injunction was later
extended to the full 80 days pro­
vided for in the Taft-Hartley law.

Temporary Order
Meanwhile, the NLRB had issued

a temporary order restraining the
IL.4 from demanding coastwide
bargaining. This is the order which
has now been made an injunction
by the Federal Court and which
the ILA is appealing.

It is generally agreed that the
ILA has made coastwide bargain­
ing its No. 1 demand in an attempt
to prevent the International Broth­
erhood of Longshoremen from pe­
titioning for another New York
waterfront election in 1958.

Turned Down OT?
Don't Beef On $$

Headquarters wishes to re­
mind Seaf -rers that men who
are choosy about working cer­
tain overtime cannot expect an
equal number of OT hours with
the rest of their department.
In some crews men have been
turning down unpleasant OT
jobs and then demanding to
come up to equal overtime when
the easier jobs come along.
This practice is unfair lo Sea­
farers who take OT jobs as
they come.

The general objective is to
equalize OT as much as possible
but if a man refuses disagree­
able jobs there is no require­
ment that when an easier job
comes along he can make up the
overtime he turned down be­
fore.

DEL MONTE (Mlu.), AUB. 1«—
Chairman, K. Winilay; Saeratary, O.
Payna. Shortage of storei taken cara
of at New Orleans. Few houra dla-
puted overtime.

FLORIDA STATE (Ponca Cement),
Oct. 15—Chairman, R. O'Dowd; Secre­
tary, D. Wagner. Disputed overtime
settled. Ship's fund explained. Dis­
cussed payoff in Ponce and six mos.
transportation clause. Ship's fund
$2.96. Some disputed overtime. Crew
to contribute $1 eaeh to increase
ship's fund. Report accepted. Notice
of linen change to be posted because
of limited supply. Fresh fruit to be
kept In lee box. New outlet needed
in messhall and timer for washing
machine.

STEEL KING (Isthmian), Oct..Je—
Chairman, D. Clausten; Secretary, P.
Harayo. Repair list submitted. Need
new agitator for washing ifiachine.
Ship's fund S36.29. Ship's delegate to
handle business with patrolman or
agent. Delegate to see patrolman
about meat supply now on ship
marked "for ship only."

DEL CAMPO (Miss.), Sept. *—Chair­
man, D. Collins; Secretary, C. Gham.
Two men missed ship In Houston—
fired in N.O. Ship's fund S20. One
man hospitalized In Galveston. Report
accepted. Inquire about whereabouts
of previous ship's fund. Discussion on
steward disrupting entire ship.

SEATRAIN SAVANNAH (Seatrain),
Oct. 29—Chairman, (none); Secretary
(none). Ship's fund $30.28. Report
accepted, fleroiiiinetiri that television
be' sold for $20. Steward to account
for his conduct and actions in N.O.,
using abusive and threatening lan­
guage to shipmates. Properly repri­
manded—to be brought to attention
of headquarters. Short stores In Sa­
vannah.

MICHAEL (J. M. Carras), Oct. 28—
Chairman, A. Smith; Secretary, J.
Griffith. Three men missed ship;
turned in to patrolman at payoff. Dis­
cussion on new health centers of SIU.
Vote of thanks to headquarters and
welfare trustees for health program.
Vote of thanks to negotiating com­
mittee in obtaining pay raises, over­
time and welfare benefits. Ship to be
fumigated for roaches. Mess deck to
be painted. Repair list to be sub­
mitted. New mattress to be ordered.

HURRICANE (Waterman), Oct. 28—
Chairman, R. Stewart; Secretary, D.
Birmingham. Letter from headquar­
ters regarding opening of books to
men who qualify. Ship's fund $16.49.
One man left in Cadiz, Spain. Discus­
sion on cleanliness. Transportation
agreement explained to crew. Need
new locks.

ROBIN GRAY (Saas), Oct. 21—Chair­
man, C. Allan; Saeratary, S. Wells.
Three men hospitalized—one man
man walked off ship. Some disputed
overtime. Need new washing machine.
New delegate elected. Chairs to be
returned to messhall after using.

WILD RANGER (Waterman), Oct. 21
—Chairman, G. Shartel; Secretary, D.
Ruddy. Ship's fund $24.38. Union
meeting to be held monthly instead
of bi-monthly, at 5 or 7 PM the first
Monday of month. New delegate
elected. Laundry to be kept clean.

OCEAN ULLA (Maritime Overseas),
Sept. 29—Chairman, W. Browning;
Secretary, P. Livingston. New dele­
gate elected. Check old repair list
made up from previous voyage. Cap­
tain to check water situation and re­
port findings to headquarters.

BARBARA FRIETCHIE (Liberty),
Aug. 26—Chairman, T. FInnerty; Sec­
retary, O. Payne. New secretary-re­
porter elected. All repairs completed
except lockers. One man fouled up.
Proper attire to be worn in messhall.
Remove soap from showers. Iron and
board purchased. Lockers to be fixed.
All hands cautioned not to foul up.
Ail beefs to be taken to delegate.
Steward department given vote of
thanks.

GOVERNMENT CAMP (Cities Serv­
ice), Sept. 16—Chairman, E. Morris;
Secretary, C. Hill. New delegate
elected. Report accepted. Report on
safety precautions. Engine room doors
to be closed more quietly. Discussion
on ship's fund to purchase TV set.

EMILIA (BuR), Sept. 15—Chairman,
L. Splvey; Secretary, C. Stansbury.
Repairs completed. Awning on fan-
tall completed. Ship's fund $40.
Chow beefs to be settled with patrol­
man at next payoff. Linen to be re­
placed. Toaster needs, repairing, or

• replacing.

OCEAN JOYCE (Maritime), Sept. 22
—Chelrman, R. Evans; Secretary, T.
Lewis. Repair list made up. Soma
logs—will endeavor to have them lift­
ed Some disputed overtime. One man
hospitalized in Algiers—headqquarters
notified. One man missed ship. Two
hours disputed overtime—to be taken
off payroll. Reports accepted. Mess-
man thanked crew for cooperation
while short-handed. Slop chest to be
opened tomorrow.

DEL SUD (Miss.), Sept. 23—Chair­
man, P. Valentine; Secretary, J,
Stephens. Few members missed ship
in New Orleans due to sickness in
family. No funds to purchase new
speaker for movie projector. Beer, to
be curtailed if it interferes with work.
One brother's father died while in
Houston. Total expenditure for picnic
$1334.19, Ship's fund $12.52. Pools
ifrotn voyage $93. Grand. totsil jpiaja.;.

. Ship's fund $11. Report' accepted.
Crew expresses appreciation for in­
augural of SIU health centers. New
officers elected. Cups to be returned
to pantry. To make collection for
hi-fi speaker for movie projector.

CHILORE (Ore), Sept. 22—Chairman,
T. Yeblonsky; Secretary, J. Springer.
Ship's fund $28.75. Report accepted.
Floral wreath sent to chief mate's
wife who passed away. -Repair list to
be drawn up and action to be taken
before ship goes into shipyard. Laun­
dry to be kept cleaner. More bread
to be put out for nite lunch.

JOSE MARTI (New England Ind.),
Sept. 8—Chairman, L. lovino; Secre­
tary, L. Ramirez. Several beefs con­
cerning working conditions, stores,
etc., to be referred to patrolman. Two -
men paid off sick in Bremerhaven; re­
placed by two NMU men. Ship's fund
returned to donors. Some disputed
overtime. Food not up to par. Crew
constantly complaining.

MANKATO VICTORY (Victory),
Sept. 23—Chairman, C. Aycock; Secre­
tary, C. Rice. One man hospitalized
in Rotterdam. Little trouble with
chief mate. Few hours disputed over­
time. Company to put yale locks on
crew quarters and foc'sles. Discus­
sion on carrying passengers Into ship's
hospital; slow mail delivery; repairs
that can be accomplished at sea.

be kept clean. Proper attire in masp-
room. •

Members in need of new mattresses
to notify steward who will order same.
Foc'sles to be cleaned before leav­
ing ship. Report accepted. Mure
quiet urged in passageways during
early morning hours. Men to clean
up after using cups and dishes at
night. Repair lists to be drawn up.

DEL CAMPO (Miss.), Sept. 16 —
Chairman, P. TaurasI; Secretary, D.
Albright. Ship's fund $16.45. Spent
$3..55 for phone and magazines for
hospital patient. Toilet to be re­
paired. Use any shower available.
One table to be designated for watch
in messhall.

MONTEBELLO HILLS (Western
Tankers), Sept. 23—Chairman, P.
McKroth; Secretary, B. Lembs. Re­
ceived' innerspring mattresses, awn­
ings and travelers checks after nine
months. Six members missed ship
in Singapore. Ship's fund 24.000 yen.
New delegate elected. Washing ma­
chine to be fixed. Bathrooms to be
painted and quarters sougeed. Gear
for men missing ship to' be put
ashore in Singapore. Keep messroom
clean as possible.

JEAN LAFITTB (Waterman), Sept.
23—Chairman, J. Goude;. Secretary, J.
Thomas. Ship's fund $17. Reports ac­
cepted. Discussion on men donating
$1.00 deposit for keys. American
money not put out before arrival In
Korea.

OCEAN NIMET (Ocean Trans.),
Sept. 2—Chairman, P. Frango; Secre­
tary, W. Kenny. Repairs completed.
Needs vents over messrooms. Crew
to donate 50c each for ship's mail
and incidentals. Lockers in wiper's
room to be replaced. ' Each 9«part-
ment to alternate In cleaning recrea­
tion room.

KATHRYN (Bull), Oct. 22—Chair-
man, P. Bush; Secretary, M. Zelonka.
Food should be Improved. Library
should be kept orderly. Too much
heat in New ITork—to see engineer
about this.

SEATRAIN GEORGIA (Seatrain),
Oct. 21^halrman, W. Jones; Secre­
tary, A. Lambert. Sailed short one
man. New delegate elected. $4 lodg­
ing coming from drydock. Ship's fund
S17.02. Four hours disputed overtime.
Report accepted. .Water is rusty. Per­
sonal mall not to be opened by any­
one except addressee. Letter to be
written to company requesting ship
to get In port Tuesday. Christmas
Day. OS taken off ship In New York
—Welfare department to handle. Vote
of thanks to steward department.

ATLANTIC TRANSPORTER (Pan
Oceanic), Oct. 21—Chalrman;.S. Storey;
Secretary, W. Walsh. New delegate
elected. Repair list to be submitted
to delegate. Steam pipes under cof­
fee urn to be insulated. Vote of
thanks to steward department.

JOHN B. KULUKUNDIS (Martis),
Sept. 23—Chairman, L. Paradise; Sec­
retary, M. HItcheck. All foc'sles.
messroom and recreation hall painted.

ALCOA PURITAN (Alcoa), Oct. 20
—Chairman, J. Nelson; Secretary, C.
Hartman. One man missed ship in
St. Thomas. Inventory of gear taken
and gear placed in bonded locker for
delivery iri NY. Crew to refrain from
drinking. Too much drinking on last
voyage resulting in members missing
watch. Vote of thanks to steward de­
partment for good meals and service.
\'qte of thanks to radio operator for
dally news.

STEEL ADMIRAL (Isthmian), Oct.
14—Chairman, G. O'Rourke; Secretary,
F. Delapenha. Delegate reported on
dead brother. Some disputed over­
time. Communication regarding rat­
ing advance. Repair list to be pre­
sented to patrolman upon arrival.

NO^HWESTERN VICTORY (Vic­
tory Carriers), Oct. 13—Chairman, V.
Porter; Secretary, S. Arales. Few
mattresses to be replaced next trip.
Few brothers stirring trouble in stew­
ard department. Twelve hours dis­
puted overtime. Two men logged for
failure to turn to. Not enough variety
of night lunch. Bread not up to par.
Crew pantryman neglect to make cof­
fee at times. Crew • messman failed
to turn to on his working hours.

ALCOA ROAMER (Alcoa), Sept. 30—
Chairman, D. Clark; Secretary, P.
Calebaugh. - Repair lists to' be made
up. Need more donations for films.
Ship's fund 14.00. Discussion on
draws. Need iron.

IVY (Orion), Oct. 15—Chairman, E.
Goings; Secretary, A. Paige. Two men

'missed ship. More American money
or checks to be put aboard. Insuffi­
cient hospital supples. Agent to check.
Messhall. to be kept cleaner. Check
price list on slop chest. New reporter
elected. Some' disputed overtime.
Vote of thanks to credentials commit­
tee for fine Job. Slop chest price list
to be checked and get rebate it pos­
sible. Goods not up to standard.
Change ship's library with American
literature—no union library aboard.
To start ship's fund. Decks aft to be
kept clean. Bathrooms to be kept
clean. Repair list to be posted.

BEAUREGARD (Waterman), Oct. 21
—Chairman, W. Zaleskl; Secretary, E.
Riviere. Ship to arrive In Canal Zone
Tuesday. Repair list to be submltteH
within next few days. Ship's fund
$33.09. Forward passageway doors to
bo closed when It rains to prevent
flooding passageways. Messman to
check drug items.

CHICKASAW (Pan-Atlantic), Oct. 21
—Chairman, W. Gammons; Secretary,
D. Mitchell. One man missed ship in
NO. Beef on potatoes squared away.
Messhall to be kept clean. Need
change in night lunches.

ALCOA RANGER (Alcoa), Oct. 1—
Chairman, J. Oquendo Jr.; Secretary,
A. Carpenter. One man hospitalized
In San Juan. One man missed ship
In St. Thomas. Few hours disputed
overtime. Request gangway be
lengthened to stanchion for top plat­
form. Insufficient milk. Do not spill
coffee on bridge. Gangway too short
for some ports. Engine foc'sle has
leak from outside scupper. Should
be fixed.

ROBIN KETTERING (Seas Shipping),
Oct. 7—Chairman, W. Wendell; Secre­
tary, J. Hannay. Ship's fund $30.90.
Some disputed overtime. Reports ac­
cepted. New delegate elected. Movies
to be shown Sunday afternoons and
alternate nights. Vote of thanks to
negotiating committee regarding new
wage scale. '

OREMAR (Ore), Sept. 30—Chair­
man, D. FItzpatrIck; Secretary, A.
Armstrong. Ship's fund $21.91. Wiper
logged two days for lateness. One
man missed ship. Report accepted.
New delegate elected. Radio repaired.
To see patrolman about washing
machine.

MOUNT VERNON (Rockland), Oct.
2—Chairman, J. BuzelewskI; Secre­
tary, C. Gapac. Report accepted.
Cups and glasses to be returned to
pantry.. Members advised to give 24
hours notice when quitting so ship
will not sail shorthanded.

SEASTAR (Triton), Sept. 30—
Chairman, J-. Wilson; Secretary, R.
Morrlsette. Men leaving ship to no­
tify captain. Finer crew, captain and
chief mate are tops. Few hours dis­
puted overtime. Recreation room tq
be kept clean. New washing machine
to be purchased. Repair list turned
in. All crews' quarters painted. Vote
of thanks to steward department for
Job well dona.

STEEL ROVER (Isthmian), Sept. 30
—Chairman, C. Bush; Secretary, T.
Gaspar. Two men paid off due to ill­
ness. Encountered hurricane before
arrival in Mobile—ship took beating.
All mates cooperative in aiding cap;
tain. Late one day and night. Ship's
fund $20. Suggestion to have pool
both ways -to raise fund for more
spending money. Ship to be fumigat­
ed for roaches.

ORION FLANET (Colonial), Sept.
16—Chairman, J. Thompson; Secre­
tary, P. Padgett.. Ship's fund $8. Let­
ter to be sent to P. Hall regarding
money, itinerary <ot ship and poor
mail situation. Tailor to come aboard
in Sasebo. Messhall chairs to bo
painted. Bulletin boards and signs
to be paid out of ship's fund. Mem­
bers to discuss beefs' with delegate.
More harmony urged.

NEVA WEST (Bloomfleld), Oct. 20.
—Chairman, E. Keagy; Secretary, A.
Rummel. Letter from headquarters
regarding new shipping rules re­
ceived. Ship's fund $29. Some dis­
puted overtime in Rotterdam. Thicker
cuts of steaks requested. Less garlic
in food. Proper attire to be worn in
messhall. Water pitchers should be
cleaner.

DE SOTO (Waterman), Oct. »-
Chairman, B- Varn; fecrstary, H.
I|ebln. New treasurer and record­
ing secfetarz ffleeted. Meskroomg to

AME$ VICTORY (Victory Carriers),
Oct. 10—Chairman, R. Bsale; Secre­
tary, H. Du Cloux. Repair list to be
submitted. Few repairs made. Few
houra disputed overtime. Report ac­
cepted. All agreed Union acted wise­
ly in including parents dependents in
IVelfai'e Hospital Plan. Approval given
men receiving "A" books. Reports ac­
cepted. Recommend Union represen­
tatives strike out clause in eligibility
benefits stating "one day in previous
ninety days." Repair list to be turned
in. Vote of thanks to steward depart­
ment. Vote of thanks to entire crew.

BALTORI (Ore), Oct. 20—Chairman,
K. Skelly; Secretary, O. HIMreth.
Ship's fund $20.75. IVashing machine
nfeeds a new drain; ' '



December 21, 1956
SEAFARERS LOG Fare Eleren

'T/teT/me Is Now!'

Safety Plans
In Effect On
Many Ships

A number of SlU-contracted
companies are now voluntarily in­
stituting the industry-wide safety
program aboard their ships. Regu­
lar monthly safety meetings are
being scheduled in which Seafar­
ers and their elected shipboard
representatives will play a major
role.

SIU headquarters is asking all
Seafarers to cooperate on those
vessels where the program is now
being put into effect. Additional
ships will he involved in the pro­
gram in the coming weeks.

The keys to the Seafarers' par­
ticipation are the elected safety
representatives from each ship-
hoard department. These repre­
sentatives will participate in all
phases of the safety program.

The set-up consists of a senior
safety committee, a ship's safety
Inspection-'committee and depart
mental committeesi The senior
committee consists of the skipper,
chief engineer, deck and engine
officers, radio operator, chief stew­
ard, a secretary and the three de­
partmental safety representatives.
The iiispectioh committee, which
will inspect the ship at least once
a month, will consist of the three
unlicensed men plus a mate and
engineer.

The same three unlicensed men
will preside over their departmen-
tar meetings which will he attend­
ed by all unlicensed crewmemhers
plus the chief mate, 1st assistant
en^neer and chief steward in the
rei$ectfve departments. • u

With shipping .so good, and due to get better as the Gov­
ernment breaks more ships out of the reserve fleets to carry
coal, surplus and foreign aid cargoes, the demand keeps
mounting for rated men on SlU-contracted ships.

Aside from the Union's interest in keeping contracted ships
fully manned, it should be obvious to every Seafarer that
upgrading himself will bring him definite benefits.

First, the higher ratings mean higher pay. Second, a rat­
ing is necessary for a class B seniority holder to gain class A
seniority. And third, ratings bring greater job' security by
making available a wider choice of jobs. This is especially
important during slack shipping periods when jobs are less
plentiful.

The Union, as always, stands ready to help its own men
obtain better wages, more job opportunities and greater
security.

4" 3^ 4"

Pioneering Snccess
After a Union welfare benefit has become an established op­

eration, it becomes easy to overlook it because it operates
smoothly and unobtrusively. That is what has been happen­
ing with the SIU disability benefit. A look at the record shows
that the benefit, now 4^^ years old, is covering a greater
number of Seafarers than at any time in .the past, despite the
deaths of many of the Seafarers placed on the list in past
years.

It is noteworthy that four years after the SIU pioneered in
this area, the Federal government, through Congress, recog­
nized the responsibility of the nation to its disabled workers.
The Social Security benefits being provided for these men and
women will not go into effect until mid-1957.

Understandably then, the SIU is proud that its own Wel­
fare Plan served as one of the forerunners of a benefit which
will soon become national in scope.

Future issues of the SEAFARERS LOG will carry further
information on some of our disabled brothers and how they
are making- out under the SIU program.

3^ 4" 4"

Shipping Revolution
Two items in. this issue of the SEAFARERS LOG merit brief

Comment. One reports t^ crewing of the Carib Queen, the
first true "roll-on" ship. The other tells of an order for con­
struction of a 100,000-ton tankship. Then, of course, there are
the plans for building an atom-powered passenger-cargo
vessel. *

All of this means that there are big changes coming in the
shipping business. Ten years from ijow, or gyen.less., lihe ghips
oow, iB^ne^ .bjfeSe^areEs-.w

New OS Transfer Deals
Spark Tanker Building

WASHINGTON—The latest box-score on the "transfer
and build" program of the Maritime Administration showa
50 new ships under the American flag, mostly tankers, get­
ting tentative approval. In re--^
turn for the new tonnage, US
operators are being given per­
mission to transfer an undisclosed
number of T-2s, Victorys and Lib­
erty ships. The actual details have
not yet been decided.

On one batch of 19 new tankers,
Maritime has given tentative ap­
proval for transfer of up to 45
war-built ships."

Build 'Liberlans' Here
In addition, US shipowners, are

getting approval for construction
of a considerable number of Li-
berian and Panamanian-flag ships
in American yards. At latest count,
some 13 of these ships are pro­
jected, putting them in the position
of competing with American build­
ing plans for scarce shipyard space
and equally scarce steel tonnage.

Among SIU companies getting
tentative approval to transfer and
build, in the most recent announce­
ment, are Overseas Navigation,
Cities Service, and Eagle Ocean
Transport Corp. Nine ships would
be transferred and four new tank­
ers built.

Previously, the Maritime Admin-

Formal Bid
On Isthmian
Subsidy Due

WASHINGTON — Isthmian
Steamship Company will make
formal application for operating
differential subsidy within the
next few days, according to C. S.
Walsh, president of the States
Marine Corp. While testifying on
States Marine's own subsidy plans,
Walsh said that Isthmian would
ask Government aid for its round-
the-world service.

The subsidy would cover run^
to such areas as the Persian Gulf,
Pakistan, India and Ceylon but
would not include Japan, which
Isthmian has been servicing re­
cently on some voyages.

Recently, Waterman Steamship
Company announced it intended to
leave the dwindling ranks of non-
subsidized operators. Subsidy ap­
proval for Isthmian, Waterman,
States Marine and Isbrandtsen
Steamship Company would virtual­
ly end anynon-subsidized Ameri­
can cargo liner operations in the
offshore trade.

Balfo Jobs
Boom Again

BALTIMORE-t-Shipping in this
port has bounced back again, and
is riding high once more. Over
250 men were shipped to jobs dur­
ing the past period and a still fur­
ther increase In job activity is ex­
pected.

A dozen payoffs and sign-ons and
a baker's dozen of in-transit ships
promoted the job prosperity. With
Christmas and New Year's coming
up fast, Port Agent Earl Sheppard
commented, things should get bet­
ter yet because of the unexpected
job turnover.

In relation to Christmas, he
noted that the holiday dinner, De­
cember 25, in the auditorium of
the SIU hall, will be served here
between 1 and 0 PM. All hands
are invited, and urged to bring
their families and friends with
them for th# traditional celebra-

.-

istration had given transfer ap­
provals to other operators in re­
turn for new tonnage, among them
Carras and Victory Carriers.

Maritime officials have defended
the program as upgrading Ameri­
can-flag tonnage and helping meet
pressing shipping needs.

Meetings To
Choose Vote
Tally Group.

With the voting deadline coming
up, the biennial elections of the
SIU A&G District are nearing
their close.

The two-months-long balloting,
which got under way November 1,
will end December 31. That means
there are just seven days left for
Seafarers to come to SIU halls
and cast their votes for the 39 elec­
tive offices to be filled.

The 39 offices are being sought
by 71 Seafarers who nominated
themselves and were found quali­
fied by the membership-elected
credentials committee.

At the next branch meetings, on
December 26, the membership will
elect a rank-and-file tallying com­
mittee to tabulate the votes. The
14-man committee will consist of
six Seafarers from the New York
branch and two each from Balti­
more, Mobile, New Orleans and
San Francisco. They will get all
ballots from the bank yault in
which they have been deposited
and make the official tally for the
District.

N1 Youngsters
'Adopt' Maxton

Physically handicapped New Jer­
sey school children will soon be
sailing Waterman's trailer-carrying
tanker Maxton—^in-fantasyi that is.

Through letters from the tank­
er's skipper. Captain Herbert M.
Samuels, the handicapped children
will relive life aboard the Maxton
as she makes her Port Newark-
Houston runs carrying-truck trail­
ers loaded with general cargo on
her special deck.

All this came about when the
children, who are from Branch
Brook public school, "adopted"
the Maxton and spent two hours
inspecting her while she was at
Port Newark. This led to arrange­
ments for the children to corre­
spond regularly with the skipper
about the Maxton's trips.

Under an "adopt-a-ship" pro­
gram started 20 years ago, 246
American-flag ships have been
"adopted" by school children in
34 states.

Keep Draft
Board Posted

SIU headquarters urges all
draft-eligible seamen to be
sure they keep their iocal Se­
lective Service boards • posted
on all changes of address
through the use of the post
cards furnished at all SIU
.halls and' aboard ships.

I

•m



Pat« Twelve 5Ei4F^RER5 LOG Deeemlwr <1, 1951:

Moral: Happy Ships
Have Weil-Fed Crews

l!;' ]«:
i;;
I
lii
It

I
I

Del Mar Halls .
Relief -Engineer
To the Editor:

After eight years of c^ntinu-
service, the SS Del Mar

Medium or rare, chief cook
Kennedy (above) turns out
steaks (ust the way you like
theih. Don Ruddy took the
photo on the Wild Ranger.
At left, the gang on the
Ocean Evelyn struts out on
deck during meal hour lull:
Both ships ran out to the Far
East.

Thanksgiving dinner on Al­
coa Clipper (above) finds
the galley force and crew
in good humor. Pictured (I
to r) are W. R. Stone, A. Q.
Nail, C. L. Shirah, Paul
Thomas, cooks; C. J. Nail,

chief, and R. Cain, 2nd pan­
tryman. In messhall are
J. E. Prestridge (facing
camera), oiler; J. Lambert,
eng. utility; C. Cunninghami
oiler; W. R. Thompson, eng.
utility; O. Thompson, FWT,
and C. Fetter, 2nd elect.
At right, spruced up for the
captain's dinner, are John
Hummel, waiter; Walter
Marcus, steward; Andrew
Lewis, waiter, and Roger
"Frenchy" Hall, baker, on
Robin Locksley. Crew also
had special dinner.

ous
finally completed a voyage with­
out a beef, log or any disputed
overtime In the engine depart­
ment.

Members of the engine de­
partment during voyage No. 62
feel a lot of the credit belongs
to the relief 1st assistant en­
gineer, Eddie Bell, who con­
tributed greatly to making this

letters To
The Editor

AH letters to the editor for
publication in the SEAFAR­
ERS LOG must, be signed by
the writer. Names will be
withheld upon request.

a happy trip by his considera­
tion and human understanding
of the unlicensed personnel.

Of course we had a real SIU
crew this trip as we have al­
ways had In the past, but it
seems the regular 1st assistant
just had to keep trouble stirred
up all the time. He's the type
who goes from one member to
the other knocking everybody
but the guy he is talking to at
the time.

So, brothers. If you run into
this character, don't let him con
you into going against your
brother shipmates.

Once again hats off to Eddie
BeU.

George A. Perdreauville
Ship's delegate

$1 jji

In Drydock, Asks
Pais For Mail
To the Editor:

I would appreciate it very
much if you would publish this
in the LOG, because I would
like to hear from my friends. A
letter from some of them would
be very welcome and would
cheer me a great deal.

I also want the LOG sent to
me here if possible. My name
is really Simon Grove, but I
have been known as Samuel for
many years and still use that
name. For those who wish to
write, my address is the US
Public Health Service Hospital,
Forth Worth, Texas. I am a lot
better but feel I have to stay
a while longer.

Samuel Grove
(Ed. note: The LOG is being

sent to you as requested.)
4- 4- $•

Too Few Cooks
Spoil Broth, Too
To the Editor:

There seems to be an unusual
number of men getting paid off
In foreign ports due to ailments
of various kinds. Naturally,

the majority of these cases are
legitimate, but I often feel some
of them are not. And when
they're not, this puts an extra
work on the other cre^^em-
bers.

Recently aboard a Liberty
ship I had the misfortune to lose
two cooks after having been
away from the States less than
a week. It is no Joke to have to-
do another man's Job plus youi:
own.

I believe that anyone going
aboard ship who Is not in good
physical condition is a liability
to the other crewmembers and
puts additional work on them.
This, In my opinion, Is not keep­
ing things SlU-style. .

What does the membership
fell feel on this? I would like
to hear some opinions.

S. Rothschild
Chief Steward

4.4 4

Has ideas For
Better Quarters
To the Editor:

I've been reflecting over the
many gains we have won
through recent years, such as |
the wage and overtime in­
creases, vacations, maternity,
welfare and death benefits. I'm
really grateful for the fine job
our negotiating committee has
done.

The question I'd like to raise
now is the advisability of some
consideration being brought to
bear on further improvement in
ship's quarters. I know that ex­
isting conditions are a long
jump from blue sheets and
bringing your own stores

. aboard, and also that due to
present ship construction, im­
provements are limited.

However, I've thought of two
suggestions which I feel would
be fairly Inexpensive and great­
ly appreciated.

The first is that all ships
have a master radio antenna
with terminal connections in
each foc'sle. Some ships already
have them, but they are invari­
ably out of order or just dis­
connected.

Metal Shelf
The other is have a shelf,

of uniform construction, prefer­
ably metal, alongside each bunk,
which would be of suitable di­
mensions to accommodate a ra­
dio, books, an ashtray, etc. This
would eliminate the necessity of
have assorted holes drilled and
punched in the bulkheads to
conform with an individual's
taste in location and size. (The
new man is seldom satisfied
with the piece of dunnage the
last guy called a shelf.)

Radios,ha'^e become common­
place and no longer are the
luxury that they once were,
especially since the MTD broad­
casts are the recognized link be­
tween the ship and shoreside
Union activity. Since the foc'sle
is "home" to all of us during
our time aboard ship, any pos­
sible improvement seems to me
worthy-of discussion.

Roy Guild



OWtanber 31. ust
SEAFARERS LOG Pace Thirteen

^Sea-Spray' —ty Sco/orer Robert "Red" Fink

Look, we can't loan you money to try and get even at the
rpcetrack « .

Losmar Bids For Honors—
But Seacloud Rings Bell

Seafarers on the Losmar are already bidding for top honors
for their ship as the "feeder" of the Calmar fleet. The Losmar
IS a newly-acquired Liberty refitted the early part of October.

According to L. E. Frazier,
engine delegate, "you can say
all you want to about the Cal­
mar Line ships being poor feeders,
but when you have a steward, chief

cook, baker, 3rd
cook and mess-
men who do a
good job and
take pride in do­
ing it, there's a
lot of differ­
ence." ("Vive la
difference!" a s
the man once
said.)

Steward Wil­
liam Aycock and chief cook Leon
Jordan came in for the major hon­
ors, although the rest of the de­
partment got a well-deserved "all-
hail" also.

Unaware of this challenge, the
Portmar has submitted a menu for
Thanksgiving on its own which in­
dicates that its galley gang is not
made up of slouches either. Four

Jordan

kinds of relishes, two soups includ­
ing French onion soup, roast tur­
key, baked, ham, prime ribs, three
kinds of potatoes, plus a choice of
four vegetables (broccoli and as­
paragus included) headed the bill
of fare.

There were also four kinds of
pie, fruit cake, pudding, fruits,
nuts, candies and an array of five
beverages to tempt the Portmar's
palates.

But both these ships, and quite
a few others no doubt, will have to
go some to top what must be some
real fancy feeding on the Seacloud.

The gang on there must be liv­
ing it up so well SlU-style that
they're beginning to feel like pas­
sengers after all. The food and
service must be that good, anyway.

The ship's minutes of December
2nd solemnly doted that "some
crewmembers are afraid of missing
a meal. They want to have the din­
ner bell rung at meal times . .

Seamar Short On Sea Water, Too?
It would seem that some repairs for the Seamar's plumbing are pretty jwell overdue.

These matters have come to a head lately, since everything else seems to have stopped
"coming there with any regularity.

^eatfon'iS
(Hreetings

Each year at this time a bale of
holiday greetings addressed to the
LOG reaches SIU headquarters.
Here are some of them, reprinted
with thanks;

Greetings and salutations fof
Christmas and a more prosperous
New Year for pur great Union, its
officials, you, your staff and the
membership.

George H. Seeberger
Philadelphia, Pa.
^ ^

A very merry Christmas and a
successful New Year to the SIU,
the membership and the LOG.

Harold M. Shea
AtUca, NY

4" " 4 i)
Greetings to all SIU .men for a

merry Xmas and a bright and
prosperous New Year.

Minerva Bar
Beira, PEA

4 4*
Coming in with a very clean

ship. Happy holiday to all.
Duska "Spider" KoroUa
SS Del Rio

4 4 4
Good cheer to all from "Sir

Charles" and the black gang.
^ C. Oppenhelmer

SS Seatrain Georgia
4 4 4

Since we will be somewhere at
sea for the holidays we wish a
happy holiday season to the offi­
cials and brother members of our
Union.

H. J. Beaver
SS Seacloud

4 4 4
We know quite a few SIU boys

who stop, at the hotel, but have no
way to send them Christmas cards.
Perhaps we can wish them a merry
Christmas and happy New Year
this way, from the Home Hotel,
Lake Charles, La.

Mr. & Mrs. J. B. NevUle

The problem appears to have
stirred quite a lot of discus­
sion during a recent Seamar
ship's meeting on the overhaul,
needed by the water pump and the
possibility of getting a new wash­
ing machine.
. But the session broke up pretty
quickly when one crewmember un­
folded a tale of ivoe that topped
all the others.

He con^lained first about the
showers. He wanted to take a
shower, but he found there was no
hot water. Next he went to get a
drink of water—but there was no
water.

Then he had to go to the toilet
and—you guessed it!

"Hell's bells," he beefed, "are
they short on sea water, too, right
in the middle of the whole ocean?"

Andrew Daniluk was chairman of
the ship's meeting, and even Mich­
ael Merryman, who was reading
clerk, had stopped chuckling since
then. It ain't funny. Besides,
what would they do with a wash­

ing machine anyway? Are the
boys going to rinse their "dainties"
in condensed miik?

List Details in
6ables To Union
When notifying headquarters

by cable or wireless that a Sea­
farer has paid off in a foreign
port because of injury or illness,
ships' delegates should include
the following information:

The man's full name, his SIU
book number, name of the ship,
the port of payoff and the hos­
pital where he is being treated.

The response of ship's crews
to the Unionrequest for these
notifications has been very good.
Sometimes though, not ail of
the above information has been
included. Be sure to list all of
this data so that the SIU can
act as promptly as possible.

Who Plays?

Having a go at a little game of rummy. Seafarers J. Hassett,
BR; J. Wilson Jr., bosun; A. Gibbs, MM (back to camera),
and Alfred C. Kesling, OS, pay no mind to a crew photog-
rapher on the Steel Maker. J. Ricamonte, chief cook, keeps
mum about it, but enjoys the visit, too.

ALCOA RUNNER (Alcoa), Oct. 1«—
Chairman, J. Jonat; Sacratary, A.
Watallch. Member paid off in Balti­
more due to iiiness. One man missed
ship in Baltimore. Two men Sghtins,
reported to patrolmen, Bred by cap­
tain. ShipV fund $13.50. Tiwee houra
disputed overtime. Ship short one
oiler. Report accepted.. Ship to be
fumigated.

rASTINCS (Waterman), Oct. 34 —
Ch Irman, C. Wallick; Sacrctary, J.
Wcilt. Repair list to be turned over
to patrolman—repairs to be made. No
transportaUon for men getting off—
to be taken up with patrolman at pay­
off. San Juan gangway watch to be
taken up with patrolman—company
had their own men. Some disputed
overtime. Men to be sober at payoff.
Ail books and permits to bo picked
up by delegates and turned over te
patrolman at payoff. Linen to be
turned in at payoff. Catwalk lights to
be turned on by 4-8 watch.

ANNISTON (Ace), Sept. 34—Chair-
man, H. Acesta; Secretary, D. Coker;
Report accepted. Vote of thanks to
steward department for fine food
served. Excellent cook.

RIENVILLI (Pan Atlantic), Oct. 3*
—Chairman, C. Hemby; Secretary, C.
Martin. One man missed ship in Mi­
ami. New treasurer elected. Ship's
fund $46.61. Few hours disputed ever-

• time. Report kccepted. Motion that
if sailing is .delayed more than two
hours, each hour thereafter shall be
paid at regular overtime rate unless
crew is given notice and released
from ship. Motion to change port of
payoff from New Orleans to New
York. Keep recreation room clean.
Laundry room to be cleaned after
use. Messman te dispose of garbage.

not longshoremen,
chairs in messhall.
discussed.

Keep feet off
New pay scale

MV PONCE (Ponce Cement), Oct. 31
—Chairman, W. Heater; Secretary, e.
Knowlot. Ship's fund $25.60. Report
accepted. New delegate elected. Del­
egate to find out if new articles signed
are on new wage scale. Hospital room
should be changed. Stevedores to be
kept out of passageways. Water tanks
to be cleaned. Baltimore agent stated-
no shipping in Puerto Rico except in
an emergency.

DEL VALLE (Misi.), Oct. 14—Chair­
man, E. Wrlgtit; Secretary, R. Irizarry.

OREMAR (Ore Nav.), Oct. 31—Chair­
man, e. Thompson; Secretary, J. Bat-
sen. Discussion on washing machine {
and Ice box. Ship's fund $11.91. Need
new washing machine. To obtain
books from library.

MV BETHCOASTER (Calmar), Oct.
It—Chairman, W. Johnson; Secretary,
J. Dalten. Report accepted. Discus­
sion to have buttermilk delivered with
sweet milk—steward to check this.

Ship's fund S76.01. Books and maga­
zines purchased. Vote in favor of
raising initiation fees. Signatures and .
numbers to be submitted with min­
utes of meeting. Fund raised by
means of arrival pooTs. Arrival pooh
te be drawn up for first port in Brazil.
If more pools requested, will be
drawn as needed. Beer and shrimp
party a success. Another one sug­
gested this trip. Painting of crew's
quarters started. Some rooms to be
paiiited this trip, remainder en next
trip.

FORT BRIDCER (US Petroleum),
•ct. 31—Chairman, B. Bell; Secretory,
B. Beniart. Minor repairs to be made
In Yokesuka and major repairs in
Singapore shipyard. Okayed, by mcm-

• f ' V '= -

bership because of gas leakage. Three
men short: one man paid off in Singa­
pore; one man injured on deck during
typhoon. New delegate erected. Mo­
tion to hold meetings before arrival
and on departure. Delegate to write
Union about sign-on's in regjyd to
dues. etc. Need new percolator. Re­
frigerator door to be fixed: bunk light
to be fixed: need buckets for clothes.

Oct. 33—Chairman, H. Manz; Secre­
tary, B. Bengert. Fotm men affected
by special bulletin pertaining to B
cards. Congratulations extended to
all.

JEAN (Bull), Oct. 10—Chairman, D.
DIcksen; Secretary, E. Johnston. Pro­
vide keys for bathrooms, showers and
every room. Washing machine re­
paired.

CITRUS PACKER (Waterman), Oct.
14—Chairman, M. Olvera; Secretary,
L. Santa Ana. .New delegate and re­
porter elected. Ship's fund $21.65.
Delegate to see patrolman about port
payoff.

MONARCH OP THE SEAS (Water­
man), Oct. H—Chairman, R. Ransoms;
Secretary, C. Crabtree. Delegate re­
quested some one else to take Job.
One man missed ship in Mobile. Gear
checked. Report accepted. To write

negotiating committee concerning air-
conditioning of messroom. To obtain
library from haU in New Orleans. Re­
pair list to be turned in. Suggestion
to have company put foam rubber
piUows aboard. Milk to be placed in
ice box between meals. Vote of thanks
to steward department.

ity of stores aboard and efficient slop
chest. Vote of thanks to steward and
his department.

CANTI6NY (Cities Service), Oct.
31—Chairman, D. Hohn; Secretary, W.
Phurrough. Beef on overtime In ship­
yard still pending in NY. Discussion
on new medical centers. Vote of
thanks to officials for putting pro­
gram into effect. Vote of thanks to
chief cook for good chow. Ship's fund
$10.52. Few hours disputed overtime.
One man taken off ship in New Jersey
by police. Reports accepted. Delegate
to take up restriction of ship in Vene­
zuela with boarding'patrolman. Cof­
fee urn to be repaired. Need new
washing machine. Delegate to Inform
captain of shore leave beef.

HASTINOS (Waterman), Oct. 7 —
Chairman, R. Kuratkowski; Secretary,
J. Wells. Ship's fund $32. Few hours
disputed overtime. New delegate
elected. Catwalk to be repaired. Re­
pair list to be turned over to captain
before arrival in San Juan. New fans
needed. Vote of thanks to steward
department.

NATIONAL LIBERTY (American
Waterways), Oct. 1—Chairman, P.
Bruggner; Sacrctary, S. Joseph. Two
men missed" ship. Draw will be in
dollars or Belgian francs. Suggestion
made to alternate meetings so all can
attend. Cups to be returned to pantry.
Laundry to be kept clean. Good qual-

FLORIDA STATE (C'cnce Cement),
Sept. 4—Chelrman, O. Stanley; Secre­
tary, D. Wagner. Telegram sent to
San Juan concerning payoff in Ponce.
Disputed overtime to be settled' in
San Juan or Tampa. New treasurer
elected. Some disputed overtime. Re­
port accepted. Ship's fund to be
started with $1 contribution from each
member. Take care of washing ma­
chine. Cleaning of laundry room to
be rotated between deck and engine
departments. Discussion on linen and
repair list. Vote of thanks to steward
dept.

JEFFERSON CITY VICTORY (Vic­
tory Carriers), Oct. 3—Chairman, A.
Anderson; Secretary, M. Pappadakis.
Ship saUed short a fireman. Commu­
nication from Welfare Department
read. Reports accepted. New dele­
gate elected.

HAROLD T. ANDREWS (New Eng­
land Ind.), Oct. 13—Chairman, R. Ros-
off; Secretary, J. Clancola. Alien rid­
ing ship for two years and is not a
union member. Ship's address to be
sent to LOG for forwarding same. All
men leaving ship to strip their bunks
for new men.

Edifor,
SEAFARERS LOG.
675 Fourfh Ave.,
Brooklyn 32, NY

I would like fo receive the SEAFARERS LOG—
pleose put my name on your mailing list.

(Print Information)

NAME ....?
STREET ADDRESS

CITY ZONE......STATE......
TO AVOID DUPLICATION: If you aro an oM tubicriber and have a change
of address, please give your foripar address below:

ADDRESS • aaaeaeasaaaeai^ec

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ZONE STATE



iSfSi

Fac« Fonrfcea SEAFARERS LOG December' 21, '198<

A'- ,
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LOG-A-RHYTHM:

The Ocean's Song
By Thurston Lewis

O Sea, I hear you speak
Along thousands of miles of shoreline/'
With a different voice on each stretch of beach.

You whisper while caressing the sand;
You roar when hurling yourself madly amongst the rocks.

t

Of what do you speak? '•
What is your many-splendored song?

"I sing of life and love and death;
Of timeless ages, changing shorelines.
And mountains smoothed doum to become plains. *

"I roar with anger because of my boundaries;
I resist the moon
Which draws me inevitably, as a lover beckons,
And as a loved one, I follow.

"Even the wind cannot stay the strength of the moon.
I shout defiance in face of wind and tide.
But I yield—
Albeit, in my apger, I destroy ships and houses and men.

"Seafarers I love, and forever entice them to my bosom;
Often it takes a lifetime and an age
But in the end I get them.
Many a sailor's soul has been released in my belly,,
And I sing of them and to them.

"I shall sing along my million miles of shore.
And thousands of miles in the midst of me;
I shall continue to sing until the Earth is no more
And there is no separation of land and sea."

VSPHS HOSPITAIi
BALTIMORE, MD.

Chester Anti Francisco Mayo
Talmadge Barbour WlUiam Mellon
Kenneth Bewig James T. Moore
Leslie Brilhart John A. Morris
Torfeif Hansen Francis O'LaughUn
Walter Hartman Joseph A. Prabech
Clarence R. Haun William E. Roberts
Fred Holmes Michael Ruta
EdwaAl Huizenga James H. Walker
Herman Kemp Ernest H. Webb
John McKarek Vyrl WiUlams
Edward McMaster George Wilson

MONTEBELLO
CHRONIC DISEASE HOSPITAL

BALTIMORE, MD,
Francisco Bueno

USPHS HOSPITAL
BOSTON, MASS.

F. O. Choplinski John T. Keegan
Charles Dwyer M. J. Shaughnessy

USPHS HOSPITAL
GALVESTON, TEXAS

C. J. Blanchard Concpclon Mejla
Audley C. Foster Alfonso Olaguibsl
Nui'iiian B. Hadden Lee Parker

USPHS HOSPITAL
NEW ORLEANS. LA.

Paul Baggett WilUam Lawless .
Clolse Coats Samuel Levy
A. E. Cunningham Alois F. MauSraF
Donald Dambrlno William Murray
Serio M. DeSosa Michael Muzio
Chas. A. Dorrough John Overton
AHred B. Fahm Winford PoweU
Joseph Fitzpatrick John Psilos
Miles Foster Randolph RatclUt
Clarence Graham F. Regalado
Harry Green Anthony Rodrigues
Jesse Green Edward Samrock
William Havelln Wade H. Sexton
Paul Hebert Toefll Smlgleiskt
Arthur Henderson Nick T. Tala
James Hudson Lonnie R. Tickls
Martin Kelly Luciano Toriblo
Edward G. Knapp Dirk Vlsser
Thomas Landa James E. Ward
Leo H. Lang Elma E. Wasden
Karl Larsen

VA HOSPITAL
NEW ORLEANS, LA.

John Ahadie
USPHS HOSPITAL

STATEN ISLAND, NY
•^ortunato Alfonso Reinaldo Montes

Henry A. Anderson Harvey W. Morris
Julin Blomgren Robert Nielsen
H. L. Cox Frederick Oliver
Rudolph Evans Robert Parker
Joseph Ferenc Pletro Paulin
Artemio Fernandez Bias Ramirez
M. A. Gilesple James Ray
Giles Glendenning N. Reznichenko
Estell Godfrey Angel L. Rios
John Gonzalez Jose Rodriguez
J. Hulsman Antonio Russo
Alfred Kaju Marcellno Santiago
D. F. Kaziukewicz Aaron Sasser
Carl K. Kendall W. Schocnborn
Allen L. Lake Stanley C. Scott
William Luhrsen Herbert Svanberg
Russell E. Lund Roman Szczygiel
Marcos E. Medina J. L. Thompson
Franciszeh Mietkl Albert Williams

USPHS HOSPITAL
MANHATTAN BEACH

BROOKLYN, NY
Manuel Antonana Frederick Landry
Eladio Aris Kaarel Leetniaa
Fortunato Bacomo Leonard Leidig
Wm. C. Baldwin Antony Q, Leva

* Frank ,T. Campbell Mike Lubad '
Wm. J. Conners Joseph D. McGraw
Walter L. Davis Archibald McGuigan
Robert. M. Douglas H, F. MacDoriald
John J. Driscoil Michael Machusky
Robert E. Gilbert B. J. Martin .

,William Guenther Albert MartinelU
'dBart E. Guranick Vic Miliazzo

Howard Hailey Joseph B. Murphy
Taib Hassen W. P. O'dea
BiUy R. HiU « George G. Phifer
Thomas Isaksen James M. Quinn
Ira H. Kilgore George E. Renal*
Ludwig Krlstiansen G. E. Shumaker
Prank J. Kubek O. Slvertsen

I

Henry E. Smith Fred West
Michael Toth Norman West
Karl Treimann Virgil E. WUmoth
Harry S. Tuttlo Pon P. Wing

USPHS HOSPITAL
NORFOLK, VA.

Robert G. Barrett Telesford Roman
Francis J. Boner William R. Snyder
Cicero M. King Robert W. Wengate
Charles E. Midgett D. G. Zerrudo
Joseph A. Proulx

USPHS HOSPITAL
SAN FRANCISCO. CALIF.

Marcelo B. Belen P. B. McCoUian
Raymond V. Boston Mlchal Michaiik
M. M. Hammond James M. Taylor
Paul O. Hansen Wm. A. Van Dyne
J. G. KeUy WiUiam H. Walter
OUver J. Kendrlck Harry M. Wong
A. A. Kessen

USPHS HOSPITAL
SAVANNAH, GA.

Dalton M. Barnes Jimmie Uttletoa
Maximino Barnes Bacillo Llanei
Albert Birt

USPIIS HOSPITAL
SEATTLE, WASH. J

L. Bosley E. J. Roussall
D. K. CampbeU J. A. Weh*
Eric W. Johnson

USPHS HOSPITAL
MEMPHIS. TENN,

Claud* F. Blanks Robert N. Yoimg
VA HOSPITAL

^ ALBERQUERQUE. NM
Charles Burton

USPHS HOSPITAL
_ FORT WORTH. TEXAS

B. J. Deibler Jamas R. Hodges
Samuel Glove John C.. Palmer
Siegfried Gnlttk* Rosendo Serran*

ST. ELIZABETH HOSPITAL
WASHINGTON. DO

William A. Hunt

69 Years Young

Watching him peel
you*d never think Joe

luds,
lavii

was pushing "three score
and ten." reports ship's
delegate Edward J. Wright
on the Alcoa Partner. He
said Davis, now 69, is "do*
ing a wonderful job in the
s t e ward department."

'Photo' by Carl Ernest, cook.

Finds Good Spot
Near San Juan
To the Editor:

While on the SS Hilten sail­
ing between the States and

'Puerto Rico on the sugar »un,
I've heard many guys off dif­
ferent ships complain about the
clubs along the waterfront near
the Bull Line docks in San Juan.

There's always someone being
clipped or rolled, poor Quality
hard liquor goes for unfair
prices, and the room rates are

Letters To
The Editor

All letters to the editor for
publication in thg SEAFAR­
ERS LOG must be signed by
the writer. Names will be
withheld upon request.

ridiculous. Well, why in hell go
there, then?

For those who are not ac­
quainted with Puerto Rico, I
would, like to suggest where to
go for a good time and get all
the things you're looking for
without being clipped. I find
the Key Club hard to beat.

'Square Shooter'
This club has Just been taken

over by an ex-marine, Charlie
Connelly, who has only been
there a few months and already
has a name as a square shooter.
The Key Club is one of the few
clubs I have been in where I
find you get a fair shake and
you can find what you're looking
for, including a floor show and
lots of girls.

But one of the few things you
will find at this cliib which a lot
of them lack is the fairness of
the owner in his business and a
place that is spotlessly clean.
Beer goes for 30 cents, highballs
for 50 cents and you get a
regular size bai^ drink. And if
you're one who likes an occa­
sional mixed drink, he knows
what you're talking about and
doesn't look stupified as thejb do
at some of the clubs that know
only highballs and beer. The
floor shows are as good as you
can find anywhere in Puerto
Rico. ^

So you guys who are dis­
gusted with the waterfront
dives, stay away from them and
visit such places as the Key
Club when you find them. It's
in Santurce, only a few minutes
by bus or cab from San Juan.

Walter J. Fitch

She's Grateful
For Hospital $
To the Editor:

I want to offer my thanksjto
the SIU for the help we re­
ceived through the Welfare
Plan.

I was in the hospital in 1953
and 1956, the last time for ma­
jor surgery, and it was so nice
not to have to worry about the
whole bill. Believe me, we are
very grateful, and I am very
proud to be the wife of an SIU
man.

Mr. Ramon Murillo
^ $1

Acclaims 'Hero'
In RepubllQ Fire
To the Editor: •

Though I do not profess to
be a Longfellow, Holmes or
Georgie Bernard Shaw^ I.iiip go-

Berryhill
<

gave the

ing to try to show, to the best
of my ability, the actions taken
by one of my shipmates who,
when under pressure, acted like
a real veteran of "the tight
squeeze."

I am referring to William R.
Berryhill, ordinary seaman on
my watch aboard the Republic.

I was inspired and driven to
write this letter because of the
fact that "the real hero of the
day" was (overlooked almost
completely in the past articles
published in the LOG (Oct. 26,
Dec. 7).

The course of events and the
action taken by Berryhill''really
-deserve praise, and 'I hope he
gets it to the utmost. If it
should fall on anyone, it should
land on him..

Going On Watch
The night we had the fire,

Berryhill was going out on deck
to take his morn-
ifig watch when
he was caught by
a blinding flash
that erupted mid­
ships around
number five. But
he immediately
thought of us,
his brother crew-
members, raced
back through the
passageways and
alarm, shouting,, "Fire, fire, the
ship's on fire!"

He then ran forward, draped
his shirt over his head, and ran
up the ladder through the
flames. They had by now
climbed as high as the flying.
bridge and had laid a blanket
which covered a good part of
the midship house, but he man­
aged to get to the bridge to
sound 4he general alarm.

Leaving the bridge, he came
back down towards the catwalk
and again went through the
flames to ti.e two nearest fire
stations. He set up two hoses '
and manned one before anyone
else, outside of the unfortun­
ate chief mate [who later died—
Ed.] had hit the deck. Under
such conditions, since he wa^
pre.ssed for time, it's not hard
to visualize the wonderful job
he did.

He didn't shrink under pres­
sure. and my hat will always
be off to him, a guy who de­
serves a lot of credit and the
greatest esteem.

Frank Demasl

(Ed. note: Two men loere in­
jured in the ' Republic five in
Santos, Brazil, in addition to
the chief mate who later died.
The ship was taking on ballast
in Santos at the time. We're
happy to publish this tribute to
Brother Berryhill, now that
more of the facts are in.)

NO Electrical
Local Lauded

• To the Editor:
I am sending this to show our

appreciation for the kindness
shown to a number of SIU men
by Electricians Local 130 in New
Orleans.

About the time that the Alcoa
Corsair caught fire. Local 130
did not have quite enough men
at their hall. So their agent
crossed the street and spoke to
our officials, offering work to
any of our qualified men who
might want to stay on the beach.

Several of our,men took these
Jobs and were treated very well.
So thanks again to Local 130 for
helping them ut.

Maurice "Duke" Duet

Lauds Kindness
Of Readier Crew
To the Editor:

This is a letter of thanks
which I hope you will publish
as soon as possible. I sincerely
want to thank the officials at
the Baltimore hall for what
they did for my wife during
her illness and death while I
was away.

I also want to thank the crew
of the Alcoa Roamer, especially
Paul and Rudy, for" what they
did to try and get me home.
Thanks also to the captain and
chief engineer who did every­
thing possible to help.

I'm not too good at writing
anything lik^'this, but I "want
them all to know that I really
appreciate all they did for me.

Eddie Potts
4> t

Sunion Cheers
Radio Operator
To the Editor:

We are submitting some pic­
tures of the ship's meeting in
the North Atlantic and of the
crew at work en route to Rouen,.
France.

In regard to our radio opera­
tor, we, the crew of the SS Sun-
ion. would like to indicate our
appreciation to him for his serv­
ices. He went out of his way
to bring us the news and sports
events every day and .post them
on the bulletin board.

We would also like to thank
SIU patrolman J. Bullock in
Norfolk for the good payoff last
trip. He'settled all beefs and
collected a good " deal of dis­
puted overtime for us.

We have had a very good trip.
The North Atlantic was good to
us coming over, and we hope
for the same going back.

Ear! McNab
Ship's delegate

v..

Making the most of a smooth Atlantic crossing, bosun'W.
T. LaClair and Al Power turn to with paintbrushes in the
galley of the Sunion. Both were hard at it when the pic-
turey was taken at 2 AM, enroute to France.

< 1C a rt • ,4 .i •.



SEAFARERS LOG Dceember tl. 195# Pare Fifteen.

ICE
ST

lUROPEAN
WATERS

ITD"
East Coast

South Atlan-
fc of United

(xico, Carlh-
of South

t of Mexico

mean area,
ropean and

World
• • •
GMT
iay)

Imerica

tnerica

merica

GMT
iday)

TRENT

1 H
13. 1956. Ho joined
ramber 7, 1952, and
the steward depart-

urvlved by his wife,
bronha of Brooklyn,
took place In St.
;ery, Plnelawn, NY.

State Okays
SlU Stand
On Welfare

(Continued from page 3)
Dally News" and the "NY Tlmei
at hearings before Javlts last Ai
gust, as saying that Insurance cor
panics "«ee several hundred mlUlt
dollars lying around and they wai
to get hold of It." He pointed oi
that these joint funds follow tl
pattern of Taft-Hartley, whl«
calls for all welfare plans esta
llshed by collective bargaining ai
affecting Interstate commerce,
be jointly administered.

Miller, Incidentally, was the on
representative of a joint unlo:
employer fund to appear at tl
hearings and to file a brief on b
half of the trade-union vlewpoli

The SIU counsel said that Insu
ance companies will probably s
tempt to upset the Attomey-Ge;
eral's ruling for fear that th(
would lose lucrative group Insu
ance accounts that would now tei
to follow the pattern set "by tl
SIU and other unions.

The Issue actually rose not fro
the Insurance Industry, but fro
a move In 1955 by the fund ope
ated for the National Marltln
Union. Although the SIU ai
many unions and Industries hai
been operating self-admlnlster4
funds for years, the NMU—^th<
operating under an Insiurance coi
pany setup — asked the superi
tendent of the State Insurance D
partment for a ruling on Its co:
templated transfer to the self-li
sured type of plan.

The superintendent declined
Issue such a ruling, and the fur
of the NMU went to the courl
wh^re the petition was dlsmlssc
on technical grounds. The NM
plan did not appeal the case, bi
switched Its plan nevertheless.

Counsel for the Seafarers W«
fare Plan and the SIU felt that
was Important that the Issue 1
fought through to a finish. Cons
quently. Miller participated In tl
hearings before the Attorney Gei
eral and submitted the brief pr
sentlng the position Which subs
quently was upheld by the Atto
ney General In his-ruling.

^lU
cuam

DIRECTORY OF SIU I
|iO District
,...Uie E. Beltlmor* 8t.
gent XAstern 7-4800

>76 State St.
iicnt Elchmbnd 3-0140

4203 Canal St.
as Agent Capital 7-6558
, 141B Ryan St.
lent HEmlock 6-5744
. .1 Soutb Ltawrenca St.
It HEmlock 3-1754

833 BienviUe St
, Agent -Tulatie 8626
.678 4tb Ave., Brooklyn

HYaclntb 9-6600
137-129 Bank St.

UAdlson 2-9834
: 837 Market St.
t. Market 7-1635
RA, PB. .PelayoSl^ag

Pbone 3-5996
I- 450 Harrison St
(ent Douglas 2-5475
rest Coast Representative

8 Abercom St
ting Agent Adams 3-1728

8505 1st Ave.
at EUlott 4334
^18U N. FrankUn SL
ent Pbone 3-1323

WILMINUTON. CalU 505 Slartne At
Reed Humphries. Agent. Terminal 4-28
HEADQUARTERS .. 675 4tb Ave.. Bklj

SECRETARY-TREASURER
Paul HaU

ASST. SECRETARY-TREASURERS
J. Algina, Deck C. Simmons. Joli
J. Volpian, Eng. W. HaU. Joint
E. Mooney, Std. R. Jilatthews. Joli

SUP
HOMOLULU., 16 Merchant t

Phone 5-87
PORTLAND 211 SW Clay I

CApital 3-43
RICHMOND, CALIF 610 Macdonald Av

BEacon 2-09
SAN FRANCISCO 450 Harrison !

Douglas 3-83
SEATTLE 2505 1st Av

Main 02
WILMINCTON 505 Marine Av

Terminal 4-31:
NEW YORK .. 675 4th Ave., Brookl!

HYaclnth 9-611

Canadian District
HALIFAX, N.S 128'A HoUlS {

Phone- 3-89
834 St. James St. We

. PLateau 8Ii
MONTREAL

EVERY I
SUNDAY I

s •• -•
r

1

1

I DIRECT VO
IBRDADCA
I
I u-

R-
in
at

TO SHIPS IN ATLANTIC
AND SOUTH AMERICAN^h

"THE VOICE OF THE
WFK-39, 19850 KCs Ships In Caribbean "'

of South America, £
tic and East CoasY®"
States. :

fVFL-65, 13850 KCs Ships in Gulf of M^t-
bean, West Coastn-
America, West CoaRv
and US East Coast^^^

WFK-95, 15700 KCs Ships in Medlterriid
North Atlantic, Euie
US East Coast.

m
# m

. r-

iyieanwhile, MTD 'Round-The-id

Wireless Broadcasts Continue ^
Every Sunday, 1915 >n
(2:15 PM EST Sunti-
WCO-13020 KCs n.
Europe and North

WCO-16908.8 KCs n-
East Coast South Ah-

WCO-22407 KCs to West Coast South Aj^

Every Monday, 0315Si
(10:15 PM EST SuKd

WMM 25-15607 KCi^J
Australia

WMM 81-11037.5
Northwest Pacific

li­
lt

-le

MARITIME TRADES DEPAIC
"e-
,e-

FINAL DISPATf
The deaths of the following Sea­

farers have been reported to the
Seafarers Welfare Plan and the
SIU death benefit la being paid to
their beneficiaries;

WilUam T. Potter, 48: On Sep­
tember 14, 1956, Brother Potter
died from a head Injury aboard the
SS Barbara Frletchle. His burial
took place In Forest Lawn Cemete­
ry In Norfolk.

^
Joseph Engles, 41: Brother

Engles died from the effects
of heat exposure
In Dhahran, Saudi
Arabia, on Sep­
tember 7, 1956.
He joined the
Union January 7,
1939, and was
sailing In the
engine depart­
ment.

4" 4"
Andrew Noronha, 30: Brother

Noronha died of a heart ailment

on November
the Union Noi
was sailing In
ment. He Is s
Mrs. Jennie N
NY. Burial
Charles Cemet

Louis And His Korean Friend

East and west do meet sometimes, as proved by this photo
of Louis Schwartz and "Papa San." "Papa" is from Kunsan,
Korea. Louis, OS on the Kyska, is from Brooklyn.

PERSONALS AND NOTICES
Walter K. Yerke

Contact your brother Oscar at
1116 McDonald St., Wilmington,
Calif.

Do Lein Chin
You are asked to contact George

G. Haymundo, 192-07 Williamson
Ave., Springfield Gardens 13, NY,
NY.

Clemente Flores
Your gear Is being held in the

baggage room at headquarters un­
der the name of Roy Johnson.

Preston Smith
You are asked to contact your

sister, Louise Erode, at 1813;'Lin­
den Ave., Baltimore 17, Md.

Richard J. Broun
Your wife Wishes you to contact

her. Joe Is 111 and needs you.
Eddie Caudlll

• George .O'Berry wishes you to
Write him t/o the Azalea eit:y,
Waterman Steamship, Mobile

William J. Tarrant, Jr.
' You are asked to write or phone

Sammie D. Rose, 1007 S.W. 2nd

St., Oklahoma City, Okla. Phone
FOrrest 5-2656.

F. T. Costello
Headquarters Is holding substan­

tial sum of money that was col­
lected for you.

{RANCHES
SIU, A?4

BALTIMORE.
Earl Sheppard. A
BOSTON
James Sheehaib i
HOUSTON It
A. Michelet. Acti^^
LAKE CHARLES,
Leroy Clarke. Ag
MOBILE
Cal Tanner. AgeSt.
NEW ORLEANS
Llnd'sey WUllams^g
NEW YORK e.

25
NORFOLK St.
Ben Reel. Agent 63
PHILADELPHIA, on
S. CarduUo. Agen""
PUERTA de TIEBsi
Sal CoUa. Agent
SAN FRANCISCOSS
Leon Johnson,
Marty Breithoa. V
SAVANNAH ....R
E. B. McAuley. AC])
SEATTLE
Jeff GUlette, Age^'
TARH»A
Tom. Banning. Ag''

PORT COLBORNB 103 Durham St.
Ontario Phone: 5591

rORONTO, Ontario 272 King St. E
EMpire 4-5719

VICTORIA. BC 617V4 Cormorant St.
Empire 4531

VANCOUVER, BC 298 Main St.
Pacific 3468

SYDNEY, NS 304 Charlotte St.
Phone 6346

BACOTVILLB, Queheo 20 Elgin St.
Phone: 545

raOROLD, Ontario S3 St. Davids St
CAnal 7-3202

QUEBEC 85 St. Pierre St.
Quebec Phone: 3-1S69

SAINT JOHN.. 85 Germain St.
NB Phone: 2-5232

Great Lakes District
ALPENA 1215 N. Second Ave.

Phone: 713-J
BUFFALO. NY 180 Main St.

Phone: Cleveland 7391
CLEVELAND 734 Lakeside Ave.; NE

Phone: Main 1-0147
DETROIT 1038 3rd St.

Headquarters Phone: Woodward 1-6857
DULUTH 531 W. Michigan St

Phone: Randolph 2-4110
SOUTH CHICAGO...... 3261 E. B2nd St

All of the following SIU families
will collect the $200 maternity
benefit plus a $25 bond from thi
Union in the baby's name:

i Steven William Cachola, born
October 1, 1956, to Seafarer aiid
Mrs. William V. Cachola, Balti-
riiore, Md. \.

Helen Dawn Loffler, born June
8, 1956, to Seafarer and Mrs. John
C. Loffler, Grafton. W. Va.

Michael Jay Dawson, born No­
vember 25, 1956, to Seafarer and
Mrs. Norman J. Dawson, Brooklyn,
NY.

Christine Marie "Savant, born,
November 20, 1956, to Seafarer and
Mrs. Walter E. Savant, Mamou, La.

Ursel Sellse Forbes, born No­
vember 15, 1956, to Seafarer and
Mrs. John Forbes, Mobile, Ala.

Carlos M. Gonzales Valdivieso,
born September 20, 1956, to Sea­
farer and Mrs. Ramon Gonzales,
Ponce, PR.

Jeffrey Lance Davis, born No­
vember 18, 1956, to Seafarer and
Mrs. Paul R. Davis, New Orleans,
La.-

Victor Lynn Reese, born Novem­
ber 22, 1956, to Seafarer and Mrs.
Frank F. Reese, Port Nueches,
Texas. .

; Joel Tony Gatewood, boin OctOT
ber 10, 1956, to Seafarer and Mrs. ;
Woodrow W., Gatewood, Andalusia,
Ala. •

Idelfonso Perez Jr., born October
6, 1956, to Seafarer and Mrs. Idel-
fonso Perez, Baltimore. Md.

Ibellize Ortiz, born November 26,
1956, to iSeafarer and Mr-s.-Hum-
bei'to ;.Oidiz,,;Br,OQkly.ni- NY!;^^ i!' '

. .it

-if

XaoiiA .i. Mdii'f '



Vol. XViil
No. 26 SEAFARERS U>C Doe. 21

1956

AWAROE.O FIRST PRIZE m GENERAL EDITORIAL EXCELLENCE • 18S8 • INTERNATIONAL LABOR PRESS OF AMERICA

• OFFICIAL, ORGAN OF THE SEAFARERS INTERNATIONAL UNION • ATLANTIC AND GULP DISTRICT • AFi-CIO •
If

i:

I' V

r,

I:...
[ H"'

id-;.

r-.

u:

"D) [E ~P L • m
Jli k

The Christmas season is a
particularly meaningful time
for Seafarers, emphasizing
as It does the ideal of the
brotherhood of man.

This ideal is a familiar one
to the men who hold mem­
bership in the Brotherhood
of the Sea—^men from many
lands and speaking many
languages. It is appropri­
ate during this holiday sea­
son for all Seafarers to re-
dedicate themselves to the
Ideal of the Brotherhood of
the Sea on which the Union
has been built.

In this spirif the SlU A&G
District wishes Seafarers and
their friends everywhere a
yery Merry Christmas.

GH;R,ISTI^^A.S
- ^

SOnST-A. IDKLXTIT

I

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