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et watts ehey or breakdown in that service nol only deprives the men of thelr wage: and the operators of thelr Income, but directly impairs the Inéome and business of preduc- ers and consumers who are de- pendant upon ihe maintenance of and sailings and deliveries: and thus serious). affec's the naticnal welfare, While this is true of the railroad Industry, itis an even more serfoug matier wilh respect to ncean-borne commerce, Should our failroads rease to ' nection because of Jabor disturb- aneor, Jand-going freight might he moved byw unaffected iatlroads or be other meaner of transportation, if, however, a ton of cargo errives ntoan American port for cartilage abroad on en American-flag rhip vhich is Hed up asa result of labor -voable, that ton of freight which must miove will trevel By the first ereilable nieins, and when, as is “aqguenthy the case. that meane is & Torelgn-flag ship. vot only is the revenus Inst to the American oper- aor But ft in oc ty thet future onipments will alsa ps to the tor- eten-flag operator who was able to “arry that freight abroad. The bare fifures which shew the revutlar regular venta Un deacet dat. at weal. Jomt seroma dat fietedt leweraiece which hase tesulled from strikes wed loskotls im maciterse antap. 8a ara shocking. Thuitme thea fiat ten rronchs of L907 such strikes patil daekouis involved over 41005 eamrcn., Dhesa were 45, maritime | ! | | iar tle-ups affecting tha traffic of every Unified States port, Sea. reea: einploved on veaseia affected { a totel of 999.733 man-houis of work. Thi. fip:iie does not inelude werk lost by Jongshoremen. Un- ‘onestionably, many thousands of men and women workcts lost their wager while Isid off because of these maritinie labor troubles. Exanipies of Loss in Freight While tt fs not possibile to estimate {he losses avising frem delay in :reight movement catsed by dis- turbance: gn the maritime Jahor situation, a few recent examples cuiphasize the completa depend: nce of producers and consunicia in Sorte werion of the country upon stable and satisfactory labor condi- tions In our shipping industry. AS 8 Tesult of a atevedores’ atrike In Philadelphia in December, 1937, forty-five carloads of oranges and |- grapefruit remained in the holds of vessels which had brought them from Florida. Strikes on the At- lantic Coast Jast October resulted in the diversion of thousands of tone of Florida citrus fruits to railroads and trucks, with resulting losses to the citrus growers who were thua compelled to pay higher transpor- tation charges, Approximately $3,000 bajes of cot- ton, 90 per cent of it destined for export, were held at Charleston during last October because of a ahipping strike; some of it remained in the streets subject to deteriora- tion by the elements because of jack of sufficient storage facilities. Per- ishable foodstuffs could not be un- loaded. The recent Jongshoremen’'s atrike in Seattle took place at a time for large shipments of apples and caused the fruit growers of the Northwest to suffer serious loss, | One shipment of 125 cars had to he transported overland to Tacoma, with resulting loss to the producer. A strike in Philadelphia last month prevented landing a cargo of ha- nana. : Within the paat few days the newr- papers have carried accounts of a jaerious food shortage in Puerto Rico, the result of the shipping strike on the island. In San Juan 'huiter is reported to have aold for :$1.50 a pound. Prices of al! com- imodities have skyrocketed, and , there is an impending serious short- jage of food. These are but a few examples and involve oniy a few latrikes. <A study of the effects of jall of the more than 451 strikes of 1937 would reveal an astounding list ‘of similar situations. National Weifare Involved ) ‘Thus, it fa clear that iabor dis- , turbances on the waterfront vitally ; affect the economic welfare of the country a8 a whole. A strike which | ties up the port of New Orieans ‘may depress the price of corn grbwn and sold for export by an llliinois farmer. Thereby, tha Ilinois farmer's ability to buy mec move from our porta to bezintou: it is obvious that railway systr and water carriers are largely terdependent. Each of our larger railway systems handles jo traffic with carriere by wai Stable and rellable service in oce. going commerce is just as imp tant to the railroads and their ¢ ployes as stability and reliability their own service, It should constanth be borne mind, too, that life and property sea can only be safeguarded by competent, disciplined and conte ed personnel, and that the existe: of such a personnel to man ~« merchant ships is of primary ¢ portance to the national defens. Investigation and experience c vinces the commission that di: Pline and the responalbilliy af m= j time labor and the co-relaiive o: gations of maritime emplovers m be established at the earHert po: ble moment and not in a ‘'f years’ hence. To tolerate prea. conditions and to allow the pres chaotic situation to continue wi out determined and courageous forts to bring about proper cor tions tn the field of matitime Ja would in our opinion invite compicta deatruetion cf the Any ean Merchant Marino, The commission hes earried ihe mandate of Congress found section 301 of the Merchant Blar Act of 1936 with respect to est jHshing minimum manning sca! iminimum wage scales, and rear (able working conditions for af} ficers and crews employed on v in Chicago or meet payments on his mortgage to a Philadelphia in- surance company is diminished - may even be destroyed. The slender margin of profit esrned by producers and manufac- turers under modern competitive conditiona may be wiped out be- cause a group of waterfront em- ployers in a port a thousand miles away refuse to discuss the question of wages for the run to the Argen- tine with the men who work their ehips, . Any candid statement of losses suffered by reason of last year's maritime labor disturbances must necessarily include not only lost wages of seamen and lost earnings of ship operators, but also the wages of thousands of other work- ers Inid off while machines waited for raw material gz in ships which could not unload, and lost profits of the farmers whose wheat and corn and other products were interrupted in transit to foreign markets, and the loases of house- holders who paid higher prices for foodstuffs necessarily shipped by rail because transportation by water was paralyzed. A controversy between the onera- {ors and seamen im juet as much a nintlar oF national concern ax tha size of the Federal budget, and it Is not unreasonable for cur people to rinvide that the principals to such controversies shall endeavor to com- pose thelr differences before ob- ' structing and blocking up the ava- Hhiles of trade and commerce. No reason appears why a technique of mediation and conciliation based | sela receiving an operating-dif! upon nearly forty years’ experience; ential subsidy. Tha ecommise which ja now made available by law! must and will see io it that to labor and management in the In-!rujes and regulation« so Brom dustries of transportation by rail) gated are honored by operators and air should not likewise be pro- , employes allke. vided for workers and operators in| What the commission has de the shipping industry. « however (and it is all that {ft - Says Labor's Rights Are Safe do under existing law), {a TENOURN. Jil WE are 10 NAVE FT No showing can be made that’ chant marine of the characte such legislation violates any right | manded by the policy laid down of management or labor, constitu. | Title I of the Merchanf Marine — tional or statutory, Because prac-jof 1936, then the enactment of ! tically all goods produced for export | islation providing methods for from this country move from the! prompt and orderly settiement interior to the port of shipment, itaber disputes in the induct and most of our imported goods: urgently required,