Page images
PDF
EPUB

chant marine, that "enrollees" would even be considered as approaching inclusion there.

Mr. BROPHY. What would you call them, if you wouldn't call them regulars? What would you call them?

Mr. MCCANDLESS. I think you would call them members of the Maritime Service who were instructors or administrative assistants, but I never would consider them as regulars of the United States merchant marine. To me that conveys the ocean-going personnel who followed the sea as a profession and calling.

Mr. BROPHY. Also, it refers to the merchant marine man who follows the sea, as you say, on inland waters.

Mr. MCCANDLESS. I think that might be a difference of concept, but the concept of regulars in the United States merchant marine is so distinct from the enrollees, that to me this is the first time that the suggesion of being used interchangeably has occurred.

Mr. ALLEN. Would you define a regular as a man who doeesn't do anything else?

Mr. MCCANDLESS. Well, I would certainly consider that if a man who has chosen the sea as his calling and profession

Mr. BROPHY. But the enrollee who has chosen his work in the administrative part of the Maritime Service would be a regular also, would he not?

Mr. MCCANDLESS. I think you might say that he was a regularly employed member of the Maritime Service, but I would not

Mr. BROPHY. Especially if he put in 20 years or more, you would at least think he was a regular.

Mr. MCCANDLESS. Yes, but I wouldn't consider him a "regular" of the United States merchant marine.

Mr. BROPHY. All right.

Mr. BRADLEY of California. I am perfectly free to say I don't know what an enrollee is yet. We will have to try to find out from Admiral Knight. You may proceed, if no one has any further questions at this point.

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Chairman, I believe the bill on page 2, line 12. subsection (a) defines it. "Maritime wartime service means a master, officer, or member of the crew."

Mr. BRADLEY of California. I see no connection between that and the word enrollee.

Mr. SANDERS. All right. The question was asked that when he leaves this as I understood it-an enrollee, when he becomes a member of a crew, is not an enrollee.

Mr. BROPHY. But he could have been a member of a crew as an officer, and then became part of the administrative side of it, and became an enrollee.

Mr. BRADLEY of California. What is the definition of an enrollee. That is what I am trying to find out.

Mr. SANDERS. There are two different services there. He is a member of the crew. The enrollee is a member of the crew when he enrolls into the Maritime Service. Now, he enrolls for training, or

Mr. BROPHY. Office work.

Mr. SANDERS (continuing). And becomes an administrative worker, as you are speaking of.

Mr. BROPHY. He enrolls also when he becomes employed in the Maritime Service, does he not?

Mr. SANDERS. Yes, when he goes into an administrative office. That is correct.

Mr. BROPHY. Whether it is administrative or not. It might be subject to an administrative office, and he is also an enrollee.

Mr. SANDERS. The Maritime Service is considered sort of a quasimilitary service in which they enroll.

Mr. BROPHY. I see.

Mr. SANDERS. The merchant seaman going to sea is not enrolled. . He is discharged as an enrollee when he goes to sea. He loses the title altogether, then.

Mr. BROPHY. According to the language in lines 12 and 13, "a master, Officer, or member of the crew, on or in connection with the operation of any vessel documented under the laws of the United States." In other words, if he ordered a half-dozen cups or saucers for one of the vessels, he would be a part of that particular Maritime Service.

Mr. SANDERS. Wait a minute now. Of the Maritime Service. That is correct. But not a member of the merchant marine, and not a member of a crew.

Mr. BROPHY. If he had ever been aboard ship and then went to work as an enrollee in your office staff, he would be. This is to take care of. I think, primarily the man who became an officer and then was put in an administrative position in the Maritime Service ashore.

Mr. SANDERS. I was at sea for 14 years. At the end of 14 years I could enroll. I am a merchant seaman. I could enroll in the Maritime Service, but under the set-up you have to enroll in that service.

Mr. BROPHY. Yes, sir. That is based on your past experience. Mr. SANDERS. Then I could enroll as an enrollee. If they used me in administrative work, or as an instructor, I would still be an enrollee and I would still be discharged and then when I went back to sea I would not be an enrollee.

Mr. MCCANDLESS. May I add just one thought here. The United States merchant marine is considered, I think generally at least by those who are in and about ships, as that body of seamen who act on the active operation of the vessel. The United States Maritime Service is something quite separate and apart from that. It is, as Mr. Sanders has suggested, a quasi-military unit, whose primary function is to train and provide competent members after training, to the United States Merchant Marine; but the United States Maritime Service is a training and administrative unit, which is operated and is a governmental function.

Mr. BROPHY. Would you say then the line of demarcation was between the man who had been to sea and then became an enrollee, and those who had never been to sea and were enrollees?

Mr. MCCANDLESS. I don't see any line of demarcation or distinction there, because

Mr. BROPHY. That is what I am trying to get from the language of the bill which the gentleman is, explaining, that all those people who went to sea and then have administrative jobs because you need people who know what they are talking about in the service—and they came ashore and worked in the Maritime Service as an enrollee as against the individual who might be his assistant, who never went to sea. Would that separate him as an enrollee?

Mr. MCCANDLESS. No. They would all be together.

Mr. BROPHY. In other words, this would take care of anybody who had any connection with the office staff in administration, the term "enrollee" I mean?

Mr. MCCANDLESS. I don't think that is quite fair, unless he was an enrollee within the United States Maritime Service. If that is the limit of your question, the answer is "yes."

Mr. ALLEN. Are these three classifications in paragraphs a, b, and c. respectively, supposed to be mutually exclusive?

Mr. MCCANDLESS. They may or may not be mutually exclusive, because many of the enrollees of the Maritime Service had served time abroard ship and at sea and came into the Maritime Service to help provide us with seamen desperately needed. It could be a situation where a person served all of his time in one or the other.

Mr. BROPHY. Could you be in two classes at the same time?
Mr. MCCANDLESS. No.

Mr. BROPHY. But you could be successively?

Mr. MCCANDLESS. That is correct.

Mr. BROPHY. You could be one without the other?

Mr. MCCANDLESS. That is correct.

Mr. MALONEY. You stated that an enrollee had a quasi-military aspect. What are any of the military activities of an enrollee. You say he is quasi-military. That would imply there were some military activities that he performed.

Mr. MCCANDLESS. Yes.

Mr. MALONEY. What are some of those?

Mr. MCCANDLESS. That matter of discipline, order, and training given by the Maritime Service was in the nature of miltary training. as it had been found the responsiveness to command is enhanced by military training. The officers and members of the Maritime Service were accorded military rank. Their pay and emoluments were those accorded corresponding rank within the Coast Guard.

Mr. BRADLEY of California. One moment. In order to clarify this: You state that officers were accorded military rank. By whom were they accorded military rank? There is only one authority who can accord military rank, which is really recognized, and that is the Congress, it it not?

Mr. MCCANDLESS. That is correct.

Mr. BRADLEY of California. Were they accorded military rank by the Congress, or by the Maritime Commission?

Mr. MCCANDLESS. Right at this moment I cannot give you the an swer to that, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. BRADLEY of California. That is a very important point, because there is only one source that can accord rank, and that is the Congress. Mr. MCCANDLESS. I would be very happy to try to get you a distinct answer to that.

Mr. MALONEY. Are there any other military aspects of enrollees! Mr. MCCANDLESS. I am not absolutely certain about them. There was a certain amount of military training which I had alluded to before, and by your indulgence I would again like to defer that to Admiral Knight. This is directly within his bailiwick and he is an expert on that, whereas of course I am approaching this from the broader field.

Mr. MALONEY. Could an enrollee quit his job if he wanted to?

Mr. MCCANDLESS. Yes. He could leave his job as an enrollee but, of course, under those circumstances there would be no advantage nor entitlement to benefits.

Mr. BROPHY. May I ask another question? Could he be drafted out of the service if he happened to be in the office administration of the Maritime Service? Would he be drafted out of there, or would he be xempt from draft?

Mr. MCCANDLESS. I cannot answer your question as to whether he ould or not, but I know

Mr. BROPHY. Will you have the gentleman that answered the quesion to you privately, put his answer in the record on it. Will you lease answer this question the same way that I heard you?

Mr. SANDERS. It is entirely up to his local draft board as to whether hey want that man in the service or not.

Mr. MALONEY. Was there a directive sent

Mr. SANDERS. There was a directive, as you know, and the directive s sent out did not make the board do anything. It was entirely up to ne board.

Mr. BROPHY. It was a request that the draft board exempt them? Mr. SANDERS. And the board did just what they wanted to. Now, he draft boards have taken a number of men from the Maritime Serve after they enrolled. It may be true that the reason for that was at the Maritime Service notice to the local boards had not arrived at he time the local board set up the quota which would include one of

lese men.

It is true they have taken them from the merchant marine, although hey are supposed to be exempt, and placed in the Army, and they put em in the Navy. I will say this: In all cases where the Army took erchant seamen, or what was referred to as "regulars" and "oldmers," the Army and Navy both would release those men from their rvices to enter into the merchant marine, provided that we would otify them upon their leaving the merchant marine, or refusing to O to sea regularly.

That is the same as what they had in the other service, outside of e usual vacation of 2 days out of every 7, not to exceed 30 days in le calendar year.

Mr. BROPHY. Do you also know men were discharged from the Army id Navy to go back into private industry?

Mr. SANDERS. Yes, sir.

Mr. BRADLEY of California. I notice in these subparagraphs 3 and 4 page 5

Mr. BROPHY. Mr. Chairman, will you have him read them. He opped short of that.

Mr. BRADLEY of California. Have you gone down to that yet?
Mr. MCCANDLESS. I just got down to No. 1..

Mr. BRADLEY of California. Will you continue, please?

Mr. MCCANDLESS. Men who were brought into the merchant marine uring the war by the appeals of our Government to enter its service in is voluntary civilian but nevertheless dangerous capacity. These en comprised the bulk of the wartime merchant marine. Presumably hey have left or will leave the sea, either because jobs will not longer e available, or because they will want to return to their prewar occuations and homes which they left in order to serve our country.

Men of the United States Maritime Service who served as instructors and administrative personnel in the Government schools established during the war to train the huge number of seamen required for our merchant fleet. Many of these men were members of the merchant marine before or during the war.

Men who were in training at the termination of the war and who never had the opportunity for active sea service.

Mr. BRADLEY of California. At that point, in subparagraph 2, “presumably they have left the sea or will leave the sea." That is quite in contradiction to your previous statement that you expected to have a large portion of them return to the sea if they were educated, is it not?

Mr. MCCANDLESS. I find no contradiction in my own mind, Mr. Chairman. The point I made was this-and if I did not make it clear, may I do so now. We had a maritime labor force of about 55,000 men at the beginning of the war. Of course, those 55,000 men at that time constituted a group of certificated personnel. Many of those gentlemen will not be able to continue at the sea in our postwar merchant marine. We hope we will continue to have a larger merchant marine in the postwar period than we had prewar. There will be opportunities for advancing in the service, both in the unlicensed and the licensed personnel.

There will also be requirements for new blood to enter into our `merchant marine. It is hoped and strongly hoped that these men who have come into the merchant marine during the war will not only continue to the extent that the availability of positions are open to them, but that they will avail themselves of the best and the utmost of education so that we will have a trained citizen personnel superior to all others. The only way that they can achieve that high standard of excellence is by preparation, training, and education.

Mr. BRADLEY of California. In other words, as I get the attitude of the Maritime Commission, it presumes they won't but hopes they will. That I think is the situation as I see it now.

Mr. BROPHY. Mr. Chairman, may I ask this: You referred to certificated personnel?

Mr. MCCANDLESS. Yes.

Mr. BROPHY. Do you know anybody who was aboard ship who was not certificated?

Mr. MCCANDLESS. Yes; but there are a number of grades within the certificated ranks.

Mr. BROPHY. You include all of them and licensed; did you not? Mr. MCCANDLESS. Of course, licensed are the officer personnel, sir. Mr. BROPHY. That's right; but you say, certificated and licensed personnel. Do you know anybody else who in aboard ship was wasn't certified?

Mr. MCCANDLESS. You mean one or the other?

Mr. BROPHY. That's right.

Mr. MCCANDLESS. No.

Mr. BROPHY. In other words, you could say, include all members of the crew.

Mr. MCCANDLESS. That is correct.

Mr. BRADLEY of California. Now, in subparagraphs 3 and 4 they seem to be somewhat the same, and from reading them they would indicate that neither of those classes had any duty at sea, or that any

« PreviousContinue »