AMENDING THE MERCHANT A BILL TO AMEND THE MERCHANT MARINE ACT OF 1936 AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 32437 PART 11 FEBRUARY 9 AND 10, 1938 Printed for the use of the Committee on UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON: 1938 CONTENTS AMENDING THE MERCHANT MARINE ACT OF 1936 WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1938 UNITED STATES SENATE, COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, and Washington, D. C. The committees met, pursuant to adjournment, at 10:30 a. m., in the Commerce Committee Room, the Capitol, Senator Royal S. Copeland (chairman of the Commerce Committee) presiding. Present: Senators Copeland (chairman of the Commerce Commit tee), Clark, Overton, Radcliffe, Berry, Johnson of California, Vandenberg, and Gibson. Present also: Rear Admiral H. G. Hamlet, United States Coast Guard, retired, and John W. Mann, senior attorney, United States Maritime Commission. The CHAIRMAN. The committee will be in order. This morning we have as a witness Mr. Joseph P. Ryan, president of the International Longshoremen's Association, of New York City. I notice, that of the officers nominated by the National Maritime Union, Mr. Curran was nominated for president; Ferdinand Smith, who is a Communist according to our record of testimony presented, has been nominated for vice president; and Jack Lawrenson, who is also, according to the testimony, a Communist, has been nominated for secretary and treasurer. Is there anything significant about their control of the National Maritime Union, Mr. Ryan? STATEMENT OF JOSEPH P. RYAN, PRESIDENT, INTERNATIONAL LONGSHOREMEN'S ASSOCIATION, NEW YORK, N. Y. Mr. RYAN. The significant thing about that is that it is bearing out our statements that we have been making right along; namely, that in this National Maritime Union, while we have no quarrel with it as a labor organization, in spite of the fact that Curran is a seaman and Jerry King is a fireman, and some of the other officers are bona fide oilers, stewards, and firemen, who have been representing the National Maritime Union, and are on the committees, in every key position you have Roy Hudson's men. I do not want to impose upon the time of this committee to recite a list of the grievances that our organization has in this matter, but we would like to impress upon the committee the fact that there should be an investigation before any money is appropriated from the National Treasury to promote the American merchant marine, which we are all, of course, very much interested in. We think that no more money should be expended until an investigation has been made by a central committee. It is all right for us to come down here and make statements in the |