I. SEAMEN A18 SEC. 4549. All seamen discharged in the United States from merchant vessels engaged in voyages from a port in the United States to any foreign port, or, being of the burden of seventy-five tons or upward, from a port on the Atlantic to a port on the Pacific, or vice versa, shall be discharged and receive their wages in the presence of a duly authorized shipping-commissioner under this Title, except in cases where some competent court otherwise directs; and any master or owner of any such vessel who discharges any such seaman belonging thereto, or pays his wages within the United States in any other manner, shall be liable to a penalty of not more than fifty dollars. SEC. 4550. Every master shall, not less than forty-eight hours before paying off or discharging any seaman, deliver to him, or, if he is to be discharged before a shipping-commissioner, to such shipping-commissioner, a full and true account of his wages, and all deductions to be made therefrom on any account whatsoever; and in default shall, for each offense, be liable to a penalty of not more than fifty dollars. No deduction from the wages of any seaman except in respect of some matter happening after such delivery shall be allowed, unless it is included in the account delivered; and the master shall, during the voyage, enter the various matters in respect to which such deductions are made, with the amounts of the respective deductions as they occur, in the official log-book, and shall, if required, produce such book at the time of the payment of wages, and, also, upon the hearing, before any competent authority, of any complaint or question relating to such payment. SEC. 4551. Upon the discharge of any seaman, or upon payment of his wages, the master shall sign and give him a certificate of discharge, specifying the period of his service and the time and place of his discharge, in the form marked Table B in the schedule annexed to this Title; and every master who fails to sign and give to such seaman such certificate and discharge, shall, for each such offense, incur a penalty 18 Rev. Stat. Secs. 4549-53. [The text is that of the Act of June 7, 1872. These provisions were extended to seamen "shipped by a shipping-commissioner for any American vessel in the coastwise trade, or the trade between the United States and the Dominion of Canada, or Newfoundland, or the West Indies, or Mexico," by the Act of Aug. 19, 1890, as amended by the Acts of Feb. 18, 1895, and March 3, 1897.] not exceeding fifty dollars. But whenever the master shall discharge his crew or any part thereof in any collection-district where no shipping-commissioner has been appointed, he may perform for himself the duties of such commissioner. SEC. 4552. The following rules shall be observed with respect to the settlement of wages: First. Upon the completion, before a shipping-commissioner, of any discharge and settlement, the master or owner and each seaman, respectively, in the presence of the shipping-commissioner, shall sign a mutual release of all claims for wages in respect of the past voyage or engagement, and the shipping-commissioner shall also sign and attest it, and shall retain it in a book to be kept for that purpose, provided both the master and seamen assent to such settlement, or the settlement has been adjusted by the shipping-commissioner. Second. Such release, so signed and attested, shall operate as a mutual discharge and settlement of all demands for wages between the parties thereto, on account of wages, in respect of the past voyage or engagement. Third. A copy of such release, certified under the hand and seal of such shipping-commissioner to be a true copy, shall be given by him to any party thereto requiring the same, and such copy shall be receivable in evidence upon any future question touching such claims, and shall have all the effect of the original of which it purports to be a copy. Fourth. In cases in which discharge and settlement before a shipping-commissioner are required, no payment, receipt, settlement, or discharge otherwise made shall operate as evidence of the release or satisfaction of any claim. Fifth. Upon payment being made by a master before a shippingcommissioner, the shipping-commissioner shall, if required, sign and give to such master a statement of the whole amount so paid; and such statement shall, between the master and his employer, be received as evidence that he has made the payments therein mentioned. SEC. 4553. Upon every discharge effected before a shipping-commissioner, the master shall make and sign, in the form given in the Table marked "B," in the schedule annexed to this Title, a report of the conduct, character, and qualifications of the persons discharged; or may state in such form, that he declines to give any opinion upon such par ticulars, or upon any of them; and the commissioner shall keep a register of the same, and shall, if desired so to do by any seaman, give to him or endorse on his certificate of discharge a copy of so much of such report as concerns him. B19 SEC. 4596. Whenever any seaman who has been lawfully engaged or any apprentice to the sea service commits any of the following offenses, he shall be punished as follows: First. For desertion, by forfeiture of all or any part of the clothes or effects he leaves on board and of all or any part of the wages or emoluments which he has then earned. Second. For neglecting or refusing without reasonable cause to join his vessel or to proceed to sea in his vessel, or for absence without leave at any time within twenty-four hours of the vessel's sailing from any port, either at the commencement or during the progress of the voyage, or for absence at any time without leave and without sufficient reason from his vessel and from his duty, not amounting to desertion, by forfeiture from his wages of not more than two days' pay or sufficient to defray any expenses which shall have been properly incurred in hiring a substitute. Third. For quitting the vessel without leave, after her arrival at the port of her delivery and before she is placed in security, by forfeiture from his wages of not more than one month's pay. Fourth. For willful disobedience to any lawful command at sea, by being, at the option of the master, placed in irons, until such disobedience shall cease, and upon arrival in port by forfeiture from his wages of not more than four days' pay, or at the discretion of the court, by imprisonment of not more than one month. Fifth. For continued willful disobedience to lawful command or continued willful neglect of duty at sea, by being, at the option of the master, placed in irons, on bread and water, with full rations every fifth day, until such disobedience shall cease, and upon arrival in port by forfeiture, for every twenty-four hours' continuance of such disobedience or neglect, of a sum of not more than twelve days' pay, or by imprisonment for not more than three months, at the discretion of the court. . 19 Rev. Stat. Sec. 4596. [The text is that of the Act of June 7, 1872, as amended by the Act of Dec. 21, 1898, and by the Act of March 4, 1915.] QUESTIONS 1. In what respect do the provisions of this section limit the freedom of contract of the seamen as compared with other employees? What is the justification of such special treatment? 2. Congress passes an act authorizing justices of the peace to issue warrants to arrest deserting seamen and deliver them to the master of the vessel. Is it constitutional under Amendment XIII? 2. RAILROAD EMPLOYEES 20 Every person who shall unlawfully, maliciously, and in violation of his duty or contract, unnecessarily stop, delay or abandon any locomotive, car, train of cars, or street railway car, or shall maliciously injure, hinder or obstruct the use of any locomotive, car, railroad, street railway car, or street railway, shall be fined not more than one hundred dollars or imprisoned not more than six months. QUESTIONS 1. Could Congress make it a crime for employees of railways engaged in interstate commerce to abandon their employment in violation of their contracts without just excuse or notice? 2. Is there any justification for special treatment of railway employees? 3. GENERAL 21A person, who willfully and maliciously, either alone or in combination with others, breaks a contract of service or hiring, knowing, or having reasonable cause to believe, that the probable consequence of his so doing will be to endanger human life, or to cause grievous bodily injury, or to expose valuable property to destruction or serious injury, is guilty of a misdemeanor. QUESTIONS 1. Would this statute prohibit all strikes of (a) policemen, (b) employees of a city's fire department, (c) railway employees? 2. A state statute makes it a misdemeanor for any one employed by a municipality or contractor who has assumed the duty of supplying any city or town with gas, electricity or water, willfully and maliciously to break his contract of service, knowing or having reasonable cause to believe that the probable consequences of his so doing, either alone or in combination with others, will be to deprive the inhabitants of the city or town, wholly or to a 20 Rev. St. Conn. 1918. Sec. 6354. 21 Ch. 41, 1910, Cahill's Consol. Laws of N. Y., 1923. [This is also § 5 of English Conspiracy and Protection of Property Act of 1875.] great extent, of their supply of gas, electricity, or water. Is this a violation of the due process clause? Is it a desirable provision? 3. In the last question, for "to break his contract of service," substitute "to leave his employment." Would the statute then be (a) constitutional, (b) desirable? |