We are today confronted with the very serious problem of providing a first-class American personnel, both officers and men, for our rapidly expanding American Merchant Marine. The turn-over of personnel in American ships today is greater than ever before. Men come and go, making one voyage and then leaving the ship probably to go in another ship, and, often as not, to work ashore awhile before again looking for a ship.
It is desirable that some plan be devised which will appeal to the American boy and make it worth his while to go the sea, and further, a plan which will particularly make it worth his while to remain in the same ship for successive voyages. It is further desirable that a premium be put upon good conduct and that the American boy be inspired to take a real interest in the business of going to sea.
As compared with other maritime nations, our methods of developing officers for the merchant marine are haphazard in the extreme and most unsatisfactory. The plan outlined in this article undertakes to accomplish several very important and most desirable innovations in the hope that the following results may be realized:
(1) A real appeal to the American boy, something tangible, which he can see for himself, and which will make it worth his while to go to sea.
(2) A plan which will put a premium upon good conduct and continuous service in the same ship.
(3) The training and education of American boys as officers for American ships, to the end that we may develop for American shipping a high-grade officer personnel comparable to the merchant marine officer personnel of any other maritime nation.
My plan in substance is as follows: To establish at our various land grant universities, in our most important seaports, as for instance San Francisco, New York City, Seattle, New Orleans, courses in navigation, seamanship, marine engineering, and machine-shop practice for bona fide professional mariners; courses to be absolutely free of charge to professional American mariners only.
The professional mariner is to be an American boy, who has put in at least three full years at sea in American seagoing ships, and who has during that time established a record for good conduct and has shown some capacity and aptitude for the business of going to sea.
The actual working of the system would be somewhat as follows: An American boy, who has been three years at sea in American ocean-going merchant ships or who has served one full enlistment in the United States Navy, may appear before the United States Local Inspectors of Hull and Boilers with his discharges and such other proofs as may be required to substantiate his claim of three years sea service. The United States Local Inspectors will then pass upon this claim for the right to the free course in navigation or marine engineering, as the case may be, and will certify the candidate to the United States Public Health Service for a physical examination. The candidate, having satisfied these requirements, may then be certified to the nearest land grant university for one year’s course of instruction in navigation and seamanship, or marine engineering and machine-shop practice. At the end of one year’s course of instruction, the candidate will appear before the United States Local Inspectors for examination for a third mate’s, or a third assistant engineer’s license. The candidate having obtained his license may then go to sea on his license, for one or two years as the case may be, in regular ocean-going ships, as an officer in charge of a regular sea watch for one year, or for two years as junior officer not in charge of a watch. He may then return to the United States Local Inspectors and, after again passing a physical examination, be certified for a six months’ course at the nearest land grant university, in preparation for his second mate’s or his second assistant engineer’s license. After completing the six months’ course at the university, the candidate will appear before the inspectors for examination for his second mate’s or his second assistant engineer’s license, and upon obtaining it may again go to sea on his license in regular ocean-going merchant ships. After having sailed for a year as second mate or second assistant engineer of ocean or coastwise steam vessels of 1,000 gross tons or over, or two years as officer in charge of a watch in ocean or coastwise steam vessels of 1,000 gross tons or over, he may return to the United States Local Inspectors the third time and after again having passed a physical examination may be certified to the university for another six months’ course in navigation or marine engineering in preparation for his chief mate’s, or his first assistant engineer’s license, and after having completed the course, he may take the regular examination before the inspectors for his new license. After having served one year as chief mate or first assistant engineer of ocean or coastwise steam vessels, the candidate may return again to the inspectors, and after passing a physical examination may be certified to the nearest land grant university for his final and last course in preparation for his master’s, or his chief engineer’s license, and after having completed this last six months’ course, may again appear before the inspectors. On passing this fourth and final examination for his master’s or his chief engineer’s license, the candidate will have completed six or more years of sea service and will have had two and one-half years of first-class, high-grade instruction in navigation, or marine engineering, and should be at this time a thoroughly qualified, competent, and a very practical merchant marine deck or engineer officer.
It is further suggested that some sort of loan fund be instituted where candidates filling the requirements outlined in this plan may borrow money at a very low rate of interest in order that they may obtain funds with which to pay for their board and lodging while attending the university. The history of this sort of a loan fund is that men obtaining loans for their own advancement rarely default.
It is earnestly believed that if some such plan as outlined herein is put into effect, we shall have within ten years a well- educated, well-trained, high-grade, merchant marine personnel, comparable to the merchant marine personnel of any maritime nation, and further, an up-and- coming lot of young men a source of officer material, doing their level best to avail themselves of the opportunity for the free university courses in navigation and marine engineering which will fit them for officers’ positions.
It is particularly desirable, and it is considered very important in connection with the plan outlined, that the American boy go to sea for at least three years before he can be certified for a free course in navigation or marine engineering for his third mate’s or third assistant engineer’s license. In three years time the boy will learn whether or not he is fitted for the sea and whether or not he wants to go to sea, and there will be a definite weeding out of boys who have no aptitude and are in no way suited.
Every American boy going to sea will know that he may as a matter of course obtain a free education and sure promotion and will be most likely to conduct himself decently and to make a real effort to stay by his ship for successive voyages.
The plan outlined herein will require no special annual appropriation for school ships, either state or federal, and once instituted will carry on of itself and should be quite free of politics. The arranging of special classes in navigation and marine engineering, seamanship, and machine- shop practice at the various land grant, seaport universities should not be such a very difficult undertaking and it is believed that if the matter were taken up in the right way and made a federal proposition all the way through, it would have the support of our shipping interests throughout the land.
The shipowner should be especially interested in the sort of training I have outlined in that it will accomplish several things of great importance towards the successful operation of American merchant ships, to wit:
(1) There will be greater permanence of personnel in lower ratings, as for instance, able seaman and firemen.
(2) The conduct of the men in the lower ratings will be, as a matter of course, greatly improved.
(3) Men and officers will receive their training in the very sort of ships in which they will be going to sea when they become officers, and as a result they will have a first-hand knowledge of those ships.
(4) Periods at sea in regular ocean-going merchant ships, alternating with courses in navigation or marine engineering at first-class universities, will provide a real practical education and be quite in keeping with modern thought along educational lines.
All indications point to the fact that we are going to have a big American Merchant Marine and, if such is the case, we must commence to build up a personnel for that Merchant Marine, both men and officers. The old slap-dash method of making officers will not serve. State school ships are well enough in their way, but we must have something bigger and broader and something much more comprehensive. In any event, why not use the whole American Merchant Marine as a training ship and our land grant universities located in seaports as schools of instruction in navigation and marine engineering?
In contrast with the state school-ship system, the present private navigation schools fill a very real need, in fact they are the only thing we have, but they are even more inadequate than the state school-ship system and cannot be relied upon for the upbuilding of a real officer personnel for the large American Merchant Marine we are certainly going to have in a few years.
Necessarily, the co-operation of American shipowners will be required to the fullest extent in order that the plan outlined herein may prove successful. For instance, if the second mate of an important ship wants to stop off for six months to attend a university in preparation for going before the United States Local Inspectors for his chief mate’s license, the owners of that ship should arrange to let him have leave without pay for the six months’ period, without jeopardizing his seniority with the company.
The United States Navy should be very much in favor of the plan for it will provide a reservoir of high-grade merchant marine officers who may, in emergency, be called into active duty. Special Navy courses, which may be outlined by the Navy Department, may be incorporated along with the courses in navigation and marine engineering, and it may even be desirable that it be made mandatory upon all merchant marine officers obtaining a free education at the land grant universities to become members of the United States Naval Reserve and be subject to call in case of national emergency.