EXECUTIVE MANSION, _July 1, 1882_.
_To the House of Representatives of the United States:_
Herewith I return House bill No. 2744, entitled "An act to regulate the
carriage of passengers by sea," without my approval. In doing this I
regret that I am not able to give my assent to an act which has received
the sanction of the majority of both Houses of Congress.
The object proposed to be secured by the act is meritorious and
philanthropic. Some correct and accurate legislation upon this subject
is undoubtedly necessary. Steamships that bring large bodies of
emigrants must be subjected to strict legal enactments, so as to prevent
the passengers from being exposed to hardship and suffering; and such
legislation should be made as will give them abundance of space and air
and light, protecting their health by affording all reasonable comforts
and conveniences and by providing for the quantity and quality of the
food to be furnished and all of the other essentials of roomy, safe, and
healthful accommodations in their passage across the sea.
A statute providing for all this is absolutely needed, and in the spirit
of humane legislation must be enacted. The present act, by most of its
provisions, will obtain and secure this protection for such passengers,
and were it not for some serious errors contained in it it would be most
willingly approved by me.
My objections are these: In the first section, in lines from 13 to 24,
inclusive, it is provided "that the compartments or spaces," etc.,
"shall be of sufficient dimensions to allow for each and any passenger,"
etc., "100 cubic feet, if the compartment or space is located on the
first deck next below the uppermost deck of the vessel," etc., "or 120
cubic feet for each passenger," etc., "if the compartment or space is
located on the second deck below the uppermost deck of the vessel," etc.
"It shall not be lawful to carry or bring passengers on any deck other
than the two decks mentioned," etc.
Nearly all of the new and most of the improved ocean steamers have
a spar deck, which is above the main deck. The main deck was in
the old style of steamers the only uppermost deck. The spar deck is a
comparatively new feature of the large and costly steamships, and is now
practically the uppermost deck. Below this spar deck is the main deck.
Because of the misuse of the words "uppermost deck" instead of the use
of the words "main deck" by this act, the result will be to exclude
nearly all of the large steamships from carrying passengers anywhere
but on the main deck and on the deck below, which is the steerage deck,
and to leave the orlop, or lower deck, heretofore used for passengers,
useless and unoccupied by passengers. This objection, which is now
presented in connection with others that will be presently explained,
will, if this act is enforced as it is now phrased, render useless for
passenger traffic and expose to heavy loss all of the great ocean steam
lines; and it will also hinder emigration, as there will not be ships
enough that could accept these conditions to carry all who may now wish
to come.
The use of the new and the hitherto unknown term "uppermost deck"
creates this difficulty, and I can not consent to have an abuse of terms
like this to operate thus injuriously to these large fleets of ships.
The passengers will not be benefited by such a statute, but emigration
will be hindered, if not for a while almost prevented for many.
Again, the act in the first section, from line 31 to line 35, inclusive,
provides: "And such passengers shall not be carried or brought in any
between-decks, nor in any compartment," etc., "the clear height of which
is less than 7 feet." Between the decks of all ships are the beams; they
are about a foot in width. The legal method of ascertaining tonnage for
the purpose of taxation is to measure between the beams from the floor
to the ceiling. If this becomes a law the space required would be 8 feet
from floor to ceiling, and this is impracticable, for in all ships the
spaces between decks are adjusted in proportion to the dimensions of
the ship; and if these spaces between decks are changed so as not to
correspond in their proportions with the dimensions of the vessel,
the ship will not work well in the sea, her sailing qualities will
be injured, and she will be rendered unfit for service.
It is only in great ships of vast tonnage that the height between
decks can be increased. All the ordinary-sized ships are necessarily
constructed with 7 feet space in the interval between the beams from the
floor to the ceiling. To adopt this act, with this provision, would be
to drive out of the service of transporting passengers most all of the
steamships now in such trade, and no practical good obtained by it, for
really, with the exception of the narrow beam, the space between the
decks is now 7 feet. The purpose of the space commanded by the act is to
obtain sufficient air and ventilation, and that is actually now given to
the passenger by the 7 feet that exists in all of these vessels between
floor and ceiling.
There is also another objection that I must suggest. In section 12,
from line 14 to line 24, it is provided: "Before such vessel shall be
cleared or may lawfully depart," etc., "the master of said vessel shall
furnish," etc., "a correct list of all passengers who have been or are
intended to be taken on board the vessel, and shall specify," etc. This
provision would prevent the clearing of the vessel. Steam vessels start
at an appointed hour and with punctuality. Down almost to the very hour
of their departure new passengers, other than those who have engaged
their passage, constantly come on board. If this provision is to be the
law; they must be rejected, for the ship can not, without incurring
heavy penalties, take passengers whose names are not set forth on the
list required before such vessel shall be cleared. They should be
allowed to take such new passengers upon condition that they would
furnish an additional list containing such persons' names. There are
other points of objection of a minor character that might be presented
for consideration if the bill could be reconsidered and amended, but the
three that I have recited are conspicuous defects in a bill that ought
to be a code for such a purpose, clear and explicit, free from all such
objections. The practical result of this law would be to subject all of
the competing lines of large ocean steamers to great losses. By
restricting their carrying accommodations it would also stay the current
of emigration that it is our policy to encourage as well as to protect.
A good bill, correctly phrased, and expressing and naming in plain,
well-known technical terms the proper and usual places and decks where
passengers are and ought to be placed and carried, will receive my
prompt and immediate assent as a public necessity and blessing.