ting around with the seamen trying to keep warm (of course, we were all soaked to the skin), one man said, "I have lost everything I had."—"How is that?" "A seaman hasn't much but his trunk, and my trunk has gone down."-" Won't you get any compensation from the company?"-" Not a bit; not only that, but my wages stop also. The ship went down at a quarter of twelve and my wages stopped at a quarter of twelve." And we also experienced the law of the sea, which has been so well set forth by jurists today, when, having been picked up by a passing steamer, he got back to port. We took counsel and found, sure enough, that our entire claims were limited to this ship lying in the water several hundred miles up the coast. The company said: "Certainly; if you have any claims, all you have to do is to go and raise that vessel, and you can satisfy your claims for lost baggage out of the vessel." But we found subsequently that this ship, which as I say wasn't entirely under water, was raised, and is now running on the same route, and this summer some of my friends took the same trip on that same steamer. They said: "We are going on your ship this summer. What an amusing thing that is!" I think, as Mrs. Kelley said, that until the traveling public are willing to pay a little more attention to safety than they do to elaborate luxuries, we shall never be free from taking great risks. Think of the elaborate smoking rooms, great restaurants, luxuries beyond those which most of us ever enjoy on land, great swimming-pools and all that kind of thing. Until we are willing to pay more attention to safety than to those other things, we can hardly expect the owners of ships to insure safety. It seems to me that they will give us what we, as travelers, demand. (206) EMY OF POLITICAL SCIENCE HELD IN NEW THE autumn meeting of the Academy of Political Science, held on November 12 and 13, 1915, was devoted to the American Mercantile Marine. Three sessions were held in Earl Hall, Columbia University, and a dinner session at Hotel Astor. Prof. Edwin R. A. Seligman presided at the first session; Prof. Henry R. Seager at the second session; Mr. Irving T. Bush at the dinner session; and Prof. William R. Shepherd at the fourth session. The program follows: FIRST SESSION Friday, November 12, 1915 Earl Hall, Columbia University THE DEVELOPMENT OF AMERICAN SHIPPING 1. Introductory Address by the Presiding Officer 2. Recent Historical Development of American Shipping By Welding Ring 3. Probable Effects of the War on the Foreign Trade of the United States By G. G. Huebner 4. Present Problems of American Shipping By Gerard Henderson Discussion: Bernard N. Baker and Albert McC. Mathewson General Discussion SECOND SESSION Friday, November 12, 1915 Earl Hall, Columbia University AMERICAN FOREIGN TRADE AND TRANSPORTATION RELATIONS 1. Introductory Address by the Presiding Officer 2. The Relation of Investments to South American Trade By Charles M. Muchnic 3. Governmental Policy and Trade Relations with the Far East By Willard D. Straight By Eugene P. Thomas 4. The Tariff in Relation to Foreign Trade By Guy Emerson Discussion: William R. Shepherd General Discussion THIRD SESSION Friday, November 12, 1915 WHAT CONGRESS SHOULD DO TO DEVELOP AN AMERICAN MERCANTILE MARINE 1. Introductory Address by the Presiding Officer 2. What Congress has Done to Build Up an American Mercantile Marine By Duncan U. Fletcher 3. The American Merchant Marine By John W. Weeks 4. What Congress Should Do to Develop an American Mercantile Marine By Robert L. Owen FOURTH SESSION Saturday, November 13, 1915 Earl Hall, Columbia University SAFETY AT SEA, AND THE PROTECTION OF AMERICAN SEAMEN 1. Introductory Address by the Presiding Officer 2. The La Follette Law from the Consumers' Point of View By Mrs. Florence Kelley 3. Problems Growing Out of the Titanic Disaster By Thomas I. Parkinson 4. The Seamen's Act and its Probable Effect on American Shipping By Emerson E. Parvin Discussion: R. de Tankerville, Arthur K. Kuhn and P. H. W. Ross General Discussion PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS I. HUMANE WORK IN ILLINOIS I. GENERAL N the state of Illinois, as in most of the states, the prevention IN of cruelty to animals is entrusted to private societies. They are incorporated under the general corporations act,' although the first society organized in the state, the Illinois Humane Society, was incorporated by a special act.2 Under the present law the incorporation of anti-cruelty societies is relatively unrestricted, for the statute fixes no limit to the number of such societies which may be formed in a single county. Furthermore, all societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals have jurisdiction to operate throughout the state. In spite of the apparent ease with which anti-cruelty societies may be organized, the privilege does not appear to have been abused and the state is not burdened with an excessive number of such societies. There are one hundred and one counties in the state, but only twenty-seven counties contain organized societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals. Of the thirty-three societies outside of the city of Chicago only twelve are incorporated. The other twenty-one operate as branches of the Illinois Humane Society of Chicago. Thus it appears that, although the enforcement of anti-cruelty laws is theoretically in the hands of local authorities organized in the various counties, as a matter of fact the work throughout the state is to a large extent centralized in the city of Chicago and is largely dependent upon the activities of a single society. This is in direct contrast to the situation in New York State where there are a number of strong independent societies so distributed as practically to localize the work in several centers. 'Illinois Statutes Annotated, Chapter 32, Sections 29-34. Public Laws of Illinois, 1869, page 114. 'Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in New York State, by F. Morse Hubbard, Bulletin of Social Legislation, No. 3, June, 1915, Columbia University Press. One branch of the humane work in Illinois is under the direct supervision of the state. In 1877 an act was passed which provided that state humane agents should be appointed by the governor with the consent of the Senate to secure the enforcement of laws for the prevention of cruelty to animals at the stockyards in the town of Lake, Cook County, at East St. Louis, St. Clair County, and at the city of Peoria, Peoria County. These agents are responsible to the State Board of Live Stock Commissioners in the Department of Agriculture. The law does not provide for any appropriation for the benefit of anti-cruelty societies by any governmental agency, but requires fines imposed through the agency of any humane society or society for the prevention of cruelty to animals or children to be paid into the treasury of such society to be applied towards its support.1 Cases of cruelty to animals in the city of Chicago are brought before the municipal court of Chicago, elsewhere before justices' courts. Appeals may be taken to the Supreme Court.2 2. THE ILLINOIS HUMANE SOCIETY The Illinois Humane Society was one of the pioneers in humane work in the United States. It was organized in 1869, only three years after the formation of Henry Bergh's society in New York, for the purpose of protecting animals from the brutalities to which they were so commonly subjected in those days and for the purpose of securing the passage of much-needed humane legislation. The act of incorporation was as follows: " 3. "An Act to Incorporate the Illinois Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.-Sec. 1.-Be it enacted by the people of the state of Illinois represented in the general assembly that George C. Walker, Thomas D. Ryan, Julius S. Rumsey, Belden F. Culver, Ranch S. N. Wilcox and T. D. Brown, their associates and successors, are hereby made a corporation by the name of the Illinois Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, with all the powers and privileges and subject to all the duties, liabilities and restrictions set forth in all general laws which now are or hereafter may be in force relating to such corporations, 'Criminal Code, Illinois Statutes Annotated, Chapter 38, Section 471. 'Illinois Statutes Annotated, Chapter 37. Public Laws of Illinois, 1869, page 114. |