22 SETTLEMENT FOR ACCIDENTS TO AMERICAN SEAMEN

Form of articles of agreement

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
{Date and place of first signature of agreement, including name of shipping
office. )
It is agreed between the master and seamen or mariners of the — - -
of which ——— ———— is at present master, or whoever shall go for master,
now bound from the port of ——, ———, to ————, ——— (here the voyage
is to be described and the places named at which the vessel is to touch, or if
that can not be done, the general nature and probable length of the voyage is
to be stated).
And the said crew agree to conduct themselves in an orderly, faithful, honest,
and sober manner, and to be at all times diligent in their respective duties, and
to be obedient to the lawful commands of the said master, or of any person who
shall lawfully succeed him, and of their superior officers in everything relating
to the vessel, and the stores and cargo thereof, whether on board, in boats, or on
shore; and in consideration of which service, to be duly performed, the said master
hereby agrees to pay the said crew, as wages, the sums against their names respectively
 expressed, and to supply them with provisions according to the annexed
scale. And it is hereby agreed that any embezzlement or willful or negligent
destruction of any part of the vessel’s cargo or stores shall be made good to the
owner out of the wages of the person guilty of the same; and if any person enters
himself as qualified for a duty which he proves himself incompetent to perform,
his wages shall be reduced in proportion to his incompetency. And it is also
agreed that if any member of the crew considers himself to be aggrieved by any
breach of the agreement or otherwise, he shall represent the same to the master
or officer in charge of the vessel, in a quiet and orderly manner, who shall thereupon
 take such steps as the case may require. And it is also agreed that (here
any other stipulations may be inserted to which the parties agree, and which are
not contrary to law).
In witness whereof the said parties have subscribed their names hereto on
the days against their respective signatures mentioned.
Yaned by —- - - ——, master, on the —— day of ———, nineteen hundred
and — —

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Such articles may specify the length of the voyage as one or more
round trips, a voyage to any port, or for a voyage not to exceed a
specified length of time. Generally only those ships which maintain
a regular schedule from an American port to certain foreign ports
and return end their voyage at the port of shipment.
The common practices of maritime law holding an American ship
engaged in foreign trade responsible for the return of its sick or
disabled seamen to the port of shipment, unless signed off by mutual
consent, have been upheld by the courts, and steamship companies
in general provide the necessary transportation as soon as such seamen
 are able to travel. Under the provisions of the navigation laws,
there is also appropriated a special fund ‘to provide for the seamen
of the United States who may be found destitute” in the various consular
 districts of foreign countries ‘sufficient subsistence and passage
to some port in the United States, in the most reasonable manner.