REGULATIONS AFFECTING SEAMEN 35
American seamen were given the right to free treatment in the
United States marine hospitals under authority of section 4803 of the
Revised Statutes, which provides:
Src. 4803. * * * Such fund is appropriated for the expenses of the
marine-hospital service, and shall be employed, under the direction of the Secretary
 of the Treasury, for the care and relief of sick and disabled seamen employed
in registered, enrolled, and licensed vessels of the United States.

This fund was originally raised under authority of legislation
providing for hospital dues to be assessed from seamen’s wages.
This legislation was repealed by the act of June 26, 1884, chapter 121,
section 15 (23 S. 57), as follows:

Sec. 15. Sections 4585, 4586, and 4587 of the Revised Statutes, and all other
acts and parts of acts providing for the assessment and collection of a hospital
tax for seamen are hereby repealed, and the expense of maintaining the marine
hospital service shall hereafter be borne by the United States out of the receipts
for duties on tonnage provided for by ‘this act; and so much thereof as may be
necessary, is hereby appropriated for that purpose.
The act of March 3,1875, chapter 156, section 3 (18 S. 485) defines—
The term ‘seaman’ wherever employed in legislation relating to the marine
hospital service, shall be held to include any person employed on board in the
care, preservation, or navigation of any vessel, or in the service, on board, of
those engaged in such care, preservation, or navigation.
In practice the treatment of patients in public hospitals differs
considerably from that afforded seamen by the Public Health Service
in the marine hospitals. Customarily if a seamen is placed in a
public hospital he would be discharged as soon as able to care for
himself and live at an outside residence. In the marine hospitals,
conditions permitting, the seaman may remain and receive food and
quarters, until he is fit for duty.
It should not be understood, however, that a large percentage of
seamen patients remain until they are fit for duty. Many of them
are discharged sooner with such notations as “Granted a pass and
did not return,” “Absent without leave,” ‘Discharged at own request,”
 which is usually followed by “against advice.” Such discharges
 may be due to a large extent to the roving nature of most
seamen who are probably somewhat bored at the confinement while
not going anywhere. The more legitimate discharges are followed
by such notations as “Recovered,” “Cured,” “Fit for duty,”
“Treatment completed,” “No further hospitalization necessary,”
“Transferred” (to another hospital), etc.
The United States Public Health Service publishes figures showing
the extent of the services rendered seamen by the Public Health Service
in the marine hospitals and relief stations. The figures are for seamen
 becoming ill or being injured on American-flag ships.
Table 8, drawn from the 1926 Annual Report of the Public Health
Service, shows that American seamen constituted 43.2 per cent of the
total number of patients treated and 55.4 per cent of the number
treated in the hospitals; that of the total number of deaths occurring
in the hospitals 75.9 per cent were seamen; that 66.4 per cent of the
total number of days of relief furnished in hospital were given seamen;
that 40.7 per cent of the number of patients furnished office treatment
were seamen; and that 45.5 per cent of the total number of office
treatments were given seamen.