125151-37-4 [CHAPTER 49] AN ACT
March 24, 1937 To amend section 4551 of the Revised Statutes of the United States, as amended [H . R. 5487] (U. S. C., 1934 ed., Supp. II, title 46, sec. 643).
[Public, No . 25] Be it e nacted by the Senate and House of Repres entatives of the United States o f America in Congress assembled, That section 4551 of the Revised Statutes of the United States, as amended (U . S. C., 1934 ed ., Supp . II, title 46, sec . 643), is amended to read as follows : "SEC . 4551 . (a) Every seaman upon a merchant vessel of the United States of the burden of one hundred gross to ns or upward, except vessels employed exclusi vely in trade on the nav igable r ivers of the United States, shall be furnished, at the option of the seaman, with a book to be k nown as a co ntin uous dis char ge b ook or with a certificate of identification, which book or certificate shall be retained by the seaman and shall contain the signature of the seaman to whom it is so furnished and a statement of his nationality, age, per- sonal description, photograph, thumbprint, and home address . S uch books or certi ficates shall be issued by the s hipping commissi oners, or, at ports where no shipp ing commissioners have been appointed, by col lectors or deput y collec tors of customs or Unite d States local inspec tors of steam ve ssels, i n such m anner an d form a s the Di rector of the Bureau of Marine Ins pection and Navigation, subject to the approval of the Secretary of Commerce, shall determine . Any indi- vid ual, firm , par tner ship, cor porat ion, or assoc iati on wh ich shall iss ue any such book or certificate, or make any statement or endorsement therein, except as authorized by the provisions of this section, or issu e any im itation of any s uch book or cert ificate, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemea nor and shall be imprisoned not less than one mo nth nor more than three mont hs, in the discretion of the court . "( b) Any person applying for su ch book or certificate and claim- ing to be a citizen of the United States shall furnish satisfactory evidence of such citizenship . "(c) No seaman shall be employed on any vessel to which this section applies until he has exhibited a certificate of identification ora continuous discharge book to the shipping commissioner, or in cases where seamen are not signed on before the shipping commis- sioner, to the master of the vessel : Provided, That the provisions of th is subsection sh all not apply to the employment of seamen at a foreign port or place, in which case seamen so emp loye d sh all be furnished a continuous discharge book or a certificate of identifica- tion, in accor dance with the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, at the first port of entry in the United States or its territories at which t he vesse l arrive s after such sea men are so emplo yed . " (d) Upon the discharge of any seaman and the payment of his wages, the shipping commissioner shall enter in the continuous dis- charge book of such seaman, if the seaman carries such a book, the name and official number of the vessel, the nature of the voya ge (foreign, intercoastal, or coastwise), the class to which the vessel Merchant seamen . R.S.§4551. 46 U.S.C., Supp.II, § 643. Continuous dis- ch arge b ook or cer- tificate of identifica- tion . Contents . Issuance by ship- ping commissioners, etc . Unauthorized en- tries, etc . Penalty. Citizenship require- ments . Employment with- out certificate, etc ., forbidden . Proviso . Foreign ports ; re- quirement . Entry on seaman's discharge . Data re qui red . 48, 49-MARCH 24, 1937 49 75TH CONGRESS, 1ST SESSION-CHS . Nebraska , and Si oux City , Iowa, authoriz ed to be built by the cou nty 49 Stat. 1073, 1530 . of Dakota, State of Nebraska, by section 30 of the Act of Cong ress approved August 30, 193 5, her etof ore exte nded by Act of C ongr ess app ro ved Ju ne 19, 1936, are hereby further extended one and three years, r espectiv ely, fro m August 30, 1937 . SEC. 2. The right to alter, amend, or repeal thi s Act is hereby express ly reser ved . Approved, March 24, 1937 . Amendment-
