150.071 Control/188

Memorandum by the Assistant Secretary of State (Carr)

The British Ambassador called to see me today in regard to the so-called Seamen’s Bill, S. 868, which Senator King reported to the Senate from the Committee on Immigration and Naturalization yesterday, June 14. The Ambassador was very much concerned about it.

I told the Ambassador that I was not quite able to understand the action of the Senate Committee in reporting the bill as S. 868, because the Committee already has before it another bill, H. R. 3842, which has passed the House and has been referred to the Senate Committee on Immigration and Naturalization and which is substantially the same bill as S. 868. The normal course would have been to report H. R. 3842 with such amendments as were necessary. In this situation it is doubtful that S. 868 has any chance of favorable consideration, since if it passes the Senate it must go to the House. The Ambassador stated that he would inquire again tomorrow after I had had an opportunity to get a copy of the bill as reported.

Meanwhile I called Senator Joe Robinson’s secretary and asked him to call the Senator’s attention to S. 868 and to state that both the State and Labor Departments felt the bill, not only unnecessary but highly undesirable in its present form. I suggested that the Senator might find it desirable to object if it should come up for consideration.

W[ilbur] J. C[arr]

Since the foregoing was written my confidence that the bill will not pass has been confirmed.

W. J. C