DEPOSITED BY THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA CONTENTS Statement of- Dewey, Ralph B., vice president, Pacific American Steamship Asso- Dickson, Ralph P., Donoghue & Ragan, 236 Wyatt Building, Wash- ington 5, D. C., representing Pacific American Tankship Asso- Page 34 Haddad, William, research assistant, the American Radio Association. 39, 65 Haddock, Hoyt, executive secretary, AFL-CIO Maritime Committee, 132 Third Street SE., Washington, D. C.. McCormack, Hon. John W., a Member of Congress from the State of Massachusetts, House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. (read by Hon. Herbert Zelenko) - Parker, Capt. Bligh, Grace Line, Inc., New York, N. Y. Pelly, Hon. Thomas M., a Member of Congress from the State of Roberts, E. A., the Texas Co., 1001 Connecticut Avenue NW., Wash- 39 18 32 Victor, Leonard B., Moore-McCormack Lines, Inc., pier 32, North 27 Webster, Hon. Edward M., member, Federal Communications Com- 13 Zelenko, Hon. Herbert, a Member of Congress from the State of New 12 Williamson, Hugh S., vice president, Association of American Ship Bloomfield S. S. Co., Cotton Exchange Building, Houston, Tex., dated McKinstry, Melville, vice president and general manager, Alaska Steamship Co., Suit 307, 711 14th Street NW., Washington, D. C‒‒‒ Lundeberg, Harry, president, Seafarers International Union of North America, 450 Harrison Street, San Francisco, Calif Spencer, Lyndon, president, Lake Carriers Association, Cleveland, Strichartz, M. H., Technical Director, American Radio Association, AUTOMATIC RADIO CALL SELECTORS ON UNITED STATES CARGO SHIPS THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 1956 UNITED STATES SENATE, COMMITTEE ON INTERSTATE AND FOREIGN COMMERCE, Washington, D. C. The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10 a. m., the Honorable Charles E. Potter, presiding, in room G-16, United States Capitol. Present: Senators Potter (presiding) and Payne. Senator POTTER. The committee will come to order. The hearing today is on H. R. 4090, a bill amending the Communications Act of 1934, to require installation of an automatic radiotelegraph call selector on cargo ships carrying less than two radio operators. (The bill follows:) [H. R. 4090, 84th Cong., 2d sess.] AN ACT To amend part II of title III of the Communications Act of 1934, so as to require the installation of an automatic radio-telegraph call selector on cargo ships of the United States carrying less than two radio operators, and for other purposes Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 3 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (47 U. S. C., sec. 153), is amended by adding at the end thereof the following paragraph: "(hh) 'Automatic radiotelegraph call selector' on a ship of the United States subject to the provisions of part II of title III of this Act means a device meeting the requirements prescribed for such devices in section 355 (b) of this Act and approved by the Commission." SEC. 2. Section 353 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (47 U. S. C., sec. 353), is amended to read as follows: "OPERATORS, WATCHES, AUTO-ALARM, AND AUTOMATIC RADIOTELEGRAPH CALL SELECTOR--RADIOTELEGRAPH-EQUIPPED SHIPS "SEC. 353. (a) At least two qualified operators shall be carried for safety purposes on "(1) each cargo ship of the United States which is required by this part to be fitted with a radiotelegraph installation and which is not fitted with an auto-alarm and an automatic radiotelegraph call selector; "(2) each cargo ship (other than a ship of the United States) which is required by this part to be fitted with a radiotelegraph installation and which is not fitted with an auto-alarm; and "(3) each passenger ship which is required by this part to be fitted with a radiotelegraph installation. "(b) At least one qualified operator, who shall have had at least six months' previous service in the aggregate as a qualified operator in a station on board a ship or ships of the United States, shall be carried for safety purposes on— "(1) each cargo ship of the United States which is required by this part to be fitted with a radiotelegraph installation and which is fitted with an auto-alarm and an automatic radiotelegraph call selector in accordance with this title; and (NOTE.-Counsel assigned to this hearing, Albert B. Luckey, Jr,) "(2) each cargo ship (other than a ship of the United States) which is required by this part to be fitted with a radiotelegraph installation and which is fitted with an auto-alarm in accordance with this title. "(c) Each ship of the United States required by this part to be fitted with a radiotelegraph installation shall, while being navigated outside a harbor or port, keep a continuous watch by means of qualified operators: Provided, That in lieu thereof, on a cargo ship of the United States fitted with an auto-alarm and an automatic radiotelegraph call selector in proper operating condition, a watch of at least eight hours per day, in the aggregate, shall be maintained by means of a qualified operator. "(d) The Commission shall, when it finds it necessary for safety purposes, have authority to prescribe the particular hours of watch on a ship of the United States which is required by this part to be fitted with a radiotelegraph installation. "(e) On any ship of the United States fitted with an auto-alarm or an automatic radiotelegraph call selector, or with both an auto-alarm and an automatic radiotelegraph call selector, such apparatus shall be in operation at all times while the ship is being navigated outside of a harbor or port when the operator is not on watch, and at such other times as the Commission may prescribe." SEC. 3. Section 355 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (47 U. S. C., sec. 355), is amended by redesignating paragraphs (a) through (h) as paragraphs (1) through (8), by striking out the words "subsection (d) of this section" in each place where they appear in the paragraphs redesignated as (5) and (6) and inserting in lieu thereof the words "paragraph (4) of this subsection," by inserting "(a)" immediately after "SEC. 355.", and by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection: "(b) The automatic radiotelegraph call selector installed on any ship in accordance with this part shall be capable of being set manually to simultane ously receive and identify and respond to the following international Morse code signals: "(1) The ship station call sign; "(2) The international distress signal; "(3) The international safety signal; "(4) The international urgency signal; and "(5) Any other predetermined code which is desired for use in national emergencies. It shall provide a means for receiving such signals on the frequencies five hundred kliocycles and eight thousand three hundred and sixty-four kilocycles, or such other frequency as the Commission may prescribe in lieu of eight thousand three hundred and sixty-four kilocycles, selectively but with respect to frequency not simultaneously, and shall sound an alarm if, but only if, any of the above five signals are received. Such alarm shall be sounded in the radio room, on 'the bridge, and at such other places on the ship as may be directed by the Commission. The automatic radiotelegraph call selectors shall be independent, except for source of power and antenna, of any other radio equipment on the ship." SEC. 4. This Act shall take effect on the expiration of eightten months (or such shorter period as the Commission shall determine) after the Federal Communications Commission has found that (1) an automatic radiotelegraph call selector (as defined in section 3 (hh) of the Federal Communications Act of 1934, as amended by this Act) is and will continue to be available, and may be installed, at a reasonable cost to shipowners; and (2) patents covering, or necessary to the manufacture of, such an automatic radiotelegraph call selector are and will continue to be freely available for license at a reasonable royalty. Passed the House of Representatives June 13, 1956. RALPH R. ROBERTS, Clerk. Senator POTTER. The purpose of the bill, H. R. 4090, is to require the installation of an automatic radiotelegraph call selector on certain cargo ships of the United States carrying less than two radio operators. A ship equipped with such a device would be able to receive radio messages from shore stations and other ships while the ship's radio operator is off duty. Section 353 of the Communications Act of 1934 provides that cargo ships which must be fitted with a radio installation as required by section 351 of the Communications Act of 1934-must carry more than one radio operator unless the ship is fitted with an autoalarm. Section 353 further provides that unless such cargo ship is fitted with an autoalarm, continuous watch by qualified operators must be maintained while the ship is being navigated outside a harbor or port. The bill would amend section 353 to provide that cargo vessels of the United States, but not other cargo vessels subject to the provision referred to above, must carry more than one radio operator unless such ship is fitted with an automatic radiotelegraph call selector in addition to the autoalarm required by present law. Also, the bill would amend section 353 to provide that a continuous watch by means of qualified radio operators must be kept unless such ship is fitted with a radiotelegraph call selector in addition to the autoalarm now required by present law. The requirement of the act regarding the installation of an autoalarm is based on the Safety of Life at Sea Convention, of which the United States is a member. We have a communication from George C. McConnaughey, Chairman of the FCC, which will be made a part of the record. We have a wire from Lyndon Spencer, president of the Lake Carriers Association, in opposition to the bill, which will be made a part of the record at this point. And here is a statement from the Navy, Acting Director of Office of Legislative Liaison, N. J. Frank, Jr., Captain, United States Navy, the General Accounting Office and the Department of Commerce. Also, we have a letter from the Acting Secretary of the Treasury, dated June 27, 1956. All these statements will be made a part of the record. (The statements follow :) Hon. WARREN G. MAGNUSON, CLEVELAND, OHIO, June 23, 1956. Chairman, Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee, United States Senate, Washington, D. C.: Reurtel this date Lake Carriers Association while not desiring to testify on either bill on June 28 does want to go on record as supporting S. 3909 and opposing H. R. 4090. Would appreciate having these positions noted in the respective hearings. LYNDON SPENCER, President, Lake Carriers Association. DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, Washington, D. C., June 25, 1956. Hon. WARREN G. MAGNUSON, Chairman, Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, United States Senate, Washington, D. C. MY DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: Your request for comment on the bill H. R. 4090, to amend part II of title III of the Communications Act of 1934, so as to require the installation of an automatic radiotelegraph call selector on cargo ships of the United States carrying less than two radio operators, and for other purposes, has been assigned to this Department by the Secretary of Defense for the preparation of a report thereon expressing the views of the Department of Defense. The purpose of this measure is to require that cargo ships of the United States which carry less than two radio operators shall have installed an automatic radiotelegraph call selector. This call selector would be capable of being manually set to receive and identify (a) the ship station call sign, (b) the international distress signal, (c) the international safety signal, (d) the international urgency |