Sheath knives not allowed.
No seaman in the merchant-service shall wear any sheath-knife on shipboard. It shall be the duty of the master of any vessel registered, enrolled, or licensed under the laws of the United States, and of the person entering into contract for the employment of a seaman upon any such vessel, to inform every person offering to ship himself of the provisions of this section, and to require his compliance therewith, under a penalty of fifty dollars for each omission, to be sued for and recovered in the name of the United States, under the direction of the Secretary of Commerce; one half for the benefit of the informer, and the other half for the benefit of the fund for the relief of sick and disabled seamen. (R. S. 4608; Feb. 14, 1903; sec. 10.)