Ross v. McIntyre, 140 U. S. 453.
Endora, 190 U. S. 169.
Dallemagne v. Moison, 197 U. S. 169.
Osceola, 187 U. S. 190.
[12] In Sandberg v. McDonald, 248 U. S. 185, the Supreme Court by a five to four decision, held that an advance made to a sailor before shipping on a British vessel, being lawful under British law, was properly deducted by the master in an American port from the one-half of earned wages demandable by the seaman in such port, notwithstanding such advance was unlawful under the American statute.
Going further at the same term of court and with the same dissent, the court held in Neilson et al v. Rhine Shipping Co., 248 U. S. 205, that advances to seamen shipped on an American vessel in a foreign port were not prohibited by the statute. The effect of these two decisions was that the prohibition of advances to seamen upon their wages was confined to American ports, but the Merchant Marine Act of June 5, 1920 (see Appendix) provides that if an advance be made to a seaman in any port, whether foreign or domestic, he may nevertheless, recover the full wages earned by him, including any sum that may have been advanced to him. In other words he may recover the amount advanced over again. Such advances are prohibited in American ports whatever the nationality of the ship. On the other hand, the act is applicable to a vessel in an American port no matter what her nationality. Thus in a recent case of Strathearn S. S. Co. v. Dillon, decided March 29, 1920, the Supreme Court unanimously held that foreign seamen on foreign vessels in American ports are entitled to the benefits of the act and may demand one-half of the wages earned, notwithstanding contractual provisions to the contrary, and that the vessel need not have been in an American port five days before the seamen may make the wage demand. To entitle the seaman to make the demand it is only necessary that the vessel shall load or deliver cargo before the voyage is ended, and in the port where the demand is made; that the voyage shall have been commenced at least five days previously; that five days shall have lapsed since the last previous demand.
CHAPTER VI
CARRIAGE BY SEA
The purpose of the ship is the carriage of goods and passengers and the earning of freight- and passenger-money. The underlying purpose of the maritime law is to facilitate these transactions and provide reciprocal rights for the parties engaged in them, hence the ship will have a lien on the cargo for its freight, demurrage and other charges; and, correspondingly the cargo will have a lien on the ship for any damages it may sustain by breach of the contracts of carriage. A ship is held to a high degree of care for the cargo and the cargo-owner must be prompt in his relations to the ship.