214 LAWS GOVERNING MARINE INSPECTION 



release the seaman from his contract and he shall be entitled to full 

 payment of wages earned. And when tlie voyage is ended every such 

 seaman shall be entitled to the remainder of the wages which shall 

 be then due him, as provided in section 596 of this title: Provided 

 further, That notwithstanding any release signed by any seaman 

 under section 644 of this title any court having jurisdiction may 

 upon good cause shown set aside such release and take action as 

 justice shall require: And provided further, That this section shall 

 apply to seamen on foreign vessels while in harbors of the United 

 States, and the courts of the United States shall be open to such 

 seamen for its enforcement. This section shall not apply to fisliing 

 or w^haling vessels or yachts. (R.S. § 4580; Dec. 21, 1898, ch. 28, §§ 5, 

 26, 30 Stat. 756, 764; Mar. 4, 1915, ch. 153, § 4, 38 Stat. 1165; June 5, 

 1920, ch. 250, § 31,41 Stat. 1006.) 



Advances and allotments 



46 U.S.C. 599 



(a) It shall be unlawful in any case to pay any seaman wages in ad- 

 vance of the time when he has actually earned the same, or to pay such 

 advance wages, or to make any order, or note, or other evidence of in- 

 debtedness therefor to any other person, or to pay any person, for 

 the shipment of seamen when payment is deducted or to be deducted 

 from a seaman's wages. Any person violating any of the foregoing 

 provisions of this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, 

 and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine of not less than $25 nor 

 more than $100, and may also be imprisoned for a period of not ex- 

 ceeding six months, at the discretion of the court. The paj'ment of 

 such advance wages or allotment, whether made within or without the 

 United States or territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof, shall 

 in no case except as herein provided absolve the vessel or the master 

 or the owner thereof from the full payment of wages after the same 

 shall have been actually earned, and shall be no defense to a libel suit 

 or action for the recovery of sucli wages. If any person shall demand 

 or receive, either directly or indirectly, from any seaman or other 

 person seeking employment as seaman, or from any person on his be- 

 half, any remuneration wliatever for providing him with employment, 

 he shall for every such offense be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor 

 and shall be imprisoned not more than six months or lined not more 

 than $500. 



(b) It shall be lawful for any seaman to stipulate in his shipping 

 agreement for an allotment of any portion of the wages he may earn 

 (1) to his grandparents, parents, wife, sister, or children; (2) to an 

 agency duly designated by the Secretary of the Treasury for the 

 handling of applications for United States Savings Bonds, for the 

 purpose of purchasing sucli bonds for the seaman: or (3) for dei)osits 

 to be made in an account for savings, or investment opened by him and 

 maintained in his name either at a savings bank or a United States 

 postal savings depository subject to the governing regulations thereof, 

 or a savings institution in which such accounts are insured by the 

 Federal Deposit Insurance Corj^oration or the Federal Savings and 

 Loan Insurance Corporation. 



