Stetson

This appeal is from a decree dismissing an amended libel, hereafter called the libel, filed by appellant (Harold E. Stetson) against appellees (the United States and American Hawaiian Steamship Company, hereafter called the Company) in the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of California. The facts are as follows:

The United States was the owner of the steamship Daniel Boone, hereafter called the Boone, and the Company was the general agent of the War Shipping Administration in the operation thereof. Appellant was an able-bodied seaman on the Boone, having signed thereon at the port of Los Angeles, California, on April 25, 1942, for a voyage not to exceed 12 months. The shipping articles signed by appellant provided that he should be paid wages of $100 a month and war bonuses in accordance with the United States Maritime War Emergency Board Decisions.

Appellant sustained injuries of a minor nature on June 5, 1942, and in consequence thereof was removed from the Boone and taken to a hospital in Melbourne, Australia, on June 8, 1942. The Boone left Melbourne on June 8, 1942, and terminated its voyage at Baltimore, Maryland, on December 2, 1942. Appellant…