Benjamin N. Cardozo,
Warner v. Goltra — Opinion of the Court
“ Our concern is to define the meaning for the purpose of a particular statute which must be read in the light of the mischief to be corrected and the end to be attained. Congress knew that men employed upon a ship were without a remedy in damages for negligence beyond their cure and maintenance, unless the injury was a consequence of the unseaworthiness of the ship or a defect in her equipment. ”
Benjamin N. Cardozo,
Warner v. Goltra — Opinion of the Court
“ A goodly number of the statutes where the antithesis is sharpest lay a duty upon the master to be performed for the seamen under him. In laws so framed, there is no room for construction. A goodly number in addition give a remedy to seamen for wages wrongfully withheld, or define terms of payment that agreement may not vary. In respect of dealings of that order, the maritime law by inveterate tradition has made the ordinary seaman a member of a favored class. He is a 'ward of the admiralty,' often ignorant and helpless, and so in need of protection against himself as well as others. ”
Benjamin N. Cardozo,
Warner v. Goltra — Opinion of the Court
“ It is neither rational nor just if extended to remedies for bodily wounds. At such times master and seaman are approximately equal. Congress did not mean that the master, any more than the seaman, should be left without a remedy if wounded in his body, or that his dependents were to be helpless if the wounds resulted in his death. ”
