“ But an action in personam to recover damages for tort is one of the most familiar of the common-law remedies, and it is such a remedy at law that is contemplated by amended section 20 of the Seamen's Act and invoked in this case.
The defendant insists that the saving clause refers only to rights recognized by the maritime law as existing in 1789, when the clause first was adopted, and therefore does not include rights brought into the maritime law by subsequent legislative changes. ”

“ That any seaman who shall suffer personal injury in the course of his employment may, at his election, maintain an action for damages at law, with the right of trial by jury, and in such action all statutes of the United States modifying or extending the common-law right or remedy in cases of personal injury to railway employees shall apply ”

“ Amended section 20, [1] as heretofore construed, changes the prior maritime law of the United States by giving to seamen injured through the negligence of their employers, and to their personal representatives where the injuries result in death, the rights given to railway employees and their personal representatives by the Employers' Liability Act of 1908 and its amendments (Comp. St. §§ 8657-8665) . ”