The daily gazette., 1879-01-24
An Old sailors Com plaint

Foreigners Mdnning OT Nary, And
Foreign Songs lizard in Our Ships.
To THE EDITOR OF THE SuN-Sir =
The United States ship Marion arrived
at the Bl ooklyn Navy yard to-day. To
persons living ashore she might have
looked well, but, alas an American
sailor who knows when ship looks well
could not say that the Marion looked
well. She did not look like IA Yankee
ma NOT war by IA shot. No Yankee man
of war that ever ] saw had straw aolored
spars. All our ships that ever l saw. and
! profess TO have seen few, had black
painted spars, and white-painted lower
masts, and white mastheads, and that
way all ships looked well. If l hand't
seen the good old American flag at her
spanker peak l would have taken the
NJ ario n for a "lime,juice" hip, or English
ship of war. 1t is too bad. when / first
shipped in the navy, everything about 1t
looked American; but things have
| changed very much for the worse. l
don't know just how many men there
are in the navy, but do know that it
| would not take me long to count the
| Americans, for 1t Is rare thing now to
| find ten Americans in any ship In the
navy. AS to the officers, don't pretend
to know much about them, but know
they are not like they used to be, for be-
| fore and during the war they came for
for those that have taken their places.
There are some gentlemen among them,
but they are few and far between.
In any United States ship of war you
visit, you will not find more than seven
per cent. of Americans. About fifty per
mt. are English man-of-war's- men. In
lfact, the English have almost got the
whole charge, as it is not sat. to be heard
saving that you are an American. Then
1.-THE Germans are 20 per cent, and the
Scandinaviaps and others, % per cent.
There is no rule laid down for shipping
men. The order comes from Washing
ton to ship so many men, regardless of
recommendation or nation 'hty. so long
as they pass the doctor and answer the
questions, that is all that is required.
3 have known men to ship in the navy
that could not speak any kind OF Eng
II lish. l don't know that any criminals
come, but they might, for all we know
as they are never asked for a reference
If they answer that they have been to
q sea before, although they have not been
'' in the navy, that is enough, and then
= they are asked few questions about q
D. ship, and are passed
ii is a rare thing to hear an Ameri ,an
} song sung in the navy at present, car
tell you. But it is not rare thing tc
hear q" cline JUICE" or Dutch song o. a'
story. l do wish it was as 1t used to Dt
, before and during the war, for then Il
would be a navy, but at present yot
r might call it refuge for tramps ano
, runaway foreign sailors. AS it is, al
American sailor don't care about staying
lin the navy, because he has no life
} there. He is watched worse than :
thief and punished for the least offence
There is no allowance made for him, be
ing an American, but if a Dutchman o
an Eng glishman is the offender, he is ex
cused for not knowing any better. Tn
majority of the present lted state
navy officers don't like sailor that ma
any grit in him, and all Americans, sal
. ors in part cular are noted for their grit
Those Engishmen ana Dutchmen WouI.
lie. dswn and let an officer walk OF
|. them, but no American sailor VIII p'
y walked on If he knows 1t. AT least
won't.
1t was only the other day that hear'
four or five English man.of-wars me
shipped IN our navy blowing about tn
British navy and British GovernmeI
being SO much better than ours, and aoou
how quick England could lick us, until
couldn't stand 1t any longer, and tol
, them to dry up, and asked them II the e
knew where they were. They turned