The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1890-03-30

and rctircd-and there arc hundreds Of them
.-have talkcd about little else for a couple Of
weeks than tho case Of Commander McCalla,
OF the Enterprise. charged with cutting
down one Of his subordinate. 10 is not too
much 10 say that 20 a man these oGic. take
sides with the commander. Thcy are firm
believers in the necessity Of maintaining dis
ciplne. no matter 20 what extremity the
commanding officers may have to go, even II
1t is to the literal taking or Of heads and
casting into the sea Of the dismembered bodies
OF all offenders You would not think that
these mild and sometimes mellow old chaps
who st in the parors Of the Army and Navy
and Metropolitan clubs and play whist and
sip teddy. could ever be induced 10 say or do
a harsh thing 70 anybody but ask ono Of
them what course he would pursue with a re-
calcilrant under officer or iusolent seaman,
and you will see a pair Of flashing eye and
the involuntary movement Of hand toward
the sword that isn't dangling by his side.
These old sea dogs. each the survivor OF a
hundred gales and n score u battles, viii tell
you that the discipline Of the navy, terrible
a. IL is supposed % be- Is still too lax. But
there are others who think the navy afflicted
with altogether too much red tape, with a
multiplicity Of regulations and rules, and
a decentralization machine warranted 20
pflnd out a regular product Of offenders
and courts martial There is no place like the
navy for preservation Of traditions Musty
oh notions. which ought 20 have been buried
decades ago. nre still kept on hand, probably
for the purpose Of getting some poor chap into
trouble Asif heunwritten law was not bad
enough. tho code Of written laws and regula-
tions is "a most formidable statute book. II
Jack Tar would know everything that is OK
pectcd of him on all occ isiOns he must be
law student as well as a sailor. Tho naval
regulations now in force on go pages Of
closely printed matter.
A large part Of this bulky volume is filed
with laws relating TO military honors. cere-
monies. saluios and distinctions Another
large part is taken up with description OF the
uniforms 10 be worn by officers and men. The
cercmonials of "a man-Ofwar are sufficiently
complicated 10 make the grand vi2or Of the
United States supreme court turn green with
envy. Says the law comprehensively. Every
superior officer is directed % exact, upon all
occasions, from bis interiors, unequivocal and
respectful compliance with ais orders; and it
is expected Of all his interiors that they will
MT neglect any exterior mark Of respect
Whenever they address or are addressed 10y
SUPERIOR" II the law stopped with this gen
eralizaiion no one could complain, but 10 does
Mt u goes SOMEWHAT deliberately into de-
tails aud Specifications. For instance, senti
nels ON post and the men about the decks
must salute any officer who passes them.
Wien a sailor has saluted one officer about
fifty times a day for year or so he natural
~ begins TO tire of It, Officers of all ranks
must salute their official superiors in passing
OF addressing them, whether ashore or ahoat,
and whether they are or are not in uniform
Tie sacred quarter deck is amply protected
from invasion by the common herd on board
the ship. On entering the quarter deck, says
the law either from below or from boat,
every officer and man must salute by touch
ing their caps. and the officer Of tho deck
must return the salute.
Ii is said that il takes n smart man about
ten years 10 thoroughly master all the salutes
and other ceremonials Of the naval code. The
satinel at the gangway must salute all officers
coming aboard or leaving the vessel, provid-
ing the rank OF those officers is of or above
hcuiens1t commander; but he must not for
g,t that If the officers are OF inferior rank
e. lieutenant commander he is simply 10
cary arms in their honor As there are
about forty ranks OF officers, and each one is
distinguished 10y variation in his uniform
or its adornment, 10 will be seen that when
1ood many officers are going in or out Of a
ship the man at the gangway has no time 20
lose
An juniors in passing a senior, whether Of
faH al uLlIT Id fIu a. 0r ~
in uniform or not, must raise their caps, and
all seniors must return the salute in the same
way. When two boats containing officers
meet or pass near each other, there is "a great
lot of saluting 10 be done and some fine dis
tnc,ions TO be remembered. For instance:
Tc boat with the flag Of an admiral, vice
admiral or rear admiral, or the broad PEN
nant Of commodore, boats with a narrow
p.unant and containing staff officers are TO
lie on their oars or let hy their sheets as
mark Of respect Boats without remnants are
q toss their oars on lower their sails This
would appear TO be heap Of bother. but
what would a navy be without its salutes and
csiemCniesi
The variations OF salutes from boats are al
most infinite. When one boat salutes an
other 10y lying on its oars or lowering its
ssus, every officer in each boat must tip his
cap, and do IL very solemnly, too CoXswains
steering boats are TO stand up and salute by
raising their caps whenever commissioned
officers are passed, but If the other boat con
taius only warrant officers he need not stand
NJ, but must raise his cap. II two boats are
going in the same direction, that containing
interiors must not pass OF overtake that
which contains superiors.
Then there are the salutes by guns Rules
fer these On a long chapter in the Naval Reg
ulations. When the president Of the United
States visits a vessel OF the navy be must be
received by the officer Of highest rank with
al. the officers OF the ship on deck in full uni
form, the crew at quarters on the opposite
side OF the deck drawn up for inspection, and
the full marine guard and band must be pa
raded On the presidents reaching the deck
The drums give four ruiiles, the national air
i PLAYED by the band, the national colOrs are
displayed at the main and a salute Of twenty
one guns is fired. When the president leaves
sbipthe same ceremony Is observed, the salute
beng fired just as he disembarks, aud at the
last gun the national flag is hauled down.
The same honors are accorded an eX-presi-
dent, except that the dag is not % be dis
played.
There is an exception 70 this rule, however,
and that Is II the reception takes place
abroad. and then the flag Is displayed at the
fore and not at the main. A vice president
gets but nineteen guns IN 'hlssalute, and these
are not fired when he arrives, but on his de-
larture only. foreign sovereign fares the
same as apresident Of the United states, ex-
ocpt that the flag Of his country shall be dis
played and his national air be played by the
band.
The secretary Of the navy must be saluted
with nineteen guns Members Of the cabinet,
justices Of the supreme court and governors
OF states are on par with vie presidents,
except that only seventeen guns are fred for
them. A committee OF congress gets seven
teen guns aud nothing more A minister APP
pointed 20 represent the United State, abroad,
or the minister Of foreign country. on visit
Ing vessel Of the navy has fifteen guns fred
in his honor and the marines are paraded. A