Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-01-20
MORE MEN NEEDED.
Eighteen Thousand Seamen Necessary to
Man the Navy.

NeCe008TY
Man the Navy.
Eighteen thousand men are needed at once
to man the vessels of the United States navy
says Capt. Henry Erben, commandant Of the
Brooklyn navy yard III an interview in the New
York Times. We need the men, he declares
and if we are to keep ships in commission We
must have them without delay.
Capt Henry Erben is the senior captain in
the navy. As commandant of the Brooklyn
navy yard he has charge of all the recruiting
and fitting out OF war ships at that port He IL
one of the most experienced and able officers
in the navy. Capt. Erben declares that the
men can be obtained from all parts of the coun.
try. He believes in drawing upon the farmer
boys and the country at large. rather than
combining recruiting efforts to the coast towns
alone.
II am willing" says Capt Erben, "to take
200 inexperienced men to sea. Give me but q
sprinkllng of old sailors and will guarantee to
eaven the whole loaf in much shorter time than
is commonly thought necessary to turn out
man of wars men. have piled questions tc
farm hands in various parts Of the New Eng.
land and middle states and to men in lumber
camps. have inquired Of them concerning
the amount of their wages and found that for
a year round they receive much less than il
paid during the same period to seamen, and
that during certain months Of the year they
are entlreiy out OF employment ana nave &c
live at their own expense.
'Men by the hundreds have inquired Of me
as to how they could secure eulistments in the
navy. As q consequence Of what have SEEN
and believe. have reported to the Navy De-
partment plan for tapping all of this class Of
people, and III the event of q sudden contin.
gency, when an increase in the naval establish
rncnt is authorized, / believe that from these
classes alone we will be able to count on men.
II, for one, am willing to take out the first
ship manned by landsnen of the above classes
and know from my experience with such ma
terial what can be produced"
The navy is at present allowed 8, $50 men. OF
this number $50 are apprentice boys, leaving
I, 500 men as the force proper to man the ships
in service. The force is so small as to not be
sufficient to go around among all the ships
without reducing the crew complement on each
vessel. This is exactly what has been done,
and if war is declared tomorrow United States
vessels will be found going into action with re-
duced gun crews.
The only way out Of the difficulty, it is de-
clared in naval circles, is an authorization OF
Congress increasing the enlisted strength of the
navy. The allowance Of $500 men sufficed
some eight and ten years ago to man the few
wooden ships OF the navy. In tho past six years
gigantic strides have characterized the growth
OF the service, but the number Of men to man
all these ships has remained as before--7, 500.
Capt. Erben estimates that Is, 900 are needed
to give all the war ships full crews and leave a,
the same time sufficient reserve force to sup.
ply any sudden want from unexpected quar-
tiers. Even now no officially would be expert
enced in swelling the navy to $4,000 men with
trained seamen, but the limitation Of 1850
seamen imposed by law compels the recruiting
| stations to cease eniisting whenever the limit
allowed is closely approached. To bring the
navy up to II, 600 men in hurry" Capt Err
ben believes one Of the most effective planl
would be to send recruiting parties throughout
the country, supplemented by work along the
coasts ind great lakes Young men between
| the ages OF twenty-one and twenty-five, Capt
Erben thinks, are best suited for rapidly con
verting into seamen such az are needed todaJ
aboard modern ships Of war.