Blackfoot news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1891-1902, 1893-10-28
LIFE ON A WAR VESSEL
ETIQUETTE AND DISCIPLINE
ARE ENFORCED.
AHaeriSan conm.ndlnx onesrs Ars
Practically Hsrmisa Of tbs Sea-
R@l4fIons Berwesa ths Quarter
Deck AutoerAt and ward Room Meas

odd place in q game Of tennis at Nor
folk. Z. ;. naval officers looked on
wish some establishment
As soon as a United States naval
officer steps from the ward room to
the cabin. whole set Of habits. the
growth q 80 years Ia the service.
drop from him as cast-oI garment.
says the New York Sun.
From the social being. penned be-
tween four narrow walls with a dozen
Of mis- kind. and dining always in
company with his fellows. from the
subordinate. looking to some higher
power for instruction as TO the very
coat he shall put on. he becomes
lonely autOcrat. forbidden b. naval
regulations 20 share his mind with
his shipmates. required 20 make the
line OF dsmareation between himself
and all else on board unmistakable
and impossible
The American commanding officer
is the hermit OF the sea His cabin
is sometimes nearly as large as the
wardroom that shelters dozen sub
altern officers He has his own cook,
his own steward. his own Orderlies,
his own boats crew. TO take him
whithersoever he will.
His power is absolute and auto
cratic, and he is intended to be Just
what he is. an awe-inspiring creature,
eonspieuously lifted above his fellows.
and Systematically surrounded by all
the marks Of form and rank
II matters not what q man may
have been in the wardroOin. he must
be il the cabin a self-centered auto
erat, and the commander who should
seek b. familiarities to change the
outward aspect Of his relations to
subordinates would be guilty Of an
improperly and might encounter the
disapproval Of lis superiors
Individual captains differ in the
I degree Of strictness with which they
carry out the autOcractic theory
Every captain now and then accepts
an invitation to dine in the ward
room His place then Is Immediately
at the right Of the executive officer,
who sits at the head Of the table.
The ceremony OF captains going
ashore is really one OF considerable
interest. especially II he is a captain
that lives up TO all his privileges.
He has four .sside boys" which
means that four sailors stand at the
gang plank 70 see him safe into his
boat
This practice is not altogether one
Of ostentatiOn. as it doubtless came
down from a time when the con-
veniences for getting of and on a
man-oi-war were less comfortable
than they now are. Tie four boys
were intended TO see that the captain
caught the rope at the right move
ment. and went over the side with
out risk to bump or impairment OF
I dignity Even a lieutenant Is en-
titled to two boys.
The captains gig is usually man
ned by enough saIlormen to insure
speed. and TO confer dignity. At
ordinary times no commissioned
officer accompanies the boats crew,
and the captain acts always as his
own steersman
There is a vast amount OF whis-
thing as the captain goes and comes,
and anybody who happens to be
about makes the proper military
salute. The captain must be saluted
at all times. Even more. the quar-
ter deck must be saluted though the
captain be nowhere visible
It is the captains business To be
responsible to high powers for all
that happens aboard the ship. He Is
held responsible for the safety OF the
craft and the lives Of all on board.
That, in nautical phrase. is what he
shipped for. He has ~ executive
officer to police the ship, naviga-
tor to sail her, engineers to tend her
machinery, and junior to attend to
his official writing.
If these men do we'll. the captains
is the glory. II they do i'll the blame
falls Immediately upon him. With
ship and stores with perhaps mil
lions and the safety of hundreds com
mitted TO his care, the captain lives
under strong sense of responsibility.
II the weather be bad he may pass
most Of the day and night upon the
bridge. Captains crossing the Pa
cific in stormy weather sometimes
have not as much as two hours un-
broken sleep in fortnight Many
captains insist that they shall be
called at any hour Of the night when
light is made, whether aaoat or
ashore.
Waiting lientenants are fond OF
saying that captains too commonly
take their responsibilities with some
thing Of nervous dread because they
reach command when past their
prime and after passing their best
years as subordinatea
Remedy for Bleeding at the Nose.
The only reliable remedy for bleed