The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-03-12
PAY DAY ON A MAN-oF-wAR.
Jacks Little Account With the Navy
Department, and How 1t Is Settled.
From the NeuD York Sun.

Department, and How 1t ia Settled.
IRON, the Neu0 York Sun.
One Of the sights worth landsmans
seeing IS pay day on board a United States
man-of-war after long cruise. There is a
monthly pay day even at sea, but 1t often
happens that the men leave their wages
with the paymaster, since there is no way
of spending money at sea, ana Jack believes
that money was made to spend rather than
jingle in the pocket.
Ours is the most democratic navy in the
world, when it comes to most practical
matters, but it is constituted upon an aris-
tocratioal theory An officer may draw
two months pay in advance on going to
sea, and a great many inmates of the
wardroom set sail in debt to the govern
ment, while weak-minded paymasters are
sometimes bulhed or wheedled into further
advances. Jack, however, enjoys no such
perilous pT4 vilege as a loan from tine navy
Department. On the contrary, the pay
master takes care that the government shall
always be IN debt at least months wages
TO every sailor aboard ship, and on many
ships, indeed, Jack never, save at his dis
charge, gets more than a moderate percent
age of his pay.
1t must always be remembered In dealing
with United States ships that the navy is to
are liberal ships and hard ships in the mat
ter Of pay. Far back in the ships history
some captain has set the precedent of drib-
bling out Jacks money a few dollars at a
time, and that precedent holds until she has
an energetic commander who prefers a diff
ferent course. A liberal precedent is set in
the same way, and the paymaster on lib
eral ship goes on paying out to Jack every
thing but a months wages until hard
headed captain Of the other sort sets a new
precedent.
When ship gets home from long voy-
age the paymaster is usually in debt some
thousands OF dollars TO Jack. The wages of
sailors and petty officers vary from SIC TO
S35 q month and some skilled mechanics
employed on modern steam-driveu ships
earn as much as $40 month. Besides that,
everybody gets ration, which amounts to
30 cents q day, and comes to Jack in the
form OF a pound of salt horse a pound of
hard tack, two ounces Of coffee, 90
much canned stuff Of one kind or
another, and a variety of other things.
When the sailors form little messes in the
forecastle they can commute a certain num-
Der Of their rations for other things, and
there is a special provision that the pay
master shall deny TO Jack from the stores
no reasonable luxury allowed 70 the ward
room mess. jacks ration is really c great
deal bigger than the man OF average app
petite needs, and it enables him to purchase
little luxuries without trenching on his pay,
and of course 1t thus tends to increase his
credit with the paymaster.
One other important and interesting pro-
vision of the navy, not long in operation,
also tends to enrich the sailor. This is the
naval savings bank, so to speak, now two
OF three years under way. Jack may take
what he can out Of his earnings, deposit it
with the psymaster, and obtain on all such
hnnnatfg 4 Fear INF tvae
ment provides for the depositors an account
book but this Jack usually deposits
along with his savings, and
the paymaster's clerk is accountant for both
bank aud depositor. When Jack is trans
ferred from one ship to another his new pay
master receives a memorandum from the
old one for the amount to Jacks credit, aud
interest goes on as before, but IL does not
compound. The savings bank scheme is
working well, aud a considerable percent
age of the men make deposits.
Between the money that the paymaster
witbholds and that which Jack voluntarily
leaves in his hands or deposits in the savings
bank, some sailors at the end OF a long
cruise may draw many hundreds Of dol
lars, and perhaps most men draw
three or four months pay. The pay
ing is done at the pay office, usually be-
tween decks, and often near the foot
OF the companionway, where the light falls
in from the sky. There, on pay day, assem-
BILE the paymaster with his books, the pay
clerk, the paymaster's yeoman, and that
picturesque person, the Jack of the dust At
least two OF these are required for the ardu-
GUS duty of paying Off. and sometimes all
four lend a hand. Every mans name is
down on the roll with number opposite
and the paymaster knows just how much is
coming to each. IL mans term of enlist
meut is out, he may draw all. II he will,
be may at once sign for another cruise, and
II be does, the paymaster Immediately cred
its him with three months pay. If Jack will
he may take a furlough OF three months,
and on returning 20 the service at the end
OF that time he will find three months pay
to his credit.
Those who remember pay day twenty,
thirty, or forty years ago, note remark
able change in the blue line waiting at the
pay office. The percentage Of native-born
Americans Ia larger than it was twenty
years ago; the percentage of priyzled vet