The herald., 1894-07-04

! Seaman Glass Worst Paid.
Although tho searnen and even the
petty officers Of the United States navy
are largely Of foreign birth, there never
was time when places in the navy be-
low the rank Of commissioned officers
were SO attractive to native Americans
As the old wooden ships and the old
fashioned steam propelled ships give
place to modern marine machines the
navy becomes moro and moro suited t.
the tastes of capable Americans.
Since the Kearsarge laid her bones
upon Roncador there are left in really
active service only 10 wooden ships,
though there are I 8 others used as re-
ceivsng ships and as Scholarships Of one
sort or another. All the sailing ships
that ever move from place to place arc
the training ships and scholarships. The
navy has long been made up chiefly OF
steam propelled vessels, and it will be
only few years before the Whole &C.
tive list Will be composed of iron or
steel steamships.
This gradual change in the navy has
wrought marked change in the per-
sonnet of the petty officers and the en-
listed men, as in the conditions under
which they work. Captain Goldman
mournful cry that there are no moro
sailors is as trne of tho navy as OF the
merchant service The navy still ships
seamen at wages ranging from SIG to
$24 per month, but it also ships host
of artihcers, mechanics, fromen and
whatnot at wages sometimes exceeding
$40 per month.
The new navy as it grows will need
an increasing number of men in these
special classes. There are nearly as many
new vessels. building as there are wood
en- ships now on tho active list, and ev-
cry new iron steam propelled monster
that is added to the navy creates an in
creased demand for the skilled and high
paid classes of enlisted men. Already
there are some scores Of machinists az
$40 per month, boiler makers at $50,
blacksmiths at $50, plumbers at $40,
water tenders, oilers, fremen and print
ers at from $50 to $40 per month, to say
nothing of coppersmiths shipwrights
and coal passers at wages varying from
$50 per month down to $22.
The seaman class, tho worst paid Of
all in its lower branches, is very well
paid in the higher ranks. The lad that
enters as third class apprentice at 50
per month may reasonably hope to be-
come chief master at arms at 500 per
month. The lad with a gift for music
may easily find himself transferred to
the special class that includes must
clans, writers and apothecaries, and
here the wages vary from $1S to $50
per month.
There is a special provision of law to
encourage good men to remain long IT.
the service. The ordinary term of en-
istment is three years, and by this pro-
vision any honorably discharged man
who re-enlists within three months
from the date of his discharge returns
to the navy with his pay raised 81 per
month. The extra dollar is added at
each re-enlistment, and there may east
ly be half dozen re-enlistments, or for
that matter dozen. 1t means that a
good man who sticks to the service for
life gets a three months vacation every
three years, followed by an facrease Of
pay. =
1t usually happens that the man who
thus enlists and re-enlists has reached
the grade Of petty officer at his third or
fourth enlistment, and after that the
larger pay Of his new place increases
regularly 81 per month every three
years, should he choose to continue in
the service. There are other small per-
quisites of one kind or another that
swell the earnings Of the sailor that
sticks to the navy, and there awaits him
in old age o safe retreat ashore with old
companions.
1t is true that mechanics in the navy
receive nominally smaller wages than
men Of their trades ashore, but they are
subject to none of the uncertainties Of
business The navy goes right on in
times Of panic, and there is no docking
for illness. Employment and pay are
secure for the rest of mans days, and
promotion is almost within his own
control
The aristocratic organization Of the
navy doubtless has kept many self re-
specting native Americans from enlist
ing, but the service is vastly more
democratic in practice than in theory
True, no enlisted man may hope to be-
come commissioned officer but the
enlisted man of tried ability and known
good conduct always earns the respect
and the consideration of his superiors
The brutal officer Of the deck is almost
unknown in the United States navy, and
the self respecting enlisted man is sell
dom made to feel that any one looks
down upon him.
His food is wholesome, clean and
abundant. and the officer of the deck
must taste it before it is served to the
men at any meal. His quarters are bet
ter and better IS the navy improves, and
the privileges Of the well ordered sea
man are many and agreeable. The navy
department holds out as an inducement
TO men that think of enlisting the pros,
pect of seeing foreign parts. eyes,
through portfolio, was the old time
Jack Tar's cynical comment when q re-
cruiting poster met his eye ashore.
But the seaman whose own conduct
does not curtail his liberty may see
foreign parts as an enlisted man in a
satisfactory and instructive fashion.
There are scores of enlisted men who