The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-12-08
TOMMY AND THE TRADE OF WAR.

TOMMY AND THE TRADE OF WAR.
Last Saturday Phyllis and 1 went over
to Mare Island to make up our minds
about going into the United States navy.
1t is only about forty miles from San
Francisco to Mare Island, but there's lot
of fuss about getting there. After the OAK
land ferry there is the train Tor an hour
and a half and then another ferry-boat
that takes YOU 10 Vallejo wharf.
When you get there nice little bit OF
white tug is waiting for you and flying the
flag we all hurrah for.
You can see about as much of our Gov
eminent at Mare Island as at any place
this side of Washington.
Government ships are all around you
and big guns are as thick as flies.
When our tug got to the wharf there
were two men with white gloves on and
carrying guns and who were marching up
and down the funniest you ever saw.
They acted as if they went by machinery,
and I'm pretty sure they have to be wound
up to make them go like that.
They walk side by side, keeping step
Just exactly. When they get to the turn
ing place they both go around together,
Just as much together as if somebody
touched an electric button that whirled
them both around.
Phyllis said those men were not alive,
but were some kind of machines dressed
up; so then we ran up close to them and
looked up into their faces. They didn't
stop walking at all, but one of the men
sort of smiled and the other one said,
l., i
you could tell that those fellows were
alive. We got acquainted with two sorts
OF people oyer there at the island.
There are officers and there are men.
don't think there is any way of print
ing that men" so you can tell just ex-
actly how it is pronounced. If it were put
into very small type, indeed, that might
give you some idea of it; but you can
never understand just exactly how it is
pronounced until you have been at Mare
Island.
Officers are splendid fellows. and they
treat boys and girls first rate.
They wear very dark blue clothes, and
their coats seem to fit them the best / ever
saw. They are sort of little jackets, these
coats, and they are trimmed with black
braid and have nice little gold anchors
embroidered on the collars.
They wear cute little caps that they lift
when they meet each other, these officers,
and they are nearly all young. Even
those who have gray hair and gray mus
taches are quite young, and they are gen.
orally called lieutenants.
Men wear clothes made of the same good
dark blue cloth, but their trousers are very
wide around their feet and very tight
around the waist. Phyllis asked an officer
TO tell her why those trousers were made
that shape, and he kindly explained to her
that 1t was because sailors had been max
ing their trousers just that way for several
hundred years.
Phyllis said she didn't think that was a
very good reason, but she didn't say it to
the officer.
Another difference between the trousers
of the officers and those of the men is that
the sailors are always washing theirs. They
would not think that things looked ship
shape, guess, if they didn't have clothes
line with one end away up toward the top
OF the mast and q long row of sailors
trousers thrown proudly to the breeze. The
officers clothes. that are made of the same
kind of broadcloth as the sailors, never
have to be washed at all. That is one of
the advantages of being an officer.
The way you get to be al officer is this:
First, you want to have father, or an
uncle, or one or two grandfathers in the
navy. Ii you can have dead grandfather
who ordered his men to blow up some of
the enemy's ships it is better, and es-
pecially if the men did it.
The next thing you do is to be between
fifteen and seventeen years old and to
know as much as you can.
Once you didn't need 10 know things, if
you had a friend who was President or
Congressman. The Congressman could
each have two boys from their own district
In the naval academy at Annapolis, where
boys are made over into officers.
But President Garfield. who was ONLY
Congressman Garfield then, said it wasn't
right to send only your friends, and he
got up the plan of having an examination
in each district and sending the boy who
could answer the questions best.
Only answering the questions isn't the
only thing. You have to be tall enough
and broad enough and strong enough.
You have to have your eyes tested, to see
whether you are nearsighted and to find
out if you are color-blind.
You wouldn't believe it, but lots of peo-
pie find out they are color-blind. Perhaps
they see most colors right. but can'tftell
red from violet or from brown, or some
such little thing as that.
Now of course that wouldn't do at all in
the navy.
lEShips at sea send messages to each other
by hosting flags of different colors. And
if an officer was color-blind and couldn t
read the signals correctly he might make
a mistake in the middle of q battle and do
something to help the enemy to hit us.
Then of course you have to have your
throat and lungs examined to see if you
will be able to shout orders in style when
you have been taught how.
Then you have to have your heart and
your head examined TO see whether you
might die or go crazy on their hands after