Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-12-28
They Are Kept Busy.

| 20 Work on deck IN the wash dOWnS and
to lend hand at "hoiys toning" and at
cleaning scuppers in the waterways or on
deck.
They Are Kept Busy.
1t must be admitted that the cadets are
kept busy and no boy should seek one of
these positions unless he is prepared to
work every day until he will be glad to
fall into his bunk when sleeping time
comes. Some of the boys who have come
from comfortable homes do not take kindly
to handling the broom, and think it be-
meath their dignity to stand out in bad
weather and "squilgee" the decks, but
after all there is no royal road to sea-
manship. any more than there is to other
things worth having, and boys with the
right stuff in them do what they are told
to do with a brave face, knowing that it
Is for their own best interests. prac-
teal sailor was never made by looking
on while some one else did the work.
Sometimes cadets are stationed on the
Geek to Shift steamer chairs or sweep away
falling cinders; one of them is always on
the lookout on the lower bridge, and on
each of the four ships of the american
line a certain number of cadets are as
signed to the engine room, where they are
divided into three watches, and stand four
hours on and eight hours off. The reason
for this difference in the watches Is that
the work in the engine room Is more Ia
borious on account Of the heat, the smell
of Oil and the confinement. The engine
room cadets generally work under the
fourth engineer, their duties being in the
nature of repairing pumps, repacklng CYL
inders and doing the endless odd Jobs that
are always coming up in this strange
region where the monster engines throb
and turn increasingly.
There is one kind of work that cadets
are never called upon to do. That is the
washing of the decks which is done by
the common sailors, between whom and
the cadets there is a marked difference
Of station. The cadets are treated as
petty officers, young men who will one day
develop into full officers, quartermasters,
lieutenants, perhaps captains. They are
entitled to the pride of their possibilities,
and besides that they get better pay than
they eat the same food as first cabin pas
sengers), and enjoy various privileges not
extended to ordinary sailors. When in
port leave to visit their families is often
given to them, although the period in port
Is by no means one of idleness, since the
cadets are required to be down in the holds
While the cargoes are loading and unload
ing, to see that everything is done prop
erly.
1t must be remembered that the cadets
who enter upon service in American liners
are in no sense hound over as apprentices
to the company, nor do they go through
anything like enlistment for a fixed period
of time. They are perfectly free to leave
whenever they please after the completion
of voyage and, if they find the life I'M
cohgenial or the work over severe they
need never continue it for more than three
weeks. 1t is satisfactory to know that
while at the start the boys of less desira-
BILE class were continually leaving, and, in
deed, were frequently discharged since Cap
tain Shackford has adopted his plan of
more careful selection the cadets seem
contented with their positions and show
every disposition to pursue the career of
seamanship seriously, as 1t was hoped they
would do. OF the forty-six cadets on the
four American liners about forty have
thus far shown themselves entirely worthy
them. hef
ter results than these are expected in the
future.