Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1895-08-23

room Tor all the various departments OF
your housekeeping affairs IL may bee inter.
estipe 10 know how the several hundred
people crowded beneath the decks of big
man-o war manage 10 exist comfortably
In tho contracted space allowed. Generally
we'll forward on the gun deck there i the
galley ola which all the cooking for the
officers and men !, done. This galley Is a
large range fastened down 10 the deck
with iron straps, ami from early morning
till SHUTDOWN il j. surrounded by the cooks,
preparing and cooking the food for the va.
riou~ "nr~se,'' or different tables aboard
the ship If it bee "A ilag-hip-that Is one
bearing an admiral in command of IA fleet
or station. the first mess Of Importance is
that oi thc admiral, who has all 10 himself
n steward, "a cook and boy He may eat
alone I'm his cabin or have the captain and
member. of his staff with him. Then
comes the captain mess IN hi, separate
cabin. with the same complement OF serv.
ans, Next we 20 down into the wardroOm
where the L. o. 20 watch officers, engineer
officer payma,tors, doctors. chaplain and
marine officers are all together in a big
mess, with IA steward. a cook ana five on
Fix servants or wardrOOm boys. as they are
called aboard ship.
In TIN, mes, one of the officers Is elected
caterer and has general supervision Of ev-
erything pertaining 20 1.-THE general di
rectiOn of the steward and boys and 81
the mcnu-and the grumblings Of the dis.
contcntcd members are directed against
thi, official.
Contrary to the general idea Of the civil.
ian who visits the ship, the officers are
not furnished everything by the govern
mcnt, but must pay fural their food from
their monthly pay, and the caterer becomes
the treasurer of these payments from all
the officer, OF course the stewards, cooks
and boys are regularly enlisted in the serv.
ice and all hold minor fighting stations,
at which they regularly drill, but every
mouthful Of food is bought by the officers
themselves.
Until quite recently the officers OF the
messes We're required to buy their own
kitchen utensils and dishes, glassware and
tableware, but these are now furnished ~
the government, leaving the officers only
the napery 10 buy.
The steward is intrusted with the duty
Of buyiES the daily provisions for the mess
and seeing that the cook prepares them
properly, and that the boys serve them
well
His value depends upon his knowledge
OF marketing, cooking and the discipline
he has among the boys, and last, but fan
from least upon his honesty for in large
mess he may handle hundreds OF dollars
in "a month.
The duties Of the boys, besides serving
the officers at meals, consist in keeping all
the staterooms in order as well as the
messrUOmS.
The stewards are generally old and tried
men, who have served through the inter
mediate stages Of boy and cook while the
boy, are Of every grade of efficiency aud
every nationality,
Next in Importance after the wardroom
Officers mess is the junior officers mess,
made up of the junior line and staff com.
missioned officers and the naval cadets,
and perhaps Of all the officers aboard ship.
The members Of this mess enjoy life the
most, for though often crowded into mar.
row quarters, where they must eat, sleep
and live in one room, the buOyant spirit
of youth asserts itself, and good humor
reigns.
In the old navy the junior officers quar-.
tiers was called the Storage, - and IL was
little more than an Enclosure on the berth
deck We're the crowd OF junior officers
slept in hammocks at night and ate and
loungcd by day but In the new ships Of
the modern navy there are rooms with
double berths for the junior officers, and
their comfort is vastly increased thereby
Let u turn 70 the enlisted men. the
blue Jackets and marines, who live on a
ration issued by the government, each IA.
tion being of the average value of 80 cents
per diem.
Among the enlisted men there are also
grades OF rank, and the petty officers, who
are given more or less authority in the va.
rious departments, generally have a mess
by Themselves, where they live plainly, but
neatly and we'll
The other enlisted men arc divided mp
into mcSSes OF 10 or ! , men each and each
mess has "A cook taken from their own
number, who prepares the food with the
ship, cook and his assistant.
This ship, cook i, an important person
age among the enlisted men, and upon him
rests the responsibility OF preparing the
bean soup and other dishes that are the
same for all, while the mess cooks prepare
the especial dishes for each mess. The
ships provisions of beans. flour, salt and
corned meat and canned goods occupy
space in large storerOOms especially de.
signed for the purpose, and the stock is
quite extensive when laid in for a long
cruise The days provisions are served
out in the morning and the contracted
space around the gallery Is crowded until
dinner time, when signal l. pped by the
boat vain, the tables come down from the
deck beams above where they are stored
when not in use, the knives, forks and
spoons and agate ware dishes are set out
from the chest in which each moss keeps
its belongings, and in ten minutes the
meal call sounds and the 800 or 400 sea.
men and marines and engineer force are
eating their dinner, which, ii in port may
consist OF fresh meat, roasted or stewed;
boiled potatoes, canned corn fresh bread,
coffee, with perhaps dessert of duff, "
a. bread pudding i, called, or even plum
duff, " the same pudding with raisins in
it, If at sea for long time, salt meat OF
corned meat Is used, and perhaps hard
tack instead OF bread, and baked beans and
bean soup often appear in the menu. Ia
the oldcn time grog was served out Mt the
mast each day at noon, but the influence
OF temperance societies stopped this, and
now the jacky' il lucky If he Is allowed
a bottle Of beer before dinner and supper.
st. Louis Republic