Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1896-06-19

song," the one that told OF the mem
orable fight, was not sung in the ward
room and stcerage, between decks and
even on deck. The rare old spirit OF
the song sank with the Kearsarge on
Roncador reef, and the superstitious
among the sailormen say that the
waves and the ghost of the ship sing
it among its bones as they rot on the
reef, and that not until the new Kear-
sarge is built and afloat will the spirit
OF the old song come back to inspire
the sailormen and revive the memo
ries oi glorious contest.
On shipboard the social grades are
indicated by the sharp lines drawn at
mess. The capt ain dimes by himself
Then comes the wardroom mess,
where the senior officers dine. Then
there is the steerage mess, where the
junior officers, the ensigns, cadets, as
| sistant engineers, and assistant sur
geons dine. Then there is separate
mess for the lonesome warrant OIL
GERS, who belong neither among the Of
ticers nor among the crew. They are
gunner, bos'n," carpenter, and sail
maker, appointed by warrant, and not
confirmed by the senate. Sometimes
each has a separate stateroom, but
there are never more than four on a
ship, and in some OF the new vessels
there are only two, for there is little
need of sailmaker or bos'n. Then
there is a mess OF the chief petty Off
GERS, and finally, there are the berth.
Geek messes for The crew, where there
are ten or a dozen men to a table.
If the ship is flagship, the admiral
dimes alone, unless he and the captain
are OF congenial tastes. The admirars
chief OF staff also dimes with the ad-
miral if it be agreeable to him. The
chief OF staff is supposed to have small
choice in the matter. The social re-
la,ions of the captain to the other
officers are chiefly around the cap
tain's table. He invites the officers to
dine with him in rotation until all
have been entertained. The wardroom
always invites the captain to dine On
holidays, such as the Fourth of July
and Christmas.
There is always room for a guest at
the table in every wardroom. Any
member Of the mess has the right to
ask a friend TO dinner at almost any
time, and on stated occasions the
wardroom, as q whole, invites guests
These dinners are always something
of a formality. The officers are i'll
their evening dress, as are their guests.
| In some of the larger ships there is
room for eight or ten guests. The
cost of their entertainment is assessed
on the wardroom staff. When per-
son is entertained as a guest of GER
tain officer the expenses fall on the
| officer who extended the invitation.
The same rules that obtain in the
wardroom hold good in the steerage,
among the junior officers, and in a
crude way in the messes OF the crew.
The members of the crew always feel
somewhat in touch socially with the
officers, when every day they see the
officer of the deck taste their soup and
eat bite of their meat before it is
served out to them. 1t makes them
feel that the social distinction between
them in the matter of food, whatever
it may be in the matter Of drink, is
not so great after all.
Then there is q social duty observed
by the wardroom officers as to the
matter OF calls. Whenever new cap
tain comes aboard, each officer is ex.
pected to pay a formal call on him.
When an admiral arrives, or another
ship is added to the squadron. the
duty of paying calls is delegated to a
committee. If every officer were ex-
pected to call on every other officer,
the series of calls would not only be
burdensome, but might interfere with
discipline. Therefore committee OF
three is appointed, which, with its en-
graved card representing the officers OF
the entire mess, pays the required social
duties. If new ship has arrived, this
committee pays a call on all officers,
from admiral down. The call is re-
turned in the same way as rendered.
There are certain mythical person.
ages on every ship that have a dis
tinct standing in the social intercourse
of officers and men. One of these is
"Charley Noble" No ship floats
without Charley Noble in its crew,
simply because no ship exists without
a galley stovepipe. Charley Noble is
that stovepipe. The relation OF we'll
cooked food to the domestic life on
shipboard is so close that the condition
of Charley Noble, who often becomes
indisposed, is matter of great con-
cern to every one on board. Char
ley Noble is always discussed ser
iously, and he also comes dangerously
near to being serious topic of con-
versation for the ward-room mess. 1t
is when a new paymaster's clerk or
other minor official comes on board
and is taking his first cruise that there
is unusual solicitude for Charley No
BILE. The new clerk learns that this
Noble fellow is tremendously popular,
but looks in vain to find him. On a
recent cruise of the Cincinnati down
near Key West pistol shot was heard