The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-05-14

law =
i when the new ships were first put in
colnIil'ss,on there was no trouble getting
tie-'ss there being SO many vessels that
! ere obsolete and retired from the serv-
ice Tor good Now. however. it is different
eath year mas seen the navy list increased
with the modern steel warships with its
more complicated machinery and no more
ola wooden hulls to draw crews from.
Sons.ess, that body that holds all the
/ poMer' refuses to allow more men, there
1o-c the secretary of the navy has no
offHr alternative. Without men the ships
cannot De commissioned. Men are plen-
49, .-si,. ti.t- navy tIeoartment would DE
only too glad to enlist them, but the law
that allowed the ships to be built did not
2roE,de for the crews. There is nothing
men Will be found without any trouble.
The naval militia battalions of New York,
Boston. Philadelphia and Chicago can
- ~ the main and secondary batteries
OF all the ships that will be laid up in
engine room can pick up all the oilers,
stOEers coaipassers and fire-hoie crews
q" = est street in New York. 1t IS I'M
doubtedly true that enough men of this
Ni.tsa tvs-id be enlisted in one Gay to man
= a,eet Ihere IS another way the navy
VIII get men when she needs them that
Is -r.uune is. evidently not aware or
For years men have enlisted, served their
lnree years, and then found employment
ashore. These men all know what gen
L
s all they need to get ready for action.
Several years ago the United States,
Great Britain and Germany exercised
joint proteCtorate over the island OF Sa-
moa in the South Pacific. During that
time affairs between our government and
Germany became rather squaily, in fact
they went so far that one sensational pa
per cot out a report that the United
States steamship NeiDsc had been tor
pedoed by a German man-of-war. 1t was
IN a little town in. southern California
a A VII min ECfg Tnd
officer of the navy, out of curiosity issued
call through the local paper of the town
Tor all men who had ever served on an
American man-of-war to meet on the
court house steps the next morning. Well,
the next morning there was 70 men there
ready to leave for Mare Island navy
yard at once, if necessary They were
all ready for some more of the petty
tyranny the Tribune speaks about, and
from great guns to boat landing drills
there was nothing about warshiD for
incident just to show the Tribune that
sentiment IS not dead yet, even among
the blue jackets, who have the reDuta-
ton of being frSt-class kickers.
As for the coarse abuse the Tribune
mentions. don't believe it would be toll
Grated for minute. being against navy
regulations. / never was abused and shall
always remember the officers OF the navy
as gentlemen in every sense. If the Trib-
une man will read up before writing any
more naval editorials he will find that
the government mas ndQ Il SCIloOi SuCi do
he mentions for a number of years. At
Coasters Island on Long Island sound
there is a school for naval apprentices,
and when boy comes out OF 1t ana mn
ishes his time on commissioned vessel,
he not only has an education free, but
has learnd something of that practically
new science. electricity, that makes him
a valuable man in many vocatiOnS. A
seaman gunner in the navy IS first
class electrician, but Uncle Sam after
making him such will pay him only $50
per month. So after serving his time
he goes ashore and gets three times that
much from the big telephone and light |
companies who are glad TO have him.
l lately visited the battleShip oregon |
in San Francisco harbor, and in the after !
13-inch gun turret met an old shipmate. |
We compared the old with the new. From /
what / learned from him the men OF the |
navy are better paid. better fed, but over
worked. by the ships being undermanned- |
Look" he said. There is one officer to |
handle the range finder. sight and fire /
these two guns, and four men 10 each /
gun TO work compressor, levers, rammer,
breechblock and the ammunition hoist !
and insert shells and charges II any |
gets knocked over in action there is none
to replace them. l turn to at four bells
f6 a. m.) and work like a mule nearly all
day There ought TO be not less than
ter of us to work this turret The lime .
ULCERS (Englishl up at Esquinlault would
never send such a fine ship to sea as
as we are.
A blue jacket must growl at something,
but what he said was only too true. but
the Tribune must go higher than the navy
department 10 find who IS to blame.