Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-07-03

| HM MN/ ships of the Pacific
! VI IvM squadron. Over fifty
| ~ Nm bluejackets, most of
III w t h ell II apprentices,
| quit single cruiser
| without waiting for their discharges with
| in the space Of a month, and the heavy
weather men serving several others of
| the meu-of-war of the Pacific fleet were
| said. in the same dispatch, to be going
| over the side like rats Confirmation of
| the essential facts contained in this dis
| patch is found at the Navy Department.
| Many naval officers of high rank do not
hesitate to express the opinion that the
| antiquated conduct class list system of the
navy as applied to enlisted men is RESPONSE
| bic for great majority of the desertIons
| The advisability Of thoroughly overhaul
ing, if not completely abolishing, this queer
| conduct class list system is a matter that
has been under contemplation by the Navy
| Department for some time.
In speaking Of the system the other day
| to Star reporter, a well-known officer of
| the navy said:
| Tile system is generally recognized as
| being out of date, useless for the purpose
| Tor which it was devised-the punishment
| OF regulation breakers-and altogether map
| plicabie to the enlisted personnel of the
| rnodern navy. Commanding officers of men
| ol-War have frequently reported to the de-
| partment in recent years that the system
| puts premium on mediocrity, and infiicts
| altogether too severe punishments anon
! biueJackets and marines whose laDses are
| only OF an occasional sort. They have
| pointed out the Injustice of uuarantininp'
| aboard ship for three months, man
| whose conduct is of the most exemplary
| and straightforward character in the per
| tormance of his duty, but who. when he
| goes ashore, succumbS to the delights of
| the SHORE to extent that IN
break his liberty for a day or so. We
! have all time and again suggested tbs.
| there are other and better means of pun
| ishing such minor attractions of discipline.
Considered Obsolete.
THE conduct class list system as II
| stands "a present is practically the same
as it was when the United States navy was
composed of frigates and sloops-of-war. 1t
still bears with equal weight upon the
| best, If occasionally the most tumultuous.
| men in the service, and still maintains an
| Impossible standard of goody- goodness for
] the nardy men who mar the country 5
| hehtfng ships that is no more near attain
| ment today than 1t ever was. The men
| chafe under the system, which not only de-
| rrlVes them of their shore liberty for unrea-
| scnable periods of time, but prohibits them
! from drawing money due them, for the
| smallest attractions of discipline; and il
| would be difficult to estimate the Lumber
| OF assertions the class list scheme has
/ caused"
The enlisted men, bluejackets and marines
| on board an American mln-of-war are di-
| vided into five conduct classes, and the re-
cording of the mems respective standing
| In these classes is about the most difficult
| and involved work performed by a ships
| writer. Men who went to school about a
| quarter Of a century ago will remember
| the little slips which their teachers gave
| them to take home to their parents at the
| end of each month on which were writ
ten their markings for conduct and "ap-
| plication" for that period. The figure l
stood for very good" 2. good" g. fair
| and 4. bad" When boy got the figure 4
inscribed On his slip the chance was about
| one in ten thousand that his parents ever
| saw II. Not unlike this old-time school
system is that of the navy in recording
| the conduct of men with lye-plackened nails
and backs bent with the toll of the sea,
many of whom have ranged the world for
almost a generation.
The enlisted man whose name is inscribed
on the special first class is privileged to
draw all the money due him when monthly
money is served out. and he may 60 ashore
| every day while his ship is in port. The
first class man also gets all of his money
each month, but is only allowed shore
leave every other day. When a man gets
his name on the second class he has to
stay aboard his ship for a month before
| he is permitted to hit the beach" as the
bluejackets call going ashore, and is only
given one-half of his months pay when
| monthly money is served out. The third
fore he is allowed to go over his ships
side, and gets third of his pay, while the
fourth class" man, who is in hardest case
of all, enjoys the spectacle of his ship
mates departing in droves IN The steam
| launch for the beach for three months be-
| fore he can do likewise and is permitted
to draw only quarter of mis- pay from The
paymaster.
II All Goes Well.
It requires a months time for a man
whose name appears in one of the in
| ferior classes to advance q step. For in
stance, the fourth-class man, after he has
served his three months in that class, adj
vances to the third class at the end of the
| next month, and at the close of still an
other month, if all goes well, he is enrolled
among the men of the second class, and so
on up to the special first class. But 1t is a
| very rare thing that AL goes well' enough
| for him to attain the top class list once he
| has fallen to the bottom. At the end of
| his three months he goes ashore, and there
| is so much of wrath stored up in his soul
| over his enforced confinement aboard his
ship for so long a period that he goes
ashore with the deliberate intention of
breaking his liberty down to the very
limit.
A navy sailor is declared deserter after
he has remained ashore longer than ten
days. 1t not uncommonly happens that a
| fourth-class man, rendered reckless by
| consideration of his three months of
drudgery aboard ship and no play or pay
| to speak of, remains ashore. once he gets
there, for nine days and twenty-three
| hours, and then has himself hauled over
the side by shore boatman; and quite Of
ten he brings with him an interesting case
of delirium tremens for the surgeon to han
die. Such man ''goes to the mast" Chat
| Is, confronts the commanding officer) and
gets another three months dose of fourth
class. anG thus 1t is that some of the most
| useful enlisted men in the navy. including
a great number of chief petty officers go
through an entire cruise of three years on
the fourth-class list. not making more than
| dozen or SO Of liberlies-but these good
and long-during the entire period.
Liberty breaking is the cause of most
of the men getting their names on the in
ferior conduct class lists, and liberty
breaking is thing that is liable to con-
tinue among the sailormen of all navies
until the worlds peace congress has ac-
complshed its mission of disarming the
earth. In nine cases out Of ten 1t Is not
Intentional 1t, Of course stands to reason
that no sailor whose name Is on the snecial