Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-07-17

teAuets VI OhciS III the merchant marine.
Chief nachinists, of whom there are from
three to five on American warships, accord
ing to the ships rate, get $15 a month. and
certainly earn every centavo Of IL. Machin-
lists Of the first, second and third classes are
bluejackets of the black gang and get from
$40 to $50 a month. There are not enough
commissioned engineers in the United States
navy to permit of their standing watch and
watch, and ii is for this reason that II is
necessary for the chief machinists, who
handle the throttle and reversing gear on
the cruises, to be hjgh-grade men. There Is
one chief machinist on watch in each en-
CINE room under steam, the senior being IN
complete command of all the working de-
tails of the engineers department, under
the direction of the chief engineer. The
members of the black gang obey him as i'm.
plicitly and with the same degree OF alacrity
that they obey any of the commissioned
officers of the ship. When a break down
occurs all the machinists every one OF
whom is capable of taking a quadruple ex-
pansion engine to pieces, setting it up
again, or renewing or mending any broken
or WORKOUT part of ~ work together ike
beavers to set the thing right. There is no
enlisted man a man-of-war. not eX-
cepting the maSter-of-arms, whose position
Is so responsible as that of chief ma
chinist.
Watching the Boilers.
The water tenders, of whom there are
from three to five on American warships
are also an exceedingly responsible set
of men. who earn their $37 a month with
few words. but 4 heap of watchfulness.
They are stationed in the boiler rooms, and
have general supervision over the fremen
1t Is their business to get all that can pos
sibly be gotten out of the boilers in the
way of making steam and each of them
must keep shifty eye on the scores of
water and steam cocks and safety valves
in the boiler room under his charge to see
that no accidents occur. A water tender
Tor instance. who permits the water in
ms boiler to run low when under steam is
IN for trouble. The steam gauges under
the eye of the chief machinist of the watch
tell him exactly how much steam each
boiler IS making, and if there is ANYTHING
water tender on man-of-war particu-
larry dlSlikeS, and therefore guards against
1t is to have the chief machinist Of his
watch stick his head into his boiler room
with the inquiry. Whats the matter with
your steam out here?''
Inc oilers of the black gang of ubor,
there are frcm eight to twelve according
10 the size of the ship, are all men OF the
miraculous nimbleness of the genuine
sailors of other days. They have to be
In order 10 go on living. 1t is ha;r-raisinp
10 see these grease-slingers' Cman-of-war
name for them) crawling through inextri-
catie masses of machinery under fun
IN VI, oppihS power, with their tightly-clutched
Oh cans, lodging ponderous cross heads a
dow from which would knock them into
Kingdom come, now throwing far while
the! rest Oh one elbow and a foot now
n a
piston piunger. and all the time seeming TO
ire iayman on the very verge of death
Inc oiler is perpetually paving bearings 10
see II they are not: and this looks as wan
ION 10 the man who understands not the
need OF II as the idiocy of the how who
endeavors to see how close he can ger his
Eand TO a buzZ-saw without losing some
myers. Notwithstanding the tremendous
chances they are compelled to take. very
lew man-of-war oilers are eyer infurad on
auty. Inc oiler gives his services to UncIe
sam for $37 a month, and IL any man earns
does.
Feeding: the Furnaces.
Next after the oilers come the firenen
the bare-breasted, brawny men who feed
the furnaces in fou: hour watches. Theirs
Is iapor TO make a man think. Even I'm
the Being sea the heat CT a man-of-Wsr
IRE room Is no mere matter of coziness
but the desperate heat Of such a fire room
IN not latitudes-say In the middle of the
hed sea at Christmas time-is a thing that
must De lelt TO be understood. The hottest
room of the Turkish bath is balmy snrine
oy comparison. Yet for four hours twice
Gay. and oftener when the shin hannens
10 ne snort handed. these huge-muscled,
uhWnimperlng men reply to the beIchinr
unsuitable nav of the furnaces with end
less chains OF shovelsful of coal and must
ever and again add to their own burden of
t mTrn pg pfonging the greedy flames with
IN, ty-pouhd devils claws" that only
make the fires to burn the fiercer and 70
roar Tor more coal. Little three minute in
eerVals they may snatch to stand under the
nre room Ventilators for a breath of nure
air or to grab a drink of terid oatmeal
wafer tor iced or even cold water would
De tneir death in such heat but most or
IN IN t,t f OF tneir watches Is steady dane
ing OF obedience to the relentless clamor
OF the hres. All this they endure for s;5
inot.th LOT hrst-class firemen (as officially
s sa.eu1 dsd $50 month for second-class
But of all the men of the black gang or
OF the whole ships company, in truth NOT
excepting the unconsidered landsman the
poor coal HEAVIER (pay SD a month"; gets
me me very worst or 1t. A coal HEAVIER died
the other day during the trial of one of
tne new torpedo boats; perhaps few persons
VINO read of the mans death know much
OF the trials Of coal HEAVIER on a man-of-
~ WI. me coal HEAVIER draws no water
whatsoever on warship, even the non
oescrlpt landsman on deck regarding him
as fool for performing such hard. bitter
S S,g labor as he has to perform for SO
ha ,,s money. he Is ordered around by all
hands, fore and aft above and below
When the ship is under steam he has To
WORK ike a dray horse, with this difference
.nat the horse works in the air and in the
broad light of the sum- which the coal
heaver decidedly does not On modern w.r
ships the coal bunkers are elaboratelv fit
ted up with incandescent lights. nine our
Oh ten OF which are smashed to smithereens
C.
tically impossible to prevent this. The coal
heaver has therefore to work in the char
oscuro light of his dust-covered lantern A
lantern does not illuminate a bunker to anv
large extent, but it enables the coal HEAVIER
to crawl around on his hands and knees
without butting his brains out against
steel bulkheads
Working in the Coal.
The bunkers. when the ship is steaminr.
are always insufferably hot and practically
without ventilation. The coal HEAVIER has
got to get the coal out of the bunkers and
run it in trolley buckets to the fire rooms.
no matter how he does 1t. He has to work
In all postures according to the amount
OF coal In the bunker he is assigned to- He
shovels coal while lying on his back, living
on his side, sitting down, half standing.
leaning on one arm. He practically mines
the coal all over again in the bunkers He
is OFTEN buried In an avalanche of coal Big
Jumps OF coal fall on his feet His lungs be-
come coated with coal dust He is black
from the soles Of his feet to the crown of
his head. He can only scrub the superficial
CRIME from his skin at the end of his
watch. 1t Is sad work, unquestionably and
yet the navy never has any difficulty in
getting coal beavers. Nor, IL the oppor-
tunity were given to him, would the coal
HEAVIER exchange places with the deck
hand. Why? Because in the midst of his
n - q IN lot .r@w. IL -