Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-04-30

| Nh SuDdH II u
taking the conse-
Quences of what their appearance in Gu
ban waters might involve-it is an evil
| showing for the men of the quarterback
| of the Spanish navy. Such a thing as this
could never happen in the American navy.
| There are dissatisfied officers in our serv-
| ice in time of peace, but never disaffected
officers in time of war.
Among the enlisted men In the United
States two military establishments, when
| there is nothing doing in the way of war,
| there Is always certain amount Of dis
| temper under fancied imposition, and this
distemper is manifested in many ways. But
| the men who carry the swords in the
| American service do their growing in their
| mustaches. Even the very worst of the
| men forward on an American man-of- war
| would scorn to engage in job such as
| the "cranking of machinery # there ex-
| !sted any likelihood of their ship being
| called upon to fight at short notice. Such
| a thing has occasionally been done in the
United States navy in time of peace, al
| though the crime has never been fastened
| upon any individual man or collection of
dissatisfied men forward. When chief
| engineer on United States man-of- war
| acquires. in time of peace, the dislike of
| the black gang under him the men OF
| the gang are capable of making heavy
| trouble for him. and they have done this
| on numerous occasions-neyer however,
when cloud of war doomed on the hori-
| Zon.
Aside from the commanding officer. Il
| might almost be said that of all the Off
| GERS attached to Il modern war vessel il
| Is most necessary for the chief engineer
TO possess the devotion of the men lmme-
| diately under him. The CHIEF engineer is
| held strictly accountable for the preserva-
| ton in good condition of the ships ma
chlnery. loose screw may very easily
disable an engine, and it is the simplest
| thing in life for ii dissatisfied enlisted
| man of the black gang to loosen Il screw
without any one being the wiser. One cut
rivet may make boiler useless, and crown
| plates are very easily let down.
Have the Most Trouble.
1t is a matter of common knowledge
rainier, 1t has been In the past, but prob
ably Will not be in the future, or at any
rate while the war is unoer way-that those
chief engineers who are unpopular with the
enlisted men under them have by far the
| most trouble with the machinery and boil
erS In their charge, and some Of these dis
nked chiefs have had 20 expeni a great
zeal OF ink and paper in explaining to the
department the many breakdowns in the
gear over which they have control Ii is
quite possible for aggrieved coal passer
to get his chief engineer tangled up with a
court of inquiry. Moreover, 1t often has
happened that an unpopular chief er eineer
has been unable to get his men 10 make
steam. The firemen apparently work hard
CROUCH. but they don't get the revolutions
out of the propellers. News travels Just as
fast from the cabin to the fo'c'sle as il
i does from the o'csle to the cabin ard
when the firemen hear that Their unpopular
Grief engineer has been ordered by The
commanding officer to get the ship 10 such
and such a port at such and sucn q tine
Trey catch each others eyes and the shin
doesn't get there, or anything like ii. 1t
NM a M u
gIneer himself We're to stand watch in Ire
nre rooms twenty-four hours AZ d stretch
The steam registers v ouidnt take any up
ward leaps on account OF his presence. Ire
assistant engineers also stand in need Of
the good will of the black gang ON sEius
attached to which there have been tSro a.
slsta1t engineers. one of them liked and
the other out of favor with The mcn De-
lew, il has frequently beea observed that
the speed of the ship during the watch hes
of the disliked engineer has fallen short by
k1ois of the speed gotten cut of The en-
gines 10y his brother officer.
Require Careful Handling.
A man-of-war ships company with
grievance means trouble for the officers
aft, while an army post in which the en-
listed men are dissatisfied requires very
careful handling. Officers of experience i'll
both services know these things, and take
care not to put the enlisted men out OF hu-
derstan6, if they are experienced, how well
IT pays them TO make themselves popular
with the men forward. The unpopular ma
val officer has no easy thing OF it in his
dealings with the bluejackets. In the old
navy it often happened that officers who
had earned the illwill of the bluejackets
feared to go up forward at night after
lights out, anG there was reason for their
fear. Such officers would sooner set
foot in or under the 70 csle, where, after
lights out, there only the dim ilu-
ANIMATION Of a single standing light, than
they would have to dodge all manner Of
missiles, soup and bully cans, checking
blocks, mess gear. boots, anything and
everything throwable that the sailors and
Marines in out of their hammocks, first
laid their hands upon. On such occasions
the Gisliked officers had but thing to
do, and that was to travel aft as fast as
their legs could carry them. They could
make complaint to the commanding officer
the next day, but they rarely secured the
punishment of the men. When one of the
fighting admirals Of today was a command
er he was RECALLED one morning with the
tale of woe of d snappy young ensign who
had been treated to A dose of flying gear
under the fo'c'sle on the previous night.
DO you know the menu the commander
asked the ensign.
The ensign named a few of them.
1T serves you blasted good and right
said the commander. who was and still is
rough and ready and a triie profane. The
men you've named are the best men I've
got on my snip. I've been SmpmateS Win
some of them ever since my MILDLY days,
sir ana never had any trouble with them.
If you had treated them right they'd have
treated You right, and as an officer on my
ship should be treated. I'd advise you to
put in an application for Your transfer,
sir"
The young ensign, now senior iieuten-
ont, tells this story upon himself and, as
he afterward became one of the most pop
ufar officers in the navy among the NEIL
forward, he evidently profited by the les
eon.
Everything Goes Wrong.
While such acts as heaving missiles at
cisliked officers are not done in the navy
today, the bluejackets adopt other meth |
DDS Of getting back at severe or imperi- |
Gus ofiicers-in times Of peace. that is
For example, they LAY DOWN on the dis |
liked officers. The amount of work that (
a disaffected ships company can't do with |
in a given space of time is simply prodig- |
ious. In coaling ship. for example, the |
men forward seize the opportunity to make |
the dfslfked officer object of deris.on |
among his brother officers and to put |
him in very embarrassing predicamept |