Evening star., 1898-08-06
"ENLISTED MANS OFFlCER.p

When Commodore Schley gave orders to
the Brooklyn's officer of the deck, at the
beginning of the fight with Cervera's fleet,
that the men down below in the engine and
fire rooms should be kept informed Of the
progress of the battle. he did an eminenty
Schiey-like thing. Schley has the reputa-
ton of being generous. big-hearted man
among the blueje ckets throughout the
whole American navy-an enlisted mans
officer,' they call Eim-and he has earned
the reputation from his MILDLY days. The
old-tir rers tell many a story illustrative of
Schley's kfndliness as ship commander
One OF these stories reverts to the period
~hen Schley was the skipper of one of the
Ola cruisers on the Mediterranean station.
one beautiful. balmy Christmas morning,
Schleys ship pulled into the harbor of Viii
ie1ranche. The slip had been steadily
cruising for couple of weeks, and, of
course, the men had had no shore liberty.
30 When the mudhook was dropped in VIII
lefrancne harbor. the gangway bo'sun's
mate, at the order of the officer of the deck
PasSec the word that all hands forward
Who were entitled to liberty could put their
ames down with the ships writer for a
Gay ashore The good-conduct men set up
cneer at the pas sing of the word and
they rushed to the ships writer's desk to
get their names down. In all about $50 of
the blGejackets were entitled to ..hit the
Deacn. as the sailors call going ashore on
hDerty But there were about seventy-tive
OF the biueJackets whose names were on
Ihe bad-conduct list and they were there
fore quarantined:" that is sentenced to
remain aboard ship for varying periods
ranging from ten days up to three months
ne oiiehses OF the quarantined men were
or minor nature requiring discipline none
OF them having done anything serious
Some of the very best men in the ship's
company We're, therefore booked to remain
aooaru snip on this sunshiny Christmas
day, while they watched their happy ship
mates, done up in their best mastering
ciothes depart over the side for a merry
whirl ashore
me men ready to go on liberty were
mustered In patches on the quarter deck.
ana away they went in boat loads jingling
the American gold in the chamois bags sus-
pendeo by strings beneath their mastering
shrts. Inc quarantined men, looking dis
mai and down in the mouth stood around
IN silent parties, smoking their pipes, and
"atcning the departure of their more for
,unate shiDmates. When the last cutter
ioad OF i1berty-bound men had showed off
lor the shore, Commander Schley came out
OF MS cabin door and stepped up the poop
ladder for his morning constitutional. He
stroheo up and down with his hands be-
hlnu MIN, occasionally glancng in the ii-
rection of the departing steam cutter, filed
with shore-making bluejackets from his
ship Then Schley began to size up the
uisconsolate-iooklng groups of quarantinf
men slouchlng around on the spar deck I'D
Tor ard of the main stick He looked at
them out of the corner of his eve for
While, and then he stepped down the lad
der and came forward.
You boys hop into your musteripp
ciothes, said Schley. land when the steam
cutter returns you may go off to the beach
ana enjoy yourselves. I'll give orders TO
the paymaster to let you all have whatever
part OF your Withheld pay you'll need for a
day ashore"
The happy men set up a cheer when
Schley started aft. He wheeled and re-
turned to the main stick
And, L saw he MT in gov. 80
a1terthought come back right this time
you fellows. Act like American sailors
ann there IL be no need of quarantiilfg you
any more. L don't want a man of you to
nave to be whipped aboard in a bo'sun's
time" ~ 'i' ILLS
-. The men took uD the cheer again where
they Lad left it off. and there wasn't a
man in that quarantined gang that wasn't
marked into the log ''clean and sober''
Wheh the liberty party returned aboard
iatS ID on Christmas night. American blue
Jackets put on their honor by a kindly
comnander never break their parole
In the old navy the bluejackets had a
custom OF asking the skipper to "wl,lte-
Sasn Tie books on New Year morning
several dozen of the quarantined men.
whose names had been inscribed on the
pad conduct lists for trivial offenses, would
assemble at the mast and ask TO have an
IHtI IrIeI eIVieW with the commanding officer.
When the skipper made his appeara ont
OF his cabin and walked forward to the
mast the leader of the bluejackets would
step out of the gang and quietly hand the
commander new bucket filled with white-
wash and a big whitewash brush sticking
IN IT, This pantomime meant .hat the
qCafalfined men asked the skinner TO
Whltewash the books" and to erase all
or the names off of the bad conduct lists
thereby giving all hands chance to begin
the new year right. If the skipper took fhe
bucket from the hands of the bIueiacket
they would set up cheer, for they knew
that the commanding officers acceptance
OF the bucket meant that he would accede
TO their pantomimic request. But II the
skipper shook his head and declined 10
receive the bucket. the men would quietly
olsperse, always looking cheap but not
making any criticisms.
Schley never turned down n gang Of
quafantined bluejackets who presented him
Wlth New Year gift of bucket of white
wash He invariably "whitewa shed the
DOCKS for the men. His ship was living
IN tne harbor of Montevideo one New Year
morning land the gang with the white
WASH bucket was unusually large. Some of
the men in the gang before the skipper had
phiy been quarantined for three or four
days When the second-cIass punner's
niate handed the bucket to Schley, he took
1t, smiling redectively
Inc surgeon said he turning TO the
executive officer, was talking to me the
other DAY about giving the men forward
some sort of a tonic while we cruise in
lhese low iatitudes Well. ths lads NAV
neea tonic, but I'm quite certain that
none of them needs any nerve food. -
Inc DOCKS were whitewashed, all the