Little Falls weekly transcript. (Little Falls, Morrison Co., Minn.) 1894-19??, 1898-07-12
LIFE IN A WARDROOM
THE OFFICERS QUARTERS ON BOARD
/. A MAN-OF-WAR.

THE OFFICERS QUARTERS ON BOARD
A MAN-oF-WAR.
whore All Except tho Commander Eat,
Live and Have Their Social Being-Navsl
Etiquette Isolates tho Man Whom All
Others on Board Must Obey.
Tho wardroOm on a man -of-war Is the
living peace Of all the older officers Of
the ship with one exception. the CON-
manding officer. He lives by himself,
has his own cabins, his own mess, his
own servants. Naval etiquette and GUS
tom have established this habit Of isola
ton for the man on the ship who has
command Of all the rest. The reason Is
undoubtedly to be found in the very
fact that he represents extraordinary
power. Under these circumstances any
attempt to forget the superiority OF his
rank by means of common cabin or
messroom for him and his subordinates
would only result in embarrassment on
both sides.
This does not mean that he may not
be sociable, for much depends upon the
man. But it ia safe to say that any show
of effusiveness among those who live
abaft the mast must come from his side,
if he wishes it to be general. The situa-
ton is delicate one.
In the freer air of the wardroom we
find from 10 to 20 officers living togeth-
er, the number varying with the size OF
the ship. Their ages may range from rs
to 3d. and they are Of all ranks above
that of naval cadet, and Of all corps.
Engineer officers, line officers, medical
officers, marine officers, one pay officer
and one chaplain, may all be included
in the wardroom Of q large ship. These
men live in staterooms arranged about
common space, which is known as the
"wardroom country" This assumption
Of space of prairielike dimensions is
comparatively truthful in the cramped
quarters of a ship. In this country"
exists the social life Of the wardroom.
Here these men Of varied callings, yet
all of the seas following, live, move
and have their social being.
A day spent in wardroom by q land.
lubber would reveal many interesting
differences between naval officers and
their brethren on shore. To begin with,
they are more cosmopolitan in their
speech. The men in our wardrooms are
gathered together from all parts of the
Union. Local discussions find but an
uninterested audience, or even derisive
one, so that a naval officer gets accus-
toned to speak and think of all the 45
states as belonging equally to him. Out
side of his own country he is so great
traveller that very few civilians can keep
up with the way he skips in converse
ton from China to Peru or to Tasma-
mia. Other characteristics that are
quickly noticeable are his simplicity,
his oheerfulness and his heartiness. The
wardroom is constantly resembling with
laughter. The men in it are healthier
than men who live in houses. They get
up earlier in the morning and go to bed
earlier at night. Most Of our wardrooms
are bustling with officers at 2 o'clock in
the morning.
A glance at the breakfast table shows
the senior line officer presiding, and the
other officers placed near him according
to rank. At the other end Of the table
is the man who has been elected by his
messmates to direct the catering Of the
mess. Between this early meal and the
breakfast proper, which comes at half
past II or ~ o'clock, there is not much
life in the wardroom, for the daily mil
itary routine is full Of drills and exer-
cises which keep most of the officers on
deck. There are drills with great guns
and with small arms, drills in clearing
ship for action, drills in handling am
munition and many others-all Of them
rooted In the one idea that you must
preserve your own life by destroying
that of your enemy.
As soon as an officer returns to the
wardroom from one drill and begins a
conversation or perhaps huns song he
is interrupted by the bugles on deck and
must buckle on his sword and return to
another drill.
At every call to quarters all officers
must report themselves ready for duty.
The chaplain and paymaster, having
much less to do with drills than the
other officers are usually the first to be
back in the wardroom, where there is
other work for them. The medical off,
Ger has gone forward to the sick bay to
look after his patients.
When the midday breakfast comes,
there is the first breathing space for
little leisure and relaxation. But the
drills for the day are not yet over, and
at o'clock the hustle is resumed
throughout the ship. A sudden call may
come for collision drill, or fire drill, or
battalion drill, If at sea, a floating tar
get may be dropped overheard, and for
an hour the ship be shaken from stem
to stern by the discharge Of guns. From
to s o'clock in the afternoon there is
generally respite from work, and the
wardroom begins to show signs Of be-
ing home. Some in it are reading or
writing, others are smoking or playing
games or loafng. Still others are in
their rooms taking the seaman's after.