Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1898-12-01
THE CARS SEAMEN.
RUSSIANS MAKE THE WORST SAIL
oRS IN THE WORLD.

~-'''"~
Unless the Russian sailor is greatly be-
| lied, he Is the last person to he the ideal Of
| a modern man-o' wars man. f'hc i'm
| Ir,SSion made on the obscrvant foreigner
| In any Russian naval port, alike by tho
Iaw recruit and by the finished article, Is
distinctly unfavorahle, and experts who
! have been on intimate terms with the
! NuscpVitc scamcn assert that the Russ
makes the worst sailor in the world
Perhaps no race in cast or in west has
less fancy for scafaring than the pcrsians.
( The idea indeed Of Persian man-o wars
man will strike many Englishmcn as posi-
lively ludicrous still, with little in
struction and drill under a British captain,
they proved moro than a match for tho
Russians ON the Caspian. Captain Elton
tow ard the end Of the last century organ
lied the Persian navy for Nadir shah and
beat the Russians again and again till
they were glad 10 make peace on the terms
dictated by the ruler of 1chcran. so much
for the Russian sailors of a century ago,
and what they were when the Pcrsians
under Elton showed themselves their bet
tiers they remain 10 this day.
RuS>i.. at the outset is unfortunate in
rcvarv, 20 her supply Of raw material avail
able for the marine service. To make a
good man-o' wars man, ready, resource
full. ol,cicnt and cheerful. early familiar
ity with tho sea is almost Indispensable,
and in many circumstances there must ~
some liking for n scafaring re to COM
fcnsate for the hardships certain to he en-
Iurcd and the more rigorous discipline en-
forced on n taiilcship. But Russia, de-
spite her vast extent Of territory and great
oa>t line, has practically no scafaring
population of her own race. Her resources
for naval recruits are limited To- the Baltic
coast, the shores OF Courland and the Bal
tic provinces, 80 dc> ignatcd, with the Fin
ni>h SEA line. The truSty and reliable
fisher folk of these Regions are not Rus
slams. nor have they any sympathy with
the Slavunic race that rules and, AS they
hold. opfrcsScS them. Omitting the few
Firms, they are German in origin, in feel
Ing and in aspiration.
They differ from the Russians in that
most important essential, their religion.
The treatment they have received at tho
hands IF the cmpcror's ministers on ac-
count solely of their adherence TO the Prot
eStant faith is such that they dislike, or
rather hate, the Muscovitc The Baltic
recruit IctcSts his Supporters and instruct
orS, for they are the SlaVs who Cypress
him and suppress his churches He sub
miis TO discipline because his Tcutonio
instincts impcl him TO obey. but hil
obedience and his performance of the du-
tics allotted to him are purely pcrfunctory.
He has no pride in the service and he
looks forward II the time when he will be
discharged and return To his home 10 for
get as far as he can his term OF employ
ulent in the imperial marine.
The Russian naval officers know the feel.
incs of the Baltic population and instead
q; doing their utmost 10 conciliatc them
and improve the relations that exist be-
tween the German and Slavonic clements
adopt system Of rigorous discipline and
rcT3cS>ion which they consider effective.
The consequences are dcSertion and drunk
enncss- II i owing 10 this that no Rus
sian seaman who is not a Slav-that is,
who halls from the Baltic-is ever allowed
a>hoT, in foreign port, for he rarely re
turns. The discrimination between the
Baltic born recruit and the pure FLOODED
Slav in the matter of leave and punish
incni does rot tend TO make either the
service or the Russians themselves more
popular with the best class for scamanship.
The increasing rcquircments OF the Rus
sian navy for seamen and stokers as well
as for artisans have rendered IL imyossi-
he - rely entirely on the supply of n,
cruiis from the Baltic provinces and Cour.
land. The Firms are not bad sailors and
arc hardy and tough, but there are not
many Of them, and their physique is not
such as 10 enable much dependence to bs
placed on them as fighters, while they re-
sent rigorous discipline. severity in tho
cas- Of these people frequently induces sui
eide, Hence 10 supplement- the numbers
rcquirod recourse is had to ordinary re-
cruirS from the Russian interior, who are
drafted into the marine service.
Now, If there Is anything the true born
N.nS4~nKi-4a ahDminaT,.S IL i The He *
naturally an inland creature, a man Of the
sIcppcS ana plains safe only as long as his
feet touch the firm earth. And. like all
such folk, he rcgards the sea with some
, thing Of the awe ;hat inspired the early
Slav rNce To designate the ocean and death
by one and the same word. To him serv-
, ice ~ sea is n punishment and his de-
noanor on board shows sufficiently that
ne considers he is doing penance. He is
Invariably stupid, and his stupidity leads
10 punishmrnt> aS degrading aS they are
useless. Beyond ohcying orders he has no
ideas whatever and is really incapable OF
, acting ON his own initiative in any cir
cun.sianCeS-
He is never cheerful savc when his very
liberal allowance Of vodka is served ont 10
. him, and his one idea of happiness is To
CT as drunk aS his captain" lie Will
sac up his Iay l.; order u 20 ashore and
indulge in a drinking bout with his mess
males, calculating in advance exactly how
many glasses NJ spirits his savings will
provide him with He will hand over tho
amount IN the tavern keeper, specifying
the number OF riumki 10 which he is en-
Titled, and IL : no uncommon thing in n
sCapor; town 10 SEQ the constitutions
6raul>hop proprietor pouring glass Of
spirits down a sailors throat long after he
Is quite unconscious, To make up the req
uisite total Unable 10 read and write,
thu Russian man wars man has no re-
course in his spare time when ailoat. He
d can only drink and gamble as he sees his
sppcriorS doing when of duty.
~ course his training is a matter on
which experts alone are qualified TO speak
fully, hui he rcccivcs most OF il ashore,
and moi NJ SEA. Tho gunncrs gain expert
ence in handling weapons Of position
e mounted ashore likewise, and it is safe 10
affirm that tNo-thirls OF the men in the
Russian imperial navy have never fired
shol or she'll from a gun ailoat. The Rus
sian sailor though physically sound
Q enough, has none Of the snartness of the
British tar or the cheerful. If less alert
= rcgl:incSs If the French salt. Stold and
s,itf under inspection, ne is loose and
stumbling when the eyes Of his superiors
are of him. His obedience is absolute,
e bur il is the Obedience that is fatal Ia I'M:
t!ativc. The discipline 10 which he Is