The age-herald., 1898-08-18
SCHLEY'S
 POPULARITY
From the Washington Star.

that the men down below in the engine and fire rooms should be kept informed of the progress of the battle, he did an emil nently schley-like thing Schley has the reputation of being a generous, big-heart- ed man among the bluejackets throughout the whole American navy-an "enlisted mans officer" they call him-and he has earned the reputation from his middy days The old-timers tell many story illustrative of Schleys kindliness as a ship commander
 One of these stories reverts to the period when Schley was the skipper of one of the old cruisers on the Mediterranean station. One beautiful, balmy Christmas morning Schleys ship pulled into the harbor of V1- lefranche The ship had been steadily cruising for couple of weeks, and. of course the man had had no shore liberty. So, when the mudhook was dropped in Vil- lefranche harbor the gangway bo sun mate, at the order of the officer of the deck, passed the word that all hands for ward who were entitled to liberty could put their names down with the ships writer for day shore. The good-con- duct men set up a cheer at the passing of the word, and they rushed to the ships writer's desk to get their names down. In all about 250 of the bluejackets were en- titled to Init the beach, the sailors call going ashore on liberty. But there were about seventy-five of the bluejackess whose names were on the bad-eonduct list, and they were, therefore, "quarantined;' that is, sentenced to remain aboard ship for varying periods ranging from ten days up to three months. The offenses of the uuarantined men were of a minor nature, requiring discipline, none of them having done anything serious. Some of the very best men in the ships company were, therefore, booked to remain aboard ship on this sunshiny Christmas day, while they watched their happy shipmates. done up in their best mastering clothes, depart over the side for a merry whirl ashore.
 The men ready to go on liberty were mustered in patches on the quarter-deck, and away they went in boat-loads, jingling the American gold in the chamoiS bags suspended by strings beneath their mus tering shirts. The quarantined men, look ing dismal and down in the mouth, stood around in silent parties, smoking their pipes, and watching the departure of their more fortunate shipmates. When the last cutter load of liberty-bound men had
 
 Schey came out of his cabin door and stepped up the poop ladder for his morn- ing constitutional. He strolled up and down with his hands behind him, occasion ally glancing in the direction of the de- parting steam cutter filled with shore making bluejackets from his ship. Then Schley began to size up the disconsolate- looking groups of quarantined men slouch- tl,n 1naly nr'a a ard of the main stick. He looked at them out of the corner of his eye for a while, and then he stepped down the ladder and came forward.
 You boys hop into your mastering clothes,' said Schley, .and when the steam cutter returns you may go off to the beach and enjoy yourselves. I'll give or ders to the paymaster to let you all have whatever part of your withheld pay you'll need for day ashore"
 The happy men set up cheer when Schley started aft He wheeled and re- turned to the main stick
 And, I say he put in, as a sort of af- terthought, "come back right this time, you fellows. Act like American sailors, and there'll be no need of quarantinirg you any more. l don't want man of you to have to be whipped aboard in a bo'sun's chair when he comes off to the ship this time.'
 The men took up the cheer again where they had left it off, and there wasn't a man in that quarantined gang that wasn't marked into the log "clean and sober" when the liberty party returned aboard late on Christmas night American blue jackets put on their honor by a kindly commander never break their parole
 Tn 10 nl tha naia aclyat l,o1 custom of asking the skipper to "white- wash the books on New Years morning Several dozen of the quarantined men, whose names had been inscribed on the bad conduct lists for trivial offenses, would assemble at the mast and ask to have an interview with the commanding officer. When the skipper made his ap- pearance out of his cabin and walked for ward to the mast the leader of the blue jackets would step out of the gang and quietly hand the commander a new buck ct filled with whitewash and a big white wash brush sticking in it. This pantomine meant that the quarantined men asked the skipper to whitewash the books and to erase all of the names off the bad con- duct lists, thereby giving all hands a chance to begin the New Year right If the skipper took the bucket from the hands of the bluejacket they would set up a cheer, for they knew that the command ing officers acceptance of the bucket meant that ne would accede to their pan- tomine request But if the skipper shook his head and declined to receive the buck ct, the men would quietly disperse, always looking cheap, but not making any crii- cisms.
 Schey never turned down a gang of quarantined bluejackets who presented him with a New Year gift of a bucket of whitewash. He invariably "whitewashed the books for the men. His ship was lying in the harbor of Montevideo one New Year morning, and the gang with the whitewash bucket was unusually large. Some of the men in the gang before the skipper had only been quarantined for three or four days. When the second-class gunner's mate handed the bucket to Schley, he took it, smiling refectively. ''The surgeon" said he, turning to the executive officer. twas talking to me the other day about giving the men forward some sort of tonic while we cruise in these low attitudes. Well. the lads may need a tonic, but I'm quite certain that none of them needs any nerve food'' The books were whitewashed, all the same