The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1898-06-15


where, after lights out, there was only
the dim illumination Of a single stand
ing light, than they would have to
dodge all manner of missiles, soup
and bully cans, checking blocks,
mess gear. boots, anything aud every
thing throwablc that the sailors and
marines, in or out Of their hamiuocks
first LAID their hands upon On such
occasions the disliked officers had but
one thing to DO, and that was to
travel aft as fast as their legs could
carry them. III :; could make com.
plant 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 commander he was RECALLED one
morning with the tale of woe Of a
snappy young ensign who had been
treated to dose Of flying gear under
forccastlc on the previous night.
"Do you know the men," the com
mander 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
triiic profanc. "Thc men you sc
named are the best men I've got on
my ship. I've been shipmatcs with
some of them ever since my MILDLY
days, sir, and 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. Id advise you to put in an
application for your transfer, sir
The young ensign, now senior
lieutenant, tells this story upon him
self, and as he afterwards became one
OF the most popular officers in the
navy among the men forward, he cvi-
IDENTIFY profitcd by the lesson.
While such acts as heaving missiles
at dislikcd officers are not done in the
navy to-day, the blue jackets adopt
other methods of getting back at
severe or imperious of6ccrs-in times
of peace, that is. For example, they
lay down on the dislikcd officers.
The amount Of work that disaffected
ships company can't do within
given space of time is simply prodigi-
Gus. In coaling ship, for example,
tho men forward seize the opportunity
to make the disliked officer an object
of derision among his brother officers
and to put him in very embarrassing
predicament before his commanding
officer. They wait until the officer
who has incurred their displeasure
takes the deck and assumes command
of the work Of coaling, and then they
proceed to give an exhibition of how
frsntically gang Of sailormen can
work without doing anything. They
shovel away furiously, but, somehow
or other, very little coal seems to find
its way over the side and into the
bunkers. The blue jackets in the
coal lighters pant and perspire under
the strain Of labor that looks quite
terrific, but there is lack of headway
in the coaling of the ship. The Off
Ger of the decks disliked by the men
may chafc and mutter deep, dark
things under his breath, but this
docsn t get the coal into the bunkcrs
When he makes his report to the
commanding officer Of the amount of
coal that has been got aboard during
his watch, it is found by comparison
that it is only about one third the
amount that was hoistcd over the side
during the watch Of the preceding
officer of the deck, who happened to
be popular with the men. A matter
of this sort always sets commanding
officer to thinking; for men who are
old enough to be commanders Of men
of-war have learned by experience
that it is as easy as launching dingy
for naval officer to acquire aud hold
the goodwill of enlisted men, and
that the usefulness aboard ship of an
officer who has sacrificed the confidence
and respect of the men is seriously
impaired.
There can hardly be any such thing
as discipline on board a man-of-war
when the dissatisfaction of the ships
company is not directed against any
single officer, but includes the whole
after part of the ship. About twenty
years ago one of the big wooden ships.
with crew of nearlp 400 men, on
long cruise in the South Pacific, put
in at the Island of Tahiti. The men
forward were sullen and ugly. Some