The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-07-09
THE PETTY OFFICERS.
sUBORDINATEs on WARsHIPs HAVE
RESPONSIBILITIES.
Work Without Gold Lpce-UDOn
Their Efficiency Depends the sue
cess or Defeat of the Wan-Of-War.
How They Are CIassiGeh.

4 days Of busy preparations for going to the
| front Of officers appointed etc. These men
are the epauiet,ed indviduals, who wear
swords. handsome uniforms and gold lace,
and strut and fret Their hour upon the
| stage. They are the generals, the colonies,
! the captains and the leutenants, and are
| known technically as commissioned officers
because they are not only appointed by and
with the authority of the President and the
Senate of the United States but are also
given a commission, a sheet Of parchment
containing on il a know all men by these
! presents" etc.
In every way as important to the efficien-
cy Of an army or a navy Is another class
! of officers known as non-eommissioned Of
| fcers in the army and as petty officers in
the navy. Neither Senate nor President has
anything 10 do with these appointees, be-
cause they are enlisted men. Non-cOmmis-
stoned officers in the army are the ser
! goants and the corporals; the petty officers
of the navy are the boatswan's mates,
/ quartermasters, gunner's mates, gun cap
/ tains and coXswains and some others.
| The men are known as men of the first
division, second division, third division and
! so forth, according 10 the manner in which
the guns are divided uD about the ship.
| The captain or leading man of a division
/ is now a boatswain's mate His duties cor
/ respond nearly in importance and some
! what in kind to the duties first sergeant
performs in company of infantry. Indeed,
when the men of his division are drilled as
/ infantry he Is first sergeant. Under him
/ are the other petty officers, the gun cap
4 tains and the coxswans.
The boatswain's mate must be an all
round good man, able to command able
/ TO lead. He must exert controlling IN
fluence over the thirty or forty men he
commands; he should know the drills
well, so as to assist in lnstructing, and
! he should have plenty of 'gumptiOn," so
| that the best way to do a thing will sug-
gest itself to him without loss of time.
/ The boatswain 5 mate of a division is the
right hand man of the officer of the djyis-
| ion and is a trusted factotum.
Duties of this class of petty officers
! have been outlined. They pertain TO the
! general welfare of the men of their di-
/ vision and the carrying out of the ordi-
! nary routine on board ship. With the
/ care of the guns. the bOatswain'9 mates
have nothing further to do than to send
/ the division a s may be needed
The rate of gun captain is one of recent
date. 1t was instituted for the sole pur-
pose of encouraging men to perfect them
| selves in the necessary art of accurate
| shooting. To the gun captain falls the
| duty of sighting, laying and pointing lhe
guns, pulling the lock strings and sending
the American shot crashing into the
| Spanish fOrtifiCati0ns.
l. Gun captains in the American navy are
made as well as born, and to insure that
such marksmen know all about their
weapons, its sight and capabilities, there
is a gunuery ship devoted especially to
their training.
Gun captains must be men with quick,
accurate eyes, thoroughly familiar with
the use of sights alert to seize the best
moment for pulling the lock string, and
experienced in estimate ting the distances
of objects A chief gun captain draws a
salary of $50 a month, a gun captain of
the first class $40, and of the second class
$35.
A quartermaster in the navy is a petty
officer, never a commissioned one, and his
duties are in no away akin to the duties Of
the quartermasters Of the army In the
army the quartermasters belong TO the
supply department. providing the equip
ment needed by the troops for carrying on
a campaign ana maintaining an army In
the navy the qCartermasters belong TO the
navigating department. They are enlisted
men who have become expert hemsmen.
leadsmeE and signal men, and have been
promoted for their efficiency
on board large ships there are usually
five quartermasters; on small ones four.
one or two of them are always on deck
on watch with gpyglass to report every
thing sighted. At sea one of them stands
by the side of the man at the wheel to see
that he steers the ship properly-"at the
con" he IS said to be, from the French
"conduire" conduct. The other is on the
lockout.
When signaling has to be done the quar-
tcrmasters have to lend a hand. They have
charge Of the signal outfit, the compasses,
the glasses and all the navigating instru-
mants. The chief qqartermaster is paid
so a month a quArtermaster of the first
class $40 of the second cless $35 and of the
third class $50.
Gunner's males are similarly classified
and draw the same pay. There are many
more men in the gunner's gang than in
he qUarterTaster's perhaps a dozen, the
number Hdepending. however, upon the
armament of the ship. These men are in
trusted with the care of the battery-nOt
merely with the polishing of the lacquer
of the outside, that gives TO the guns of
our ships such beautiful appearance but
With the mechanism OF the piece, its car
riage and the tools used IN the assembling
and dismounting.
In the turrets the quarter gunners have
to look out for the hydraulic gear in adj
dition to The care of che ordinary appur-
tenances of a battery.
on most American ships one day in the
week Is devoted to taking apart the more
easily removed sections of the gun car
riage thoroughly cleaning and replacing
them The gunner's mate at such time
has his hands full for he must know
that the guns crew that does this work
does it properly. The more delicate parts
of the mechanism the gunner's mate look
out for himself taking off a sight box
one day, overhauling the recoH cylinder
the next, and so on.
In action the gunners gang stands by
the gun tool chest to repair any hitch.
The ammunition and magazines also be
long to the gang-as these gunner's mates
are collectively caled-and when powder
ana shot are to be issued some OF the
| gunner's gang are always below to see
that the operation is properly conducted.
I,