Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1898-04-07
OUR NAVY'S DISCIPLINE
ITS STANDARD EQUALS THAT OF THE
WORLDS BEST NAvlES.


Far Superior to the Indolent Spaniards
The discipline preserved on Ameri.
car men-of-war not only equals that
of every other navy in the world, in.
Guiding the navy of Great Britain, but
that it is more rigid, more rigorous,
more military and sailorly, and more
admira',l in every way, than the dis
cipline that prevails on the ships OF
several navies of the world that vastly
surpass it in size and strength.
The writer, as { man of-war's man,
had ample opportunities to study the
discipline ruling warships of all the
great navies of the world He has
made repeated and protracted visits to
as many as dozen men-of-war, first
and fourth class, battleship and gun
boat, of the British navy, and he has
carefully observed the whole routine
of the day on at least two ships of
every important navy, including the
navy of Japan. He is perhaps measur-
ably we'll fitted, therefore, to draw
comparisons.
Probably the safest standard from
which to draw conclusions as to the
nature of discipline on a man-of-war
is the standard ofcleanliness, and from
this point of view the most unscientifc
housewife might be quite as competent
O critic as the naval expert. Nothing is
more absolutely cock-sure and certain
than that dirty man of-war infallibly
points to slouchy, undisciplined
crew, aft as we'll as forward. A war
ships crew of officers and men that
does not possess sufficient energy and
decency to keep its ship sweet and
clean and spick and span from cat
head to mizzen flagstaff was never yet
known to be we'll disciplined crew.
There is very high standard of clean
liness and sanitation on men-of-w
of today-a standard necessarily high
when it is considered how closely men
are huddled together on naval ves-
sell The ships of the United States
navy more nearly attain even the
medical department theoretical stand
ard of cleanliness than the ships of
any other navy in the world, includ-
ing those of the British navy. This
is not to say that British men-of- war
are not clean. AS rule they are quite
clean, even if it does take the Cline.
juicers," as American men-of-war's
men call the British naval tars, an un.
consciously long time, for instance,
to ''swab the smut out O. the ships
eyes" after coaling ship. But the
average British man-ofwar is not as
clean, fore and aft, as the average
American man-ofwar-not by long
shot. A good many British naval
jacks have got the slatternly house
maids habit of hiding dirt aud Of stow.
ing it away in corners, SO that, while
to the uncritical eye their ships might
present general swabbing and shin;
look, they could certainly not endure
the sharp inspection of an American
commanding officer without some of
the men forward finding themselves
in a heap of trouble for slouchy ship
policing.
A couple of days after the Maine dis
aster Madrid dispatch quoted Weyler
as saying that the ''affair was no doubt
due to the Incidence of the ships crew."
Weyler has often been aboard the
men-of-war of his own country
Therefore this remark sounds delight
fully funny. There could be no more
realistic portrayal of the entire mean.
ing of the word ''indolence" than that
exhibited by the crew of Spanish
warship. Fore and aft, from all hands
at dawn until pipe down at night, the
dolce far niente on board a Spanish
man-ofwar is almost of the dreamy,
blissful, all-pervading sort as that
VIII ch obtains at high, scorching noon
In the 'dobe shacks of Mexican poems.
Aft, in the officers quarters, fair
degree of cleanliness is occasionally
to be found on Spanish war vessel,
but forward, where the men dodder
through their days, the average
man-ofwar is not alone dirty,
it is simply filthy. The fo'c'sle of the
average Spanish man -of-war is no bet
ter in respect to cleanliness than the
main deck of rank, evil-smelling East
Side New York tenement house. There
is no bias or spread-eagle prejudice
whatsoever in this statement. 1t is
simply matter of common knowledge
and notoriety among men who know
navies. Moreover, Spanish naval
sailors are not alone las class stupid,
inapt, pluggish and pig-headed; they
are sullen and ugly and mighty diff
cult to handle, especially by officers
who look upon all men forward as
being not much above the level of
beasts. The Spanish man-of- wars
man is fed barbarously, punished bar
barously and treated barbarously in
general.
In none of the worlds navies can
You see men perform their routine and
extraordinary work and their drills
with more snap, vim, ambition, de-
and genuine liking for the
business than on an American ship of
war. 1t is a matter of pride with
United States navy sailor to be up to
the mark of his rate, whether the rate
is that of landsman or chief boz
suns mate. The American bluejacket
is man of such independent spirit
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