Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-11-26
THE MEN IN THE STOKE HOLE
Suffering of the Sailors Who Keep the Fires
Going.
Life on n WsrKhip of witch che
fubiic Sees NothinE-Liquor Given
TO Stimulate the Men.

Department showing some of the horrors
| OF life below deck q warstfns and The
injurious effects II stimalants taken nv the
men IN the fire AMI engine rooms to enehl,
them to stand the strain Of service in 4
! supefheated atmosphere. Two medical or
hcers attached to the gunSoat Bennington
have made special reports on this subject
and the conditions described by thew arr
considered typical of nearly al; the vessels
in the navy.
In a Report made by Surgeon John "
Baker of the Bennington the follow ma.
statements are mada:
AT present the engine room and macnin ~
SHOP are cut OF from all fresh air Their.
are Two large ventilators. rendered Dpr-
fectly useless by the nj OF au,Iy. heinz b,,ilt
directly in front Of them .tud so ia Oh
structing their use as to actt,allv linn bv
interference the movement # the COWS
Dripping with perspirs tior. covered with
hcoaldISt, pores Of the skin clacRe1 with
ilrt thus impeding the cooling effects Of
eNapDration and largely reducing such sur
races. me men stand. inhai ling H.. fumes az
recently hauled or cleaned ircs aud fight
ing against the depressing effects az h.,t
until their hearts reflSe !ongr- to in,nei tn.
piool' ana they are either artificially re-
NNed by sumulantS which are furnished
e'Hh watch. or else are carried below 70 So.
the doctor. This is the history OF zach
run al sea, and the entries under vertigo.
PibsAIdilfH INtFmlcl. fPbrlS l.rmiC1 -
! cope and virium defeetio toll The story 20
all who may calmly and without prain,lir,.
study the history of such cases
=, A battle. the loss Of shin and many
liNes may at any time hinge on the uu'rk
turning and effective handling OF a shin
and no one will deny shat plenty OF steam
Is essential to all This abundancc of steam,
ana It's maint6 nance require not only that
fresh air shall BE- supplied to the furl
which Is provided for 10y blowers buf thar
good air. fresh air, cool air. shal! reach the
lungs and enveloD the skins OF the men
who are engaged far below. away from, an
the attendant and nerying cNcitpm mt Of
ire battle, in the struggle Ia keen their
own temperature down and that OF ,hc
ilres up. The only way TO meet this prob
lem is 10 follow the me; holds purs,,ed I'm
arriving at results in general namely ~.ua,.
and attention TO detail.
Better NcntilatOrs and Fan. Needed
We should build our vcntilators ;arper
ana higher and make them more numerous.
rovide our fire rooms bunkers and engine
rooms with fans on a large scale until Wa
no longer are content that men should 81
tfese days of modern science toll ami Ia
Dor In a Initiated atmosphere at tp-1pn-a-
lures varying from 1870 to 10 until hoy
are temporarily exhausted or permanently
disabled, and that. too. long before the ne
riod assigned 10 men who live on deck in
fresh air and wholesome sunshine and who
are never called upon to make the pavs;-
cal sXeruon, save in unusual emergencies
tnat these men II USt make every lg,- 10
we would maintain oor speed at sea snea
and turning in evolu'ions: in fact the eff
cheney that is not only desirable but ALSO.
lutely essential. For our success in warfare
and Tor which our ships are constructed"
Passed Assistant Surgeon f. p Stone
who was the successor OF DR.. Baker. s5yi
in his report:
1T is to the credit 81 the crew Of this
ship that they persrvercd in their work
under such trying condition. and that al
though several received treatment and were
eXcuS ID from completing watch. and all re-
ceived stimulants regularly. only two were
oh igad to be put on the sick list. 1t has
been my experience once hCfure--On the In.
diana-to reach port after not very Iona
run with the engineer force on the verge Of
paralysis frCni exhaustion.
eff such be the effect OF moderate pas
sages under conditions Of peace. Whal
would the effect OF a ship keeping the sea
for longer periods I'm war times-of the ex
element and fatigue of chase2 Would
ii not be probable that ship would arrive
on the battle-ground with "A considerable
portion of the crew already inefficient anC
hors de combat from exhaustion? II would
therefore seem desirable, i'm the construc.
ton and alteration Of the newer ships oi
our navy. to devise some method of over
coming the excessive heat. from which
most all Of them suffer, IL il should moi
be possible then to increase the force oi
the men who must work i'm the parts Of The
ship subject to the high temperatures sc
that they can have shorter hours on duty
and longer off.
Spirits Issued To Every Watch.
1T has been the custom on this ship &c
give, when under way, each watch in the
fire and engine rooms some liquor, either
during or at the end Of the watch. on Z
trip from San Diego | conformed to the
custom after the first few days. principally
Tor Its mental effect on the men. as they
expected it, and furnishing the LIQUOR
served to keep them contented.
L have not had enough practical expert.
ence yet to feel like making a positive
statement. but so far my experience
goes II has inclined me to be opposed TO
the issue of spirits % men subjected Il
high temperatures. 1t produces a tenn
porary stimuli ton. but leaves the men ul-
timately liz a state of lcssened resistance.
L believe a better stimuli ant is the admin
istration of strychnia. In those casas Of
heat prostratic that give rise to muscular
cramps. / believe. theoretically. that sub
s.,f.a e