The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1898-08-03
JACK AND HIS GROG..
SAILORS DEVICES FOR SMUGGLING
LIQUOR ABOARD SHIP.


Iy to lie Squclched What 1t Means
When Jncklo Combs Ills Mustacho with
HTarlIne Spike.
There is perhaps less drunkenuess
among the enlisted men Of tho United
States navy than ameng the men for
ward Of any of the worlds big sea fit
outs, :" said n naval officer of experience
to tho writer. drunkenness passed
with the old navy. In the days of the
old. Tuscarora or the Tennessee, rs tho
sailors put it, ii was common enough
thing to sec about three quarters Of u
ships company returning from shore
liberty i'll such u state that they had 60
be hoisted over the side in bosun's
chairs to save the trouble of carrying
them up tho gangwny. But that sort of
thing is no longer endured Men who
90 ashore after having remained aboard
ship for II considerable period arc OK.
peeted by tho officer Of the deck to re-
turn just tritle eXhilarated, hut they
never return quito incapable.
Men who exhibit the slightest indi.
cations of being addicted to drink are
turned down fatty by tho examining
surgeons when they present themselves
for enlistment nowadays. Tho surgeons
tell me that they can tell from Il mans
eyes whether he has ever suffered severe
ly from excessive drinking, no matter
how long tho man may have abstained
from drink before seeking enlistment.
If men addicted to drink do happon
TO get by tho examining surgeon and re-
veal their weakness by going ON tears
every timo they 20 ashore tho navy
gets rid of them by simply 'boaehing'
them-that is, by putting thom ON tho
beach with their bugs and hammocks
wherever their ship may happen to be
in home port a man cannot bn
'beaehcd' for any cause in foreign
country.
''fhero arc, of course, any number Of
men in tho navy, and rafting iino sail
ormen, too, who have natural prodl-
lection for drink, and these men the
officers keep an eye ON for their own
good. Sailors AFRO bound to try to snug
gle liquor aboard ship II they drink
considerably ON their shore libertiea,
they know that whom they return
aboard they arc in for big heads when
they awaken i'll their hammoelis the
next morning and i'll trying To safely
bring Il bit of liquor off to the ship they
have i'll mind the taking of IA hair Of
the dog To sort of ease them up when
they turn to at all hands tho next
morning.
Sometimes they got tho liquor safe
ly aboard, but generally they do not
Every enlisted man ON II United States
man of war, except the chief master mt
arms and the topsergeant of marines, is
searched at tho gngway upon his re-
turn from shore liberty by tho gangway
corporal Of the marine guard, under the
s,aaz .eAfs 80 49,, spai.as,,, - ~ H. -
tho purpose of ascortaininR if ho has
any liquor concealed about his clothes.
The men have picked up somo Ingenious
schemes for smuggling liquor in such
way that tho corporal of the guard is
fooled For example, the men on the
China station buy long eclsl,ins from
the coolies, I'll tho skins with about
Il quart Of liquura and wind them around
their noclis beneath tho collars of their
shirts
1T took the officers ON the China sta
ton II long whilo to get on to this
scheme Then tho men who felt that
they surely needed drink the next
morning after returning from liberty
discovered the plan Of filling rubber
bag with liquor while ashore and Of
slowing tho bag next to their waist
bands. Tho liquor smugglers who OBJ
served that tho searching corporal only
passed his hands up and down on tho
outside of their clothes, then resortod
TO the plan Of tying bottles of liquor
with string on the inner sdo Of thor
legs, beneath their trousers, but any
searching corporal knows all about this
ono nowadays
''Hho cox un Of the steam cutter, who
makes dozens Of trips ashore day
when tho cutter is running boat. has
10 DO carefully watched, for he is liablo
to bo tempered with 10y the men who
want liquor pretty badly, and his op
portnnities fer getting liquor aboard
arc many. Every once in awhile, upon
tho cutters return to the ship, it tx
searched by the officer Of tho deck, and
the latter often finds liquor neatly
slowed among the cutter coal, in tho
cuttGr hiIgos or even IN the boiler tanks.
When this happens. tho cnX'un Of tho
cutter is in trouble He gets a big raleo
Off from tho men for his liquor SNUG
CLING, which accounts for the chances
no viii take
'Ihe ships painter has to be watched
too. He is petty officer. and no has
charge Of the ships alcohol, which is
chiefly used fer the making Of ahcllao
to paint the lower decks.
"Some Of the sailors like dose Of
alcohol mixed with coffee for 'touing'
and SOLDERING up purposes, and as tho
ships painter is occasionally eorruptiblo
and carries tho keys Of the alcohol tanks
There Is quite a little drinking Of this
mixture on some Of the ships whore old
timers prcdGminato Tho old fiat feet
havo indeed been known 10 drink tho
shellac after it has been prepared for
tho sake Of tEe alcohol in it, and there
Is an expression in the navy among tho
enlisted men, IF you soc o jackie comb
ing his mustache with inmlino spike,
you know what hos been at, that is
very significant
But for all this, as | say, there i.
an exceedingly small percentage Of
drinking mon in our navy in compare
son with similar figures for other big
qaY,os. Tho occasional drinkers in our
service, when they return from the
beach bit under tho weather. arc
merely put in the brig overnight and
permitted to 20 30 work without pun
ishment the noxt morning. Wash
ington Star,
H~nc&sna&ia~