The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-06-19
JACK TAR HAS IMPROVED.
The Bluejacket of the Present Com
pared With His Predecessor.

pared With His Predecessor.
The American man-of-wars man of
today is as different in personal char
acter from his predecessor a few de-
cades ago as is the steel-clad, turreted,
mastless battleship of 1898 from the
graceful frigate of past generations.
The new weapons, motive power, and
other equipment of latter-day war YES
sells necessitate different, and often
higher qualities in the men that handle
them. To this is due the fact that the
modern man-of-w wars man is more of a
mechanic and soldier than sailor
pure and simple.
But this is not all. The general char
acter of Uncle Sans bluejacket has
undergone a change since the develop
ment of the new navy as radical as
his professional training. Such familiar
phrases as like a drunken sailor" no
longer apply, for Jack is today steadier,
more self-respecting, and better be-
haved than the average man of his
own walk of life on shore.
Where in former days but few would
return on board ship on time, clean
and SOBER" from a days liberty lit is
now the exception for liberty to be
broken A party of liberty men on
shore from an American cruiser is an
orderly, respectable body of men. Sew
eral causes have contributed TO this
change for the better. One is the ap
prentice system, which has been in sue
cessful operation now for about 25
years, a period long enough to give
predominance to the American-bor
Searnen graduated from the apprentice
training ships. This system has given
TO the service a large number of re-
spectacle young Americans, who have
displaced a like number of irresponsible
foreigners, waits of fortune, whose only
interest in our navy was the pay and
the food, both decidedly better than
they could get in the navies or mer-
chant marines of their own countries.
Another potent cause of the good
quality of the American man-of-war
men of the present day is more intelli-
gent treatment In the days of the
-old" navy, the men were allowed to
draw but a small fraction of their pay
each month, the remainder accumulat-
ing until the end of the period of en-
listment. The balance due was paid
in full at the time of discharge. The
men, unaccustomed to handling much
money at d time, did not know the
value of what they had received, so
they squandered their money. Quite
likely, they became the prey of sharp
erS In either event, they were COM
PEELED to re-enlist soon, and in dismal
spirits.
When liberty" was given in the old
days it was the custom to let whole
'watch"-half the ships company-go
ashore at once, and then only at long
intervals. Knowing that it would be
a long time before they would get on
land again, the men thus freed would
endeavor TO concentrate as much rev.
efry as possible in the short period
given, and were usually regardless of
consequences.
All that has been changed The crew
of a man-of-war is now divided into
three conduct grades, according to be-
havior. Those in the third or lowest
grade are permitted ashore at long in
tervals, and in the discretion of the
commanding officer; those of the sec
ond may have liberty once week,
while there is what is known as the
special first class" the men in which
are given almost as much shore leave
as the officers.-Collier's Weekly.