Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1898-08-18
IA TRYING NAVAL JOB.
WHAT ST MEANS TO PUT A WARSHiF
IN COMMISSION.

Ehs Enormous Amount OF Work That Must
~ F~rferusd aad the Csrsmeniss That
Are observed Before the Pennant and
the stars and Stripes Are Hoisted.
In times Of peace as we'll as when
wars dark clouds gloom the nation you
- liable TO read In the newspapers an
announcement 10 the effect that one Of
tho vessels Of the navy Is going Into
commission" II Ii not a very impress
i've phrase, but the full meaning of the
term is something Of which few have
my adequate conception. To put . mod
@n warship into commission involves
m enormous amount of work, which
can be fully appreciated only by one
who has observed the process from be-
ginning to end.
When q vessel Of the navy il laid up
in reserve, ''in ordinary, " as IL is call
ID, IL is far from an attractive object
and could hardly be recognized as tho
same ship when in thorough trim, with
Grew aboard The ship 10 anchored at q
convenient navy yard; the stores are
sent ashore. her engines and guns COW
cred with oil and an antitrust paint;
hAr decks are allowed TO become dirty,
her sides dull and stained from rusty
chains. Thus she lies perhaps for
months, and then an order comes from
the secretary Of tho navy, through the
ceief Of the bureau OF navigation, d.
rscting the commanding officer Of the
y~rd to get her ready For sea.
The first thing 30 be done Ia TO bring
as many men a. possible from the re-
oeiving ship, witch lies hard by, and
these, with the force Of tho yard, under
the direction OF whatever officers are
available, begin al mo TO put things to
rights and remove the accumulated dust
and dirt from the different parts Of the
equipment; the engineers force goes at
once to the engines and boiler rooms;
the antitrust paint Is removed from the
engines; new packing Is put in the
valves and joints; the pumps are tested,
the rust and dirt knocked from interiors
OF fire boxes. and boiler tubes and CRATE
bars renewed.
Outwardly everything Ia now In fair
condition. but this ia only the begin
ming. It remains to get mp steam in
some Of the boilers, turn over the en-
gines to see il they are In proper trim,
start the dynamos, test the electric
lights and the pilothouse, signals, turn
on the searchlights, start the fans, work
the steering gear and steering engines,
set the hosting machinery In motion
and put the boat cranes in operation.
Every engine, boiler, pipe. wire, tube,
riyet, bolt, nut and plate is carefully
inspected, and If found unserviceable
from any cause repaired.
Next the equipment storehouse is Wis
tied, and a full allowance of beef, pork,
beans, potatoes, coffee, sugar, salt, -four,
meal, clothing, shoes, hammocks, blan-
kets, paint. tobacco--in short, the whole
miscellaneous assortment of the COM
missary department, is placed ON board.
The paymaster Of the ship is response
BILE for every article received, and, a
strict account is kept of each. Then tine
galley, or cooking stove, has to be ex-
amined to see whether it is complete in
all it's findings. The outfit of o GALLEY
usually consists Of two copper kettles of
30 gallons each, a 80 gallon kettle. with
cast iron jacket and copper hinged GOV.
ers, two steamers for vegetables, each
with q capacity of SO gallons; two sets
Of saucepans, q line set of tools for lift
ing and firing and the ordinary cooking
implements.
The line officers look after the condi-
ton Of the guns, the rigging, the boats,
the cables, the anchors, the flags and
signals, the charts, the nautical instru.
ments and other parts Of the ships
equipment. What this means can only
be appreciated by one who has actually
undertaken the task. A volume might
be written in regard to the signals alone.
When all this work has been done,
the ship is ready % go into commission,
and up to this time everything has been
under control Of the commandant of the
yard, 80 that when the captain of the
ship arrives and reports himself to the
yard commander little remains for him
10 attend to. In the meantime men have
been brought together to constitute the
crew.
Sometimes they are enlisted particu-
larry for the ship which is about to 60
into service, at other times they are
Withdrawn from other ships which have
just been put out of commission. The
crew and marines report aboard with
bags and hammocks; the captain orders
the crew to be drawn up on the spar
deck promptly at 400 upon the day ON
which the ship is to be put formally in
commission, reads to them his orders
from the secretary of the navy detailing
him to tho command, hoists the com
mission pennant to the main truck and
the stars and stripes TO tho gait or staff
at the stern, and all is ready.
The ship is now in commission .-San
Francisco Call.
Greek and Latin.
M. Jules Lemaitre condemned the
study Of Greek and Latin the other day
at the Paris Sorbonne. Hcdeclared that