The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-06-05
AL SORTS OF MEN IN NAVY
HEARLY ALE TRADES AND MANY
PROPORTIONS ENTED.

--
EmerreneIss Expose SaoE's Latent Capacities
"A SIarise. an EH.surEesp, sets the Broker
Leg or n Former Acrobat, who walks 70
the Sick Nay on HIs H~ands-Other Instances.
WASHINGTON, June 4.-The enlisted force OF
the American Navy is q queerly assorted lot of
men. Nearly all Of the trades, and many Of
the professions, are represented In our sea ser
vico by men forward. Unless the men are de-
sirous Of getting, at the beginning OF their ma.
val careers, ratings aboard ship that require of
them the performance Of the same sort OF me
chanical work at which they make their living
ashore, few OF the naval recruits give The re.
cruiung officers their real civilian occupations
when they enlist in tho navy. A plumber
who wants to ship in the navy with the petty
officer ratio OF plumber and filter. OF course, tolls
the recruiting officer that his trade is that of n
plumber. and he has to pass an examination at
that trade at a navy yard. A painter by trade,
who wants to get into the naval service with
the ahip's painters rating badge on his watch
arm from the start gives his occupation ashore
as n painter as a mRtter of course. and has to
proverbs skill in mixing and with the brushes
besides. But those ratings are hard to get, for
they are nearly ALWAYS filled, and when q
tradesman who is bound to ship in the navy
any how finds that no will be unable to get q
oillet.aboard ship ut his trade, he generally puts
his nam down simply as a laborer or q clerk.
AhOio Ao mVehuA III Ahlot III bOulO NAboss N
plumber, for instance, who 10 unable to ship at
the plumber and filters rate, and who there
lore goes In as q landsman, Is usually crafty
enouRh.to be aware that, II he gives his actual
shore occupation to the recru iting officer and
Rets his name on his ships roll as a plumber
by trade. he stands more than an oven chance
of bsingSregularly detailed as the rated plumb
er's helper, without getting any extra pay for
his skilled work. Therefore he prefers to ship
| Nc . F,,ap ,pith mn Yarficn1ar Gnnyylal-n - .-r
! skilled work.
A man.of- war commander in our nav IL SER
vice seldom knows what one.halr Of the men of
his crew are capable Of doing until the mans
respective capabilities are revealed by Incl
dents that happen aboard ship. There are some
curious instances OF how men for ward, down
on the rolls as 'laborers' or clerks have
shown their hands. and made decided hits, in
emergencies.
One night about three years ago, when most
Of the officers, including the surgeon, OF n gun
boat lying in San Francisco harbor were ashore
attending q social function, a newly shipped
coal HEAVIER, whose occupationson the rolls was
that of a laborer. fell down the hatchway lad
der from the main deck to the machine shop.
There was no one In the machine shop at the
time. The coal heavor with his legs. the right
one badly broken, dangling in the air, walked
on his hands from the machine shop up for.
"oi I Liz uast OniC u Jig
Jackets picked him up and deposited him on a
couch. The coal HEAVIER told the men that his
leg was broken. and one of them rushed to re.
port the case to the officer of the deck.
The officer Of the deck sent for the apothecary.
The.apothecary told the officer OF the deck that
he didn't have the skill to set broken legs. A
big, indoleut marine, a recruit, whose only capa.
bility thus far had seemed to consist in the get
ing on the outside Of three very heavy squares
n Inr hood tho nUo,tn.,o-, f-.., Il. $1,000.
where he was DOING. The big marine tum-
blcd out Of his hammock, went:to the sick bay,
and set the coal heavens broken leg in a style
tina. aroused the admiration OF the surgeon
when he returned to the ship after midnight.
All hands wondered how the coal HEAVIER had
managed to walk on his hands from the ma.
chine shop forward to tho sick bay until he ad-
mitted that he mad been a professional acrobat
ashore. AID that he had shipped in the navy be-
cause tho circus with which he las travelled
had gone to pieces in San Francisco, leaving
him stranded in the hardest town in which to
go broke in tho Western Hemisphere. The big,
indolent marine who set the coal heavens broken
leg had to admit to the surgeon that he had
been graduated in surgery years before. and had
done his tour in several famous English hoSpi-
tails before he drifted into sea. soldering.
How did you happen to enter the marine
co!rPsi, Inquired the surgeon; -
One afternoonsdoWn In Honolulu harbor Ad-
miral Beardslee, in command Of the Pacific
squadron from the flagship Philadelphia,, was
rival a day ahead of time Of the Australian
steamer that wa to carry the fleets mail to
report to make on the situation in Honolulu
this was during the last Hawaiian revolution
up the report, for the Australian steamer could
not, of course, wait; The Admiral came out of
gangway to send ashore with all haste for some.
body who could take rapid d;ictation on q type,
been q good deal Of a mum at "Iaiiorizing,5
overheard the admiral giving this order. and
head in the ~ Usual manner, and Tddu ToiSnt ess r3f To-
do the work. The Admiral looked at tho lands
man without much confidence in his gaze.
What kind OF u typewriter do you handlel"
Amy kind, was the reply.
the Admins al took the landsman recruitsatt
and began 10 dictAteltrial stuff to the bluejaCket.
The bluejacket, ratified tie copy off in a style
dictated his report TO the lightning swift blue.
jacket typewriter. the words hardly falling from
The Admiral took the pages one by ono. There
wasn't a mistake in spelling. punctuation, or
R Rit6Gnsh thS admiral Ens flORRs BAD W dict aGsSlT At he elE Tsts
OF ninety words a minute. The Australian
iH ssds@an '& ~as in @fssd:lsi,S F FsRST'' A dna rs
yeoman. or private secretary. 4 yeoman Is 4
A bluejacket who put in q three.year en-
listment as a deck hand took his discharge
ship was at Yokohama, Japan. and got a Job
as II shipping clerk. A couple OF weeks after
he went to work ashore one of his shipmRtes
was arrested and locked up, charged with stab
bling a %jinriksha Jap. The sailor was tried be-
fore the Consular Court, but before his trial
came off his ship left Yokohama for China,
The ex-bluejacket conducted his shipmato's de-
fence before the Consular Court, and he con
Quoted II so ably and with such a fine knowl-
edge of law that his man.o!war's man client
was acquitted. The eX bluejacket lawyer had
been In his day the junior partner in a well.
mixed with politics and cards, had got him over
the eide OF a man.of'war with u hammock and
duty bag. but he went in as u ''laborer."
When the officers Of one of our cruisers on the
Mediterranean station were giving a dance
aboard one night about a year ago, the ships
dynamo broke down and all the lights ON the
ship went out at once. The swell congregation
Of American tourists. and foreigners was in the
midst Of Q waltz on the main deck at the mo
nient of the eXtinRuishment of the lights, and
the women fell into a panic, The officer OF tho
deck galloped to the dynamo room. where he
found the Chief Rnnnnr'A mnte who nRnd To lie