The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-08-20


The boy who at the outset Of his naval life sheds
a lonesome tear or two in his hammock. but keeps
up bravo front when In view Of his shipmates. Is
the lad who may DO always marked for winner.
II would DO out OF nature for youngster OF any
sort OF sensibiiues 70 plunge into man-o-war life
with all OF It's apparent rgidty without being
bit taken aback and depressed by the roughness Of
II all But the plucky boys buckle down and iorco
themselves 70 become used 70 IT. and even during
their lubberly days at sea they never even ap-
proach to the verge OF deck -whimpering. Tho
Little Lord Faunteroy sort OF lad had better keep
out OF the navy. The navy Ia composed, as q
whole lore and ait OF genuine, masculine men,
and OF men OF considerable hidden sentiment too;
but in no environment Is the parade OF even the
slightest suspicion OF sentimentalty more quickly
frowned upon than upon the forward deck OF a
man oi-war Ii a blue-ia happens to meet
with an accident. his sympathetic shipmates,
deeply feeling Tor the injured man. will assemble
around his bunk In the sick bay and call him
damned lubber and hay huckstor Tor permitting
himself TO get hurt that way, That is their way OF
expressing sympathy, and the injured man knows
II and appreciated II his shpmates were TO con-
dole with him and mourniully tell him how sorry
they were, and all that sort Of thing he would
promptly turn over In his bunk and tell them all to
go TO the devil In floating community such as
man o war. therefore the boy of weak heart and Of
liylivered vision can find no habitaton Of peace,
much less Of eventual honor
From the purely physical point Of view, appren-
tceship In the navy is fno thing for q lad Nine
out of ten naval apprentices, whom they attain
their majorities. are strapping rugged brawny
men. capable Of enduring any amount OF hardship.
and possessing quality Of health and soundness
that Ia bound 10 SEQ them through many ups and
aha ,t.z al, ,,,,tt tha
when they attain the age Of twenty one-and most
Of them stay on In the service. by the way. There
couldn't well be much finer physical specimen
than young Breen Of New York City. the ex-ap-
prentice In the navy, who fought with Roose-
velts Rough Riders during the recent war, and
yet when he entered the navy. he gave no promise
OF developing into young fellow who could, and
did, wallop most of the men he went up against In
friendly bouts toward the wind-up Of his naval
service OF course In order to get into the navy at
all. the apprentice must be sound Of body, but
many Of the lads only get into the service by mar
row margins, owing to their being understood or
OF no very rugged character Of physical makeup
Once they get 70 work on deck of man-of-war
II is amazing TO observe how the lads begin TO
spread and grow They are put through the most
exacting exercises quite aside from their daily bit
of heavy work,-exercises that are designed TO
bring every muscle of the body into play. The re-
suit Is that they very soon begin to expand, and
the steel gets into their muscles there TO remain
as long they live After year SO in the blue
Jacket uniform most naval apprentices begin 10
look entirely unlike TO bodily formation. the
way they sized up when they first entered the ma
val service. as to puzzle their own people visiting
days The writer has often enjoyed the spectacle
when the mothers of naval apprentices have visit
ed the lads aboard ship upon the return TO port after
long cruises There Is something touching, primi-
tive. Of first principles in the mother-love that
beams from the eyes Of these women when right at
tho main gangway and In full sight OF all hands,
they are embodied in the arms Of their towering
big -shouldered sons lifted clear OF the deck. no
matter what their weight and then taken of 10 a
remote ships corner for yan-spinning.
This ones all mine" speaks the look In tho
woman's eyes
When the apprentices emerge from their APP
premiership and ship over as full-fedged blue
Jackets at the seaman gunner rate, they have
first call In the distribution of petty officer prizes
and are, as stated. eligible to promotion warrant
officers For these reasons, apprentices never
called upon during their service as boys. to per-
form any mental tasks on shipboard Landsmen
are shipped 10 wait on the officers aft but no APP
prentice lad is asked by an officer TO perform
the slightest personal service for him. The boys
routine Is the military routine, and ne Is not
quired to do anything that would run counter %
his ideas OF strict personal independence He may
become striker Of his own mess voluntarily al
ways, but he is not permitted TO perform any
vice for high-rated enlisted men or officers for a
money consideration. even II he wants to- On long
cruises in Southern waters, when all hands wear
their white uniforms, the officers and chief petty
officers employ landsmen. willing to turn an extra
half dollar or So TO wash their duck clothes, but
they would never think of employing an appren-
uce for this sort OF work. The whole idea OF naval
apprenticeship In the American navy is TO incul-
cate uprightness, dignity and manlness into the
lads-for upon the developed character of these
men-of-war Is known to depend
II boy in the navy exhibits at the outset OF his
sea life any natural tendency toward yelowness
over which he may or may not have control II is
the aim OF the finished ars, II the lad Is otherwise
all right TO knock the saffron tinge out OF him
effectually and forever. The lad who displays the
faintest hesitation on the deck Of a man-o'war,
no matter what he is asked to do or whatever the
danger Of the task. is marked, and the old timers
never let up on him until the boy has become
brave even unto the point OF foolhar diness When
the hesitatng boy is detailed to accompany q
party Of the old timers a short cruise in one OF
the sailing cutters as likely as not the griZzled
blueIackets, all in kindly. well-meaning way,
will hqave the lad over the side with many tales
10 the presence Of sharks. two or three times in
the course Of the trip. They will slacken ridge
ropes on him, and they will find occasion to send
him aloft TO the signal yards when the ship Isl
hove TO and beam ended. In these and many other
ways they fashion strong nerve and dauntless-
ness In the face Of danger in the lad who upon
entering the service, may have been an hereditary
coward.
There are boys belonging To famous American
families serving their apprenticeship In the United
States Navy, some OF them from choice and others
because their people have insisted upon IL These
lads were most OF them incorrigibles when they
entered the service They declined to take advan-
tage of their opportunities TO obtain finished edu-
cations, exhibited hockey playing tendencies.
and showed strong inclination for the sea Their
people tried TO get them entered at tho Naval
Academy but failed because of the boys lack OF
grounding. Therefore they put them in as APP
prenticeS The writer has met with at least dozen
lads who got into the United States Navy under
these circumstances, and all Of them wero toned
down, showing that the good stuff that was in
them only needed some such extraction as service