Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1901-10-10

The Hazardous ana Trying Wo.k III
Nhi.h WaIrhip Officers Engage.


tN-u York SUM
Ihcr" is one phase oI the ship life y.
tac American naval officer that il
scarcely known To the laymen ana that
.an hardly br understood by him as
h- looks upon the modern shin i'll vi.
act attractive cleanliness. and meets
Ee. neatly uniformed officers upon tht
srotIes- upper deck Not only are th,
parts IVY the ship I'D sight k-p: clean
ami ,Iea from rust AMI decay but also
t@psc far-dowp. contracted spaces that
never sec n" light Of DAY These inn
c,c.t INV cellular compartments u.-
tween th- inner and outer skins uf tho
-h.P known technically az thu double
bottom. arG other places that sepa-
rate tav magazines ana various built
w strC, lures within the ship from! the
DUtyr-SGiU.
THESE marrow compartments a.g cs-
r0,i"!Iy susceptible tn dampnyss an,
tHst. and in order that those who hay,
,hc care W. them :uay IA their duty
Well and - prevent the decay of the
hip, "a system vi inspection has bee.
devised. and the inspectors must b.
under The naval regulations. commits
stoned officers. \ permanent board OF
inspection is formed upon each ship
which must consist Of one engineer
ana TWO line officers. The duty of TIL.
honrd i periodically 70 make persona
inspections III all parts Of the ship. ex-
amino everything critically. suggest
remedies for any evils that may Il,
found t. exist. and to report to the
commanding officer. for transmission
70 tho navy department. the condition
Of thu vessel in detail
Uniforms are discarded while max
ing these inspections. ami clad in sea.
mems ordinary working suits these Of
hccrS crawl upon all tours throughout
the length and breadth Of the bottom
If tie ship. WriEgle snuke-likc through
narrow openings, and examine With
their own eyes every inch Of the sur
face Of the thin steel plates The pain,
~ these compartments Softened by
dampnCss is some places and by heat
ana the stcam-laden air Of the boiler
rooms in others rubs off upon the
working suits. ana ln hours crawling
transforms the neat officer into very
sorry spectacle. In some modern
EavieS this duty is performed by the
enlisted men, tho officers being excused
from il. but i'll our navy the feeling ex-
lists that al enlisted man should not
be asked to so where an Office IS moi |
willing to lead. The result is that
things always work with the Ameri- !
cans and the efficiency Of the fleet is |
assured.
Numerous precautions must b |
taken to avoid the risk Of losing life |
while performing this duty. for il is at
tended with no little danger. The at
mosphcre Of confined spaces entirely |
or partly closed for a considerable |
length OF time becomes robbed of its |
oxygen in the formation OF rust and is |
soon made unit to sustain life Ii |
possible. such compartments are blown |
out with pure air led through hose |
from blower duct and al manhole |
plates removed before being entered |
lighted candle is always carried by
the inspecting officer upon his crawl
ing tour. If The candle burns dimly !
or seems upon the point of being ex-
tnguished there is deficiency Of oxy-
gen. and he Will Immediately seek the
nearest opening leading from the com
nartment and leave it at once. Men
Sihlc To him So that they may hear his
voice and render immediate assistance
IN case Of need. No one is allowed to
enter any confined space on board ship
without an uncovered light. although
IN addition 4 portable electric light is
carried frequently to render the in
spection more thorough.
1t not infrequently happens that Of
hccrs ana men become so wedged be-
tween buikheads and beams while per
forming this duty as to make ii ex-
Iremely difficult to remove them. and
more than one officer of the navy il
upon the retired list today. because of
permanent injury to his health con
Irocted While performing this arduous
aDor. because Of the care exercised
It IS rare that y life is lost in this
service. but in one case AT least the i
faShneSs Of = man proved fatal to him.
me Of the main boilers Of the cruiser