The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-06-08
The Trying Occupation Of a Master
-a alarms.
(YYashinEtoa Star.

CWashinEtOa starr
1.-The master-at-arms Of the battle
ship Indiana, which returned to these
waters the other day, after a cruise in
the south Atlantic. was courtmartialed
and sentenced TO three years in a naval
prison for killing Jap mess attendant
with a blow Of his fist said an official
of the navy department who made sew
eral cruises as a man-'o-war's man.
OF course, the 'Iimm Legs, as mas
ters-at-arms are termed by bluejack
cts on warships, had no right, ac-
cOrding TO the regulations, 20 punch
the jap, and equally, of course, he had
no intention of killing the man. But
the job Of Legs on a man O-waT is
about the hardest one in the service,
and my sympathy is generally with
a master-at- who gets into trOu-
BILE of this sort. The master alarms
is the most important chief petty Of
ficer on board a worship. and it's his
business to preserve order among the
members of the crew and see that they
behave themselves. When you reflect
upon the character of the personnel
of the enlisted force of our navy, and
keep Il in mind that a great majority
Of the bluejackets are scrappers from
away back, particularly when they're
in drink, you'll be willing 70 grant that
a Legs has got his work cut out for
/ him from all hands in the morning
/ till pipe down at night. The court
martialed master-at-arns Of the IN
diana has been criticised a good deal
/ by unthinking persons for hitting an
! inoffensIve Japanese as they put 1t.
4 Now. that sounds humane and sympa-
/ thetic enough, but there are several
/ chances to one that it may be wide Of
Ithe mark The japanese serving on
| our warships make admirable officers
I servants-galley cooks, mess room at
/ tendants. ward room boys and so on.
! They are exceedingly Clearly and quiet.
/ But there is no manner Of doubt that
/ they are sullen under the discipline
! of English-speaking petty officers.
/ They are slow to obey the proper or
J ders Of the petty officers They mag
/ ine that, because their work is per-
sonal attendance upon the officers they
are not subject to the necessary or
/ ders OF the petty officers, and they
! render extremely grudging obedience TO
/ these orders. This particular Jap who
was accidentally killed by the Indiana 5
/ master-at-arms was a cook, and he
/ had dropped sOme. grease on the deck
+ Just OQlCluE tlAC 5rAAlIg " Gil. 1OI
know how spotlessly tidy our warshipS
are kept, and it is one of the duties
| OF the master-at-aFms TO see that his
( ship is kept clean. The Legs ordered
the Jap to swab the grease from the
deck-a perfectly proper order. The
/ jap made some Sullen reply and viz
| tually refused to obey the command
/ The Legs advanced upon the jar
cook. probably for the purpose of es-
\ corting him to the mast to explain
his conduct TO The executive officer OF
the officer Of the deck-and then the
fatal punch was delivered. it may
have been that the Legs shot out his
fist in fear OF a knife in the Jap's
possession. Some Japs are pretty near,
~ as handy with their knives as ars
most Italians.
Il believe I'd rather be a night mar
shall in a new mining camp than {
man-O' war master-at-arms In the
first place, the Legs OF a warship-
he's supposed 10 be everywhere OF
board the ship al the same time-hs,
little or no chance to become pOpuIa1
with the enlisted force. The natur'
OF his ship-polieing duties effectuall!
II prevents that Once in a while theF'
is a master at-arns who coutrives Il
DO his duty and at the same time &c
/ on well with the bluejackets. but Sucl
/ cases are rare exceptions. and. as
! rule. the Legs who is on hale anl