The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-07-26

ence he thus gains at the station and the
three months following aboard the training
ship are invaluable. The first great essen
tial is discipline, and to obey orders Of his
superiors. At the stations the landsmen
learn to care for themselves and their cloth
ing. and TO acquaint themselves with their
surroundings; then they learn to drill with
small infantry arms, to load four or five
inch gun with dummy charges, and to point
ii. They make short trips in tugs or yachts
upon which they are taught to steer, to
heave the lead, to get under way, and to
anchor AT the end of three months they
are assigned to training ships, upon which
they remain for three months, and at the
end of that time they are transferred to the
cruising men-of-war.
Apprentices are enlisted between the ages
OF fifteen and seventeen years. Their edu-
cation begins either at the training stations
at Newport, r. l., or at San Francisco
where the course is from six to nine
months, and If then fitted are assigned to
the regular cruising ships. Aboard ship the
apprentice is taught many duties which
fit him for the sea. In his preliminary
education the landsman learns many of the
same things taught the apprentice. The
reach the seaman's branch, learn the diff
ferent parts of boats; they are taught to
exercise boats under sail and under oars,
fleet tactics of boats. to tack. wear and
reef boats under SAIL all about lighthouses,
buoys running, lights, fog signals, rules of
the road at sea, hand lead and line, deep
sea lead and line, about logs; they learn
the names of the different parts of the
ship and ships equipments, the names and
uses of head booms, foremost, mainmast
and mizzenmast, the kinds and parts of
blocks, standing rigging. rigging derricks,
running riggings of all parts of the ship,
sails of a ship and their gear bending and
furling and reefing of topsails, kinds and
parts of anchor and cables, and the ham
ding them; all about steam windlasses,
bends and bitches, knots and spices and,
in short, hundred and one things which
the average land lubber never knows of
and never dreams of.
There are various promotions for those
who prove themselves efficient and with
each promotion there is, of course, an in
crease of pay. When advanced to ordinary
seaman the pay is $40 a month and that OF
seamen s24 a month. From this grade the
men are promoted to petty officers and to
the grade of warrant officers, such as war
rant machinists, in which the pay runs
from $1,000 to 81, 500 year. The law further
provides that certain number of warrant
officers may be promoted each year to re-
ceive commissions. The pay to petty Of
ficers ranges from $50 month in the sea-
man branch to $50 and $40 in the yeoman
and messman branches. Every attempt is
made by the Navy Department to make
the service attractive to the men, and that
1t is so is proved by the number of re-enlist-
ments each year. Their food is pure and
wholesome and appetizing, such is call
culated to nourish both mind and body
and when sick the men are given care and
attention by skilled surgeons. In short,
Uncle Sam takes excellent care of his
tackles and is amply repaid by the serv-
ice which they render.
The Importance of properly training men
for sea service is shown by the fact that
there are at present thirteen ships in the
two training-ship squadrons. They repre-
sent about IS per cent. of the total tonnage
of the navy, and the course given the ap-
prentices and landsmen aboard them to &C
quaint the boys with naval customs, terms
and discipline is most thorough.
The training squadrons consist of the
following ships: The Atlantic training
squadron - Landsmen training ships Buff
falo. Dixie, Prairie and Yankee; appren-
tlce training ships Alliance, Hartford,
Monongahela and Essex; foremen's train
ing ships Columbia and Minneapolis Pa
cific squadron - Landsmen training ships
Alert and Mohican; apprentice training ship
Adams.