The Savannah morning news., 1903-08-16

cisco are discharged for "inaptitude"
"a word which covers a multitude of
sins. The only way a boy can tell
whether he is cut out for a man-of-
war's-man is to try it.
There are a good many sailors in
the world. Including the navies of
the various nations, the merchant
fleets and the fishing vessls, it is esti-
mated that 100000 of the wrolds
population are af1oat constantly. But
no other sailors have quite the same
careful preparation for their lifes
work as those who are graduated from
Uncle Sans public nautical schools,
Any boy who sings to himself
"a life for me is a life at sea,
On board of a man-o war;"
has only to go to the nearest navy
yard or the nearest naval recruiting
station-and there are recruiting sta
tions in nearly every city of any size
and state his case to the officer in
charge. Or he can write to the super
tntendent of one of the Training Sta
dons for information and then go to
the station itself and enter the school,
instead of being forwarded from the
recruiting station.
The boy must be physically sound,
De able to read and write, have the
written consent of his parents or
guardians, and be between Is and II
years of age. --.
When a boy arrives at the Training
school he is sent to a particular build
ing where other newcomers are
housed, and with them he enters upon
new world. He sees the marine SEN
tries with their trim uniforms and
SHINING bayonetS; the great buildings
OF the school,: here and there great
anchors and coils of chain; trophies of
cannon, captured in some historic sea
night; squads Of boys drilling in uni
forms of blue or white, or the school
battalion on parade.
he hears the sound of band play
ang military music and now and then
Lhe notes of a bugle call. Old Glory
noats from the lofty mast in front Of
the headquarters and from the station
snip moored near by, and all the
grounds and buildings have a trim,
sIean appearance that seems to shout
Order!' and "Cleanliness!" at him.
lie soon learns the meaning of the
phrases Order is heavens first law"
ana CLEANLINESS is next to goodness"
ahe lesson may not be taught in just
those words, but it is taught just the
saine-good and hard. In fact, all
through his apprentice caReer these
Two things are dinged into him be-
tween meals--Order and Cleanliness.
arriving at the quarters for the new
CCCneis he finds thirty, forty, perhaps
ltF other boys, some of whom, like
II .i have just arrived and are in
--' clothes, and others who have
re a week or so in working
white; most of them, like him
are. rather dazed by their new
novel surroundings, so different
II ON anything they have known.
ne soon makes acOn1nt1nCpS and is
comparing notes with them when
petty officer appears and calls out his
name along with those of several 9TH
81 boys who have not been sworn in.
ne Is marched to the headquarters,
where the doctor takes a look at him
20 see If he has any physical defect
shat has been overlooked, and then to
tne commentaries office, where he
sakes an oath to serve the United
states until he is 81, unless discharged
ssSSoher, and to bear true allegiance to
ane government of the United States
a"u defend 1t from all it's enemies.
Then he is marched off to another
pace where all sorts of equipments
M boys in his situation are kept.
mere he gets a white canvas working
suil an outfit of underware, a white
soHor hat, comb, brush, whisk broom
gu various other things, along with
them.
by the time he gets back TO the
t"lhg where he was first sent and
S. n.,h Is 70 be his home for a few
sAs until he gets broken in a bit.