Evening star., 1904-02-27
ARE I BOUND TO FIGHT

The laps won't have any foreigners In
their army or navy. but the Russians are
not 30 fnical In that respect. SO that I
daresay the Navy Department has a pretty
shrewd idea Of where that big gang Of
American blueJackets who jumped Admiral
BOD Evans feet at Honolulu a while back
are serving at the present tinle." remarked
cnie! petty officer OF the navy on fur
lougn from the Norfolk yard. Whenever
American warships are within hitting. dis
lance or the scsne of q prospective naval
scrap between. other powers special restrfc
es tons as are often put upon the shore liberty
OF the American bluejackets, and the same
Precaution Is taken by the commanders Of
Brftish men-o'-war. For 1t has been shown
tlme and again that when two naval pow
tractive-sounding dispatches always dated
from the capitals of the eontending gov
ernments. and offering generous induce
nents to American and British men-o'-
wars men of training and skill, especially
as gunners, ipfallibly appear in newspapers
puDnshed in ports in and around which
american and British fleets are cruising.
Inc plueJackets in the two services to
whom these hints appeal don't care so
mucn Tor the money inducements held out
as the prospects of a rafting good scrap.
Wnen the Japs knocked the Chinese fleet
" hlnders at the battle of the Yalu con-
siderable percentage Of the seaman gun
ners on the Japanese ships were American
ana British bluejackets who had hoped
sAASHh oHipS Japan not Inen ndFlng the cast
IRON rule against enlisting foreigners in her
lanu and sea services. On numerous occa-
sions adventurous American memo wars
F men nave deserted to join navies that had
prospects of fighting, only to see the differ
ences between the quarreling governments
amcably patched up.
ihus they have been left in very lugubri-
Gus and hopeless situations. The American
udNdi service is far and away the most de-
slraDle In the world for bluejackets in time
OF peace. and the fellows who jumped to
the other navies for the sake of the fight
ing tney figured on found themselves en-
nsted Tor long terms OF years on foreign
shlps OF war, with men of alien speech and
OF type with which they had nothing In
common. As rule such men desert from
the foreign ships just as soon as all pros
pect OF fighting has finally petered out. and
some OF them try to get back to the Ameri-
can naval service by means Of fairy tales
as TO how they were shanghaied into the
foreign naval service. Few of them con-
trive to work this scheme successfully, how
ever.
"A few endeayor to make the most OF
their bad break in deserving from American
ships. and settle down as best they may in
the foreign service. In almost every navy
of the world there is a sprinkling of memo
wars men who have Joined the foreign
services in this manner. AT the time, near
ly fifteen years ago, when 1t looked as II
war between the United States and Chile
could not be averted, number of American
bluejackets were serving on Chilean war
ships. They had in previous years, jumped
to the Chilean navy for the better ratings
they got in that outfit, as well as for the
fighting fun they had. Chile having been en-
gagged for long time in lording it over
other South American countries with her
makings of navy. Well. when Chile got
into the row with the United States, every
man jack of these American bluejackets on
the Chilean ships. upon being questioned as
to his intentions, positively refus ed to prom
ise to fight against the United States. They
were clapped into irons on the Chilean ships
and subjected TO trea Iment in the Dr,g3 OF
their ships such as would be impossible on
board the ships of a really civilized coun-
try. But even under treatment that vir-
tually amounted to torture, not man or
them gave up consented to take part in
the enga gements should the United States
and Chile come to naval blows. They were
all Sen3saShofe and cOnfned In irons IN
naval prison.
Most Sof them escaped from this naval
prison one night. and as there happened to
be no ship ia the port at the time on which
they could take passage or work their
way out, of Chile. they took to the noun
tains and engaged in the brigand business.
quite sprofitably, at that. for several
months Then Chile backed down in the
face of the preparations for a naval war
which the United States was making, and
after a while. the former American blue
jacket tsfgot into the Chilean ports from the
hill country, one by one, and got away
ships. t1t ishsort of whispered among the
old-timers in our navafS service that the
majority of these men were readmitted to
the American navy when they applied for
re-enIfstfnent, on the ground that their
stout refusal to help Chile fight their ma
tive country had washed away their s:n
of desertion.
'sMany of the South and Central Ameri-
can countries of the more feeble sort that
have one or more warships comprising
their so-called fleets have as part of the
ships companies men who have served in
the American navy. Not all of them are
n tarc frny raar Snryy ino
either, although not a few of them are
chaps who quit the American naval serv-
ice under a cloud. They are. a rule,
reckless, Indifferent, devii-may-care chaps,
who are not bothered In the least by their
own or anybody else's recollection OF their
shadowy records. Their records rarely pre-
vent them from being snappy and valuable
memo wars men in the undsclplined and
more or less hopeless services to which
they give themselves. When an American
man-o'-wars man presents himself for en-
istment in any naval service down in that
direction. the recruiting officers don't ask
him any superfiuous questions. All that he
has to do Is to show them that he is a
sailorman with the American man. % wars
mans method of doing things, and he is
taken on without any probing of his former
record or even any questions as to his
habits. He Is permitted to get as roistering
drunk as he elects on his shore visits, with
out punishment, so long ne sailorizes up
to the handle when on board ship And
the American bluejackets In these services
infa1libly get their monthly pay, too,
whether the rest of the ships companies
are paid or not The lucre that is brought
over the side of some of the warships
down that way has habit of sticking
queerly to the paymasters' fingers and Of
reaching the crews In rare driblets But
the English-speaking bIuejackets always
get their money without the least bother.
"Ship-jumping adventurers from other
navies do not get into the American naval
service If there Is any suspicion that they
are deserters. They are not wanted As a
matter Of fact, 1t is part of a sort of un-
written policy in the American navy not to
require any foreigner in the American naval
service to fight against his own land in case
of war between the United States and that
country. This was illustrated by an incl
dent that occurred on board an American
man-o-war at the outbreak OF the Spanish
war.
''On board Of one of the cruisers Of the
flying squadron. fitting out at Norfolk for
the Cuban expedition was a Spanish boy a
mess attendant The boy not only did not
want to fight against his own country but
he didn't want to fight any old country or
anybody. being natural craven
He was in "a pitifuI blue funk from the
hour of the first alarm. The bluejackets