Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1905-09-25
FIVE SHIFTS IN GARB A DAY.
Conformity to Ranking Officers Dress
Kept 1000 Navy Men Busy.

Conformity to Ranking Officers Dress
Kept 1000 Navy Men Busy.
Four thousand officers and bluejack-
cts, constituting the crews Of five first
class battleships and one gunboat,
now in the New York maynard,
changed their uniforms Simultaneous
ly five times Sunday, says the New
York Times. The reason Of so much
changing of dress was due to the reg
ulation which requires that each off,
Ger and man must at all times wear
uniform to conform with that worn
by the commanding OF senior officer Of
the fleet or squadron.
Rear Admiral Robley d. Evans, the
commander-in-chief of the North At
lantic fleet. five of whose battleships
are at the navy-yald, Is. of course, the
ranking officer of the yard. He is
away on leave Of absence. Next to
him comes Rear Admiral Coghlan, the
ccmmandant of the yard. After him
comes Rear Admiral Davis. command
ing the second division of the battle
ship squadron. However, it was said.
absences Of commanding officers We're
frequent, and this made the ranking
good deal Of a puzzle to anybody
but navy man.
At any rate, the officers and men Of
the Kearsarge, Kentucky, Alabama,
Maine and Missouri and the second
class gunbOat Dubuque had to make
some lightning changes Of dress. The
changes began at reveille, when a
signal from the Alabama showed that
the commanding officer was going to
breakfast dressed in blue.
This information was quickly wig
wagged to all the ships and when the
men lined up for mess each Of them
was clad in the blue uniform Of the
service. After breakfast the men
lounged about decks or strolled around
the yard. About 10 o'clock another
signal was wigwagged from the flag
ship. The signal was to the effect
that the ranking officer was wearing
white cap. Ten minutes later all
discarded their caps Of blue and had
reappeared in caps made of pure
white duck.
The next change was at the lunch
hour. Hardly had that meal ended
when there was some more wigwag-
ging between the ships. The COM
handing officer was in the full uni
form of white duck Half an hour
later the officers still! on ships and
every bluejacket on ship or in the
yard had returned from a hurried visit
to his quarters. where he had changed
the blue for the white duck.
Six bells sounded When the jingle
died away the ranking officer wore his
cap Of blue. So did everybody else
little later.
Just before the dinner call another
signal appeared "Off with the white
and on with the blue" is literal
translation of what the man with the
signal flags said. 1t was nearly sun
down, but the interval between sig
nal and mess call was sufficient for
another rapid change Of garb and
when the last call for dinner" sound
ed the decks Of every battleship and
the little gunboat showed formations
Of smart seamen, every one Of whom
was clad in the full blue uniform of
the United States service.
II believe we hold the record in
shooting, but l know we hold it when
changing clothes is under discussion"
remarked an officer as he darted
around a twelve-inch turret on his
way to his quarters to change his
white duck for a blue uniform.