Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1906-06-03

.wns rightly considered one of the crack
rrews Of the whole American navy.
The dislilcd officer got tile men
ashore aud started to drill them They
fell down i'll II body at the simplest Or
tlcrs. Half Of them came to present
arms when the other half came to an
order arms. The officer bcratc1 them
and tried again. The mcu did worse
than before. The officer began to
march them. Apparently not ten men
In that landing party knew the differ
cncc between fours right and left
obliquc. Tho movements were a howl
Ing farce, and the foreign naval officers
ashore stood by laughing bostcrously.
The unpopular deck officer flew into n
rage and begun to drill the men one by
one. Every man went through the in
divi9ual drill, manual and movements,
like major. and when the officer had
drilled about half OF them in this way
he started again to give tllcm orders in
body Again they were like pack
of recruits. The incxtricablc jumblc
into which the men plunged themselves
warranted the glcc of the foreign OIL
Gers. The dlslllicd officer decided to
punish the men, and lie marched them
i've miles into the country over bad
road. Tho men struggled along like Il
flock of pursued sheep, with no order
whatever and ul as solemn rs owls
about It, The officer marched the mon
back 10 the landing after the ten miles
had been covered ana got them aboard
the ship. Then he reported to The com
mandiug officer that 1t was the stupid
est pack Of blucjackcts lie had ever
commanded
"Stupid?' the commanding officer
said. You must be dreaming Those
men YOU had ashore today make one
of the crack battalions of the whole
American navy. shnlI take them
ashore myself tomorrow and find out
what's the matter. You shall accom-
pany mo with the landing party"
Tho ''old man." an extremely popular
commander among the blucjackcts. did
take the landing party ashore on Tho
following day. Every man appeared
OIL deck spick and span. alert, ali
n-quivcr with mcttle. The commanding
officer got them ashore AMI put them
through their manual. Tho blucjackcts
were ms one man with their pieces.
The skipper then put them through The
movements, and the clean. Dracticcd
fashion with which the blucjnckcts per-
formed the cvolutions caused the for
eign officers who had laughed the day
before the greatest amnzcment When
tho party returned to the ship the dis
liked officer put In his application for a
transfer.
When n chief engineer on n man-o'-
war Of today acquires the dislike of
his men-the "blacl gang''-tley are
capable of making heavy trouble for
him. Aside from the commanding OH
Ger. 1t might almost be said that OF all
the officers attached to Il modern war
vessel it is most necessary for the chief
engineer to possess not only the good
will. but the actual devotion. Of tho
men under him. The chief engineer Is
held strictly accountable for the pres
ervation in good condition Of the ships
boilers and machinery. y loose screw
may very easily disable an engine, and
1t Is the simplest thing In life to loosen
n screw without anybody being the
wiser. One cut rlvet is enough TO make
boiler useless. and crown plates may
he let down easily enough y crime of
this sort has never been actually FMS
tened upon nh enlisted man in the en-
ginccr's department. Of IN American
ship OF war. but 1t is matter OF com
mon knowledge In thasA w S;at those
chief engineers who are unpopular
With the men under them have FAR the
most trouble will, the machinery and
boilers III their charge. and some OF
these dislikcd chiefs have to expend II
Ing to the department just why there
are so many brealsdowns in the gear
over which they have control 1t is
quite possible for so low rated n man
rs even an aggrievcd coal passcr to
get his cllicf engineer tangled up with
a court OF inquiry.
Moreover. 1t often happens that nm
unpopular chief engineer can't get his
men TO make steam The iiremen APP
parcntly work hard enough. but they
don't get the revolutions out of the
propcllers. News travels just us fast
from the cabin TO the fo'csic as it does
from the fo'c'slc TO the cabin. and when
the frcmcn hear that their unpopular
chief engineer has been ordered to get
tue ship to such and such port at
such and such a time they Just catch
one anotber's eyes, and the ship doesn't
get there in that time or anything like
1t. 1t would make no difference IL the
chief engineer himself were to stand
watch in the fire rooms twenty-four
hours Mt n stretch. The steam registers
wouldn't take my upvA@l leaps OH ac-
count of his prcscnct. ) The assistant
engineers also stand In need of the