The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1906-02-16
THE CARNIVAL IS
NOW NEAR At
HAND
And the Festive Occasion is Now
a Subject of Much Dis
CuSSiOn.

It has been cOnservatively calculat-
cd that there never lived a robust,
healthy American boy who through
every stage of imaginative evolution,
has not lived in turn, the part OF a
street car .mortorman, street car con-
ductor fireman, policeman. locomo-
tive engineer soldier and sailor
Usually, of course, this imaginative
period Of boy life is encOmpassed in
the years between the ages Of five TO
twelve; but a great many boys never
recover from the sailor stage until
they nave tasted the bitters and
sweets of the life. In fact. from the
viewpoint of most American boys, and
especially those whose homes are re-
moved from the seacOast, a halo Of ro-
nance hovers around the forecastle of
life, and the American boys spirit of
adventure impels many of them to
cast their lots with the men who go
down to the sea in ships"
Did not this adventurous spirit eX-
list the enlisted personnel OF the Unit
ed States navy could never have at
tanned its present high standard of
intellect and efficiency; in a word,
without the constant infusion into the
ranks of our navy of the adventure
some, vigorous, young manhood from
the fields and workshops Of the in
terror, the boast which we so proudly
and confidently make of having the
greatest navy in the world would be
vainglOrious and vulgar braggadocio.
But the claim is good. and no Ameri-
can need be timOrOus about assert
ing as a positive, substantiable fact
anywhere ne may chance to be that
the navy of his country, if not in num-
hers Of ships and men, certainly in
discipline. effectiveness and BRAIN
force. is the greatest navy sailing the
trackless seas of all the universe. This
being true, Is it in any sense remark
able that to an American boy there
should be halOs Of romance and air
castles of glorious achievements to-
be worked for and won, lowering in
space above the American man o war?
A frolicsome, rollicking lot are our
American man o warsmen when
there's fun to be had, but there's
a serious side, an intensely serious,
exacting. side TO the life. The faith
omless gulf which separates the fore
castle and the quarterback; the inn
penetrable armor that divides an Off
cial aristocracy and an enlisted demo-
cracy; an impossible social position in
any port of any country, are draw
backs, serious. insupeTable drawbacks
to an enlistment in our navy, as theyi
are in all Of the other naVies of the
world
When the full history of Pensacola
is written, if it ever is, the roster of
the young Americans who have come
here from every state and every terri
tory Of the Union, to crafty their TO-
mantle imaginations and to satiate
their yearning for adventure by enlist
ing in the navy, will fill many pages.
In reality, Pensacola is more general
ly known throughout the country as
the winter and spring rendezvous of
the United States ships of war. than
1t is as the domicile of King Priscus,
who reigns throughout two days of
every year as absolute monarch Of
the revels of Mardi Gras-this year.
on February &c and q.
There are always ships of the navy
at Pensacola during the reign of King
Priscus. This year, there'u be two,
and may be more.