Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-05-12
UNCLE SANS SAILORS CONTRIvE
TO PUNISH UNPOPULAR OFFICERS

American men-o'-war's men don't mu
tiny these days. They know the pun
ishment that would be melted out fol
that sort of thing, and their average OF
intelligence and of esprit de corps Is
Infinitely higher than that of the crews
of the old time frigateS who really did
mutiny, much as is talked about the
glories of the old navy by the ancient
H., feet of the wooden navy, still In
the service. A genuine mutiny on
board any kind of ship is good deal
like what General Sherman termed
war. The entire British navy in every
part of the world upon preconcerted
and passed around word once mutinled
it was In the latter part Of the eight
eenth century-at certain hour. There
were doings then and afterward. The
doings afterward arranged matters so
that there has never been a genuine
mutiny on board one British map-o'-
war since. The yardarms were busy
standing the strain of the swung men
for long months after that mutiny, and
1t was a salutary lesson for naval mari
ners the world over
But discontinued men-Of-war'S men
in the American navy, suffering under
what they deem imposition or a with
holding of their rights, can, and some
times do, make it mighty unpleasant
on board their ship for the commander
thereof and for the officers directly con-
cerned with their grievances.
Such acts as heaving missiles at dis
liked officers are not done in the navy
today, but the bluejackets have little
methods of their own of getting back
at severe or imperious officers. Lay
ing down" is one of their schemes, and
1t is an efficacious method. The men
of ships company cannot be punish
ed In a bunch for not coming up to a
set standard in the performance of
work, and they know how to take adj
vantage of that knowledge. The
amount Of work that a disaffected
ships company can't do in given
space of time Is something immense.
In the matter OF coaling ship. for ex-
ample, they can either make life mis-
cradle for the commanding officer, if
he is the man they have it in for, by
loafing on their job through all the
watches and dragging the dirty and
unpleasant coaling task through an in
terminable length of time, or they can
punish any watch officer for whom they
have got 1t in by showing him up"
In the latter case they calmly wait
till the watch officer who has incurred
their displeasure takes the deck and
assumes direct command of the work
of coaling. and then they proceed TO
give an exhibition of how frantically
a ships company of naval sailor men
can work without doing anything.
They shovel away furiously. but some
how or another very little coal seems
to find Its way over the ships side and
into the bunkers. The bluejackets in
the coal lighters pant and perspire IN
der the strain of labor that looks quite
terrific, but there is monumental lack
Of Roadway in the coaling of the ship.
The disliked officer of the deck may
chafe and mutter deep and dark things
under his breath, but this doesn't get
coal into the bunkers. When he makes
his report TO 1.-The old man. of the
amount Of coal that has been got
aboard during his watch 1t is found by
that it is only about one
third the amount that was hoisted over
the side during the watch of the pre-
ceding officer of the deck. who happen
ed to be popular with the men. A mat |
ter Of this sort always sets a command |
Ing officer to thinking. for men who are |
old enough to be commanders of Ameri- |
can men-of-war have learned by ex-
perience that Ii Is as easy as launching |
a dingey for a naval officer to acquire |
and hold the good will of enlisted men |
and that the usefulness on board OF a |
ship of an officer who has sacrificed the |
confidence and good will Of the men
forard is just as good as gone.
And so it comes to pass that nova
days few officers of the United States |
navy fail to apprehend how we'll it |
pays them to make themselves popular
with the men for'ard. In the old navy
t often happened that officers who had
the i'll will of the bluejackets
actually feared to go for'ard at night
after lights We're out, and there was a
Such officers, taking the chSSnce,
would no sooner set foot under the
'o'c'sle, where, after lights out, there
was only the dim illumination of a
single standing light, than they would
lave to dodge all manner of missiles
soup and bully" cans, checking
blocks, mess gear, boots, anything and
throwable that the sailors
Ind marines, in and out of their ham
nocks, first laid their hands upon. On
'uch an occasion the officer who was
he target had but one thing to do. and
hat was to scoot aft as fast as his
egs would carry him. He could make
complaint to the commanding officer
he next day IL he We're foolish, but he
arely secured the punishment of any
men for'ard. The throwers couldn't be
iEgled out.
But there are modern occurrences in
he American navy equally illuminat-
ng. A deck officer who had gained
he extreme i'll will of the men for'ard
vas attached to a cruiser on the China
tation some years ago. He was fine
and it became his duty
o take landing parties of the ships
H. -. Hi 4