The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1909-02-27

received by Lynn c. Wood of the local
postoffice staff from Harry c. Bates,
a Bennington boy who is serving as a
yoeman on the battleship Vermont:
T. s. S. Vermont. AT sea,
En- route to Hampton Roads, Va,
February 20, 1909.
Dear friend Lynn
! have been looking up some of my
old friends lately by correspondence
and | find that you are one whom l
have heretofore missed so here goes
for making amends Sincerely hope
this letter will find you enjoying as
good health as it leaves me in. 1t is
a significant fact that the personnel
of the fleet has been exceptionally
free of sickness throughout this
cruise, despite the fact of our having
called at several ports where more or
less contagious disease has been rag
ing, especially in Manila was this so,
for during the time that the fleet was
stationed there-a period of some six
weeks-cholera was raging in the city
and environs. But, as a rule, blue
Jackets are a very healthy lot. and of
course there is good reason for it, in
asmuch as they are well looked after
and cared for in the New Navy"
Now as to the Navy, | will say that
it is an excellent place for a fellow
who is looking for a home where he
will have very little to do. and where
he can at the same time be assured of
spending money and retirement at the
completion of thirty years service, on
three-quarters pay and allowances. In
short, | think it is good place for a
fellow who has no home of his own.
no one depending upon him, and is
without any education or trade. That
is as far as ii goes. But to a fellow
who is as all ambitious, and who has
little energy and perseverance, es-
pecially TO a fellow who has a home
and someone Deepen lent upon him, IL
is simply q rut into which he can and
will drift, if he is inclined to be indo-
lent and lazy, and like all other ruts
in life the longer you keep your
wheels in it the harder it will he to
turn out OF it, and break and make
a new road for yourself You become
accustomed and consoled to the easy,
smooth monotonous trend of life as
you find ii in the navy and soon get
out of the way of caring for any
change. You are assured of payday
as regularly as the month comes
around, and you know what each time
you re-enlist your pay is increased a
little per month, and you look forward
to the time when you will have COM
pleted twenty years service and will
be assigned TO shore duty, and then
you say, Well ten years more of this
and | will retire on three quarters pay
and allowances, to live in ease, and
but many forget the fact that by the
time they have served thirty years
they will be too old to enjoy life, they
will be veritable hardshells, and care
for nothing but to sleep and eat.
think it a far better policy to possibly
work little harder while you are at
it, deny yourself little more, and
work into a business where your val
ne will increase with continuous ser
vice, and then retire from strenuous
life if such it may be termed, to semi.
active life earlier in your career For
in the first instance man who looks
forward to not having anything to do
has pretty gloomy future at the
most, at least think he has There
! is nothing so tiresome as not to have
anything to occupy your mind and
hands with. Time does certainly drag
dolorously when we are on these long
runs of from fifteen to seventeen days
at sea, without much of anything to
do but write letters, read, sleep and
eat, and think. | practice shorthand
as much of the time as | can find,
when it is quiet, but there Is so much
noise and confusion most of the time
that it is like working in bailer fac
tory to try to work here at shorthand.
But there is little use trying to tire
you and bore you with these ideas OF
mine, which do not particularly con-
Germ anyone. | enlisted with the idea
of benefitting my health, if possible,
and to be able to take this world-gird-
ling cruise, and to learn the lessons
to be learned, and to see the sights to
| be seen. on such a cruise. To say that
| have realized my expectations in
these respects is putting it mildly. /
] nave htNH anu ltdlllNu olliNN We iNAA
Hampton Roads some fifteen months
ago than ] can ever expect to see and
learn in the rest of my life. 1t is as
good, if not better than a college
course would be to a fellow, | believe,
II is truly great thing for fellow
to travel; it broadens mans mind,
and gives extent to his ideas and CON
ceptions of the things of life. If he
be at all bigoted or egotistic it will
change his views of the things of life,
unless be more asinine than the most
of us are. | would not accept $4,000
for the benefits have received on this
cruise.
TO give you complete review of
the cruise would be to dish out more
than you would care to tackle at one
time. Everywhere we We're given a
royal and hearty welcome, and moth
ing was too good for u.s. Our recep-
tlon In Australia was royal indeed
and the good feeling, the apparent ex'
preston Of good fellowship of what
might be termed the kinshlp of the
Anglo.Saxon race was predominant
there. The Australians resemble the
thirteen colonies in the days before
our separation from the mother coun.
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