The Washington times., 1910-08-06

officially, I know that i've men. and
not twenty-five. have overstayed their
shore liberty. If every ship commander
nerihed his superior every time this
happened. the commanders offlce would
be filed with notifications
This talk Of not allowing the men
to so ashore IS nonsense IneTe nave
been cruises on which IT was tmpraCti-
cable TO let the men have shore liberty
On the present cruise the men have had
more shore liberties than ever
-Four Are Practitioners.
Tie five men who deserted. with the
exception Of LLOYD, who was the only
regularly enlisted man among them,
evidently shipped on probation, expect
ing &c have one grand time as pas
senGers on a United States gunboat
They found they had 20 live and work
a according to regulation ship rules. and
got out at the first opportunity
1T has always been the custom Of
the battalion TO take men on probation
before allowing them 10 regularly enlist
We want them 20 see what it's like and
we want 70 see y nat they are Ike.
Unless both sides are satisfactory they
do rot Join the battalion These men
were given the best opportunity they
could have had TO learn what the work
was Ike, and we also had an excellent
opportunity Of learning what sort Of
men they were. They were not salts
fed and jumped ship.
The naval battalion doesn't want
men Ike them among its members The
men themselves VIII tell. I think.
whether they have been iltreated and
poorly fed during this trip"
And che men did ten. One "old salt"
one OF the regulars stationed on board
to aid in instruction work, was asked
ra d.
rotten beef, aad water, and mOIdy
bread
Why say. rocky ne replied sheer
iuSiy, Il amt had no better eatin's
since / shipped about fifteen years
ego 1 been eatin' with the crew all
This trip and the only sounds / heard
at table was clicking pans and snap
pin teeth And everybody looked
satisfied when he got up
20 course there might o been
some IS hankered after some ice
cream and pie FOR breakfast but
they didn't ask for IL loud enough
10 hear
Another man was called 10 one side
with no one around. He was asked con
fdenJiaIly 10 tell al about the trouble
that had been happening He looked
his Questioner straight IN tbs eye and
said
Any stories circulated about poor
food or kicks Of any kind are absO-
IuteIy untrue no one has been in
the brig I'd advise you not TO let
any one on board think lou believe
JIe stories because j. has made
some of the ITisnmen oa board fret
1ul- You might trip as you set OF
the boat"
And he walked away with fire in his
eyeL
Sick Man Puts On Five Pounds.
p. Johns, chief machinisCs mate, is
T.
workers who denies any and all stor-
ing nI-treaetmn. He says he had
been out Of a typhoid fever bed but
two weeks when the boat sailed. and
that he has eaten with the rest Of
the men, done his work right along
side OF them, drank the same water. I
and slept with them The result. he
says, is that he tips the scales at five [
pounds more than ne die when he (
left Washington two weeks ago.
II was explained by Captain STRAIT I
ton after The Times reporter had 4
looked into every nook and Granny IN I
y ain for beaten or maDaCled sailors. /
that one OF the principal reasons why I
tie ship did not 90 10 Gardeners Bay
was that II would mean a day or two /
Of -'laTd tack and sea food for the I
men 1t was thought that better food I
which could be obtained II the men I
crUised about the Chesapeake. would /
mean more efficient work and more
knowledge acquired from the reEu-
lars aboard ship who gave the men 1
Instructions.
Since four of the Eve 'deserters"
were not regularly enlisted men
nothing can be done 70 them further
than notification that they viii not be i
acceptable as members Of the bat 4
talon
The one regularly enlisted man,
however. says Capai StrattOn. must Be I
punished FOR any violation OF which I
he is found guilty after a trial