Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1910-04-19
Mistrllaneous 8@ding.
WOMEN IN NAVY AFFAIRS.
Petticoat Influence Leads to Constant
Trouble.

the ideal diplomatic Service-if any
government ever succeeds in having it
will be composed exclusively Of un-
married men. Mr. Hay had had no eX-
perience in naval matters or he might
] have included the navy in his maxim.
There probably is no branch of the
government service where petticoat in
| huence is so strong as in the navy.
Ask any eX-secretary of the navy
about it. and he will tell you how the
navy women in a thousand different
ways, sometimes unconsciOusly and oc-
casionally deliberately, annoy the navy
department. He will tell you how they
scheme to obtain desirable posts of
duty for their husbands or sons and
how they annoy the department with
requests for change of orders when
their husbands are transferred from an
easy job in Washington to sea duty
on the Asiatic station or some other
faraway tropical post. The recent row
at the Boston navy yard which culmi-
mated in the court martial of two Off
GERS illustrates the prominent part
women often play in navy circles. D..
Almost everybody knows Of the mu-
tual fl-feeling existing between the
navy women and the department. Ev-
cry once in a while something happens
to widen his breach. Only few days
ago. Ensign Charles NJ. Austin, son Of
Representative Richard W. Austin Of
Tennessee. was deprived of an espe-
cialv desirable berth bv the navy de-
partment merely because he got mar
ried. He had been detached from the
dispatch boat Dolphin at the Washing
ton navy yard and ordered to Japan
for duty as a student attached at the
American embassy at Toxic for the
purpose of studying the Japanese Ian
guage On the way to his new post
of duty he stopped at his former home
in Tennessee and was married to a
girl he had known for many years.
This was too much for the unroman-
tic departmental authorities, who sud-
denly decided that a married ensign
the Japanese language as bachelor.
Accordingly his orders were revoked
and instead of spending his honeymoon
in Toxic he will have less interesting
service at the naval training station on
the Pacific coast. He will. however,
have his wife.
Before the days of steel and steam in
the navy the wives and families of
commanding officers of cruising YES
sells enjoyed the privilege of living on
board. There was a vessel years ago
cruising in the West Indies that was
commanded by a mild hammered and
quiet officer. His wife, VINO was on
board, was of q different disposition,
She was overbearing and had bad
temper. The officers on board regard
ed her as the real commander of the
shin and obeyed her commands with even
greater alacrity than those issued by
the nominal captain. One day she de-
cided that the ship needed painting and
the sailors We're ordered to begin work
with their pots and brushes. Sne gave
free rein to her artistic ideas. The
caDtain's gig. which she used in going
ashore. was redecorated under her per
sonal sunervision At her beheSt it |
was painted green outside and pink in
side.
Il thought it would be so pretty" she
explained to her husband, Ito have it
pink inside and green Outside-just like |
a seashell."
But sometimes in the old days there
dents. Such a case occurred on the |
sloop Tennessee years ago. 1t was a |
hot and sultry summer night while the
Tennessee was cruising in midocean off
Hampton Roads. The captain and his
wife had gone to their cabin, but the |
heat was so oppressive they could not
sleep. Finally in the hope of coaXing |
sleep they exchanged hunks. Shortly |
both went to sleep. In the middle OF
the night the rapid falling of the ba-
gave warning that storm
was approaching. The navigator sent
a midshipman below decks to awaken
the captain. He spent several minutes
rapping on the captains cabin without
avail. The middle knew that the cap
tain must be walked promptly at all
hazards and he had been directed to
enter the cabin if rapping would not
suffice The young midshipman enter
ed the cabin and stood in the middle OF
the room a minute or two yelling cap
tain" but without avail. Finally the
middle realized that he had TO shake
the captain to rouse him. He figured
out that the captain always slept in
the berth on the port side. while his
wife occupied the other. After con-
himself on this point the mid
die approached the captains berth and
grasping him by the shoulder shook
him with more energy than Judgment.
There was q feminine shrek. The cap
tain jumped out of the opposite berth
and made few emphatic remarks up
on the improperly of invading the cap
tain's cabin without knocking. The
middle had visions of court
martial and dismissal from the service
in disgrace, but the captain was good
hearted and did not make complaint.
Often the itinerary of a cruise was
regulated by the wishes of the captains
wife. This occurred number of years
ago on a naval vessel en- route from
Naples to Hampton Roads. The cap I
tainS wife was Il poor sailor and had
had had spells of seasckness if it was
rough going. The vessel made long
detour to the South Atlantic 50 as to
avoid the storm area. The vessel was
many days overdue at Norfolk and the
officers of the department became anX-
ious. Finally, however, she sailed into
Hampton Roads and reported her arri-
val to Washington. When the depart
ment asked the cause of the unusual
delay, the captain reported that he had
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