Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-11-06

Wot'u we be a'comin' to next I'd like to
know. with all this here conservation talk
a-goin' around?'
Cit wise matey," said Bill Bowlines'
messmate. as they stepped around the
corner out Of sight of the midshipman
who had called attention to the waste OF
water. Don't you know that the fleet Is
out to win the trophy for. engineering eff
aciency: And don't you know that we're
hoisting a signal every day showing how
much coal We burned the twenty-four
hours previous? And, likewise, don't You
also know that il takes coal to distill
every drop of water that we use, and
that every pound of coal we burn need
iessly il waste and counts against us?
Say. I've got months wages up now
that this ship will carry off the trophy
next time. and every other man aboard
has something on it. We're goin' to get
that trophy or know why. and the 'E's'
on our sleeves, too not to mention prize
money. And To get il we've got to save
coal and oil and water. See? You've got
your cue now. so when you see joint
a-ieakin' or tap a-spillin' water just
stop IL. See?
one would scarcely believe that the
sailors OF the fleet would go into hyster-
5cs almost in their efforts to promote
economy and efficiency on board their re-
spectve ships But they do. There is
the keenest rivalry over this. as there Is
and has been over the gunnery practice,
and the target shooting has kept the men
on edge for weeks and months. They
even sleep with their guns. call them pet
names, do ship politics to have certain
men ASSIGNED 10 their gun crews and
nav IN NJ tar
get practice. And that would seem to be
worth while. when the shots ricochet
over the water or pierce the sailcloth
targets and throw up fountains of foam
IN the other side.
There Is something stirring and excit-
ing. with the gun crews bending every
finer of their beings to ram the shots
home. and firing the great guns SO fast
that a stranger would marvel that some
thing did not go wrong every second. II
ie game that stirs the blood and arouses
the enthusiasm OF every man Jack aboard
from the captain on the bridge To the
siokers, oilers and ammunition passers
away down below in the vitals of the
chip. One would never think that the de-
mand of the Secretary OF the Navy Mr.
Meyer. for efficiency with economy
would result I'm stirring up rivalry SIM
Harry intense. IL would seem just as
reasonable that all the farm hands Of the
nation should get into a great competi-
ton as TO which state should average the
biggest production of corn 10 the acre
with the least cost and the lightest drain
on the fertility of the soil or that all the
lawyers of the country should engage In
a rivalry to see which state should be able
to bring about an adjustment of the
greatest percentage OF disputes without
recourse to the courts, and merely
through arbitration and compromise
Fighting Bob" Evans, admiral of the
great fleet of sixteen batfleships which
steamed around the world without a sin
gle mishap, was the first to inaugurate
the rivalry for general efficiency with
the greatest economy. When the fleet
IN 1905. had reached Rio de Janero. Bra
al, Admiral Evans, on his own RESPONSE
hiiity. announced that from that port un-
I'll the fleet reached Magdalena bay there
would be strict account kept OF the en-