Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-06-08

1 ~
IA IA been heard of the manner in
EEs which the officers and enlisted
/ " men of the Naval Battalion Of
/ In. District conducted them
selves during the inspection on Thursday
| night liz Franklin u. Roosevelt. assistant
| secretary Of the navy. Nearly every
| member Of the battalion was present The
| plans u hich had been made were carried
/ out without a hitch.
The men We're ordered to report at the
| armory at 80 and no one who was
! not properly equipped was permitted 10
| 80 to the drill han upstairs at any time
| during the evening. Commander Dempf
| made this rule and he enforced it to the
| letter. Promptly at S o'clock Ensign
Frank W. Sigourney, aid to Commander
Dempf. left the armory in an automo-
bile and went to the Metropolitan Club,
where he met Mr.. Roosevelt at SD.
1t the armory during the interim the
men made preparations to go to the drill
hail Ensign Frederick l.. Nudge, com
mandng the fourth division was the
first To bring his men into the drill hall
When they appeared at the gateway it
was the signal for d ripple OF applause
from the spectators present. lie was
followed closely by Ensiens 3. &. Get
singer and Walter q. Guss, commanding
the lst and ID divisions respectively.
Shortly after the lines were formed in
the drill hall the word passed that Mr..
Roosevelt had arrived and one of the
petty officers. blowing whistle an
nounced that the assistant secretary was
ascending the Sansway Commander
Dempf gave the command of "atten-
ton. and tine guard jumped 10 The
rails. As Nj Roosevelt appeared at the
head Of the gangway the trumpetCr
sounded three blasts, and the assistant
secretary's official flag was broken 10 the
no ,4f * =
ton then began.
The men who were present at the gen
eral muster are enthusiastic over the
visit of Mr.. Roosevelt and arc very much
| encouraged by his remarks to them They
| have strengthened their determination t.
| work harder t. build UP the WORK Of the
| battalion.
| Praises were also heard Of the service
| rendered by the new band IF the Naval
| Battalion. Although il Was only organized
| about month ago. the playing Thurs
| day night sounded as though the men had
| tcen playing together for much longer
| time. The band was organized by John
| Suraci. its director. frey appeared in
| their white uniforms for the first time
| Thursday night.
! Every member of the battalion who
| was not present at the ceremonies last
thursday night viii be called upon 10
give an excuse for his absence, and i,
n the opinion of the commanding officer,
II Is not good one. the man Will be or
dered before summary court Com
manaer Dempf some time ago made
known his determination To have his men
attend drills regularly. and this is the
first chance he has had to carry out his
promise. II i pointed out that there
was no excuse for government employees
who worked 1t night remaining away. as
the National Guard headquarters had
authorized the issuanc" OF service cards
and the members We're 80 informed.
The band concerts. which nave proved
50 Ii..r
DRY, but which have been Withdrawn
for several weeks, will be resumed totay
Instead Of having them in the moDi2e'
as heretofore. il has been decided 10 hold
them at o'clock III the evening. giving
more people IN opportunity to enjoy the
music. 1t is expected that later in the
season they may be given on the battal
ion dock.
I'll" entertainment Thursday n=ht was
the last one before the cruise The next
general muster night falls on n date
when the men Will be ENJOYING the
breczes from til" Atlantic ocean aboard
| the great hattieship Alabama somewhere
oil the New EnSl2nd coast However. it
is expected that h> The time they return
| 10 Washington the good ship Wasp will
have locked and i IS expected that sev-
erai dances viii - given aboard her he
fore the s;imn"- closes.
From now until the night Of June ),
there Will be much work TO. the local
to prepare. haminochs t. rack and cvcIs-
thing gotten in readiness for the en-
| ha.kat;cn IL" niSht % June - for t,at.-
more. where they win ship on The Ma
bama JULY !. They have onl; few nl,:e
| drill NIGHTS il which t. complete the
work. hut tie officers and men are equal
| TO the occasion.
| The campaign being waged to recruit
| the naval battalion NJ To- a. near lis full
strength Of -"} men as possible i pro-
| crossing slowly but surely. OWNS; IL
| ;hc busy times 1T til" arrofy on Thurs
| day niaht incident - the visit Of As
| sistant Secretary Roosevelt several re-
| c:uits who had undergone medical ex-
| animation and passed norc MOI sworn
| in However. Ensign Frank W. Sgoar-
| ney. recruiting officer, will administer the
4 oath 70 them TO-DAY.
! The opportunities for the young men
| Of the city 10 set working knowledge
| of tine naval service with 4 minimum Of
! time are present at the battalion arnlo.y
| IT the foot cf Water and . streets
| southwest Only The very best men will
now be taken into the battalion by Com
/ mander Dfmpf. BESIDES its serious side
the work Of the battalion is intelmnglcd
/ with its social side. This has tho an
| prevail Of The Navy DEPARTMENT, cvi
! dcnced hy assistant Secretary EooSeveits
| sPecch rtursday night.
| II is the intention If the officers Of the
! battalion to give no little attention to the
| social fea lures Of the battalion as soon
| as they return from their cruise. During
/ the social celebrations the mothers. sis
| tiers. YVES. sweeth"arts brothers and
! relatives % the members of the battalion
! viii be given cnancc to see what IS
/ hcin- done
=
| The rifle and revolver matches which
/ will be shot on the National Guard rifle
| range at Congress Heights are to be held
! during the latter part OF September and
/ the 1st of October. The dates have not
! yet been set by the officers Of the Dis
trict National Guard. These matches
prove very Interesting To the National
/ Guardsmen Tor Trophies and prizes are
| awarded to the best shooters in the va
| RIOTS matches. Some of the matches are
! oTen to the Army. Navy and Marine Corps.
/ the National Guard OF New Jersey Mary
! land ana Virginia and the District. while
| Others are confined 10 the local soldiers.
| Th,. matches, it is said. VIII he shot in
| practically the same order as last year.
| There IS only one change The s"na-
/ torial trophy match. which is Usually
shot Decoration day. May 30 viii be
| shot on the last Cay 81 the series.
! Among the matches to be shot are the
! Moshcr Berry * Whitmore Company
team skirmish Hacr.es long range match,
! McLennan trophy novice ro-cntry revol-
/ yer. Brett re-entry revolver. enlisted
| men. COMPANY team, battalion team,
! Judd & Detweiler rcsimental team
! Carmody novice, The Evening Star. r.
/ Harris * co. trophy, Neumeyer. Gersten-
/ berg trophy. brigade rifle team skirmish
anu Smiley individual skirnish.
| The Naval battalion has been assign
: Cd ,2a,- Ian al nd