Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1914-09-09
THE FLEET STANDS BY
BY JAMES B. CONNOLLY I'M coLL,ER.s.

average age. aDOuI II years; n they
come from anywhere and everywhere
from the farms. the prairies, the cor
hcrs OF city streets; and they ave been
many thingS-farm hands, carpenters.
BARRIERS. trolley-car men,
clerks. street %loafcrs. high school boys,
ana lust plain boys who wish to see
inc world. some are terribly sophisti-
Gated in worldly ways and some are so
green. of course. that the wags have
requiem chances to keep their wits on
edge. Some hav come with the plain
hotlon that he navy offers many fine
chances Tor a good. Industrious fellow
TO earn n good living. ard some. indis-
putably. nave come with the bright hope
or some day pointing q 14-inch gun and
sending a relay of 1,400-pound shells
Whore they will blow something foreign
ana opposing, ship or building. what
clouds.
but no matter. all that. When the
"s~hoWn-down' comes but few of them
VII turn their backs on the fighting.
Blowing up ships and people may have
seemed n terrible idea at first. but "a
few weeks in the community of a war
SNIP with it's matter-of-fact, profess
slonal manner of discussing such sub
lects. soon brings them around TO COM
mon. sea-going notions of the matter.
ashore at Vera Cruz. during that first
and second days fighting, standing in
solld columns there for u while. not
knowing Just what was going to ham
I'ell. put feeling to a certainty that
something was going to happen. and
'hat something stirring had to happen
oop"oh .,ug $1,000 lnere srinning widely
and waiting for the bah to open. Ii
may nave been their childish innocence.
III may nave been their untutored igno-
rance, but when that sheet of flame.
ehe riile IRE of a compactly crowded
zoe. llrst burst from the roof of the
lNlNHl DnIInon- .. M! - Al.
OF Lhem went down. and following that
tile shlpers began to get them i'm ones
ana lWoS and tlrees-When that ham
pened there was no distressing confu-
SION IN their ranks. When, later. it be-
cahle necessary for the Prairie and
chester to fire Just over their hads to
batter the walls of that same war COL
iege. III made no difference. The ships'
snhIefy was rapid and excellent-thcy
knew 1T would be-and when the shells
went whlstling through tho walls of
the second story. the marines and hl,o-
Jackets stood under the first story and
lel them whistle. Plaster and bricks
from the shaken walls came tunbling
down upon them. They tucked be-
ieath the falling mortar. some of them.
'"l '"ey an LOOK their shells standing.
Soberer Men-o'War's Men.
1hey are not the sailors of classic
aradltlon. these battleship lads of the
lWentleth century. Every man to the
age he lives init must be so. Tho old
phrase, Drunk as a sailor" meant in
most mems minds. drunk as a man.o'-
wars man. / was born and brought
up IN a great seaport-Boston-and INV
earnest memories are of loafing day.
aiohg the harbor front and the h,,skv-
.oiced' roaring fellows coming ashore
IN the pulling boats from the men-o'-
war; fine, rolling gated fellows. in
IRON long cruises and flamingly eager
TO make the most of their short lib-
efty. Great-hearted men, who gave
truth to the phrase-"and spending his
money IKE a runke sailor"-and
usually, but two measurable
obligations-to do his duty aboard shin
and to stand by a shipmate in trouble
ashore. Almost any of the old-tine
policemen of the large seaports can tell
you many fine tales of the riotous hour.
along the water front in the old DAYS.
such is the passing tradition. The
present lad OF the navy is creating q
new one. For one thing, he no longer
gets drunk-that is, he does NOT get
drunk by divisions. = =
The heroic sailor OF tradition has
passed. sailor of another kind. but
Just as eif1cient in another way-the
way OF his day-is rapidly creating am
other tradition. The lad who in the
lusty days Of his youth can thus hold
hlHlseIf IN check is n pretty good prod
uct OF American navy development.
too. He pretty generally passes up the
grog shop. but he visits the art CALLER
les. the museums, the cathedrals. the
7. M. c. AS ashore. takes books from
the library on shipboard, buys post
cards and mails them home to let his
friends know of the great things In the
world.
Seventy-eight per cent of the school
tea COGTGr i'm PannCS-1sr0yi , 49,