El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-11-14

I cruises are taken at intervals on prac-
/ tee vessels in nearby waters, where,
| with a boatswain in command, the
/ youngSter Is taught to put to practical
use on board ship what he has already
/ learned In barracks. His average IN
an the work he does is recorded, and II
/ ms Improvement warrants, he is made
I an apprentice petty officer while at the
training station, from 81 to $3.50 a
! month being added to his pay.
The object of all this schooling is ef-
Iicency. 1t is required of the recruit
Ihat ne shall not only do his work, but
40 II We'll Through drilling he learns
prompt obedience to orders. Ordinarily
tnere are 100 apprentice seamen in
claSs' under one instructor, who takes
them through the entire course. The
course lasts four months at the end of
Whlch the young man undegoes an eX-
s. ANIMATION, and, if he passes, he gets a
rating as Ordinary seaman" and is
transferred to a real warship, with pay
at Y1S.bO month. If he prefers, he
may be rated as a "cOal-paSser," at
Sz4-zO; but for such work his physique
must be better than the average
AFTER the young man has Been in the
service for while, he may apply for
permission to take a course of instruc-
Jlon at one or another of the various
trade schools which are located at the
training stations. According to his
aputudes, he may choose to become a
carpenter, blacksmith or plumber), or
a baker and cook. Men in the navy
VINO nave taken up these trades get as
good pay as they could obtain on land,
considered, and they can never lose
their Jobs so long as they do their
work and behave themselves.
New War Ships Complex.
The old style warship was a thing Of |
sails, blocks and tackle. The new
style fighting vessel is a mass of COM |
pick machinery. It requires painters, {
ship-fttters, cOppersmiths, carpenters, !
machinists, blacksmiths and boiler |
makers, to keep the craft in repair; |
expert gun pointers and gunners' |
mates to man the guns: cooks and I
stewards, to look after the kitchens (
and messes; nurses, to care for the !
sick; clerks, stenOgraphers and book
Keepers, to attend to the clerical work /
as well as seamen to steer, man
boats, handle anchors, and clean the
ships.
It is in order to get experienced men
to fill these places that the navy main
tains the trade schools. A first class
modern battleship, such as the new
dreadnaught Pennsylvania, carries no
fewer than 80 electricians. The pay Of
the technically trained man-o'-wars-
man runs up to S77 a month A boiler
maker on a warship, for example. gets |
Sl1:5O- And in addition to this money /
tAAGA z al q q BOOu uldllN allowances !
There is no board or lodging to pay, Of
course and medical attendance is free.
After 80 years of service, a man is at
liberty to retire on halfpay for the
rest Of his life.
At the electricians school the men I
are taught wireless telegraphy. They
work in machine shops and learn to
make all parts of dynamOs and. engines.
They learn how to wire" a battleship I
DR. a cruiser as an electrician on shore ,
Irnrr~ to, I
equipped with knowledge which ena-
oles them to install a telephone sys-
lem as cleverly as the best experts
employed by telephone companies.
Gunnery School Maintained.
The gunnery school cat Washington !
teaches the men how guns are made; ;
the manufacture Of shells and fuses, !
and the working of electric firing de- /
vices. They learn how to take apart |
and put together all kinds of large / {
md small guns. Then they are sent to J
he naval torpedo station at Newport, I I
where they find out all about the con- s
and use Of tOrpedOes devices {
or discharging them, and how gun !
powder and high explosives are made. I
The navy department maintains pub 7
lefty officers in New York and In :
Annapolis for the purpose of conduct =
ng correspondence with young men
Who think of entering the service, and f
o supply them with literature on the n
ubject. At these Offices card indexes +
re kept of live addresses" Of such +
-oung men-217, 900 cards at present n
n the Indianapolis collection, and
bout as many in New York. When the / 4
Dung men represented by the cards c
lie or get too old, they are dropped | f
ut. Indianapolis covers the west, and ( +
Jew York the east. During the last ! N
scal year the Indianapolis office sent n
ut 5000 first letters" and 246,0O0 7
follow ups'-illustrating the thor +
ughly business basis on which such Y
fairs are nowadays conducted. II
Bad Characters Not Wanted.
Only the other day a magistrate out |
4 Seattle sentenced a young man to
rison, with the alternative that he en-
st in the navy. Some correspondence
n the subject was printed in the news
apers at the time. This sort of thing
appens every now and then, and the t.
il