The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-06-07

cut out Tor them, and from the moment the bugler sounds reveille until the plain few idle moments.
 Officers of Battleship
 The executive force of a flagship is a formidable array in itself Aboard the New York. for instance, are quartered Rear Admiral Winslow his aides, a cap- tain and three lieutenants The admiral does not concern himself at all with the affairs of the ship upon which he is quar- tered but rather those of the fleet in it's entirety. His aides constitute his execu- tive force and transmit his orders throughout the fleet.
 The captain of the vessel is responsi- ble for the conduct of his shin. although the commander is the battleship's execu- tive officer One of these is the naviga- tor. another in charge of the vessels ma chinery and the third the ordnance ofrf- cer, with direct supervision over guns, big and small, and ammunition. The three lieutenants are detailed as aides to the rear admiral while the seven lieutenants of the junior grade are detailed for va- rious duties. some as deck, or watch, of- ficers others to the staff of the chief en- gineer Aside from these three are 12 ensigns who have a multitude of duties apportioned among them; the surgeon, passed assistant surgeon a .paymaster. a chaplain. and captain of marines with two lieutenants.
 The warrant officers include a chief boatswain, two chief gunners, three ma chinists and a carpenter.
 No Lost Motion
 When the command to clear ship for action is received the landlubber would suppose that pandemonium would pre- vail. Aboard a battleship at such mo- ment one would be dumbfounded by the clock like precision with which everything is done Of the HOO bluejackets aboard and the 300 marines, each knows to second what is to be done and when. There is no lost motion; not an unneces- sary word spoken or a step taken that does not bring forth the required result. The enlisted men know to the m1nutest detail what is expected of them. The hrst step is to throw overheard every infiam- able article aboard ship or anything that the enemy's shells might splinter. for splnters in time of war are regarded with even more dread than the shells them selves
 Below on the gun deck every gun is sur rounded by it's crew, each man knowing to a fraction of a second what time IS taken to handle the powder bags and projecties as they come up from maga- zines on the ammunition hoists. The pro jectiles for a 12-inch gun weigh S46 pounds each. Four sections of powder, each weighing 75 pounds, are slipped into the gums rifle after the projectile has been set in place. The breachlock is snapped to and as the fuse is electrically sparked these big guns are fired in salvos at 15 seconds intervals.
 Then men who man these guns work like machines, their bodies swaying in rhythmic unison as they go through the routine of preparing these engines of death for each successive broadside.
 Serving the Smaller Guns
 The smaller guns, those of the finch type, are fired even more rapidly. and here, too, the same perfect system ob- tains. Far down in the bowels of the ship stokers and oilers are working like beav- CTS The officers comprising the engin- eering staff know to fraction just how many revolutions of the propellers are re-