The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-08-27
| 0UlS BROWNE NOW IN COMMAND
 OF GREEK NAVY
Young Bridgeporter, NeWspa- $ pern1an and Cadet Gets
 Responsible Post.
TAKES tKIE.KIS'' WITH
 BIG GREGIAN CREW
Gets Big Pay and Nearly Takes Wife To Share
 Dangers.

s.fl ont between the Virginia capeS on | Monday August 3, on the pr1oge ol Efhe big ship fully manned by Greek | sailors and bound for the Dardanelhes was Lieut. Commander Louis P. Browne sIdelltenant Commander Browne or | Bridgeport was formerly Nayai Sa- det Browne of Annapolis, and later Reuorter Browne of the New ork Herald at Washington, and, durang t5fhe late spring and early summer, J Juse l ordinary Louis Browne at his nome t1s5 R1Inneu street and the sBr1dge- nort Club vvilere1he made his head l quarters during business hours ts The record is titus made absolufeiy accurata because Louis F. BroWne may some time figure in history as the hero of great naval achievements Srl,eyp is no limit to the possibilities rf any young man who, at the age or I twenty-five. is in charge or 9, me pat tIeship and besides has the d1stlncuon Of being the youngest AIaeticen .S@s-Issu sol- tliez- of fortune There may be other A Arnerican soldiers of fortune eJusts as .vnllnr as young Browne, but they are in the ranks of the Toe sue, not not l gold braided and with feet treadlng fhe bridge or the. quarterdeck. This is his story
 After attending Bridgeport schools, vos4nr Browne decided he would De a sailor Accordingly he got an appoint Iaent to Ahnapolts. He took the. e1- a 1,aased. After finishing his third year in that institution his health failed, l and he was forced to abandon his con templated career.
 Browne who had dreams or leHains 4 . fieAf some day was almost heart i broken because of leaving Annapolis. # F4e had to do som net1dng, however, so I he got 6 Job as reporter on Bridge l port newspaper
 That newspaper job was the making sf<,f% z<,f did not know it. It was not long be- < fore he. 7rifted to Washington and be- came a eorrespondent on the capital stan Of one Of New Yorks greatest E sdaiIies-
 D,Irirz the recent Mexican trouble Browne. with a horde of other news 1paper nen was despatched to the State. War and Navy Departments to 11airaI Fletcher at Vera Cruz and oth-s i CT news Items that drifted in through that channeI In this way he came in close contact with Secretary of the Navy Dantels
 During a iuil in the proceedings slowly Browne told the Secretary of the Navy that he was 9 near graduate of the NaEal Academy
 rI came near D eng one of your eI1a- ployees,ss was the way Browne put it when telling of his career to the Sec y,s1s s9t,z.1vgs a few weeks after that ccnxersatlon between Browne and the. skcfetsfs that the Greek Government ann ounced its intention of buying some batt1eships from the United. States Governm ent. The deal was H finally put through which resulted in the Greek Government purchasing. from Uncle Sam the two battleship ps n5iaions Of dollars were involved in the purchase.
 when Greece got the American battleships it still had another pur- chase in raind The Greek Govern n1ent wanted to buy a retired naval E oAicer or two to take complete charge of these two vessels This desire was made known to President Wilson, who Immediately informed the repre- sentatives of Greece that such a. thing would be ian1ossible. me Greeks z thought that Admiral Dewey or some other notable not in active service at present would take the assignment.
 But President Wilson did not dis miss the proposition with his refusal to provide the Greeks with a couple of our retired naval officers to run their battIesh1ps.
 s.Ifs we have sold Greece two bat tleships and two Americans are want ed to command these ships, we should do all in our power to see that this favor is granted, was the Presiden- tfal argument Accordingly these in tentions were made known to the Sec retary of the Navy, who was asked to use his good offices in securing some one to take gcharge of the Mississippi.
 Here is where the conversation that Browne had with the Secretary of the Navy began to bear fruit.
 Which one of you newspaper boys told me he was a former student at Annapolis ?'' asked the Secretary one day when the Washington eorrespon- dents gathered around q his desk for the daily interview.
 Here I a.rn,', signa1Ied Browne.
 wen, | would like to see you after the others leave" said Secretary Dan- iels. and that was when Browne first q got an intimation that he was to take charge of a battleship.
 Takes Charge of BattIeship
 Twp weeks later Browne went down to Newport News, Va, where the Mis- sissippi was at the ship yards, and there he took charge. sThe crew ot American sailors was taken off the Mississippi, and in their stead Browne hired two hundred Southern darkies to renovate- the ship.
 By courtesy, the United States Gov ernnent allowed Browne a detach nient of sailors to do police duty or his naan-of-war These sailors re nlained on board until the Greek crev arrived a few days ago.
 Browne donned pair of overall and set to work cleaning up the olt ship, making ready for his crew o 6S0 sailors who were coming owe from Greece on transport Afte polishing up the ship Browne set t work and got all the necessary pro visions for the trip across the Allan ttc He advertised in all the Vir ginia and New York papers for com petftfve bids, naming all the necessar ies he wanted. He got them, too, a rock bottom prices.
 Browns master stroke in his dea with Greece was his self-made con tract Because he had to expatriat himself he demanded a salary of S35 :. week, which was consid erably mor than he made as news spaper report 'ssor z Ef1er szlera5s4 < reaH ziIizx that Greco