Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1915-07-16
DRESS OF SAILOR
1t Is Practically the Same All
Over the World.
THE BEST SUITED UNIFORMS.

The Wide Trousers and Loose Blouse.
You have wondered, have you not,
why the sailor wears bell bottom
trousers. ne~ckerchiefs or the loose
blouse? There's a reason for every
part of a sailors uniform. explains a
Baltimore naval authority.
Suggestions are continually flowing
into the various offices of the navy de-
partment regarding a change In the
sailors dress. but Uncle Sam pays lit
tie attention to them. He has consid-
cred the matter thoroughly and has de-
cided that no change for the better
could be made.
The uniform of the United States
sailor is practically the same today as
it was when the navy was first organ
ICED. There have been a few changes
In recent years, the most conspicuous
of which Is the abolition of the knife
lanyard. The knife lanyard Is a white
braid that was worn around the sail
or's neck, on the end of which was fas-
tened a knife. This knife was kept In
q back pocket. The lanyard vas a
part of the uniform characteristic OF
the sailors for many years back. But
now that the sailing vessels are no
longer used In warfare the lanyard is
rapidly disappearing in all countries.
The only form of lanyard used now
by the United States is the black silk
one. which Is worn by the boatswain's
mate. There is no knife on the end,
however, but IN its stead is tied the
boatswain's call. This is a silver whis-
tie used on board the vessel for signal
ing purposes.
The neckerchief for undress purposes
has been done away with to a great
extent. but 1t is still used In the dress
uniform. Then there Is the large sailor
collar. Both the large collar and the
blouses some time ago, but recently
the collars have been recalled, though
they are not as large as In former
years.
The sailors uniform is practically the
same throughout the world. But why
has each and every nation accepted the
same style of dress? The balloon GUS
ers. the flap, the broad collars, the
neckerchiefs, the loose blouse and the
lanyards have been condemned by
some of the officials of the navy de-
partment for many years, but the old
style prevails.
There are various reasons why the
bell bottom trousers were adopted
Have you ever watched a sailor at
work. Have you ever seen him scrub
the boat or wash the decks2 This Is
his daily task. He rolls up his trous-
ers and wades right through. the water.
And what would he do IL he were In
cased In the snug, commonplace sort
OF clothes that ~landlubbers live I'M
The bell bottom trousers can be rolled
above the knee without the least trou-
BILE, and this Is one reason Uncle Sam
has chosen them.
But there is a more important rea-
son, one that involves the sailors life.
A man can surely swim more easily
without his trousers than he can with
them. And this is the way Uncle Sam
looks at the matter. The bell bottom
trousers are laced on the sides n put
toned around the waist. Should a sail
or fall overheard or should he be COM
PEELED to swim for his life be unbut-
tons the waist and slips out of the
trousers without any exertion. What
could he do were he wearing the tight
fitting trouser of today?
The loose blouse the sailor wears
enables him to move about freely.
There is nothing to hinder the move
ments of his arms. He can accom-
plish far more work with less exertion-
The blouse was formerly OIL the style
of the MILDLY jacket: just slipped on
and buttoned in the front This has
been slightly changed. a drawing string
having been placed around the bottom
to secure it.
individuals have advocated changes
in the sailors uniform for years, some
believing that it should correspond to
the marines or to the soldiers. Nei-
Their the soldier nor the marine has
any occasion to soil his clothing. while,
on the contrary. the sailor is compelled
to wash his uniform very frequently.
The soldier or the marine has a lock-
er or some other convenient place to
keep his suit, but the sailor must store
his outfit in a white canvas bag which
has every appearance of a pillow case
If he were wearing the clothing as sug-
gested by many he would have a daily
task pressing his trousers.
The expansion of the trouser leg at
the lower end and the loose blouse
therefore are not used merely to con-
vey to the eye the traditional picture
OF the sailor, but have been adopted
after careful and close observations
Baltimore American.