The Washington times., 1915-01-10
S|GOURNEY DEFENDS
NAVAL M|L|T|AMEN
Denies Charge They Looked on
Training Trip to Bermuda as
Holiday Outing.

Ihe men worked hard and faith1ulI!
and went abroad to be instructed in the
ways OF the navy" declared Lieut.
Frank w. Sigourncy, executive Officer
of the District Naval Militia, in denying
the statements made in the report o
Capt. c. 8. Williams, of the battleshil
Rhode Island. on which the citixer
sailors took their practice cruise las
summer. .... ..
men Of the militia took the cruise as on
outing instead Of q serious occupation.
''Officers and men Of the militia" Lieu.
tenant Sigourney declares, give more
efforts to the Government without com.
pensation than any regular officer OF
man, and the six and one-half hours OF
liberty which each militiaman received
in Bermuda was very little to sive them
foe the hard work Of tho year.
Hard Work on Trip.
'The uphill and hard work to induce
men to Join the militia" says Sigour-
reg. lis mob appreciated by those who
have not had the experience, and It is
absolutely necessary that men have
something to look forward to. Men in
the militia give up their evenings at
home. make pecuniary sacrifices In or
dor that they might. in at least q small
their country in time Of need. The Of
tfcers and men did not 20 on the cruise
last summer in the expectation that 1t
would be an outing: They knew they
had performed hard work aboard the the
drill season. and that the work aboard
a battleship must be just as hard Z
not harder: There are very feW. II
any. who did not sacrifice something.
sSThArA Uaro mon from varfOllQ Nn0a
OF endeavor who went with the local
naval militia to Hampton Roads to
board the. Rhode Island. The work
was entirely different from that which i
daily drills and exercises from the en-
gine rooms to the fighting tops, they
worked from early Sunday morning un-
I'll late in the evening with shovels ana
bag bags coslins ship. Was that an out
I'VE do not claim to be as efficient
as the man who has spent four years
at the Naval Academy and MANY more
ious. though. to be taught and for this
purpose went aboard the Rhode Is
land
No Special Favors.
Discussing the shore leave for militia
officers at Bermuda. Lieutenant 81
Courtney said that the militia officers
when the ship arrived the regular
watche. for all officers, both regular
and militia. were suspended by the
executive officer Of the Rhode Island.
Instead of standing tour-hour watches.
the regular officers stood twelve hours.
liberty. The militia officers did the
same. At one time there was only one
officer aboard the Rhode Island, while
at Bermuda every officer, including the
hA AZ ~
the deck, had gone ashore. The militia
OFFICERS received no more than the reg
ulars. They were treated In the same
way.
pected that the civilian saiiorrnen give
up their time two or three nights a
week throughout tho year doing manual
work. and then so on q cruise and be
deprived Of all liberty. That is out Of
tho question. The regulars do not do
nlen treated the cruise as an outing. 1t
was anything but an outing.
Six Hours to See Islands.
liberty. They were divided into two
liberty parties. ono going each day.
Their liberty ashore was from l o'clock
ing, giving each man. including the
thirty minutes going from and return
ing to the ship. six and one-half hours
10 see the Bermuda islands.
1T Is a fact that the men were got
ten on the night watches with dim
rulty: But this was noticeable only
on the first two or three nights; and
was not the fault Of the miiitiamen.
The regulars had regular place to
sleep. and when it was their time to 60
on watch it was known where they
could be found and they were awaken
ed. The crowded condition aboard the
vessel made 1t impossible to assign a
particular place for a militiaman to
sleep: He had to sleep wherever he
could find place to put his hammock,
him he could not quickly be found. =