The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-08-24

noon time Thursday She was closely followed by the U. s. s. Kearsage. Capt. Christie, having on board Mas sachusetts naval niiitiamen. The Kearsage after acknowledging the pen nant of the Kentucky, the senior ship of the naval militia cruise, anchored about a mile distant and approximate ly three miles from the wreck of the San Marco, formerly the battleship Texas.
 The Norfolk navy yard tug Hercules reported alongside at Io' clock towing a four masted battle target float which was used in big-gun practice on Fri day and Saturday by the two ships.
 Life is not monotonous at any time on the big ships for with the routine work laid out by the navy department lthere is still plenty of time Tor induI- l gence in pastimes that both increase the health and. give recreation.
 Among the enlisted men are several naval militiamen are exerting them selves to find someone worthy to meet them. Bouts are scheduled for Satur- day or Monday and one particularly likely youngster from the navy is in course iof training with the expecta- ton of defeating anybody on board and then seeking an opponent from the Kearsage.
 1 A hard days work in handing am kmunition for the five inch guns, train ing and pointing on the Sdotter system, fire and collision drills, has placed the Bridgeport boys in excellent shape for the real contests which will come to- morrow and Saturday. Connecticut gun-crews are anticipating being able to capture the trophies for marksnen- ship which added to their already fa- | vorable standing in the naval militia of the country will make their winters l efforts an enviable asset.
 l Under the tuition of expert navy of- hcers, instruction of the militia of1- lcers has progressed with rapidity, l which seems to have been greatly in- creased by the equipment which haA 1 been obtained during the past seasons i in their local armories.
 Among the chief pastimes of the
 s'rookies' as the newly enlisted militia men are fanniliarly called is the feat of climbing fighting top, 96 feet above the superstructure deck This is ac- Several attempted the feat during the l trip up the Chesapeake. Upen their l return to the deck they did so at a 1 time when fresh coal was being burned in the stoke-hold and with the wind
 blowing forward to aft the result was their own ship-mates were hardly able
 to distinguish their features Their faces and natty white uniforms were lone color-d distinctly black.
 During the afternoon the officers
 made an interesting trip in the ships
 motor-sailer to the wreck of the San
 aAdreo. Primarily the object of the trip was to catch crabs which are said to abound in these waters, and accord ing to one of the officers on board the
 ship to be particularly abun&ant in
 the recesses of the sunken vessel. This officer, who was almost alone in the pursuit of the edible crustacean caught but one crabs. while the other officers acquainted themselves with
 the effect of large caliber proJectiIes upon armor plate of a decade ago.
 The San Marco, once the sister shiI tof the Maine under the name o1 Texas but renamed and shot te pieces when the new Texas was put into commission, lies a battered hulk nearly submerged at high tide about
 10 miles off Tangier, Maryland. He1 decks and superstructure have beer
 blown to pieces by repeated attacks o,
 the modern navy and but one of the
 old fighting masts stands erect to tel
 the tale of her former power upon the I seas.
 Even the 10 and 13 inch Jarmor-p1ate fused in her construction failed tc
 withstand the bfunt of 13-inch shells
 which forced their way through hel
 turrets and coming tower, later dis placing the enormous plates or shat
 tering them from the force of interna lexplos1on. It is pointed out by officers fof the Hne,. however that as resuI;
 of blowing this ship to pieces many improvements in guns and, construc-
 ton of arnor-p1ate has resulted.
 The sight of the San Marco inspired
 Considerable discussion in militia cir cles as to the future home of battle
 sips which through rapid evolution
 may later become semi-obsolete. Il
 has been generally suggested that one
 method of disposing of boats not 1T
 active service would be to assign then
 to various states having large Tnilitis
 forces Esuch nAethod it was argued
 would not only cost the governmen, < less in the matter of maintaining off Ecers and crews upon them as wf1er
 kept in the navy yards but would
 greatly stimulate the recruiting of the
 naval reserves and keep the ships 1T better condition.