The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1916-08-31
PLENTY OF WORK
FOR SEA ROCKIES
So Busy That They Do Not
Have Time to Write Letters.
ROUTINE OF DAILY LIFE,
Arise at a. m. and Scrub the Decks
Before 6reakfast-Firing Guns and
Drilling Show Need Of Proper Train
ing, Such as They Are Getting at
Present.

Drilling Show Need Of Proper Train
ing, Such as They Are Getting at
Present.
The first Of the John Paul Jones
cruises for civilians on the reserve ships
of the Atlantic fleet has seen adven-
ture subsiding into work. At least it's
that way on the Virginia, which car
ried 300 odd recruits from Boston.
Efficiency demands that under war
conditions the men fire three shots a
minute. 1t takes ten to man twelve
inch gun, from the shell men down
in the hold, four decks below the tur-
ret, to the pointer above. It took the
civilian crew just five minutes from
''hoist away" to Fire" Yet trained
crew goes through it all in twenty
seconds, shell after shell, to the end.
1t was a better lesson than any amount
of preparedness talks in the necessity
of trained men. 1t is a scientific job,
this one of being a modern fighter, re-
quiring the proper coordination of
brain and hand and eye and nerve.
That is what the training cruise is for
to get men ready so that precious
months need not be spent in teaching
men to shoot
, The Boat Drill.
For boat drill the men are divided
into regular full crews. They man
the davits and lower away and man
the oars and row away. Among the
rockies are half Of Harvard's first
crew men: Herrick, Harwood, White
and Allen. They are in the same boat,
and there are eight other men in the
boat with them. The oars are narrow,
and the seats don't slide. 1t is half of
the Drawn that rowed Yale off the wa
ter last June.
'But somehow" as one man sadly
remarked, lit doesn't seem the same"
But the observers can see the evil
dence of the trained oar, struggling for
''form," in the numbering clumsiness
of the ships boats.
Then there are the old rockies, men
who rowed on the long sweeps when
the Virginia was a youngster. They
are accommodating a good bit of extra
weight amidships and show a roll as
they walk. But they are game and
pull at the oars as they did on the
winning varsity in 'O3 or so. They
come in putting and played out after
practice row. but there is the light
of excitement in their eyes, which
comes from living over again we'll re-
membered times.
They are men-of-war's men now, ev-
cry one of these 800 recruits. They
rise at 5 to the bo'sn's pipe, tumbling
| out of their hammocks six feet to the
floor. They lash their hammocks in
the required nautical way with the re-
quired number Of bitches. Then they
roll up their broad legged sailor pants
to the knees and swab down the decks
with cold sea water. They polish brass
and wash paint, as though their very
existence depended on the job.
Millionaire Washing Brass.
1t might be funny to see man
whose fortune runs to millions shining
brass in a way that would not earn
him 50 day. Yet you know that brass
polishing is not his goal. That is Incl
dental to the larger work of being pre-
pared to help on big man-of-war in
time Of danger.
After cleaning comes breakfast and
after breakfast assembly, With setting
up exercises. From that to gun prac-
tice they go Immediately, then to boat
drill to classes of special instruction to
torpedo defense stations, taking barely
| time for bite Of dinner in between.
They are trying to teach the recruits
the utmost it is possible to learn in the
time Of the cruise, and every minute is
precious.
II don't even get time TO write a let
ter says one dapper sailor plaintively.
Il have written Dear Ethel five times.
| and that is as far as I get.''
From turn to- at 5 of the gray
| morning to taps" at of the weary
| night the men work and learn. They
are displaying a remarkable quickness
| for the mechanism of gun and ships.
The days are full of work, but they are
also full of accomplishment
! II don't know what to do with nv
| men," said the commanding officer of
another vessel Of the fleet to the CAP
tain of the Virginia.
keep 'em at work. Captain Jack
son advised him.
| Not that life is all work for the rock
les. Morning and evening a boom is
rugged from the side Of the ship slop-
| ing down to the water, and down it
the men go to swim. Probably half of
them go in the water. The other half
lean over the sides and cheer. The
water is cold and very salty. If a
swimmer stays too close to the sides of
the ship a little wave will come and
slap him against the hard armor plate
Therefore most Of the men swim out,
followed by lifeboat.
| Who said men do not live we'll in the
navy? Asparagus on toast, steaks,
roasts, grapes, oranges, cantaloupes-
these are items chosen at random
| from the menu Of the last three DAYS.
At every meal enough is thrown away
| to feed several large families. Fastidi-