Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-12-16
NeUs of the Army and Navy

.perintendent of the academy, and thai
officer concluded that the interruption
of the holiday would do far more harm
| than the break in the training Woulo
but on the academy grounds. with nc
home leave.
Christmas Burroughs.
/ There is a regulation in the Army
/ that will cause some disappointment &c
many of the men in the federal forces
Not more than 3 per cent OF the conf
mand may have these precious leaves
on the same day. This rule will pre-
vent the many who want to spend the
day at home from gaining the coveted
! permission
/ Already mothers and others are run
ming into the adjutant gererais once
and making life weary for the dlVlslon
commanders in the various camps and
| environments in their efforts TO ooIaiH
| leave for the boys" over the holiday
| The granting of the furloughs rests
| with the commanding officers and for
| the good of the service they are ioath
| to grant the favor. not to the men VINO
get it, but out of regard LOT 'nose
| who under the regulation must be aus
appointed.
I Aviation Aid for France.
| The war drain in France upon her
man mower and the call for airplanes
! at the front is so loud that another OPP
por,unity offers itself for the United
! States to draw upon its creative re-
| sources to help in a very practicai az :.
| X now seems likely that there WIN ne
some difficulty for the manufacturers OF
France under the circumstances TO al
vance contracts for avlauoh mater lai
| for this country quite as soon as eApsse.--
I cyiI fn
the United States entered the war, ana
| the material is needed here to complete
very large orders already given
The practical method adopted is una
a body of automobile mechanics enlist
ed in the Signal Corps-as many as can
be spared-will be sent to France for
duty in the French factories to speed
up the production after the American
manner
whether any of them will be sent to
France is not written openly on the
books; but it is openly said that the
production of the liberty motor is rum
standardized engine are approaching
the deliveryin- quantities state: and
| the assent lers are ready to begin their
part of building motors on the coop
erative plan that will result in turning
out American motors in about the same
way that some of the big factories pro-
ducc American watches. There will be
enough to go around.
Hoodoo in a Name
Sailors like other folk. have their su-
I'perstitions; and one is that ill luck
follows some craft and all of its name.
The case of the Jacob Jones is no
exception to the rule; or perhaps one
should say 1t is an Illustration of it.
From the outset she was called an
unfortunate ship. 1t is said that once
in her career her seacocks were opened.
although the truth of that incident is
that a hose was left running when. she
was tied to the dock, and she filled
| it was discovered. The old seadogs
shook their heads and gave her the
name of an unlucky ship. Then came
the catastrophe of last week
The name she bore was in honor of
Jacob Jones. a commodore of the war
Of 1872 Another ship in honor of this
doughty old officer had been named
Commodore Jones 1t was one of a
class of five converted double-ended
ferryboats the Commodore Barry was
another OF them used in the civil war
to run into the shallow waters of the
bays and rtverEs along the Virginia
coast. The Navy Department stripped
these boats OF their upper works.
strengthened the decks to support the
batteries of smooth-bore DahIgr ers
and Parrots. and sent them out for
duty.
The Commodore Jones was operating
Buffers troops when the Confederates
discharged a torpedo said to. contain
1000 pounds of black powder, against
the former peaceful passenger carrier.
striking her directly under the boilers.
The explosion killed or wounded most
of the crew. and sunk the boat almost
at once. Only two of the officers and
Srew now survive. One of them. Cot
Gordon Kane, is a Washingtonian; and
as he tells the story. the engineer was
thrown by the explosion from the en-
CINE room fifty feet into the air and
the two met. the one going up and the
other coming down.
1t is said that the records Of She
pension Office show that nearly every
man of the ships company of the Com
modore Jones" died of an injury re-
ceiyed in that explosion.
OF course, on shore it is easy to say
that the names had nothing to do with
the end: but it is coincidence that each
ship of that name in the Navy has
come to the same tragic end.
Army Machine Guns.
In his statement before the Senate
chief of the bureau of Army ordnance,
told some very interesting details of
the various classes of machine guns to
be used in the Army of the United
States.
The American Army. like the French.
Will use three grades or weights of
these modern consumers of ammunition
and destroyers of life-the heavy. in
termediate and light, sometimes called
automatic, although for that matter
they are all automatic
The heavy type weighs about thirty
SIX pounds and it's stand or tripod as
much more; so it is easy to see these
guns cannot be rushed forward with
the line that goes over the top: but
may be brought up With its large SIM
ply of ammunition as soon as that Iipe
is organized. and then their presence
makes the counter attack a most dan
gerous proceeding. They are made