Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1917-05-25

come from farms, especially III the
Middle West. On any ship may be
found youths who until the war began
were following plows.
In this feet said one of the offic-
ers, more than ninety per cent of the
men are natiye-born Americans. There
are few foreign-born men here"
| On any ship may be heard the drawl
of a South Carolinian, or Georgian,
the New Yorker of the East Side; the
twang that is New England's, the ris :
ing information Of western Pennsylvania
ard the tone that only comes from
west of Chicago. So fast is the enlist
ed personnel of the navy growing that
there is no room for the new men at
the training stations ashore. A man
enlists one day in Kentucky and three
days later finds himself at loading
machine on the deck of dreadnaught,
| On nearly every ship are men who
used to be in the navy and; who have
gone back to their old, and usually
flow, ranks because. the country needs
them. They are regular officers.
On one of the ships is. a Wall Street
broker. He graduated from Annapolis
many years ago, resigned and later
came back into the service during the
/ Spanish American war. He command
Cd the Hist in several fights in Cuban
" aters and knows how it feels to be
under fire.
1.-The Navy Needs You was the sign
| that got me back this time" said he.
When l read that sign l knew it meant
me and / fixed it right off so ] could
come back. / left the navy at the close
of the Spanish-American war and have
been in the brokerage business in New
York ever since"
On another ship is little man with
gray hair-a grandfather-who wears
the uniform of an ensign.
Il resigned from the navy many
years ago. he said. 81 have grand
children now When we went to war
with Germany l knew the navy needed
trained men and / offered myself. They
accepted me and here l am with the
Junior officers. l suppose | am the
only grandfather ensign in the navy"
The grandfather ensign" is just as
anxious to fight as the newest recruit
at the loading machines, and he is ca
pable, too.
They've got slight attack of spy
scare in the navy Officers said that
it was quite possible there were Germ
ans on the ships. The spy who is
caught is very likely to find himself
looking into the business ends of the
rifles of firing squad. Every now
ard then suspicious of the officers and
men are aroused and quiet investiga-
ton is conducted. Bluejackets are sus
picious of anything unusual. One new
recruit brought suspicion against him
self because he carried aboard ship
with him a geometry book.
A magazine writer enlisted to gain
first hand information about the life OF
an enlisted man. He had an agreement
with the Navy Department through
which he was to get out on the navy
in. a couple of weeks and enlisted as
woman. His second day on the ship
he started to look around and finally
appeared in the boiler room. The fire
men chased him out and one of the coal
passers informed the boatswain, add
ing, "A yeoman has no business IN
the boiler room. If he comes down |
there again-the sneaking spy-Ill
brain him with a shovel. That ought
10 have firing squad lot of trouble.
The Presidents yacht Mayflower has
lust visited the fleet. Aboard it were
Secretary Daniels and Secretary Baker.
The Presidential yacht, giistening
white III sharp contrast to the dirty
Misunderstanding gray of the fighting
slips, slipped into the best waters one
Sunday morning, Except for the
strains of the National Anthem, first
from one ship and then from another,
as the Mayfower, the two secretaries
flags flying from her masts passed
nile after mile of war vessels, there
vas quiet. Putting ships launches and
boats going to and from shore lay to as
the glistening bow of the yacht cut
through the water Two navy air
planes circled high in the air.
/ he two Secretaries inspected some
Of the ships and men and then board
&c the Admirals gig which carried
them to new recreation field fixed
up for the many thousand men of the
fleet by the Navy League. Baseball
diamonds cover acres of ground and
they are well patronized Many games