The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1917-02-22

WASHINGTON, D. c., Feb. 12-ln
wartime the United States Coast
Guard Service automatically goes under
the orders of the Navy Department.
Its 1000 officers and men become part
of our fighting services, its 279 stations,
strateglcally located along the whole of
our coast line, become so many efficient
lookout points to report the approach
of suspicious vessels, its AZ cutters are
available as the highly effective nucleus
of an anti submarine squadron. The
Coast Guard service is small, perhaps,
for war purposes, but it is the finest
and most serviceable organization of its
kind to be found anywhere. Its Of
ficers believe with a quite pride that
there is no harder or more expert body
of sailors IN the world. The service
cutters go seeking storm and danger as
their daily work; there are no more sea-
worthy craft afoat.
The Coast Guard cutter is built for
storms and foul weather. She is not
likely to be remarkable for speed, but
she can buck her way through anything
that Neptune cares to send in the way
of high waves and high winds. She can
cruise for weeks at time without re-
turning to her base of supplies. Her
crew are seasoned veterans recruited
from the fast disappearing breed of
born and professional sailors. They
come from the fishing ports and the
old-time sailing vessels; they can work
a boat to port as long as she will float,
whether her engines are capable of be-
ing repaired or not. They are equally
at home in row. boat, launch or FIVE
thousand-ton freighter.
The Coast Guard cutters are already
fighting ships after a fashion. They
90 armed about their work of policing
the American seas, and could engage a
submarine with their present arma-
ment. In an emergency the Navy De-
partment will arm the larger cutters
with 4-inch guns, which will make them
formidable craft against anything short
of a warship. Manned by crews who
know every inch of the waters they
patrol, the Coast Guard cutters will
make effective weapons against hostile
submarines. AS scout ships their wire
less outfits give them a ready means of
communication with stations on
shore.
Another connection in which the
Coast Guard cutters instantly come to
mind for emergency use is for service
as mine layers. One of the most i'm
portant peace duties of these vessels is
the towing of derelicts to port, or their
destruction where this is impracticable.
In the dangerous task of handling in
storm and wave, their work has already
made them proficient, as a number of
instances in the last few months abun-
dainty prove.
The shore service of the Coast Guard
corresponds to the old Life Saving Ser
vice, as the sea branch has taken the
place of the old Revenue Cutter Ser
vice. These two historic old services
were united in the Coast Guard in 1915.
The part of the shore service in time of
war would consist largely in lookout
work. The beach patrol, an institution
of American origin, would prove par
tiCularly effective in this way. In all
weathers, from sunset TO sunrise, the
sentinels of the beach patrol pace their
beats, keeping a watch seward for
whatever may appear. In many cases
the end of the beat is connected to the
station by telephone, and all the sta
lions are in position to communicate
rapidly with headquarters. From the
station double watch is kept, seward
on the one hand, and for signals from
the patrolman on the beat on the other.
In harbors and seaports fixed outlooks
are generally maintained.
All this machinery of service of men,
machine and vessels, is in running or
der and geared up to the minute. Under
any conditions. the Coast Guard Ser
vice is an emergency service. and must
be continually ready for action under
the most trying circumstances. There
will be little or no delay or lost motion
in preparing to meet war conditions. 1t
is worth noting, that in spite of the
arduous nature OF the duties and the
high qualifications in seamanship, cour-
age and physical fitness REQUIRED to
enter the Coast Guard the service is
practically at full strength today.
The peace duties of the Coast Guard
are multifarious and exacting. The
service is lite-saving agency, a first
aid to vessels of all kinds and nation
alities in distress. a marine police
force, an enforcer of revenue and
customs regulations, a fre-fghting