The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1917-06-18
Recreation of Athletic Field
Part of Training OF
Our Navy Lads.
INTELLIGENCE AND
INTEREST ARE TRAITS
Pep is Theil Great Delight.
On Horseback They Go
Too Far Forward.


Fleet, June lit is two bells in the
afternoon watch when the shri.l trilI
of the bos'n's whistles are heard pip
ing the crews Of The mightI dread
noughts TO the rails and the sing-song
cries Of the bos'n's mates carry out
over the water, Liberty party to
muster"
This is the summons given three
times each week to the men of the
Atlantic fleet to take their hours Of
recreation on the immense athl4Ie
field provided for them by the Navy
League. BY the hundreds, on every
battleshiu and cruiser. the youthful,
white uniformed jackieI come rushing
on deck to form into line for the lib
erty inspection.
Two long site lines form on deck
and every e stands rigidly at at
tention while. officers pass along
marking the appearance of each one.
Their uniform 4 are spotlessly white
Their shoes fN9shly-. blackened. on
come their little round white caps to
show that their hair is closely crop
ped. No visjk3r to the fleet fails to
be struck, when he views that line al
inspection, with the extreme youth of
the men. their intelligent faces and
happy, smart appearance. The aver
age age appeals to be less than twen-
ty years and many of them seem
barely to have passed their eighteenth
birthday on the date of their cnlls.-
ment From every state sn the
union they hail and thousands of
them from the farms Of the middle
west. A collection certainly of Am
CriCa's finest gathered on the deck OF
"a floating fortress to form the first
line of the nations defense.
On every sun tanned face is worn
a broad smile in expectation Of the
sport that the afternoon will y ing.
Over the rail. the visitor sees the
ships launches bobbing about in the
seaway with the bowmen holding fast
to the ships side with their boat
hooks. Then the sharp word of COM
mand rings out on deck and the white
lire of sailors begins 70 move for
ward toward the gangway and the
men go over the side to the waiting
launches.
Discipline begins to give way a
little at this point, although the cox
swain of the boat is all business as
he calls to the bowmen to shove off.
The afternoons recreation has begun
Thousands of superfiuously healthy
absolutely carefree and very young
Iaen are turned loose. To be sure
there is the provost guard with their
policemens sticks, but that is only to
guard against the chance of ugly
blood developing from the fun, which
does not happen,
When the dock at the athletic field
is reached the men from the launches
tumble out pell nell and immediately
begins a raid upon the canteen. Pop
is sold faster than cOrks can be pull
ed. The man who gets anything over
the canteen counter fights for 1t.
You must come with your change
read or go without. TI>Are is too
much business to stop to change
money,
A pump receives the overflow from
the canteen and those who have been
unable to spend their money for
candy or pop take their chances on
getting ducked under the pump. A
farmer drives onto the field WITH a
load of watermelons. At fifty cents
apiece his watermelons last about
fifty seconds. A colOred cooks helper
buys a melon and dives into it when
a huge hand belonging to a Jackie
from an Indiana farm buries the
darlly's face into the melon up to his
ears. Another enterprising farmer
brings some old farm nags on the
field to hire them out for gentle.
mems mounts" to the sailors. Obvi-
ously the horses are about as useC
to saddles as a hog is to work. Bal
they are hired by the sailors at any
price the farmer asks. A lad mailing
from Maine takes his first chance OF
horseback and slides down the horses
neck. His shipmate yells at him
GO aft, you fool, 20 aft"
The thousands of Jackies swarm
over the field. Hundreds of then
, break and run for the beach for 3
swim. A crowd of them gather al
target practice with small rifles. 81,
Of the ten baseball diamonds are very
promptly put into use by scrub teams
And then more launches from the
battleships come in bringing the star
baseball teams from four of the bat
+IeshiDs. A doubleheader is to b,
uIaved between four of the best teeSa
Continued on Page Two.)