The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1917-06-04
LIFE ON A WARSH|P
Home, Workshop, School, Club
and Theater All In One.
RULE OF RIGID DISCIPLINE.
Laxness Is Not Tolerated, Because Re-
sponsibiIity Rests Upon tho Shoulders
of Every Man on Board-Tho Duties
From Captain to Seaman

OF Every Man on Board-Tho Duties
From Captain to Seaman
j The modern battleship Is probably
the most complete aud complex ma
chine man has ever produced, and
though the picturesque features which
surrounded the wooden man-of-war OF
years ago have gone. thelr place has
been taken by features u thousand
times more interesting and inspiring.
The modern battleship Is the last
word in cold. brutal fighting machine
that Is also home for q thousand
men-a machine that fairly radiates
personality and proves itself both a
Workshop aud self supporting conf
munity. able not only to clothe and
feed. teach. employ and amuse those
who live in it. but also to supply vir-
tually everything that the average
mans comfort or interest demands
Truly the modern battieship offers COM
munity life developed to the highest
| degree.
Probably. too. there is no more COM
piNtN aAh Si"tNhho pAvti Va t''S NSA"c
OF rigid discipline. drill and coopera-
ton for maintaining not only elllcien-
cy, but also safety, than that given on
a battleship.
Responsibility rests OH the shoulders
OF every man on board, and vital re-
sponsibility rests on the shoulders of
many hundreds among the thousand.
That is why practical, not theoreti-
cal, training is necessary. why the ma
neuvers at Guantanamo are the most
valuable side OF naval life, why lax
ness is not tolerated. Too many mil
lion dollars worth of property and too
many hundreds of lives are at stake to
permit of ineiiiciency or careiessness.
With such complexity Of duties in
mind as fall to every man from COM
mon seaman TO captain. one may read
lily understand why the government
wants only its best and most intelligent
among the young men of the country
in its navy.
At the top. with full command and
responsibility, stands the captain, the
administrator. He is perhaps as near
an absolute monarch when at sea as
the civilized world offers.
After the captain comes the execu-
tive officer, on whose shoulders his
chief places responsibility for main
tanning the general and military eff
cheney of the ship. He is the captains
representative, and to him every ques-
ton is referred. The heads OF depart
ments and all. officers and men are I'M
der his direct orders.
Under the executive officer. who may
have one of several ranks. but on the
larger ships is likely TO be lieutenant /,
comes the first lieutenant. !
To him are delegated the care and Or
der of the vessel. In short. lie is 'the
Then, day and night, some officer
must be in temporary and full charge
nf the deck. His headquarters are ON
the bridge. He is known as the officer
Of the deck. on these officers rests the
main executive control.
At the heads of the various depart
nents are the medical and pay officers.
he officer in command of the marines,
)r "sea soldiers;" the chief engineer,
who has charge OF the motive ma
,hinery and lighting and heating
Ilants: the navigator. the gunnery or
ordnance officer, who is responsible for
he real work for which the ship is
of destruction-and the
haplain. These men, with their di-
ect subordinates, down 10 the younger
nsigns, form what is called the ward
Dom mess
The captain. however, dimes alone.
)ther messes. or families" dining to.
ether are those formed by the junior,
he warrant and the petty officers.
Divided up among the various de-
artments of the ship are the warrant
Ulcers and the petty officers OF many
lasses and grades. The boatswain
nd his mates, acting under the execu-
i've officer and lieutenant, have charge
( the decks. anchors and cables They
ummon the crew to its duties by whis-
le and pass on all orders to the men.
hey are the experts in seamanship.
The gunners and their mates have
barge of the ships ordnance and cleo
rical equipment. under the ordnance
fiicer or his division officers.
The carpenters and their mates have
$ their duty the maintenance, in good
ondition, of the ship. The quarter
laster and his assistants come under
ne navigator aud see to the carrying
ut of all orders which have TO do with .
ayigation. The masters at arms. act
S ship police. The yeomen form the
erical force in the different depart
rents. Coxswains act as boat crew
Richard Smith in Les
els Weekly,