Arizona republican., 1917-06-07

The Americans take their turn with the British boats in all routine work of patrol and convoy. The work, all though largely routine, is interesting, and the Americans have never yet found time hanging heavily on their hands. The lookout must be constant and eyes must be trained to an unbe- lievable degree of keenness. The young Americans take Zealously to this busi- ness of finding the periscopic needle in the nautical haystack, and daily re- ports of submarines sighted, of obser- vations made, of wireless warnings sent broadcast show that the American boats are already making an average of results almost as satisfactory as the long experienced British boats, with which they are operating.
 There has been no actual battle as yet between an American destroyer and the enemy, although several re- ports show that U-boats have been sighted and have been compelled to beat a nasty retreat to the depths of the sea.
 An assignment to convoy a liner from home,' that is, from an Amer ican port, is regarded as an especially choice morsel. A transatlantic liner which sights the American flag ap-
 
 fails to respond with a great waving of flags and handkerchiefs from her decks and there is fine exchange of wig-wag signals in lieu of hand shakes. Several American liners can already testify to the vigilant work of the American destroyerS as conveys. i, Occasionally fortunate liner finds herself being escorted to port by
 American and British destroyers side by side, circling about her like twin sisters, a visible sign of the new al- liance.
 The American boats were ready for duty the minute they arrived. This was something of a pleasant surprise for the British naval men. It had been expected that some time would be nec- esSary for certain installations and fit tings, but the Americans had every thing in readiness and were at once assigned to work.
 Shore leave is generous on the
 American ships and the American sailor is constantly in evidence in this village, in the countryside roundabout and in nearby city. where more metropolitan pleasures are available than in the restricted limits of this l little place. The people of the towns have taken the American sailor and his strangely spendthrift ways into their arms. The American sailor seems always to have money, which is not so strange when it is considered that his rate of pay is considerably higher than that of the British tar.
 | "The American gets a dollar every
 time we get a shilling" is a common l expression among the admiring British l seamen. One of the American sailors | favorite way of showing his opulence
 is his habit of always travelling first 1 class on the railroad which takes him | from the village up to the city, a trip of a few miles, The extra cost is only a few pence but the unheard of idea of common sailor travelling first class strikes the populace as a startling and audacious maneuver of the traditions Of American extravaganza"
 Local tradesmen who expected to | find the visitor an easy mark soon learn l ed their mistake, however, for he was seldom fooled twice and quickly. learned to demand value for his money. Tea | time in the village now has an American flavor In all the little inns and shops and farther afield, even well into the
 wonderfully green countryside and along the cliffs, which remind the sea-
 men of the palisades along the Hud- | son anchorageS, one may find any af- ternoon groups of British and Ameri- ] can sailors drinking their tea and
 swapping yarns in true seamanly fash | ion. The American quickly acclimates l himself to the afternoon tea habit and finds it an amiable and satisfactory substitute for other things, with plenty
 of opportunity for confidential chats with his new allies on a thousand and
 one subjects which his active mind has been turning over since arrival here There are other places where one
 may almost always find groups of blue uniformed Americans. One is the local cemetery in a green wood atop the cliffs, where are buried many vic
 tims of the German submarines whose
 graves are kept green by the visitors.