Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1917-05-29

,,net. Now submarines don't move
around like that at night. 1t was a
dangerous business
| An inspiring Spectacle.
Before the fleet Is darkened. the
ships lying in every direction present
an inspiring spectacle Lights, as OF
a city, show everywhere. Blinker sig
mails flash on and designating in the
dots and da shes of the Morse code.
Long fingers of white from 6earchlights
shoot up into the sky---on and off-on
and Designating also with dots and
| dashes.
Other searchlight beams pick ur
| boats that approach them, some illum-
mate a landing wharf. Away in the
distance searchlights Of the patrol
boats flash on every now and then;
sweep the waters to discover that what
might have been periscope Is only
"a white cap. Then they flicker out
again. From the shore at night boats
passing anywhere in the neighborhood
suddenly find themselves in the glare
Of searchights.
While the guns crews are being
| trained on some of the ships, aboard
totuCis are DtIHS iiltll " III
the hundred or more Germans vessels
the United States will operate as soon
as repairs are made to their engines,
| and the fleet OF merchantmen being
built to carry food and supplies to the
allies The fleet is training engineers,
electricians-men to fill every position.
! The Atlantic fleet Is confident that il
will be be to supply a full complement
for every ship, for the navy is getting
| men now faster than ever before, and
! If the officers are proud Of their ships,
| the guns on the decks and the power of
the engines in their hulls, they are
doubly proud Of the spirit of the new
men who are coming into the navy. A
ranking officer said
These new men have come into the
navy TO fight and they want to get into
the thick of it. We are turning out
guns crews every day and every day
We get orders for more. In three months
from now many hundreds Of guns
crews will have left the fleet for places
where they may sink German subma-
| rines or cheerfully give up their lives
trying. And these boys-for most of
them are no more than that-can
shoot"
A large majority OF the new men in
the fleet. their officers say have come
from farms, especially in the middle
west, On any ship NAV be found yc.:hs
who until the war began were follow
ing plows.
Worthy Native Born Americans.
In this fleet" said one OF the Of
fees, more than ninety per cent OF
the men are nat!ve-born Americans.
There are few foreign born men here
On any ship may be heard the drawl
of South Carolinian or a Georgian,
the New Yorkese of the East Side:
the twang that is New Englands. the
rising intonation OF western Pennsyi-
rania and the tone that only comes
from west OF Chicago. SO fast is the
enlisted 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 a loading
machine on the deck OF a dreadnaught
Many ships have aboard them the
naval militia from the various states.
Some OF the militia are pronounced
goood sailors.
On nearly every ship are men who
used to be in the navy and who have
gone back TO their old. and unusually
low. ranks because their country needs
them They are regular officers.
On one OF the ships Is 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
the Hist in several fights in Cuban wa
ters and knows how ii feels TO be under
fire. 1890.
The Navy Needs You was the sign
that got me back This time" said he.
When read that sign knew it meant
me- and fixed il right off so I 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 a little man with
gray hair--a grandfa,her-who wears
the uniform of an ensign.
II resigned from the navy MANY
years ago he said. Il have srandchiI.
dren now. When we went TO war with
Germany knew the navy need ed trained
men and offered myself They accent
ed me and here am with the iunior
officers. I suppose am the only
grandfather ensign in the navy"
The grandfather ensign" is just as
anxious 10 fight as the newest recruit
at the loading machines. and ne is ca
pable. too.
Attack Of Spy Scare.
They've got slight attack of spy
scare in the navy. Officers said that 1t
was quite possible there were Germans
on the ship The spy who is caught is
very likely TO find himself looking into
the business ends of the rifles of a, fir
ing squad. Every now and then suspi-
cions Of the officers and men are
aroused and a quiet Investigation is
conducted. Bluejackets are suspicious
OF anything unusual. One new recruit
brought suspicion against himself be-
cause he carried aboard ship with him
geometry book.
magazine writer enlisted to gain
frs' hand information about the life
of an enlisted man. He had an agree
ment with the Navy department thru
which he was to get out OF the navy in
couple OF weeks and enlisted as a
yeoman. His second day on the ship he
started to look around and finally ap-
peared in the boiler room. The firemen
chased him out and one Of the coal
passers informed the boatswain, add
ing. "A yeoman has no business in the
boiler room. II he comes down there
n a ho LII