The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1917-11-06
b SHIPS WATCH
|ERICAN COMMERCE
Also GUARD TROOP TRANS
STS ON THEIR VOYAGES
|rROsS THE DEEP SEA.
sEUINC MESSAGES DIRECT
N WORK OF OCEAN POLICE

IN, Regulate Traffic, Guard the
and Seek U-Boats.
In the curtain of the censorship
ed after the war the story of
Liz patrol ships of Uncle Sans
Hill be one of the most graphic
tales of war. Then, and not
then, will America know the
Rte story of how those tiny, "a
kday fighting ships darted back
rth along the American coast
4 hour of the day and night,
be- every ship and every stretch
herican water, how the little
boats circled the big troop
brts and helped carry thou
Of American soldiers safely
IA the submarine-infested Eu-
waters.
coast patrol ships are the traf-
Egers of the ocean, always watch
ii criminals, protecting the Stars
Esripes and keeping the lanes of
free from enemy obstruction.
Speediest Boats in Navy.
coast guard knows the bust
ID every ship that arrives at or
from an American port. If
hip is a large one its business is
a in advance and it is allowed to
mmolested. If a small ship and
En to the coast patrol, its bus
6s quickly learned. The boats
4 coast guard can overtake any
nt ship, for they are the speed
Dit in the American navy.
Jackets with the same stand
Other naval men are in charge
little ghost patrol ships. On
~ Of each boat is a one-pound
token of authority. Gunners
Idly at any hour of the night
to direct their shell-fre wher-
eded, The defiant gun is point
vital spot in every ship that
II boat approaches.
80
Must Have War Licenses.
ship that moves through
an waters must have a war Ii
Hundreds of times daily the
kpeedsters of the American
fop merchantmen and inspect
Rnses, and if the papers are not
N there is trouble.
D. the daylight hours when
&ardians can make out the
SOf vessels whose business they
&here are a few interferencess
8hC, however, or during foggy
81, they challenge every boat
Cows a mast above the horizon.
And time again those aboard the
Rps will see a tiny gray form
@ng the side of their vessel. On
k is a man with a megaphone.
ID ahoy, what boat is that?"
q voice from the semi-darkness.
amer Lancaster-New York to
ol-Passengers and grain" is
#rom the deck of the liner.
n on,' booms through the meg
i, and the coast patrol boat cir
Pound and slips off into the
phoot Across the Bows.
Aetimes through sheer bravado
OUCH ignorance of the war reg
u a captain does not stop his
PEI hailed. Immediately a can
~ rings out and a shell passes
the bow of the boat. If she
4 stop then another shell is fir
q closer. There is no case on
q where a ship ignored both
Nothing is said about what
p done in such case. But
81 who silently crouch behind
st guard naval gun have a
good idea what would follow
#eg2rding of the second warn
nds Of ships, bound in all di-
and for all purposes are en-
ga by the coast patrol boats.
there are plenty Of these
posi- ships to keep a watchful
threatening gun on every
aJ approaches the United
a group of troop transports
JAe ocean the little patrols
3 'he alert. On either side of
ahsport is a warship of Uncle
&llavy, their mammoth guns
Y Tor action. Meanwhile the
PaiIrolS, tiny by comparison,
ABOUT, winding in and out
&c IN, transports and larger war
9ey hurry through the group
pherd dogs in a drove of cat
lng along stragglers and ready
the throat of a wolf of the
Fl herman Cl1bv,o n vino
EEner in mid-ocean or on duty
sy port the little patrols are
pant touch with heir bases.
Ing wireless messages flashing
'he Atlantic tell the exact To-
o1 the ghost ships day and
pref message from any pa
4 ~ =. VIII bring hundreds of sim
~ Scurrying to the scene of
- htJDV &c CAVV yAT~