The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1917-06-18
Great Recreation Ground
Has Been Provided by
Navy League.
JACK IS USUALLYYOUNG
spotlessly Clean and Abso-
luteIy Free From Ev-
cry Care.
fspecial DISPATCH to West virGiuian)

(Special Dispatch to West VirGiuian)
WITH THE UNITED STATES AT
.ANTIC FLEET, une 17.-It is two
oells in the afternoon watch when the
shrill trill Of the bos'n's whistles are
heard piping the crews Of the mighty
dreadnoughts 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
lines each week to the men Of the AT.
antic Fleet to take their hours OF
recreation on the immense athletic
.feld provided for them by the Navy
League. BY the hundreds, on every
battleship and cruiser the youthful
white uniformed Jackies come rush
ing on deck to form into line for the
liberty inspection.
Two long white lines form on deck
and every man stands rigidly at at
ention while officers pass along mark
ag the appearance of each one. Ineir
uniforms are spotlessly white. Their
shoes freshly blackened. Off come
heir little round white caps to show
that their hair is closely cropped. No
visitor to the fleet fails to be Struck
when he views that line at Inspection
with the extreme youth of the men
their intelligent faces and happy smart
appearance. The average age appears
10 he less than twenty years and many
of them seem barely to have passed
their eighteenth birthday on the date
of their enlistment. From every state
in the Union they hail and thousands
Of them from the farms OF the mldale
west. A collection certainly OF Amer
ica's finest gathered on the deck OF a
floating fortress to form the trst
line of the nations defense.
On every sun tanned face is worn
broad smile in expectation of the
snort that the afternoon Will bring
over the rail, the visitor sees the ship S
launches bobbing about in the seaway
with the command rings out on deck
and the white lines of sailors begins
TO move forward toward the gangwey
and the men go over the side to the
waiting launches. y.
Discipline begins to give way lit
tie 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 supfluously healthy, alb
solutely carefree and very young men
are turned loose. To be sure there
is the provost guard with their police
mems sticks, but that is only to guard
against the chance of ugly blood de-
yeloping 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 raid upon the canteen. Pop
is sold faster than corks can be pulled.
The man who gets anything over the
canteen counter fights for 1t. You must
come with your change ready or go
without. There is tcn much business
to stop to change mIley.
A pump receives die overflow from
the canteen and those who have been
unable to spend their money for candy
or pop TAX their chances on getting
ducked under the pump. A farmer
drives onto the field with load OF
watermelons. At fifty cents apiece
his watermelons last about fifty sec
onds. A colored cooks helper buys
a melon and dives into 1t when huge
hand belonging to ackie from an In
diana farm buries the darky's face into
the melon up to his ears. Another en-
terprising farmer brings some old farm
nags on the field to hire them out
for "gentlemen's mounts" to the sail
ors. Obviously the horses are about
as used to their saddles as hog is
to work. But they are hired by the
sailors at any price the farmer asks.