Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1918-02-12
SERVICE IN THE NAVY.

SERVICE IN THE NAVY.
Yes. like the service in the ma
vy-I like it a great deal more now
since the country Is at war and there
Is plenty for us to look forward to
in the way OF active work"
So testified Coxswain W. T. Moore.
of the United States steamship Ari-
zona. who arrived in Yorkville Fri
day on visit to his old home. after
an absence Of four years.
Mr.. Moore is a son Of Mr.. w. I.
Moore Of Yorkville, and Il brother OF
Jim Moore. the young fellow who
had the experience OF being sunk by
submarine last year and who man
aged to escape from Berlin. after
having undergone a short period OF
internmcnt there. Jim was in the
merchant marine service, but w. I.
is a regular man-of-wars man. hav-
ing served through various grades
from apprenticeship. able seaman to
coxswain. He completed his four
year term last week and was dis
charged: but Immediately re-enlisted
for another four years.
Thought maybe you would have
had about enough Of it by this time.
observed the reporter. when inform :
ed that the young man had re-enlist-
ed.
Guess | would have had n plenty"
replied the young sailor: but the
country is ut war now, and there Is
nothing for a young man Of my age
and training to do but see II through.
Like 1t: no ] can't say that ] like 1t
especially. / got a lot Of fine train
ing. and learned lot that ] would
never have learped otherwise: but
except for the wd :, 1 would have felt
that l had done my bit, and would
have been willing to go at something
else. As 1t is am just here to stick
/; out"
Conversation with Mr.. Moore de-
veloped that there were some things
he was at liberty to talk about. and
there were other things he was not
at liberty to talk about. The things
he could not talk about. however,
were really of no special interest TO
the general public. For instance. for
some time past he has been In charge
of gun crew on q big cargo vessel.
and he Is not allowed to give the
name OF the vessel or the names of
the ports between which the vessel
is plying. Just why he is required to
withhold this information. he did not
know, and so far as that was con-
cerned, II did not matter.
NO, / have never seen an enemy
submarine. except two or three OF
them lying up in Allied ports out of
commission. We are getting pretty
good stock of them on the other side;
but as yet ! have not had the good
luck to run across one. / would like
to see one. though. All of our crews
are anxious to see one. We believe
we can knock 1t out Of the water at
1000 yards OF more, and we want to
try"
Coxswain Moore is every inch
American and a very enthusiastic
American at that. Let them talk
about the British navy and the 9TH
er navies all they want to-" he says,
but we've got the best navy In the
world. We've got the best ships, the
best guns and the best men, and that
Is ali there is to 1t. ] just believe
that IL II had been American conveys
that had been guarding the Tuscania
the other day, the Germans would not
have got her. II the Germans had
got her we would have certainly got
the Germans. Our men are keener
and more alert, and our captains are
simply not afraid Of anything afioat
whether on the water or under it l
have nothing to say against the Brit
ish: but do not believe they are
anything near the equal OF the Amer
leans"
Asked as to how 1t is going TO come
out, young Moore said:
I'VE are going to lick 'em. Sure
we are. We know what we are fight
ing for and they don't. ] talked to
German prisoners at Toulon. Some OF
them had been in America and could
speak English. One Of them told me
that he was naturaltzed Ameri-
can citizen. He went to Germany at
the breaking out OF the war because
he wanted to be on the side OF the
mother country against England; but
II he had thought America would ev-
er get In he would not have gone.
He made no secret of the fact that he
thinks more Of America than he does
Of Germany, and he said that II he
could have had any idea Of the way he
would have been treated. he would
have allowed himself to be captured
the first day America came In. He
said that the German people as a
general thing have very little knowl-
edge of the real conditions outside.
and they have no heart in fighting
America. They are being driven to
it. and IL they were not driven they
would not fight at all"