The Nenana daily news., 1918-06-12
Washington.-The sea is calling

WdSnlngIOn.-ln sea IS cdlllHS to American youth.
 As the new ships of the merchant marine glide down the ways, the need for men grows more pressing, Abundant opportunity to aid in win ming the war is offered the crews of the new vessels, with the certain ty that when peace comes there will be further adventure and good pay in carrying American commerce throughout the world.
 Recruiting of the boys ard men who must go down to the sea if America is to regain her old place among the maritime nations is in the hands of the Shipping Boards enlistment service, headed by Henry Howard, with headquarters at Bos- ton, who has outlined to union men and steamship companies what all ready has been accomplished
 About year ago we realized the shortage that was going to arise when the new fleet was finished" MT. Howard said, sand we started the training of officers, both deck and engineer. We established a train of schools extending along the Atlantic coast, the Gulf of Mexico, the Pacific coast and the Great Lakes, to enable us to get hold of the men who had experience at sea. We then got the co-opera- tion of the steamboat inspection service. No man was admitted to our schools for officers unless he could first qualify for experience required by the rules of the stean\ boat inspection service That obvi- ates the training of any dead ma- terial. After men get their licenses we place them, as far as possible. on board steamships as junior off cers, to get actual bridge experience for thirty to sixty days. During that period they get $75 a month, with no bonus, paid by the Emerg- ency Fleet Corporation, so that the only expense to the steamship com panies taking these men is the food they eat.
 "We have turned out officers so fast that a great many have not been finding positions in the mer- chant marine, and have gone into the navy. It has been to certain ex- tent, a short cut to a commission in the navy, going through our schools, owing to lack of cooper ation in many of the steamship lines in taking these men on. We be- lieve, however, in view of the ac- tion that was taken by the Ameri- can Steamship Association some weeks ago that this will now be strengthened out, and that we will get the places.
 "There have been licensed since the first of last June, something over 5000 officers, both deck and engineer.
 Engineers have been given train ing in various technical institutions, the Massachusetts Institute of Tech nology, in Boston; the John Hop kins, in Baltimore; Case School If Applied Science, in Cleveland the Tulane University of Washington; in Seattle. Then outside of those institutions we have been giving special engineering courses in Phila- delphia, in connection with the ice breaking steamer, the Governor Weaver, loaned to us by the city of Philadelphia, for that purpose. We are also giving some courses at the Seamen's Institute in New York We are starting an additional school in Berkeley, California.
 "We have been in touch with the Officers Association in England, and if any shortage develops here, we will bring officers over to fill the places. We have an offer If cooperation from the English Off, cers' Association. We have felt from the very beginning that we ought to develop our own material