Norwich bulletin., 1918-12-31
WASHINGTON AFFAIRS
Especial to The Balletin.)

guard service to merge 1t permanently l with the navy? One of the bills re- | gently introduced looks unimportant l and innocent on it's face. but when a | dig to the roofs is made there is 9 | good deal more than appears on the l surface. The bill was put in by | Campbell of Pennsylvania, whose dis ] trict lies in the coal resion where soot and smoke shut out the sky, and | where perils by sea are unknown. The coast guard deals with water so why
 not give it to the navy? Sounds well,
 but here is the situation: The coast guard is dual in it's ser vice like the marine corps, which turns from the navy, to the war de rartment according to the needs of the hour. In the same way the coast guard has been identified with both treasury and navy. In time of peace it's function is to save life and prop erty, under the treasury department; in time of war it automatically be-
 comes part of the military forces of 1 the United States under the navy de- partment. It's duties change in a I twinkling and from protective work it l becomes an aggressive factor in war. The president also has authority to 1 call it to naval service atsany ether l time he may deem proper. 1t has been an independent organization for more than one hundred years. It is always trained and ready for action. l Emergency work is it's speciality. It | is always on active duty. There is no need of preparedness" in either of | it's two branches, for it is always pre- pared by constant service for the 1 specific duties for which it was or 1 genized. The two branches are the l revenue cutter and the fife saving ser | vice which includes every life saving station in the United States. Every
 man in the coast guard service has
 specialized work to do. The cutter
 men know every inch of the coast, l every peril of the sea and are trained to the highest degree Of efficiency. They undertake most hazardous trips.
 Reading a coast guard report of q
 years work is like reading & tale or adventure written for boys who want l a thrill at the end of every para
 graph, Their entire service is pre- emineatiy specialized work, What do men well trained along other lines
 know of rescue work along the coasts
 and great lakes, where surf boats, breeehes buoy and resusitation take
 the place of naval gupnery? It isn't so much a matter of whether Mir. Glass or Mir Daniels control the service, as l it is the danger of loss Of efficiency l DV Hl6Tg1HS tHO III N4ltliS0 VI NAAS " service now entirely distinct in both , duties and training Under the Camp bell bill the abolishment of the coast guard training school at New London Conn, is urged, and it must be re-
 menbered that the training school at , New London is to the coast guard Trecisely what the naval academy ai Annapolis is to the navy.
 IJnder 4he Csr-,pheIl bill all surf
 men would become sean1en, liable tc
 sea duty. Their specialized training
 would be of no value. The revenue
 1 cutter branch is the oldes5 sea serVic: :. in the United States. having been or ganized and iu action before there wal q navy It has been an irdependen h organization more than a century. I - is a highly trained specia1ist-not { = general practitioner. In time O f peace it's mission is to sav' :, life and property, to patrol th' i' sea and coast. and act as pro . tcctor of commerce. In time of wa e it goes into the thickest of the fight n It's quite apt to be first on the spot q as no getting ready process is re e quired. It's always ready. It wa e the cutter Mccullough that joinet i Dewey at Manila and after splendi'
 service there, brought to the yToFl = the first news Of the victory. it wa the cutter Hudson that rescued tn - torpedo boat Wirslow at the battle 0 k Gardenas, under full fire of enen e gu1slit was the cutter service tha # protected the Cuban coast from block f ade runners, and the cutter Woodbur ,t was the only American vessel to ente ~ Havana harbor during the Spanis l. war. Its rescue work in both cutie a and life saving service is stupendou. a cor vol .r ued at s13,313,S15 were involved in th Is work done by the life saving branc t- alone, Out of the 5000 persons o ,, those vessels only 30 were lost. Res U. cue and protective work by the reve s' nue cutter branch is carried along o 'e the same tremendous scale. And tn l. is but a part of their regular peace II time work under the treasury. Dui ,h ing the present war cutters have bee or performing oyersea duty of gres
 yalue. The work of the coast guar
 cannot be everestimated and the ques -S tion of whether or not it could ac D. complish anything like such effectiE Lo service without it's specialized tFair f. ing and experienced men, will be of grave one for congress to consider e. the Campbell bill is brought Gp for no vote. That bill entirely destroys u :. individuality of the coast guard w4ic : congressman from coast states al a- strongly of the opinion should not DIX llampered or inteffered with by ar E. innovations. In this opinion the e " I.erienced officers of the guard COT
 eur.
 Probably the suffrage smendn1cl
 will~be brought before congress aga
 this winter, for if it fails to pass b S. fore the fourth of March. when Il PI- nf nviCtnr6
 the whole matter must be rehasht ail and a new bill be introduced later o er No measure can go over from oI
 congress to another. The outcome ,oi stil1 doubtful, for it hangs on the ve,
 slender margin of one or two vot H. at the most. Suffragists continue
 hold street meetings and flock to u dc capitol, urging senators either to ho a. fast or fall into line, assthe case m;
 be- The antis are no less eager, D ,re are resting on their cars, after the .o. victory of last October when the b ~ was defeated in the senate.' even ] te. ter the presidents personal appeal f oI votes. But the militant ladies are T he appreeiative of what the preside is cid. One day last week q number
 miiitants held meeting in Iafayet ers sduare just opposite the White Hou on and unfurled big yellow and purI ost banner which bore inscriptions d rogatory to the president. They we
 met with shower of eggs whi or would not have passed censorship
 a the food administration. It was not on large gathering but there were pler
 of eggs. Policemen tried to duell err disturbance but both the ladies " rg. carried the heckling banner and Les ladies who threw the eggs held f; ASe to their positions till the banner R