Iron County record. [volume] (Cedar City, Utah) 1893-1982, 1918-09-20

get taste Of the real sea aboard more than 100
coastwise steamships
Engineer officers are trained at the Stevens
institute OF Technology In Hoboken, where men
win NJ u. degree or Its equivalent receive inten-
sive training In marine engineering.
thousands OF men being trained for the
naval auxiliary reserve at the Great Lakes (I)
station.
All men turned out by these schools are as
much part OF the navy as IL they had been grad
uated from Annapolis. All of t.ese future OIL
GERS are American citizens and will form the
natural nucleus of n great merchant marine.
All navy crews on merchant ships for the du'
ration OF the war advocated by the navy
early In the conflict 1t was the belief that all
such ships should be placed under the strictest
discplne that with permanept>crews. efficiency
aboard ship would be increased; that the ships
would be self-sustalnlng In that the crew would
be able to make all repairs that the loading and
unloading could be more efficiently done. and that
several hundred thousand Americans would join
the service. where 1t was believed they would
remain after the war.
1t was the idea of the service that by this
means the love Of the would be planted again
In the American heart Men who once had sniff
of the salt ar would probably never be satisfied
to go back to the cities farms. They would
form the nucleus of 100 per cent merchant
marine.
III tue UcbinnlHB nODOuy WuHlcu government
controlled cargo service. Steamship owners
feared 1t meant federal control. The navy had
only about 2600 officers and most of these
needed To aid the 10000 reserve force to break
In the 100000 new enlisted men. Gradually, az
has been stated the manning and operation of the
merchant ships devolved upon the navy and the
overseas transportation service was organized to
handle 1t.
In some quarters 1t is believed that the entire
work OF manning and ODeratup RhiDS
should be turned over to the navy Danger of
strikes among civilian crews Is feared. Ships
carrying cargo In time of war should not II Is
thought, be rated as private property of any In.
dividual or company. They must not be In the
hands of men who are working for money only.
Tliterate men. anarchists, socialists anu the dis
loyal may become members of mercantile crews
whereas only men who are intelligent and physlc-
ally fit may become soldiers seamen of the
nation. Soldiers work for $50 month and the
sense of duty alone. Merchant seamen receive
today 500 a month or more and extra pay for
overtime and Sundays, and they not under
any obligation to remain mt sea.
At the outbreak OF the war there were 5000
Germans In the American merchant marine
Sixty per cent OF the members of the Seamen's
union are said to be foreigners. AS the service
was run under antewar conditions 1t i'm.
possible to hire Americans and the class of for
eigners who would work on these ships was large
~
Strikes are said to be likely at any time aboard
ships manned by foreign laborers. An incident
is cited In which the of frelghter bound
TO Europe with cargo Of essentials for our sol
diers refused to obey the commanders order TO
assist In getting up ammunition when submarines
were reported ahead, on the ground that II was
Sunday and the La Toilette law provided only
for watch duty on Sunday.
ON another occasion II civilian crew demanded
overtime for performing on Sunday certain
duty provided by law. Civilian sailors OF cargo
sbips have been caught In the act of signaling
10 enemy submarines and tireroom fo.ces have
bolted for the deck upon the sounding of au
alarm of danger.
Ships manned with naval officers and crews
nre safe from strikes and mutlIv Efficiency and
competent operation are certain On two or three
occasions civilian crews that have struck have
been instantly supplanted by navy men and the
shin carried through with its precious cargo for
the American men at the front
Some students of naval strategy are OF the
opinion that great part of the United States
navy might be sunk without to any great extent
affecting the result OF the war, but IL the cargo
ships do not get across the Is lost to ths.
allies