Cottonwood chronicle. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1917-current, 1918-04-12

inquiry as to the possibility of GO
ing through the shipyards but was
told that there was absolutely no
chance unless | had credentials
from the War or Navy depart
ment and had specific business,
which of course / had not and so
got to see very little of the yards.
They are also so located that it
is impossible to get birds-eye
view of the same except by
crawling the high board fence
and looking over, which too
might be very precarious, consid-
ering that armed patrols Soldier
boys in khaki stand guard at
distance of four or five hundred
feet apart day and night. No, I'd
rather try to climb a creased pole
with my ego to meetin' clothes"
on than try that board fence.
Uncle Sam has very thorough
and comprehensive system of
guarding against any interference
at the Bremerton yards and the
man who slips by will get a run
for his money alright. To show
to what extent he goes to safe
guard employees and property
against anarchists who might de-
stroy by fire or explosives the lives
OF employees and property, | need
only cite the identification system
used among the employees them
selves. Before anyone can get
employment he must swear allie
glance to the Stars and Stripes,
pass a physical examination, pass
a limited civil service examina-
ton, be vaccinated against ty-
phoid and smallpox and have his
photograph taken with an army
officer standing on his right side
with his left hand placed on the
applicants left shoulder, after
which he is given a number and
a button corresponding, which he
must at all times wear on his coat
or shirt lapel in plain view Of fell
low employees and guards. He
is given a copy of the photograph
in a leather case and he must at
all times have this with him and
suffer penalty if he loses it or is
caught within the yards at any
time without both the button or
photo. This is very unique, al
though it may be an old system.
The same army officer is on all
these photos and you can't have
the honor of having your picture
taken with him unless you work
in the yards.
The navy yard is large enough
to hold the entire United States
navy in deep anchorage, and mil
lions of dollars have been appro-
priated for improvements since
we went into the war. Several
huge modern buildings are now
under construction. Here in the
yards, ships are repaired and put
in frstclass condition, freight and
passenger steamers are remOdeled
into troop transports, many coast
wise steamers fitted up for trans
atlantic service, in fact anything
from a firstclass battleship to a
small lifeboat is built here. Some
five thousand men are employed
and the whole town is as one in
dustrial camp. Hotel and lodg-
ing accommodations are very linn
tied, almost every house has a sign
on the door or window "All Rooms
Taken" and at noon time the res
taurants are so crowded that con-
ditions almost approach a STAN
pede. Every house is occupied;
people are living in tents, garages,
wood-sheds; in fact anything that
affords some protection from the
weather.
Much has been said about the
fabulous wages paid men employ
ed in ship yards. | find that this
has been greatly exaggerated.
Here in Bremerton I was told
that the highest wage paid any
employee for skilled labor such as
operators of lifting cranes, lathe
men, riveters, drillers, men hav-
ing charge of planners or resaws,
etc, is So for an eight-hour day.
But of the five thousand or more
men working there, not more than
500 get that much. The base
price for unskilled labor is $3.50
and fully one half the men are in
this class. The others are divided
in different classes averaging
mostly $3.50 to $500. Glen
Hussman, who has been there
since about Dec. LIST, is yet draw
ing only $3.50 per day and while
he has been promoted three times
to more responsible positions, in
fact not positions but merely more
desirable work as also requiring
some previous experience, yet his
pay has never been raised. In