The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1918-05-20


We have an offer of cooperation from
the English officers Association. We
have felt from the very beginning that
we ought to develop our own material
here to the utmost before we call on
any foreign officers, but it looks now
as if 1t might be necessary to call on
foreign officers, to have a reserve
force on hand to meet any emergency
that may arise.
I'VE have started training ships for
training sailors, firemen, cooks and
stewards, oilers and water tenders.
We have in operation the Governor
Dingley at Galveston and the Cover
nor Cobb is at sea. Our program
calls for giving these ships five days
out of the seven each week at sea, so
as to give the men their sea legs. The
old army transport Meade is being
used as a receiving ship.
I'VE divide the men into squads OF
ten each, under an able seaman as in
structor. One Of the principal things
is to teach them lifeboat work.
With training every day for thirty
days we feel that those men are prob
ably as good in handling lifeboat as
the average sailor on board steamer.
"One rather interesting incident
demonstrated that fact. A training
ship was being towed, boilers and en-
lgines out of commission, to Boston by
a navy tug in heavy gale. The tug
ran short of coal and was obliged to
put to port. They felt that there was
danger of the ship going ashore dur
ing the night, so the captain ordered
the men to abandon the ship. It was
getting along towards dark, but they
launched their lifeboat with the wind
blowing 60 miles an hour, took nearly
60 men off and transferred them to
the navy tug. All of this work was
done by our recruits, who had only
had about five weeks training, with
lcut any casualty Of any kind, which
was pretty good demonstration as
to what that training means.
1.-THE fleet that I have outlined will
hold 5000 men. We plan to put that
number through each month. We have
a receiving ship now in New York
'harbor, the Dorothy Bradford, to keeI
a reserve number of men there all the
time to meet any emrgncy. We also
hope to have similar ship at New.
Iport News, similar receiving station
ship at San Francisco, and similar
station at Seattle. The demand FOL
men would appear to be about 18,OO(
men on the west coast in the mex
eighteen months. We also have un
der consideration a receiving ship al
New Orleans.
"For getting men, we have made
use Of a chain of drug stores through
lout the country. The drug store, es
pecially in a country town, is a sor
10. a social center, open every day, ant
every evening, which makes them al
, ideal enrolling station. These store
have given us nearly 1000 enrolling
stations. The cost to the Shippin.
Board has been almost nothing,
"As to the special training OF fire
men, in the district around Chicago
including Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana
, Ohio and Michigan, we are making
special drive to get men who hav
at least six months experience in fir
ing stationary boilers, feeling tina
;. men with that experience would max
:, exceedingly good material from whic
. to develop firemen at sea. We will, 0
: course, put those men on board GU
training ships and give them actua
firing experience there.
1--WE have established an advisor
:, committee to the recruiting service
made up of the president of every as
ISOLATION or union that has anythin
g to do with the manning of the mel
y chant marine. We have had tn
II heartiest cooperation from them, S
: that the men that we have been pu
!. ting on board ships have been we
| received by their fellow workers, an