The evening leader. (Tarpon Springs, Fla.) 191?-19??, 1918-05-20

AS the new ships of the merchant
marine glide down the ways, the need
for men grows more pressing. Abund-
ant opportunity to aid in winning the
war is offered the crews of the new
vessels, with the certainty that when
peace comes there will be further adj
venture and good pay in carrying
American commerce throughout the
world.
Recruiting of the boys and 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 serv-
ice, headed by Henry Howard, with
headquarters at Boston, who has out
lined to union men and steamship
companies what has already been es-
tablished.
About year ago we realized the
shortage that was going to arise when
the new fleet was finished" Mr. How
ard said" and we started the training
of officers, both deck and engineer. We
established a train of schools extend
ing 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 cooperation of the
steamboat inspection service. No man
was admitted to our schools for Off
GERS unless he could first qualify for
experience required by the rules of
the steamboat inspection service. That
obviates the training of any dead ma
terial. After men get their licenses,
we place them, as far as possible, on
board steamships as junior officers, to
get actual bridge experience, for thir-
ty to sixty days. During that period
they get $75 month, with no bonus,
paid by the emergency fleet corpora
ton, so that the only expense to the
steamship companies taking these
men is the food they eat.
1--WE have turned out officers so fast
that a great many have not been find
ing positions in the merchant marine,
and have gone into the navy. 1t has
been, to a certain extent, short cut
to a commission in the navy, going
through our schools, owing to lack of
cooperation in many of the steamship
lines in taking these men on. We be-
Ieve, however, in view of the action
that was taken by the American
Steamship association some weeks ago
! that this will now be Strengthened out,
and That We VIII get tie places. =
"There have been licensed, since the
first of 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 Johns Hopkins,
in Baltimore; the Case School of APP
piled Science in Cleveland, and the
Tulane university of Washington, in
Seattle. Then outside of those insti-
tutions we have been giving special
engineering courses in Philadelphia, 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 Eat the Seaman's institute in
New York. We are starting an addi-
tional school in Berkeley, California.
eve 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 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 it might be necessary to call on
any foreign officers, to have reserve
force on hand to meet any emergency
that may arise.
1--WE have started training ships for
sailors, firemen, cooks and stewards,
oilers and water tenders. We have in
operation the Governor Dingley at
Galveston and the Governor 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 re-
ceiving ship.
eve 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 probably as
good in handling lifeboat as tht
average sailor on board a steamer.
Zone rather interesting incident il