River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1918-09-05

get taste of the real sea aboard more than 100
coastwise steamships.
Engineer officers trained at the Stevens
Institute of Technology in Hoboken, where men
with NJ e. degree or. it's equivalent receive inten-
sive training in marine engineering.
Thousands of men are being trained for the
naval auxiliary reserve at the Great Lakes (1ll.)
station.
All men turned out by these schools are as
much part of the navy as if they had been grad
uated from Annapolis All of t-ese future OH
GERS are American citizens and will form the
natural nucleus of a great merchant marine
All navy crews merchant ships for the du-
ration of the war were advocated by the navy
early in the conflict 1t was the belief that all
such ships should be placed under the strictest
discipline; that with permanent crews, efficiency
aboard ship would be increased that the ships
would be self-sustaining 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 it was believed they would
remain after the war.
It 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 a sniff
of the salt air would probably never be satisfied
to go back to the cities farms. They would
form the nucleus of 100 per cent merchant
marine.
In the beginning nobody wanted government
controlled cargo service. Steamship owners
feared it meant federal control. The navy had
only about 1900 officers and most of these were
needed to aid the 10000 reserve force to break
in the 100000 new enlisted Gradually, as
has been stated, the manning and operation of the
merchant ships devOved upon the navy and the
overseas transportation service organized to
handle it.
In some quarters it is believed that the entire
work of manning and operating cargo ships
Tho nanO n
strikes among civilian crews is feared. Ships
carrying cargo in time of war should not it 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
lliterate men, anarchists, socialists and the dis
Ioyal may become members of mercantile crews
whereas only who are intelligent and physic-
allv fit may become soldiers seamen of the
nation Soldiers work for $50 month and the
sense of duty alone Merchant seamen receive
today $50 a month more and extra pay for
overtime and Sundays, and they are not under
any obligation to remain at sea-
At the outbreak of the there were 5000
Germans in the American merchant marine
Sixtv per cent of the members of the Seamen's
union are said to be foreigners. AS the service
was run under anteWar conditions it was inn
nossible to hire Americans and the class of for
oioners who would work on these ships was large
ly undesirable.
Strikes said to be likely at any Time ABOARD
ships manned by foreign laborers An incident
is cited in which the of freighter, bound
70 Europe with a 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 it was
sunday and the La Toilette law provided only
for watch duty on Sunday
: On another occasion civilian crew demanded
overtime for performing Sunday certain
dutv provided by law. Civilian sailors of cargo
sbins have been caught in the act of signaling
r. enemy submarines. and freroom forces have
holted for the deck upon the sounding of an
alarm of danger.
Sbins manned with naval officers and crews
ore safe from strikes and mutiny Efficiency and
competent operation certain. On two or three
occasions civilian crews that have struck have
heen Instantly supplanted by navy men and the
chin carried through with it's precious cargo for
+bo American men at the front.
Some students of naval strategy are of the
oninion that great part OF she United States
navy might be sunk without to any great extent
affecting Sae result of the war, Sut if the cargo
ships do 10. get across the TNr is lost to the
allies.