New Britain herald., 1918-01-23
FACTS ABOUT THE AMERICAN NAVY
 BY LIEUT. F1rzfzUG11 GREEN. U N.
Overtime

, A math ema tlc1an may err. A bull let may miss it's mark. An eighteen hour train may make it in twenty. But woe betide the military man who is late.
 Routine is the grinning idol he must worship. And it grinned regularly at the woe which was Daly's during his first summer in the Fleet. Liberty doesn't come any too often in peace time even in port. Whereas in war, and when Base X may be anywhere from Greenland to Guinea by way of Hoboken, shore leave be- comes the kind of dream a young man has on g. full stomach and lighted pipe.
 But Daly's bucket was 6 flagship. And since the Admiral was frequently , called to conferences ashore she was a lot in port. At least two days q 1 week the ships company were given regular llDerty-watch and watch 1 that is half one day and half the next. After working hours, sometimes as 1 early as p. m. the party in best uni- 1 forms, shaved pink, and armed with 1 "coupla iron -beans' (dollars) would 1 muster aft. Followed a thorough in l spection for non-reg. duds for cer- | tain interruptions wretches who didn't
 rate liberty, and other infractions of i the law. Then all would embark in l huge motor launches drawn up at the l Gangway like coaches for a roofing 1 gang. Nearly 200 men can be crowd
 cd in each of these roomy boats.
 Just before the coxswain showed off 1 deck final shouted adm onition: l Liberty up on the dock at seven 1 thirty tomorrow morning!" l 0oI, {lo
 that he wouldn't be there until sev- | en-forty.
 I He wasn't bad. He didn't drink,
 nor fight, nor get jugged-anyway not as a regular thing. Rather did he 1 obey his fond mothers injunction 1 and look up some obscure aunt or unc1e-"to punch a bloomin' meal ] ticket" as he told his friends next 1 morning.
 1 But wherever he went or how, in ] variablY he came back late. Not way 1 late, but just in time to see the lib 1 erty boat shove off. He seemed fated, | hYpn otized, bewitched-he couldn't { make that boat!
 "Daly late again." the Captain
 would cSclaim in a kind of hopeless | impatience at mast next day. The ! Old Man knew the boy was just care l less, and that the brig (ship's jail) l on bread and water would only tend l to make him sullen. Experience had i shown that extra duty and restriction l aboard had little effect. The case l looked hopeless.
 Young man." the Captain would l say, shaking his finger and in his l sternest tones don't you realize that 1 we are at war? We must, depend 1 upon every man to the minute, aye | to the second! And he who breaks 1 faith should be shot!" The last word 1 roared.
 Which would scare Daly so he'd ! have to get the master at-arms to tell 1 him whether he was going to be exe- 1 cuted or not.
 1 the only thing that wasn't done to
 him. Yet he was still incorrigible 1 Not purposely, for he had periods ] of reformation that showed that he l was really trying.
 1 He's coming to a K.O. (l1ick-out)", ! despaired his division officer one
 morning. "Flanigan," to the turret
 ca ptain, do you see any way to
 save the beggar? He's got the mak- 1 ing of a good man too. Well" was the Batt1e-Axe scented
 reply, i've seen 'em good and bad, 1 big and little, heaven horn and Devil sent Daly ain't no rose in a bed of 1 thorns. But he's got his virtoos; and l I'm thinkin', the canteen'H save
 him."
 What do you mean?" Just this, sir. We've been out so much lately that the Paymaster 1 is selling about a million dollars ! worth of sweet stuff week to these kids we're getting as recruits. The
 ships canteen never done a business
 like it since I been aboard
 And, sir, ,''--dropping his voice till
 1t lapsed like a leaky steam trap
 "Daly is the head of the line como
 every noon he's alive! Gut his can
 teen rights, sir, when he's late from
 liberty, and he'll come back the night
 before rather than miss his boat
 and his 'chocolate-cream bar next
 dav."
 Flanigan was right. And now for
 the youngsters "Canteen cut" is tht
 awfullest punishment in the book.