The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1919-01-29

marine commanders 90 - =
ing they could make, and lna' pus
,,tt,a Of the gambling aspect to It tna'
So appeals to the Americans
We were held on the pier for almost
a. bonr while the Red Cross ladies'
served us coffee and rolls and iieu
tenant told us all about the censor
ship regulations, etc. Then we pro-
ceeded to walk the gang plank anu
until one has done this thing pen' "
suob a mission as ours, they have
sensation to experience. Every man
had to verify his name, his loen'ih
cation number, and the relative 10
wished to have notified in case any
thing happened to him.
Each man was handed a 'lche'
which had the number of his compare
ment and the number of his DUNK We
we're assigned to Compartment E-4'
on p deck. I had often tried to pic
ture how the men were arranged Oh
the deviation and it was Sirprise
to me; the hunks were four sectio"
high, or in other words, we slept TOUR
deep" I drew the third one from the
bottom, No. 239, and ! found 1t rathet
uncomfortable though not as much 81
as the top one which was oceupieu
J by Sergeant Robinson.
The ship to me was a wonder u
would have been a wonderful sight IN
neace times and now it was infinitely
more so. At the first meeting WIFE
one of our officers was told that the
Ieyiathon was 924 feet long, with
| beam of 100 feet, drawing AZ teet Oh
water and was 80 feet high above the
water line. 1t is too wide to go
through the Panama canal, and TOO
high to pass under the Brooklyn
bridge. But the thing that interested
!! me most was the statement that there
were $4,000 passengers on board, more
than twice the number carried by any
other transport.
We were about the last troops 10
board the ship, some had already been
aboard two or three days before us,
and we did not sail until Saturday, or
two more days. On account OF the
confusion we were ordered to stay in
our hunks, and it was hot as hell
down in the hold.
Try to imagine, If you can, the
problem Of feeding 10000 men (only
those below the rank Of sergeant first
class ate at the main mess) twice a
T. dav in one mess hall when the men
9 were auartered on four decks in abou,
!, twelve different compartments or
g each deck. 1t would never have beer
G done without a perfect system being
r worked out. OF course, there was
e lot of confusion at first, but after thu
i first day it worked as If by magic
II and the total time consumed in feed
q ing the 10000 was only two hours
G they could dish out food faster IN the
5 mess than any place have ever been
| Eight lines were served all the tim
! and man had no time to loiter. Yo'
e stuck out your mess kit and it wa
q filled with savory food before yo
y could say damn" Next you were Civ
$ en- shove that sent you sailing dow
to the first vacant place. The trut
n Of the matter is that I never kneN
II what happened to me from the tim
II I started down the stairs until all G
4 sudden felt myself bump u
r against fellow beside me, and con
n ing to I saw that / was all ready t
q eat. There was an abundance {
re food and it was we'll cooked. Plent
or of everything, great variety, and
q far the best eats I have had since
II have been lin the army. (That got
@ for France, too after being here 81
months.
III The dining room where we put G
or the feed bag, was the main linir
J! room of the ship in peace times.
ol was an immense place with beaut
al full domed ceiling, three decks
a height. The walls at one time we
st artistically decorated but now we
Oh the worse for wear, though this W
n only the seventh trip the ship h
ng made as an American transport. Tv
er rows Of large white columns supper
ry ed a balcony which was USED as
lei troop compartment.
"a We were all issued pamphlets g
RS ing warning and necessary direction
ed among them the rules of "Aland
I'D Ship drill" We were compelled
lb- Continued on Page 3.)