The Washington times., 1919-11-10
LIFE OF COB ONE
GRAND CLOTHES JAG

Fashions may come and fashions
may go. but sailors clothes will re-
main the same forever. judging from
to that worn by the sailors who
piloted Mr.. c. Columbus across the At
lantic In 1892. and stumbled across
the United States.
So says a bulletin issued by the re-
cruiting service OF the navy, telling
at length the story OF a sailor and
his clothes and why. According to
this bulletin the sailor is proud of
the garments with which he Is cloth
ed, and the "goo' likes the cut of
jauntiness about him at all times
that proclaims his calling. The fact
that the rolf OF the sailor is due to
his clothes Is proved conclusively bY
prohibition, and now that no doubt
remains as to the cause, here goes
the sailors yarn concerning his
wearing apparel
Years ago, in the days of wooden
ships, when seamen had to climb the
masts and dangle on the yards, reef
ing and furling the sails in all sorts
OF weather. convenience and custom
ordained the bell-shaped lower ends
OF the trousers. Time and modern
construction OF the man o. war have
not changed the pattern OF these
trousers. Why the bell-shaped lower
ends were necessary for a sailor to
climb the masts and reef the sails is
not stated in the Navy Departments
bulletin, but IL seems they were, any
how. and they still wear 'em. 1t was
always thought the happy trousers
were SO designed that the sailor could
roll up his trousers when swabbing
the deck. This may be a wrong
guess, however.
Black NeckerehIef.
The sailorman still cIings" to his
black silk neckerchief. Draped about
his low necked blouse and. tied across
his breast. il lends a distinction that
belongs to the sea- Whether the sailor
"clings' to this part of his uniform
because OF navy regulations or from
choice remains a moot question, but
he still wears it The black silk
neckerchief is a relic of a token Of
mourning. worn by British sailors
when Lord Nelson died. Since. 1t has
been adopted as a regulation part of
the uniform.
THE sailor is also a trihe fussy
about his hats" continues the bull
letin. and he has three of them All
the hats are worn at varying angles,
none OF them being worn straight
upon the head of the sailor. The
more to the windward & hat slants,
the better time the sailor is having.
and the degree of the slant is direct
" proportional to the sailors length
Of service in the Navy. A mystery
characterizes the sailors hat. No
one Is ever initiated into this mys-
terry OF how 1t Is kept on until he
Joins the navy.
Several New Garments
War necessitated the addition of sew
eral new garments to the sailorman's
wardrobe. For service in the cold
seas OF the arctic region the sailors
were provided with heavy pea coats
of extra weight. Admiral Samuel
MCGOWAN, chief of the bureau of sup
plies and accounts, recently made the
statement that "if the sailor had on
any more clothes than he is now
wearing he couldn't walk
Into the sailors bag on the first
day OF enlistment goes 800 worth OF
clothing, containing everything from
a jack knife to a pea jacket, with
buttons, thread and. needles. for the
sailor does all his own mendinz while
at sea- The equipment is changed to
meet the conditions OF weather and
place OF service. and one OF the hard.
est duties with which a sailor Is con
fronted Is keeping check on all his
equipment and seeing that none OF IL
Is borrowed permanently by his best
friend and bunkie.