The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-09-26
BY ALICE S. HOWARD,
Chief, Social Service Bureau, U. s. Shipping Board,\ Recruiting
 Service.
pTHE Social Service Bureau of
 the Tinted States Shinnine

/ the United States Shipping
 caard Recruiting Service was established on February l, 1918, and on February the writer was sworn into office as its chief.
 The original purpose of the bureau was to engage in welfare work among merchant marine apprentices at sta- lions and on ships established by the United States Shipping Board Re cruiting Service. The stations were to train the thousands of young men who responded to the governments war call for crews for the great fleet of nationally built cargo vessels with which America was preparing to de- feat Germany's submarine assaults on the worlds shipping.
 A training base for merchant marine apprentices, known as the Atlantic training Station, had been established by the Shipping Board Recruiting Service at East Boston, Mass, in Jan pary, 194S, and the arrival there,- in the stress of war conditions and in gloomy Winter weather, of large num- bers of young men from all sections tf the country cast of the Rocky Mountains, created a problem in wei tare organization that had to be met promptly and along original lines.
 Started From Nothing.
 No department existed for inaugu- rating and carrying on the work to De done, and no public funds were available for the purpose. It was pecessary to start literally from bothing, except the official sanction bf the United States Shipping Board.
 Starting as a division of maritime training service hitherto unknown, the Social Service Bureau necessarily made slow progress in the first few months of it's existence, and large lmoynt, of personal effort had to be expende6 before majority of the leading organizations assisting the Army and the Navy were prevailed npon, one after another, to work with the Social Service Bureau by extend- hg their help to men in the Merchant Marine.
 The labors of the Social Service Bureau grew rapidly from the begin ping, as the training station at East Boston was followed quickly by others, at San Francisco. Seattle, Norfolk, New Orleans and Cleveland, and by the successive commissioning ,f training ships, until a total of 12 belonged to the training fleet.
 The rapidity of this growth may be indicated by the fact that the numbers of apprentices attached to the train hg ship and stations increased from about 600 in February, 1918, to 5852 ih September, 1918. The total num- Der of apprentices accepted for train Ing in the period covered from Feb euary 1. 191s-Jnne 30, 1919. was 24,- l84.
 Just 5rior to the signing of the lrmistice high tide was reached, num- efically, n the arrival of men at the training stations. though the tide has never ceased, and under peace con ltions continues to flow steadily on.
 Extended Over World. By the time the change from war to peace conditions had come, the work of the Social Service Bureau had developed beyond bounds which even the most sanguine hopes had set for t. The departure of thousands of young men from the training ships, as members of merchant crews voyaging b the farthest ports of the world, and their return to many different home ports, automatically had extended the Interest and efforts of the bureau, and Us work had crystallized into aiding he American merchant maripep