Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-01-31
YEANDLE SCORES
COAST GUARDFO
Bitterly Attacks Those Who
Undermine MoraIe-;Convict-
ed Guardsmen Sentenced.
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press
NEW YORK, January 30.-The SEN
fencing today at Atlantic city OF
eight Coast Guardsmen to confine-
ment for a year in the naval prison
at Portsmouth N. H.. brought from
Lieut.. Comdr. S. S. Yeandle Of Wash
ington, an outspoken criticism of
those insidious forces which seek to
undermine the morale of the service.
The eight men were sentenced for
offenSes ranging from disobedIence TO
smuggling.
Comdr. Yeandle. who is second IN
command of the Coast Guard. said
guardsmen find it easier to face the
bullets of the rum runners and the
perilS OF the sea than to bear the
tauntS and jibes OF their companions
ashore. 1t is this condition which
makes the lack of enthusiasm a big
problem in the Coast Guard, he be-
| lieveS. and causes some OF the men
to accept the ever-present oners OF
rum runners.
The guardsmen go to sea In small
75-foot boats, Comdr. Yeandle pointed
out. The boats pitch badly, tossed by
giant waves. Sleep or hot meals are
Impossible. Night after night the oil
skin clad figures keep their silent
vigil under the stars. For hours they
lie plunging about, prey for singing
spray and chilling winds.
InsuIted OH Shore.
After days of this they return to
port, to be greeted with such epithets
as booze gobs" and rum navy men.
1T is the lack Of public support
that is doing the most harm to the
morale of the Coast Guard" Comdr.
Yeandle said. ESPECIALLY is this true
in the so-called wet communities
along the Atlantic Coast.
Coast Guard men stationed at the
picket boathouse at Sandy Hook COM
plain that their wives are frequently
insulted on their way TO the stores
at Atlantic Highlands, n. j. Other
Coast Guard men from base on
Staten Island have been deliberately
ASA ulted ashore. At New London,
Conn, a Coast Guard sailor was muir
dered in cold blood. His slayer has
never been apprehended.'
The ease with which owners OF rum
boats secure their release after cap
ture also was cited by Comdr. candle
as a cause for the loss of morale in
the Coast Guard service. Frequent
ly," he said. when a patrol boat
brings in d prize, attorneys are at
the dock to secure its release. II
it is held by the authorities and sold
later the rum runners buy 1t back.
In at least one instance the same boat
has been captured six different times
with contraband.
The i-prohibition citizen, who
''looks down" upon the Coast Guard.
threatens to destroy the honorable
reputation which the service has borne
since its inception, Comdr. Yeandle
believes. "A lad whose father and
grandfather before him served hon.
orably in the Coast Guard enlists
with a high ideal of service" he as
serted.
Morale Hard Hit.
ITO him the Coast Guard repre-
sents tradition: it's uniform. a badge
of honor and an emblem of service.
He goes home on furlough, proud of
his new bluejaCket's uniform. Then
comes the awakening, He is called
booze COB and one OF those rum navy
men Perhaps the girls will not dance
with him, preferring their flaSk-toting
companions.
Those things do not hurt the vet
eran with a 5-inch campaign bar on
his chest. But to the raw sailor from
the Ohio farm or the small Kentucky
town, they are tragic. He returns to
his ship disillusioned, dissatisfied. 1t
is natural that his attitude should
spread TO others.
The Coast Guard considers the war
against Rum Row won. 1t points with
pride to the two solitary ships, where
a year ago there were many, and calls
attention to the absence of the legion
of speed boats, which was present a
few months ago. But it also feels that
its job is permanent, and officers eX-
press the fear that unless more public
support is forthcoming, many of the
guardsmen will continue to feel that
they are enforcing prohibition all by
themselves"