Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-01-25
BY REX COLLIER.

BY REX COLLIER.
The storm had so delayed the Mary
land that President-elect Hoover de-
cided to set back the whole schedule "a
hours.
Accordingly, the landing at Amapala.
the first port of call, had been put off
until Monday, November 26. The post
ponement had been radioed to American
diplomatic officers all along the line.
The delay was not unwelcome to Mr..
Hoover. 1t afforded him more time in
which to prepare the addresses he was
to make within a few hours of each
other in the neighborly Central Ameri-
can republics of Honduras and Ell Sal
vador. and he devoted much of Satur-
day to shaping up these initial key
note" speeches. The change in Sched-
ule also gave him the benefit of a rest
full Sabbath at seattle first since the
ship left San Pedro.
Although other members of the party
were impatient to begin the round Of
visits ashore, 1t was plain that the flu
ture President was thoroughly intrigued
by life aboard battleship and was de-
termined to enjoy every minute of 1t.
The fact that he had been given the
rating of senior officer on board" had
served to stimulate his interest in Navy
routine and Navy tradition.
Official Timekeeper.
Tradition? The Navy is all wrapped
up in it. Mr.. Hoover had learned that
by personal experience, while enjoying
his exalted rank of senior officer"
Since some Of these Navy customs
proved so interesting to the President
elect. 1t might not be amiss to discuss
a few Of them in these "reminiscences.
AS Senior officer" Mr.. Hoover learned
to his amaZement that he must serve
as the ships official timekeeper. Under
this custom the officer of the deck re-
ports the time thrice daily to the senior
officer for the latter's consideration and
II the time as reported seems
the senior officer orders the
ships chronometers to be set accord
ingly.
Thus 1t developed that every night at
8 o'clock an orderly sought out Senior
Officer Hoover, wherever he might be.
into salute and announced:
The officer Of the deck reports eight
bells. SIR"
With twinkle in his eyes Mr.. Hoover
would acknowledge the salute and re-
spond gravely:
Make 1t So"
1t is said that more than once Mr..
Hoover was tempted to take out his
watch, advise the orderly that the off,
Ger OF the deck must be wrong and
suggest that the latter make 1t some
thing else. He wondered what would
happen in such an event. Happily
there Is no case on record Of senior
officer disputing the time with the
officer of the deck.
the monotony by adding that the
galley fires are out and the prisoners
secured
Fife and Drum Act Impresses.
Mr.. and Mrs. Hoover were impressed
by the fife and drum act that seryerd
to notify them that chow was ready.
One must hear the whimsical strain
piped by the fifer to appreciate its
appeal. The air is an old one, known
aS "Rost Beef of Old England" and
its lifting rhythm and haunting mel
ody carries one back through the Gen.
turtles to the banquet halls of dukes
and lords and others of the nobility.
Mr. Hoover is known to have been
amused at some of these quaint GUS
toms, dating back to the days of Old
Ironsides and beyond that. even, to the
days when Merrie Olde England was
mistress of the seas But he was care
full to conceal his mirth out of respect
for their very antiquity. Others among
the civilian group were not so success
full in restraining their feelings how
ever.
Turning loose an irrepressible ag-
of in ClIRh
atmosphere of hoary tradition was GER
tain to play havoc with Navy diSci-
pline. Newspaper men have reputa-
ton for defying tradition They go to
formal banuuets in business clothes,
keep their hats on while noting down
the fact that the national anthem is
being played, and do all sorts of UNI
conventional things, according to. rell-
able authority.
Consider how embarrassing it must
have been tor the bo's'ns to have
round of civilian applause greet their
little piping act each evening at
bells, when the watch call for the life
boat crew is sounded, in accordance
with ancient Navy custom. A quaint
custom it is, too. Promptly at 8 o'clock
half dozen of the salty bo's'n mates
gather in a huddle near the lifeboatS,
put curious whistles to their mouths
and join in piping long, shrill and
plaintive signal that begins in low,
soft note, rises to heights of real fervor
and dies away again into silence. The
pipes then are dropped to the length
of black ribbon suspending them from
the neck and the 'deep-throated voices
of the tars burst forth into chant
that goes something like this, If the
memory of a wondering landlubber does
not fail him:
"Call-l-l-l tn watch! TIL watch, tn
lifeboat crew TO muster!'
Some Of Words Slurred.
Some of the words were slurred and
run together, so that the civilians were
completely baffled as to what it was
all about, and the mystery increased
when it was found that, despite all the
ceremony, nothing seemed to happen
afterWard to indicate that the watch
or the lifeboat crew or anybody else
was paying attention. The stunt was
SO well and faithfully performed by
the sailors, however, that the news
paper men insisted on giving the boys
a big hand after each evenings dem
onstration
Another source of wonderment to the
good will party during those first days
aboard ship was the system of loud
speakers used to broadcast orders, an
nouncements and calls of various kinds
in all parts of the ship. The amplifi-
ers were of the old fashioned brass horn
type and the speech that came through
them was just as indistinct and unin-
telligibe as that which thrilled those
who listened to the first monograph
How do you know what those things
are saying?" a correspondent asked
one of the officers.
We DON'T" he explained 1--WE know
what they ought TO be saying at GER
tain hours, and guess they are saying it,"
These varied phases of Navy life, aug
mented by the special entertainment
provided by indulgent officers, served
to keep the party in good spirits during
that first week at sea- Not the least
popular features was the ships mimeo-
graphed paper. The Hurricane, with