Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-06-09

the Revolution, while before that the
AdamSeS had put out to sea in boats
the Rockford Morning Star suggests: 1t
must have been with a considerable
pang that the Secretary of the Navy
ruled that there would be no more
holystoning Of decks in the American
Navy. Decks have been holystoned
since first an American ship hoisted
sail. But ships are different now, and
;ghat the muscular sailor lads have
been doing to the decks of modern war
ships with their holystones has been
extremely expensive for the Navy De-
partment. Give a sailor bit of sand
stone and pail of water and he'll go
through the lightweight deck of mod
ern cruiser in no time at all. The old
planking of other days has gone in the
interest of economy of weight If you
save a couple of tons of timber, you
can mount an additional gun, and these
new cruisers are built to carry arma-
ment and engines and not to haul
heavy timbers around
1.-THE navy bean may be the next to
CO." warns the Milwaukee Sentinel, but
that paper excuses the recent order on
the grounds that it was mot to save
sailors but to save decks" since the
hardest teakwood meltS away under a
brisk holyStoning, and teakwood is eX-
pensive." The Sentinel recalls the his
tory of the doomed institution with the
statement: THE holystone is not in
trinsically holy, and its influence on
the language of seamen is decidedly I'M
holy; but it has been an integral part
Of the Navy for so long that readjust-
ment following its adjustment may
have profound effects. Sailors may for
get how to swear, and going to sea on a
battle wagon may become as maYdenly
and proper an enterprise as college
girls boat race on the river. For the
benefit of the uninitiated, it should be
explained that a holystone consists of a
block of stone weighing from Is to $50
pounds, depending on whether you take
the estimate of the boatswains mate in
charge or of the seaman operator. A
long handle is fastened to the stone
with an iron band. The deck poliSher
pushes the implement vigorously up and
down upon the teakwood. which has
been wetted and sprinkled with sand.
Get one of the children to sit on the
snow shovel and then push the shovel
vigorously on the cement sidewalk to
get the effect of holystone operation)"
THE decks of the great ships of war
may be a trifle less spick-and-span,"
according to the Kalamazoo Gazette,
but they'll wear a lot longer. So, one
suspects, will the men of the fleet.
OWdDDulB OcCkS Isl u lie SdllOE 5 lQea
of good time, but it's lot better than
getting down on hands and knees to
massage them with holystone. The
order against this naval accessory is
one economy measure that won't be
received with groans by the boys who
have Joined up to see the world through
a portfolio"
THE holystone and its whitened
deck" declares the Hartford Courant,
ARE not the only sacrifices to economy.
Next to his deck. shining brass and i'm
maculate vanished brightwork were
the delights of a smart skipper. Much
deck brightwork has been painted over
to save the amending necessity of wash
ing off the salt with fresh water. and
chromium plate and paint have light
ened the polisher'S duties. Sentiment
talists may mourn their passing, but
there seem to be no good reasons for
retaining such useless breeders of
drudgery."