The Coolidge examiner., 1933-06-23

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54R lME was when the merchant ma
"a rlne was one of Americas proud
est boasts. Those were the days
- when the famous Yankee clipper
I0A ships were carrying our flag, the
III " Stars and Stripes into virtually
N0N every port of the world and when
E34z8 America, rather than Great Bri-
Ht tain. was the mistress OF the
seas" at least, so far as merchant
shipping was concerned.
But when steamships replaced sailing vessels
the United States began to lose her place In the
sun in this regard and the Civil war saw the end
OF our dominance of the seas with merchant
men. In the years that followed various efforts
were made to regain the place we had lost to
other nations, but these efforts were not highly
successful. At the opening of the World war we
had only II ships carrying the American flag
and American trade to foreign ports and Amer
lean seamanship, as a consequence, had almost
become a forgotten tradition
But recent years have seen change being
wrought, and today, under more recent stmulat
ing governmental policies supporting our peace
time navy" the merchant marine, we have
climbed up to second place in world tonnage
and now a total OF COO ships plow their way
through the seven seas to more than 500 ports
In foreign lands.
To provide for the increased complement of
trained desk officers and engineers to man our
constantly increasing peacetme navy, Uncle
Sam has four nautical training schools mostly
aboard real ships where boys can study, grad
uate and stand good chance OF becoming third
officers or assistant engineers in the merchant
fleet at a rate of pay ranging from $125 a month
for third mates upwards TO $500 for shippers and
engineers, and with cruises to interesting for
eign ports sprinkled in while they getting
their education.
Ia VorE
State Merchant Marine academy. now based at
the Brooklyn navy yard aboard the U. S. S.
Empire State and the Annex: the Pennsylvania
Nautical school, based at Philadelphia, aboard
the U. s. s. Annapolis; the Massachusetts Nau-
tical school, based at Boston. aboard the o. S. S.
Nantucket, and on the Pacific coast, the Cali
fornia Nautical school, based at California City,
on San Francisco bay, aboard the U. s. S. Cali
fornia State. Every year the 500 young men, be-
tween the ages of seventeen and twenty-one
years. undergo training in these four schools.
For birds eye view of life at the academy,
let's visit the U. s. s. Empire State.
AS one drives into the Brooklyn navy yard a
khaki garbed United States marine corporal
steps up to the visiting automobile. asks the
callers business and sends for bluejacket, who
conducts one past battleship-gray painted de-
stroyers cruisers and other navy vessels docked
In the yard couple of turns along railroad
tracked streets lead TO the gangplank Of the q
5. s. Empire State.
A rile-belted clicks his heels, salutes
and leads to the skipper's quarters forward
below the bridge. The skipper is Capt. L. B
Green. second assistant superintendent of the
academy commanding the training ship. He is
1 graduate of the United States Naval academy
1t Annapolis.
sharp wind slices across the navy yard, but
Captain Green marches down gangway con
necting the training ship with its auxiliary yes
sel living alongside-the Annex The latter is
converted sailing ship. Her once towering fore
mast and mainmast stubhed. She carrie:
no rigging. but has a broad deck for boat anC
other drills Below decks she is laid out fol
school rooms, dormitores, electrical and me
chanical work shops
Cadets in the Annex are nominal newcomers
Here they are taught mathematics. navigation
hygiene rope and wire cable use and splicing
signalling. fire prevention, launching and han
ding of boats and a hundred other maritime
duties Here too, they have their first taste o
discipline aboard ship
The cadets are hard at work In one room
equipped with regulation school desks, they ar,
deep in trigonometry. Below, in the hold of th
Annex they are working in The machine shop
Others are bending and weaving heavy wir
cable ends around oval eTe. Still anothe
group has taken heavy water pump apart an,
is busily at work putting il together again
Captain Green proceeds through the passages