The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1938-04-08

upon LIE SudTQlIlS OF WHICH some
day the safety of the nation may
depend.
everywhere, within this huge,
compact, self = sufficient floating
city were young men at work, or
at play, contented, happy, effic-
lent, interested in life and work,
liking apparently what they were
doing and the conditions under
which they were working. The
NEW MEXICO is what is known as
a Happy Ship" The men like her,
and they like their work. You feel
that the men inside her are in
terested in what they are dom,
that they are craftsmen rather
than just enlisted men, all men,
bers of a team or guild, and they'll
sail and fight for her while it is
humanity possible to do so and
perhaps even a little while after
that because that is the American
way.
The writer had a small spell of
enlistment as a COB during the
war. The enlisted men and rat
ings of today are of a much higher
caliber in intelligence and physique
than they were 20 years ago. Gobs
are still gobs and always will be,
but those of today are smarter,
cuieter and much more ambitious
and efficient than those of a
quarter of a century ago..
And as n who has had a
great deal to do with athletes and
the physical condition of average
youth, during the past 10 years or
, 50. the crew of this battleship was
unusually impressive to me. I saw
them in their showers, or dressing
by their lockers. They're in shape.
They have what the athletes doc
tors call "muscle-tone," clear firm
skins, healthy looking bodies. They
were all alive, alert, clean,
scrubbed and brushed and vital.
They all looked as though they
knew their jobs.
"An impressive point On the tour
vas the atmosphere of voluntary
discipline. There was no leaping
to attention and obsequious salut-
ing. Men not occupied saluted, but
one felt that it was a matter of
courtesy. Men who were at work
on a job kept on working because
the job was important to them and
interesting to them. Most of them
never looked up.
discipline and respect were
there, but one had no feeling that
any one vas being pushed around
or driven. Orders were carried out
because they were part of the job
and to be anticipated. One felt
that all of these men were capable
of thinking for themselves, that
because they knew their jobs they
would have been surprised if the
order had not been given. Each
one was something of ar expert
in his line and most of them had
ambitions in the higher ratings
and therefore knew more than
they were required to know. No
nation in the world can match us
in this. It is truly our first line
| of defense.
1.-The navigation officer talked of
his crew of quartermaSterS ratings
the way a football coach talks of
his team. They are his gang. He
said: If I go and the other Of
ficers, too, in an action, they'll
keep her sailing. They know what
to do
1.-THE writer had breakfast with
Admiral Bloch, but lunch was
chow in the crews quarters with
the gobs.
1.-The lunch consisted of celery
soup, fried chicken, mashed po-
tatoes, string beans, apple pie with
cheese, bread and butter, black OIL
ives and coffee. This one meal out
of the three was served the men
! on a ration allowance per man
that runs today between fifty and
| sixty cents a day-for all three