Evening star., 1942-08-26
Troopship al Sea
Well Crowded With
Armed Sentries
Patrols Ever on Prowl,
With Restricted Areas
Blocked by Guns
By WARD MOREHOUsE,

North American Newspaper Alliance.
ABOARD A UNITED STATES
TRoOPsHIP, ATLANTIC CROSS
ING.-My quarters are in M-37,
inside. and the ventilator Is on con-
tinuously. I share the space with a
Capt. Devlin from Boston, and my
bed is the upper bunk of double
decker.
There is a soldier with rifle just
outside the door, in the corridor, as
there is in every corridor Our ship
Is floating fortress and all the
rules aboard are the rules OF troop
ship In war times.
Aboard this craft, because Of
limited space and its great load,
there are always men asleep on the
deck and you have to move carefully
to keep from stepping on a big cor
poral from Willimantic or an ex-
boxer from Syracuse. Neither
Willimantic nor Syracuse would be
any one to disturb or tangle with.
Numerous Restricted Areas.
There is no specified rising or re-
tiring hour here in the mid-Atlantic.
I get up at am, stand in line for
a salt tub, and then wander about
the ship, being frequently called on
to display little blue card that
bears the signature of the provost
marshal.
There are restricted areas every
where. Sentries stand at specified
stairways and patrols are ever
aprowl. My breakfast sitting is at
9 am, not minute before, and by
that time I'm ready even for the
stewed rhubarb.
NV tablemates are West Vir-
ginia major named Mathews, West
Point, 81; captain named York,
who halls from Los Angeles, and
an of11cer of the ship, who likes to
talk of the old days of the New
York theater, knows all the words
to "Tell Me, Pretty Maiden" and
the names Of the original members
of the ''Florodora" sextet. The
congestion aboard is SO great ]
never see my mealtime companions
between 9 am. and pm.
This is a dry boat. The general
insisted that it be that way. Denied
the hard stuff--denied beer, too
the troops have been content with
soda pop and have consumed thou
sands of bottles. Minus the beer
and plus the energy supplied by
stewed rhubard, I'm finding the
upper tier Of the double decker
easier to reach with each passing
night.
A soldier, once shipping clerk
In Binghamton, stood for an hour
gazing in silence at the sea. Finally,
in surrendering his foot of rail space
to another, he said: This baby
she moves right along, doesn't she?"
-. There's barber aboard, yes
but you wait your turn; there were
26 in line when I appeared. My
locks 60 untrimmed until we reach
destination.
Each soldier was given $40 at the
time of sailing-and only $40. The
remainder of his pay has been with
held until arrival overseas. So a
boy has only $40 to. lose for, the
voyase-and plenty to win If he's
lucky. Biggest winner to date:
Truck driver from Ohio. Total
$4,000.
In all the years that men have
called the seas, watchers have
strained their eyes for specks and
objects against the horizon. Now
In a wartime crossing, the eyes Of
the observation posts, and certainly
Of the gunners, seek the prowline
submarine and the hostile bomber
"All I ask" said the unsmiline
John Collins, professional boxer oi
Bangor, Me-, as he stood, helmeted
at his gun position, "is just one
crack at Jerry-just one crack"
Posted emergency signal: Seven
short blasts and one long blast on
the steam whistle, supplemented by
alarm gongs in troop quarters"
The Golden Arm Kid is what the
men have been calling a Pennsyl.
vania hlmberjack who has beer
tossing sevens and elevens, rattlint
them against an orange crate with
great profit. Rumors, rumors
rumors-such is the life Of mill
tary command, particularly whel
afloat. Were of Greenland"
"We're not far from the Azores.
-. We're in the Gulf Stream,
.. We're headed for Gibraltar.
"At least" observed Corpl. Gilber
Harpin of Jewett City, Conn, ono
millhand and now a proud mem
Der OF gun crew, we're no
turning around and going back
and that's something"
In addition to creation of the su
preme command, on which manage
ment, labor and Government woul
be represented, and elimination G
business minded" individuals fror