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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (May 10, 1914)
8 THE SUNDAY OKEGOXIAX, PORTLAND, MAY 10, 1914. With Qirfeet!; I II Vk Z H M H l2 rtt V S t! v .! WS, 11 . i iv m m. n w i w a s t. si jv mlt?' www a- -- r. ill H 1-!, -JW!, . . Til . Upheld ihe eitzcnal Ifoncr eff SczztAorji tit . s c-j7. --amis.-.' 4 . 1 T1 IHKEE weeks ao L'nule Sam picked up his best fighting men. fitted with the most complicated Implements of destruction that it has been possible for the passing ages to devise, and hurled them sweepingly along the two coasts of Mexico. There they joined 7000 of their kind who were already on guard ind equally pre pared. These men were aboard 18 big battle ships, all floating fortresses with the power to unthinkably rend and tear at a distance up to 12 miles; on 14 bat tle cruisers with lighter guns and greater speed; on scores of destroyers fitted to drive home torpedoes that would demolish a city block with a sin gle explosion. With them were 4800 marines ready for the landing and fighting that took place at Vera Cruz. Altogetner the Government of the United States demonstrated its ability to catapult at a moment's notice such a force as exists in but two or three places in the world. It was an army of fighting craft that was valued at $300,000,000 and aboard it was a force of able-bodied men equal to those that may bo boasted by a city of 100.000 peo ple. Xvy I.lttle 1'nderntood. We of the ninety millions get little chance to become intimately acquaint ed with what happens aboard those $12,000,000 monsters of the Navy that Joll about Newport or Hampton Roads or Guantanamo Bay in their steel skins, 12 Inches thick, plug a thousand-pound shell through a foot and a half of steel six miles away like we toss a toy to the baby, and carry this monster force to meet the enemy when an occasion IPko the present arises. There are two reasons why we do not. get well acquainted with them. The first Is that they are out to sea where the walking Is not good and conse quently are rather inaccessible. The second is that the Navy does not want John Bull and the Kaiser and L.a Belle France and Nippon and the rest of them to know Just what stunts we have up our sleeve in case of war. If you and I and the rest of us were al lowed to see, there would come among us a secret representative of a rival navy and we would lose our secret ad vantage. We used to be very careless about these things but the other na tions were so clam-like that the United States Anally got the habit and now she has more secrets than the whole lot of them. 4. m ' X J 1 My A' it r V. 3 1 & tm i- J X1 s in Ate 4, Z It. ico. The big battleship is the center of all action. The business of the other ships is to convoy and protect her that she may be guided to her oppor tunity to demonstrate her claim to be ing the greatest fighting machine that the world has ever known. In action she takes the center of the column, the armore'd cruiser guards her to port and starboard, the destroyers shield her from attack- The lighter and swifter ships scout and maneuver and prepare for the titanic grapple which Is ulti mately to be left to those monsters of steel. Military authorities have been try ing of late to estimate the strength of a dreadnought measured in fight ing men. They have pretty well come to agree that one of these huge steel fighting machines, manned and equipped with the offensive and de fensive marvels of this age of master pieces of mechanism, is equal in strength to 50.000 soldiers. Upon this basis the strength of the United States in Mexican waters may be estimated. The 15 battleships alone would repre sent the strength of 760,000 men. The But upon special occasions -writing would be estimated as doubling this men are allowed to go aboard and abide a while as members of the officers mess, to see many things that they may not write but, at the same time, ab sorb that general information that may be purveyed to the public. Such one may dray the picture of the life that is being led by our bluejackets and their officers along the Mexican coasts. - lie may draw, fcr instance, the picture of a dozen great, gray dreadnaughts lyir-er like vast s?als asleep in the sun off Tanipico and Vera Cruz. Like a dog hear his master, are double that num ber of torpedo-boat destroyers, watch ful guardians of the big ships, dare devils of the service and deadly deni xens of. the fog and the darkness. Lying about in an occasional cove with its nose just above the water and its decks awash, is to be seen a representative of the submarinu flotilla, those silent "hell-divers", that may creep, beneath the biggest warship and drive home a rending torpedo. - How Skips Rank. The cruiser it is that ranks next to the battleship as a fighting craft. These cruisers are accustomed ' to holding strength. It would therefore seem that the United States had hurled against the shores of Mexico a force equal to a million and a half of soldiery. Life Aboard Warship. To the landman there is a deal of in terest in going aboard sa big fighting ship for the first time, for the land lubber has the haziest sort of knowl edge of the manner of things these ships are and the kind of lives that are led upon them. He knows vaguely that there are nearly a thousand men on one of these ships and he remembers that he has known many prosperous towns out West that had no more. His interest is large in the ways in which men live and, arriving in the dusk of evening, he studies first the habits of those with whom he is thrown. Such a visitor is assigned to the sen ior officer's mess. Dinner has already been served and he meets his mess mates about the table in the ward room is a bunk at one side with every inch beneath it utilized in-convenient chests. There is a deep dresser that is also a writing desk, and there is a spa cious clothespress. There is much room, considering the space, for pack ing things away but little chance for display. Uncle Sam provides this small room and these spare furnishings. The officer furnishes the bedding and even his own towels and soap. Surprised, are you not? You probably supposed also that the Government provided its officers their uniforms. This is also a misapprehension- All those various gold-brai-ded. broad-shouldered, suits that must be so well tailored, are paid for by the officers themselves. Pay of Officers. But the food! Of course that is fur nished by the Government when served aboard these ships of the Navy? Not bo. The officers pay for every particle of food that is served in their mess. They club together, form a buying or ganization and stock the larder that is provided for their use. But the of ficers share equally in ' the expense. Enlisted men, often negroes or Fili- - pino boys, serve the mess. Enlisted - men do the cooking and the work of chambermen. But here the Govern ment's expense ceases. These expenses together with those of the enforced entertaining of the of ficers of the Navy cut pretty deep into their salaries which are not over-large and make no provision for exceptional ability. The order of Secretary Dan iels with relation to the use of liquor in the' officers' mess will be volcanic because of the money it will save those officers In entertainment, if for no oth . er reason. The Captain of the ship mm ''. ,7. 1SO0 chops. 500 pounds roast beef, 60 gallons ox gravy, 120 gallons ot coffee or tea, 400 pounds potatoes, 200 tins of vegetables. 44 gallons of baked beans, 144 gallons of chicken fricassee, 500 pounds of cabbage, 42 large pans of pudding, 168 tins of fruit and about ' 650 pounds of chickens for roast." These men get busy at an hour that is surprisingly early. To the lands man who has been accustomed to a nap after 7 o'clock and who is not used, to ship noises, there is due an inter- ruption of his sleep along about 5:30 ; when the metal deck is being noisily scrubbed just overhead. The officers not on duty breakfast at 8 and ordi- narlly get their morning naps. Being accustomed to the noises a little thing like the clanging of an Iron ventilator weighing 200 pounds against other metal . of its kind, and within six feet of the place of slumber, is no inter ruption. By 8 o'clock there is not a particle of exposed surface about the decks that has not been scrubbed to spot lessness. There are some 400 petty deck officers and crew who perform this work. It is largely done In the first three hours of the day. The rest of their working time is devoted to drills including infantry drills, boat drills, drills looking to the mastery of the infinite system of signaling that must be understood by many men on every ship, wig-wag, semafore, sound signals, searchlight, and the Infinite variety of flags meaning different things rh different positions must be mastered. Altogether there is a lot of time for work and play, for strenuous endeavor and for easy relaxation. The enlisted men are mostly mere boys, ranging in age from 18 to 25 years. They are lusty and sport-loving and full of fel ' lowship. The officers of the attle- ships show a majority under 30 years of age and on the Delaware there were but three or four that had passed 40. In Navy administration the secret of the male of the species, the fact that man never grows up but likes the sports of youth to the end of the chap ter, has been discovered. Sports and amusements are arranged accordingly. The amusement that is a regular diet is that entertainment of all the peo nle. the moving-picture show. The I mm ML, reaches of the ocean beyond the decks. The deck is the parquet of the theater. At one side are arranged chairs front the wardroom and these are the boxes for the officers. The enlisted men sprawl at ease in the parquet. Back of them are the turrets of the big guns rising some 10 feet above the decks. This is the gallery and the reserva tions here are popular. Even the bar rels of the great 12-inch guns are uti lized as points of vantage from which, to view the show, and dozens of men may perch there. There is no restraint on the men and they very freely voice their likes or dislikes for the features of the show. These are the routine details of the life aboard ship. There are the spe cial occasions when the fleet maneuvers at Guantanamo or off the New Eng land coast, or when target practice is on in the vicinity of Hampton lioads. Upon these occasions there is sport of the highest order; every big gun ha a. crew that has been training ior yes.. mal address anneals to the man of the cellent bed that la better fitted to for the coming of the food. There is that it might win the honors from the gets a salary of but 4r00 a year; the rough and tumble outside. sleeping in rough seas than any bunk. Commander, $3500; Lieutenant-Corn- The ward room and the senior of- Those hammocks are swung so close to manders. $2800 and $3000; Lieutenants, fleers' nnarrpm nr nn the main deck, tretber that scores of men are stowed tieuu to tzouu, ana .ensigns, i2uu ana The Captain alone lives upon the small away above the space that in aayume ways nave an uppemc $1400. upper deck. The junior officers' mess may be used for dining-room or almost about them. The crew's galley, where Most of these men marry as do other occupies the most favored position be- any other purpose. the food Is prepared. Is fitted with nine men and support separate families low the main deck and here, also, are All hands are called from these sleep- great cooking ranges with 20 big cop ashore. Some years they see these tucked away the greater number of ing places at 6 o'clock in the morning. Per coffee urns, holding 80 gallons families for two weeks and some years the 900 men who go to make up the for there is a vast amount of deck each, and with great steam cookers in conditions are such that they get home crew of a big battleship. scrubbing and general cleaning to be Proportion, i for longer periods. There are assign- These Quartern helow dick are mar- done. The men tumble out to the There is no ceremony in the manner ments of shore duty with reduced velous examples of economy of space, sound of th no small amount of this required, for 900 healthy boys living in the open and doing plenty of physical work al- crews of other ships. Or there are tor pedoes to be launched with that won derful mechanism within them that will cause them to travel five miles and find a target for which their gyro scopes were set. Or there are mines to be planted in the path of -a possible enemy, or baseball games to be played on shore. Altogether it Is a healthy and whole some life that is led by the youngsters which is clubroom and dining hall for these officers. There are 20 men in pay), that are the bright spots in the Were it possible to apply the principles hammocks a the mess, the Commander, Lieutenant Navy man's life. here used, land lubbers might do away into a neat i uommanaers, lieutenants, .ensigns e bugle, dress, secure their of eating in the bluejackets' mess. Each who go to make up the fleet, and alto ind contents and roll them man is brought a great plate piled high gether they are as select a lot of youns cvlinder for" storage in the with all the things that go to make up huskies as can be found in any callin; But aboard shin these officers live with nine-tenthn of the hotel snri hammock nettings below. Nothing Is the given meal. Meat, beans, potatoes, beneath the sun. rinwn the liri in th Pu-ific fnr thr and miHiihinmn tnA nnvmnKtoi the like the Brentlpmon thpv or. c.nitn hfia,illn,.k.e.. VBt I J .-1 laft hut hA hnnl( n cvinencM that a rice, bread, all are On ttle one dish, but bOVH and a is usually no battleship on the West surgeon and assistant surgeon, and, the cramped quarters. The ' officers'-ably and healthfully. The seaman hundred men have Just been sleeping making such a pyramid as would dis- -times. When the fleets of nations get Coast. They have the habit of hurry- finally, the dashing captain of marines, mess is well provided and their inter- lives in his hammock. It is his sleep- swung beneath a certain deck. Fifteen courage the appetite of seven men of together in Borne foreign port, for in- Intr marines from one nort tn another All are Annanolis men but the nav- course is nleasant Thev are, nil oh- Intr-nlacA hv nie-ht and bl haversaclc minutes is the maximum time allowed the swivel cnair lype. All mis, now- stance, 11 is Known 10 ue a policy in the Carribean where Latins are master, the surgeons and the captain sorbed in the big war game and the getaway grip, trunk and savings bank for this dressing and chambermaid prone to revolute. They are the busiest of marines. The Captain of the ship fascination of that constant strife for by day. work. The decks that were a few min- ships in the Kay and the least fre- lives exclusively alone on the upper greater efficiency and for advance- 'Kverv man In the' service ha hi utes previously hung with innumer- deck, and is the lonesomest man ment or the service gets In the blood definite place to swing his hammock, able hammocks give no evidence or aboard. The Junior officers have a and little else matters. Personally If he is wanted at any time of nitrht having ever been dormitories, and a separate mess and the 900 seamen are the Navy officer Is a bit formal in his he can be immediately located. The landsman might search all day for the In.ar.utl.flv ti,.b-A4 ... . lAnV PAnrlotv VtAonilA nt Vi i a aarlAmw .. . NTnw t T i ..1. i(1 ltnfnf nll9.rterfl flf tllA CfRV A TWl BTft Off the ward room of the senior of- ing. He affixes "sir" to the end of the hammocks of tfre front porch in no inkling of their whereabouts. pared for a single meal aboard the Britishers band together and insist on ficers' mess run two hallways length- any speech made direct and he always which many of us have slumbered and In these same big rooms below deck Dela;w,ir(,!11i "iT-.ttn --n y elbowln a" .f'fner,v,nat'onl, oK th" wise of the ship and oft of these open calls even his associates of years "Mr." received a crick in the side for our the meals are served. Mysteriously. porUon of 900 enlisted men. street And this elbowing is some- the staterooms of these officers. These There is little -of the familiarity of pains. It is of canvas, and is stretched Just before mealtime innumerable ta- - "Two hundred P', 31 iarg pans of tlmes resented and heads are coaae- are 3 by 10. low-ceilinged rooms. There civilian intercourse and the more for- taut between two hooks, making an x- bles and benches appear and ara set cake, 1800 buns, 6000 buckwheat cakes, quentiy Droh.cn. quently Been in home ports. But there are plenty of tfcem now in Mexican waters ready for assignments that are important but do not require a dread nought. The relative importance of the fight ing ships may, however, be readily un derstood by their grouping in any such maneuver as the hurried trip to Mex- To be sure they are bit obstreperous at ever, is neatly iuckea away by the to let the American ana ctritisn sau Jack tar. Having disposed of which, ormen go ashore at the same time. Not he aesthetically withdraws his hand- that they would start trouble among kerchief from his sleeve, this being themselves. Quite the contrary. It his only available place for carrying it has been shown that the common lan- and wipes nis chops witn satisfaction, guage and common blood tens on those e food pre- occasions for the Americans and the