THE SCRANTON TRIBUNE-TUESDAY. MARCH 15. 189S. 8 THE flAKING OF A riAN-0'WARSriAN Just What Jack's Daily Life Is Aboard the Receiving Ship and While at Sea Busy Days at the Various Navy Recruiting Stations. From the Philadelphia, Prow. The Ufa of n. sailor Is hard even under the best condltlono, but It is nn Inter esting life; nnil every day good-look-Infr, IntelllKent nnd well-dressed young men offer themselves ns candidates for the blue uniform. Most of these appli cants havo been found unfit for service; 23,000 men and 2.G00 boys were rejected for physical disability and other causes last year more than four-llfths of the applications. The physical defects which are a bar to service In tho navy in time of peace Include Impaired vis Ion, Impaired hearing, defective teeth, communicable diseases and a long cata logue of weaknesses or chronic ail ments. For "Jackie" is required by tho regulations to be "of robust frame, In telligent, and of perfectly sound and licnlthy constitution." It was 2S0 of this class of citizens, native and adopt ed, tliat went to death In Havana har bor. At convenient points along the coast, where there are naval stations, nre placed receiving ships old hulks, once serviceable In the wooden navy, but worthless In these days of big guns. Ihere are eleven of those ships nt Phila delphia, New York, Uoston, Washing ton, San Francisco, etc. TAKING TUB OATH. It Is an impressive scene when seven or eight young men gather In the cap tain's ofllce, hat in hand, to take the oath which completes their enlistment. It Is the last step which virtually cuts them off from freedom for three long years. However little they may like the service, once they have taken tho oath, they stay aboard ship for thlrty bIjc month, or lose their citizenship and risk Imprisonment at Uoston. How Irk some the privation of his Independence may be to the sailor is shown by the fact that 1,149 men gave up their citi zenship actual or prospective last year rather than serve out their enlistment. "You do solemnly swear ," says tho captain, holding the IJlblo In both hands as he stands before the little group of recruits; and with right hand uplifted they take oath to the state ments ninde In their applications. He fore this, all of them have been strip ped and examined by tho surgeon to see If they are qualified physically. After the brief seance with the cap tain they go to the lower deck of the old ship and draw their uniforms. Be fore night they have put aside their citizens clothes and are wearing the blue flannel uniform. The ratings of the men who enlist are various. Apprentices, of course, are not actively In the service, though a large proportion of the 1.G00 now at Newport, Maro Island, etc., can be used to man the ships even now, and many have been transferred for that purpose. The grades above apprenticeship for which men enlist arc chiefly lands men, ordinary seaman, Beaman nnd coal passer. The pay of these is $16, $19, $24 nnd $22, respectively. Firemen, sailmakers, shipwrights, etc., receive more. The landsman Is a man who lms no knowledge of sea life. He must bo na tive born and between 18 and 25 years of nge. The ordinary seaman must have been at sea at least two years and must pass an examination. The sea man must have had four years' experi ence and his examination Is more rig orous. Tho 'prentice, when ho reaches the age of 21, Is usually qualified for a seaman's rating. The landsman, after three years' if he enlists, becomes nn ordinary seaman and may be pro moted. He has no hope, ns the sol dier has, of earning a commission In time of peace; though in war anything is possible. The man who enlists Is usually with out a dollar in tho world. Within a few minutes after ho has left the cap tain's ofllce, he Is In debt to the navy department $40.03, the price of his out fit. This outllt is delivered to him by the pay-master's clerk or yeoman, af ter tho recruit has been measured by the Bertlllon system, and he proceeds Immediately to put on his new togs. Ills blue uniform he flnds lacks one feature. There Is no ribbon around the cap showing In gilt letters the name of the ship to which ho belongs. That will not come until he is assigned. Meantime ho need not worry about the figure he will cut with his friends, for ho will not havo shore leave itil ho has worked out the price of hit M flt. That may be In four months, and it may not be In five or six. Forty dol lars Is a big debt when your pay Is only JIG a month. BREAKING 'EM IN. Breaking the landsmen In to sea duty on a "receiving" shin Is not a disagreeable business on either side. The men, ns a rule, are enthusiastic about tho porvice, and though the old timers may guy them a little, no haz ing is permitted. The fare they get Is quite good better in fact than they can expect to get when they are away from land. Tho raw recruit has to earn this food and i $1G pay by cleaning the decks, polishing tho brasses and doing other plain work about the ship, nnd by practicing the Infantry drill and the setting-up drill every day. Hilt for the most part, tho period Just after enlist ment Is a period of Idleness. The lands man learns to sling his hammock and is educated in the language of the bells, the boatswain's whistle nnd the bugle; but beyond that, he Is not kept very busy. If he Is an enthusiast, though, as most raw recruits are, he welcomes the day when he Is assigned to duty, nnd, slinging his "dlty" bag over his shoulder, he starts away, with a squad of blue-Jackets, to take the train for Norfolk or whatever the point may bo at which his ship is waiting. There ho goes aboard, reports and Is entered on the list of the ship's crew. A fixed number of men Is assigned to each ship so roany landsmen, so many ordinary seamen, so many sea men, and so on through all ratings. Thcro Is always a small shortage, duo to deaths and desertions. Each lands man when ho reports for duty, Is as. signed to one of tho four or live div isions aboard tho 'ship. Ho Is taken below, shown where to find his ham mock and where to sling It and the locker In which to stow his clothing. He gets n ribbon with the name of tho ship which he puts on his cap and he Is ready for his duties. DUTIES ABOARD SHIP. These are simple at first Ho assists In coaling the ship. He Is assigned to a place In n gun crew and ho learns all the duties at tho gun, but particu larly those which are to fall to him. Ho Is told to keep a certain part of tho big gun clean, this being known as "bright ening." Ho learns all tho drills, Includ ing those with side-arms, pistols and broadswords, All this drilling nnd hreaklng-ln Is done by the potty offi cers, with the assistance of some of the older men who are quick at licking a new man Into shape. It is not done very gently and tho new man In modo to feel tho rigor of a severo discipline. Then he is assigned to a boat, In which he is to pull a specified oar; and ho practices rowing until he can feath er and pull a strong stroke without crab-catching. After a month or six weeks of study ing the school of the sailor, tho new man Is fit for general duties aboard ship. But there is much about reeling, steering, knotting, splicing and the other details of sailor's work which he has to pick up in odd hours and ho Is fortunate If he understands enough of It to take an ordinary seaman's rating at the end of his three years' service. ONE DAY'S IIOUTINE. The sailor's life Is a busy one. Here is his day's routine: He turns out at 5.30 o'clock In the morning nnd lashes and stows his hammock In seven min utes. Then he eats a continental break fast a cup of coffee, a roll. After this he scrubs his clothing or he cleans ship sometimes the former, but always the latter. The ship's deck must be kept as clean ns sand and water will make It; and every day the paint must be scrubbed Every day, too. a detail of "side-cleaners" goes over the paint on the outside of the ship and makes It clean. At S o'clock the regular breakfast call Is sounded An hour Is given to each meal and In what part of this hour he is not eating, Jack can do as he likes. After breakfast, which Is ulways a substantial meal, Jack, who has been working in his suit of white, puts on his blue uniform and appears in It at sick call This call Is for those who have slight ailments who are examined by the surgeon and prescribed for and sent to the hospital. After sick call, the sailor has to pol ish the bright work of the big gun and the small arms until 9.30. when the whole crew is called to order for in spection by the captain. At this In spection any sailor who has a griev ance may voice it to the captain and be sure of a hearing and of fair treat ment. After the inspection, thcro Is drill for a half hour or more. It may run up to nn hour and a half, and if the captain's breakfast disagrees with him. it is quite likely to be the longer period. Brutal ity In the navy now flnds Its vent In drilling the men until they are nearly dead from exhaustion; and a captain who overworks his men can usually be told by the number of desertions from his ship. After gun drill, or drill with the small arms, the dinner call is sounded nt 12 o'clock. An hour later tho men may bo ordered to man tho boats. Some of them may be put nt repair work, which is always going on aboard nhlp, or at other duties. There Is always plenty to keep them busy till 5 o'clock, when the supper call In sounded. At G the men arc called to evening quarters when everything is examined to see that it Is secure for the night. AMUSEMENTS. Then the sailors sling their ham mocks and for the intervening time un til 9 o'clock they may amuse them selves as they like. Borne of them spend the time In playing cards, some In athletic games, some with concer tina or violin, some in smoking and "yarning." Tho Bailor is a great talk er und lie seems to havo as much to sa,v at tho end of his three years' terms as he had nt the beginning. In this particular, he Is different from tho of ficers in the ward-room, who get heart ily tired of each other before cruise is ended, Jack is not only a great talker, but a great eater and in many cases a good Bhnro of his $1G a month goes for food to supplement his regular rations. The ration Is reckoned at 30 cents a day nnd it consists of good, substantial food In what a landsman ashore would consider liberal quantity. Under tho regulations, fresh meat and fruit can not be served oftener thas four times a week unless ordeted by tho surgeon; but this Is no privation, for tho old tar, accustomed to a diet of hard tack and salt Junk, often complains if he is forced to cat soft bread and fresh meat. On all ships some of tho rations nro commuted that Is, drawn In money. At one time It was In the discretion of tho captain, to commute any of the sailors' rations, but tho regulations now limit commutations to one-fourth of the whole number, nnd require that the fresh food bought with this com mutntlon money shall be served to nil. When the ship Is In port, the, sailor fares almost ns well as the recruits on the receiving ship. Men nnd Trees, "Men nro not like trees." "Why, no." "No. Now, tho good reputntlon of mist trees depends upon their shady character. A Match. "I've Just been to a variegated wed ding." "What kind of wedding Is that?" "A negro wedding, of course a combi nation of colors." THE MAN MHO KNOWS IT ALL. This world Is full of misery That ought not to exist. Folks have no right to charge to Fato The luck that they have missed. We tako tho wrong road to tho goal, And stumble, trip and fall, When right noxt door, perhaps, there lives , Tho man who knows It all. He's ready, too. to give advice. If you aro Indigent, Ho'll tell you what you ought to do, And not charge you a cent. Tho fault Is yours. If you go wrong, And fall, and have to call For help. You should have gone and Asked tho man who knows It all. Oh, what a wretched, wretched placo ,( This erring world must bo. Without tho constant help vouchsafed By him and such as he! Bo when you meet him anywhere, Before him prostrate fall, And worship, as you ought to do. The man who knows It all! Somerville Journal. L oimoi i Vamiiuanact 12J&a)12Q'MSHIM&TON AVENUE" Fancy Hosiery For the coming season seems to h&e the call. Our line for Ladies' and Men is Large, Varied, Reliable and Low Priced. Especial attention is directed to our dis play of Plaids and Stripes From 25c to 50c Of course, black will be in demand as usual, and 'our Black Stockings are just as good and cheap as ever. onnollv) & Wallace 127 and 129 Washington Avenue. WALTER W. BRANSON, Chef of Jonat Long's Sons, Philadelphia Caterer. Honed Turkey Croquettes, Saladi of All Kinds, W'eddlnsi.l'ftilles; Kiporloncpd Mon. All ordei a promptly attended to. Order onn bo left at 12 1 nslilngton rvo., or can ba teen at Jonas Long's .Sons' L'ufo. THE DICKSON M'PG CO,, Bornnton and WUltei-Barre, Pa. Manufacturers of LOCO MOTIVES, STATIONARY ENGINES Boilers, Hoisting and Pumping Machinery. General Ofllce, Bcrnnton, Pa. mmm m UflUC Vflll Brj Throat, Pimples, Cop tmVu lUU per-Colored HpotB, Aches, Old Sores, Ulcers In Mouth, Hntr Kalllnir? Write COOK kUMEDV CO., 651 M.snolc Temple, Chicago, III,, for proofs of cures. Capital, $500.00. Worst caie) cured In 15 to 35 days. ioo-page book free. ntA)n)At& 66 SPRING TOP COAT TALK. 99 j I y ( ' ? ' J Q There is a great deal of stir about our Spring Overcoat Consignment all who have seen them say they are the finest tailored and best values we have yet offered. You know what that means from past experience with us. A Strictly Stylish Overcoat, jaunty and serviceable, eminently proper, the materials include coverts, and whipcords, the shades are most correct for this season, tan, drab and brown, made in the latest box style, lined with the best Italian cloth, and the price a wonder, - The next grade consists of a well-tailored nobby Top Coat, double strap seams, with all the points of a coat made by the highest priced tailors; the cloth is of the wear resisting quality, all the latest shades, in cluding that popular shade of brown, a coat that we can compare with any sold at $12 and $18, Here is a coat of the oversack style you see in the fashion plates of the best tailors, made with double box seams and lined with the best riohair Victoria Twill, double faced and finished, it is a short, baggy coat, with all the custom tailor's earmarks; the shades are brown, tan, and the more quiet black and blue grey. Our Price, This one would make the best custom tailor weep a coat that is made to suit the most fastidious dresser, a fault defying copy of Pool's, the noted English tailor's original "Pool's Spring Special," made of high grade twill cord, in the new shades of tan and grey mixed, box strapped seam, a work of art, and the price, $ $ $ 8 10 12 15 t UA)Al)l0)0))))A) , JftOur $ 18, $20 and $25 Overcoats are the pick of the market they come in the new Rosemond Shade of ,l .. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... gi wit?jiwwiijuwug. tan and French Grey Hned and faced to the edge wth the best ojl boj,ed silk j and buHt wUh that fuH 4ipool rf MaaaaaMa)a1aMaIaM& , . si by the very best tailors. 3 S g SEE OUR SHOW B orrrr nU fiWOl 8 a WINDOWS FOR g sat -a '0 r: g THE NOVELTIES g r OFTHESEASON g SAMTER BROS Furnishers, Hatters and Clothiers. 3 WINDOWS. IT 6 it WILL DO YOUR g S EYES GOOD. 3 C! MM ! i ! 9t 99 t9 t9 9 9t 9 It A 1
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