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Show NATIONAL j AFFAIRS Reviewed by CARTER FIELD More Important That Captain Doesn' t Go Down With Ship . . . Morale of Nation to Be Noted at Election Time . . . (Bell Syndicate WNU Service.) WASHINGTON. This business of the captain going down with his ship has got to stop. About 90-odd times out of a hundred it is more important impor-tant to save the captain than to save any other person aboard man, woman or child, the old doctrine of "women and children first" to the contrary notwithstanding. It is just another case of the war turning ordinary things upside down. In normal maritime life there is an oversupply of captains. Many men with masters' papers are working as first, second, and sometimes even third mates, just to get a job. But too many men capable of navigating ships of directing them safely from one port to another an-other of acting quickly in emergencies emer-gencies of maneuvering a ship, for instance, under torpedo or bomb attack are being killed. Admiral Emory S. Land of the maritime commission is crying up in ship construction, con-struction, so that the lifeline to Britain can be kept in operation. He is absolutely right, and should be getting more f. V t J . vigorous backing when he runs up Adm. Land against certain difficulties, particularly of the union labor variety. But it is also necessary to have men capable of commanding those ships. It would seem that the problem prob-lem of crews was just as vital, but the business of running ships, for the period of the war anyway, has turned to mass production methods. It is not quite as simple as an assembly line, but it approaches it. The idea of each man being trained to do just one thing, almost as simple sim-ple as tightening a bolt, is carried car-ried out in essential.' Maritime Schools Helped Nor is the maritime commission to be critjcized for the shortage in competent captains. It established schools several years ago, and really has done a pretty good job in training train-ing young men as navigators! So far as the engineers are concerned, most of the new ships have the old reciprocating engines, which means that almost any man who has had any experience whatever with engines, en-gines, in saw mills, on farms, in small plants, can learn very quickly to perform the necessary duties. Firemen present even an easier problem. Many owners of office buildings have been learning this to their embarrassment, for men whose only experience has been turning valves in oil-burning heating heat-ing units of big buildings are now working on ships, with much better pay, of course, as should be the case in view of the terrible risk. Incidentally, there is no disposition dis-position anywhere to criticise the pay schedules of the men who go down to the sea in ships these-days. these-days. Some of the union rules have caused problems, but these related more to the question of interfering with a proper flow of recruits than to wages. Most of the torpedoings of merchant mer-chant ships off the Atlantic coast have not been as heavy in their toll of human lives as'in naval warfare, where in so many instances the cruiser Houston and the battle cruiser cruis-er Hood for instance there were practically no survivors. But something ought to be done to Impress everybody that it is a military mili-tary necessity vital to the winning of the war to save the captain if possible. Men can be trained fairly fair-ly quickly in navigation, but there is tremendous value in the experience experi-ence which guides a good, captain in emergencies. And there is not only the lifeline to Britain to be kept open there is the much longer one to Australia! a Coming Elections Will Show National Unity Between now and the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November the American people will give a demonstration of national unity which will make all this talk about morale building seem rather silly. The prediction is simply this: No member of the house or senate sen-ate will be defeated because he was strongly in favor of the war of prosecuting it vigorously vigorous-ly and of never agreeing to peace until victory is achieved. No candidate against any sitting member of the house or senate either in primary or convention will be nominated or elected because he advocates quitting-on any terms WNowTthis prediction were made as to a majority of the seats tc . be filled it would be important. To look back into history. Abraham Lmcoto had to make a tremendous fight to event his own defeat, in 1864. |