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Show DISCIPLINE ON MODERN SHIPS VARIES GREATLY FROM YEARS GONE BY Severe Punishment Formerly Given Members of Crew tor Minor Infractions Entirely Eliminated Today. "THE FIGHTING FLEETS." By RALPH D. PAINE. (Copyright, 1918, by Ralph D. Paine.) 'By special arrangement with Houghton Mifflin Co.) happy frame of mind that is tho reward nf duty well performed. One morning he was unable to find the slightest fault with anything. Brasswork Polished Like Burnished Gold. "The crew and the officers had determined deter-mined to satisfy him for once and nothing was left undone. All brasswork shone like gold, sails were trimmed to a hair, gear colled down, the decks as clean as a Dutch kitchen, and even the last grain, of sand was blown out of the deck seams. The old man waxed madder and madder as he paced the quarter-deck searching for a flaw and found none. Finally he hailed the lookout on flic topsail yard and, in reply to a prompt 'Sir,' shouted, 'I'm a-lookln' at ye, dad gast ye!' he went below in a towering tage. "There ware not a few cases of vessels ves-sels that were shipshape from " truck to keel, scrubbed, painted and polished to perfection, but with gun crews untrained and gun gear 'frozen.' Such ships have been known to dump their target practice prac-tice ammunition overboard to avoid having hav-ing the paint-work tarnished by powder gases. Stubborn Captain Insists on Practice. "1 was once present at a target practice prac-tice where all but one round of the ammunition ammu-nition from a twelve-inch turret was fired by the turret officer sticking his head out through a hatch In the roof of the turret and sighting over a ringbolt at the forward end.' The smoke of the first shot had clouded the telescope sights so that the pointers could not see tho target, but the captain insisted that the guns be fired all the same. Of course, no hits were made, but the object of getting the ship back into port on schedule time was achieved. "In contrast with this is tbc happy, efficient ship, for the happy ship is almost al-most ' invariably efficient. Officers and men will brag about such a ship. They will not allow her to take second place in anything if they can help it. Every man loyally does his best to help along, and the ship becomes a practical school for developing the two chief essentials of military character, loyalty and initiative. "I knew an officer who was a polished gentleman gen-tleman in, all respects except that he failed to treat his enlisted subordinates with courtesy and consideration. His manner man-ner toward them was sarcastic and sometimes some-times insulting, and he failed utterly to inspire their loyalty to the service. Another An-other distinguished officer said, after reaching the retired list. 'The mistake of my career was that I did not treat young officers with respect, and subsequently they were the means of defeating my dearest ambitions.' " (To Be Continued.) INSTALMENT Modern Ship Discipline. AS a vice admiral he has this same trait of aiming straight at the mark, but there is no longer a lack of sympathy in Washington when he presents . ideas which will increase in-crease the efficiency of ships or personnel. He is a sociable man, talking with ease and readiness, and always entertaining, but his confidences are carefully guarded, guard-ed, and he steers a difficult course with the instinct of a diplomat, although he may seem to discuss naval affairs with impulsive candor. When in a reminiscent reminis-cent mood he unconsciously portrays his own character and indicates the spirit and the influence which he has endeavored to foster in the American naval service. Referring to his creed of the "happy ship," he was contrasting conditions past and present and mentioned such incidents as these: Flogging General Sixty Years Ago. "About sixty years ago flogging was a recognized form of punishment and was regularly practiced in the American navy. A man was stripped to the waist, his arms triced above his head, and he was given the number of strokes with the 'cat' which had been assigned for the particular offense. of-fense. It was believed to be necessary for the maintenance of discipline, and its abolition by act of congress was resented by many officers. When the new regulations regu-lations were received on a certain ship in the Pacifip, the commanding officer had all hands called aft on the quarter-deck to witness punishment. A man who had been sentenced to bo flogged was doubly ironed with his hands behind his back and placed in front of the bilge pump, from which a stream of water was turned on his face until he became insensible. Whenever When-ever he recovered consciousness the operation op-eration was repeated until the doctor reported re-ported that further punishment would endanger en-danger the man's life. Then the captain made a little speech in which he informed the crew that, although flogging had been abolished, he wished it clearly understood that he Intended to have discipline in his ship. Sailors Punished or Lack of Speed. An executive officer of another man-of-war was dissatisfied with the listless manner in which a man was sweeping down the deck. The sailor said he was not feeling well, wnereupon the executive officer ordered him to be 'spread-eagled' that is. he was triced up by the wrists inside the main rigging with his irms stretched wide and allowed to hang there until he begged for mercy. He was then cut down and ordered to sweep the deck properly. Ho declared that he could no longer hold the broom and was about to be triced up again when, upon the suggestion sug-gestion of the captain, who had witnessed the episode, he was examined by the surgeon, sur-geon, who reported that both of his collar bones were broken. v "On this same ship a common form of punishment, then considered quite mild, was to lash a man's thumbs together behind be-hind his back-, pass tho lashing over a hammock hook, and trice him up until his toes were just clear of the deck. It seems to have keen the general opinion in those days that the only forms of punishment that were effective were those which inflicted in-flicted physical pain. Belaying Pin Used by Boatswain's Mate. "Any man who was slow in obeying or-ders or-ders ran the risk of a blow from a rope's end or a 'belaying pin in the hands of t lie nearest boatswain's mate. When hammocks ham-mocks were piped up, or all hands called on deck to make or furl sail, it was a common practice to station at tho foot of each ladder a husky boatswain's mate armed with, the dreadful 'cat' and charged with tho duty of slashing the last man across that part of his anatomy which was last to disappear up the ladder. This was not considered punishment, but merely a reminder of the captain's desire to have a 'smart ship.' "Aside from this brutality, there was an exasperating devotion to numerous regulations regu-lations which concerned form and ceremony cere-mony rather than efficiency. An officer was presumed to find fault. Thero was one captain who used to come on desk each morning, growl at everyone he met, and then go down to breakfast in the |
