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Show Uncle Sam's Peace-time I MiniiMni p1 MuniiiwM A r VnMSafl I J f A r ft .5 1 ,c Traininq Ship K '' .-', ""' EMPIRE 5TATE. ' ' - ' ; ! - -x -..-: . . , . . '"$ y7 . ...'i : , .- J X A 11, A The Dailu Inspection Visit the Colosseum in Rome 'nivi tT; ' , ; ,'-y4 - V'V Bv ELMO SCOTT WATSON r'f I K""'' ' i""'''-"" 5 "" : t " -;- 'A-..., ; . y X H '."A IME was when the merchant ma- Ajj.Iqag,Aifti.. :ZWL:aX f9 ,f, , lvv ,. N-Shoinq the Sun" with Sextants "4 ""rt when the famous Yankee clipper . .. i i f M ii "-ft ships were carrying our ftnR. the ' 4 hended and well-trained. For this reason, It was IX stars an1 Stripes, Into virtually '. ."I, i pointed out, unusual care Is exercised In se-everv se-everv port of the world and when . , j.. . letting merchant marine academy candidates, ptogjg America, rather than Great BrI- . K r ," Boys must be United States citizens, have high : tain was the "mistress of the T - - ' a school . education or its equivalent, be phys-seas." phys-seas." at least, so far as merchant K" . 7,i T v" ically, mentally, morally sound as a new dollar shipping was concerned. " U ' Bnd mUSt have t,,e qualities that make for lead-But lead-But when steamships replaced sailing vessels, .J'J -J , v ' ershlp courtesy, promptness In obeying com-the com-the United States began to lose her place in the : ' V mands and correct seamanlike habits, sun In this regard and the Civil war saw the end ' f i" The wheel and chart house come next for in-of in-of our dominance of the seas with merchant- If ' - U ' spection. In the afternoon sun the compass, men. In the years that followed various efforts P ? steering apparatus, engine room telegraph and were made to regain the place we had lost to J ' V ot,ler bright work gleamed and glinted from el-other el-other nations, but these efforts were not highly X ' y' s bow-greased high polish. It was exactly like any successful. At the opening of the World war we Xi 'v other American merchantman's bridge except , had only 17 ships carrying the American flag -- j "j that then; were two large, long tables extending and American trade to foreign ports, and Amer- I j 'A J the width of the enclosed space, upon which ca-Ican ca-Ican seamanship, as a consequence, had almost 5, ft K 7' 1 dRtS' stut1-vinB navigation while on summer become a forgotten tradition. I I cruise, work out the ship's course. A huge flag But recent years have seen a change being , -,.. fA I locker was located nearby, bulgfng with neatly wrought, and today, under more recent stimulat- V . Mi-V. - rolled multi-colored bunting. Atop the bridge was lng governmental policies supporting our "peace- V 4- .'vF the diamond shaped radio direction finder loop, time navy," the merchant marine, we have T-C '"'f 'J open air binnacle and steering wheel, climbed up to second place in world tonnage - N'"e UmeS r'Ut f te" the U' S' S' EmP're and now a total of fiOO shins nlow their w.nv illlf State Is steered from the enclosed bridge, or Bv ELMO SCOTT WATSON t$ V IME was when the merchant mn-'' mn-'' rine was one f Americas proud- 'l est boasts. Those were the days 4- when the famous Yankee clipper T 1 ships were carrying our flag, the 1 f-Xt Stars and Stripes, Into virtually Z every port of the world and when jpElgg; America, rather than Great Brl-' Brl-' tain, was the "mistress of the seas." at least, so far as merchant shipping was concerned. But when steamships replaced sailing vessels, the United States began to lose her place in the sun In this regard and the Civil war saw the end of our dominance of the seas with merchantmen. merchant-men. In the years that followed various efforts were made to regain the place we had lost to other nations, but these efforts were not highly successful. At the opening of the World war we had only 17 ships carrying the American flag and American trade to foreign ports, and American Amer-ican seamanship, as a consequence, had almost become a forgotten tradition. But recent years have seen a change being wrought, and today, under more recent stimulating stimulat-ing governmental policies supporting our "peacetime "peace-time navy," the merchant marine, we have climbed up to second place in world tonnage and now a total of GOO ships plow their way through the seven seas to more than 500 port3 in foreign lands. To provide for the increased complement of trained desk officers and engineers to man our constantly increasing peacetime navy, Uncle Sam has four nautical training schools, mostly aboard real ships, where boys can study, graduate grad-uate and stand a good chance of becoming third officers or assistant engineers In the merchant fleet at a rate of pay ranging from $125 a month for third mates upwards to $.300 for skippers and engineers, and with cruises to interesting foreign for-eign ports sprinkled in while they are getting their education. These nautical schools are : The New York State Merchant Marine academy, now based at the Brooklyn navy yard aboard the U. S. S. Empire State and the Annex; the Pennsylvania Nautical school, based at Philadelphia, aboard the U. S. S. Annapolis; the Massachusetts Nautical Nau-tical school, based at Boston, aboard the U. S. S. Nantucket, and on the Pacific coast, the California Cali-fornia Nautical school, based at California City, on San Francisco bay, aboard the U. S. S. California Cali-fornia State. Every year the 500 young men, between be-tween the ages of seventeen and twenty-one years, undergo training In these four schools. For a bird's eye view of life at the academy, let's visit the U. S. S. Empire State. As one drives Into the Brooklyn navy yard a khaki-garbed United States marine corporal steps up to the visiting automobile, asks the caller's business and sends for a bluejacket, who conducts one past battleship-gray painted destroyers, de-stroyers, cruisers and other navy vessels docked In the yard. A couple of turns along railroad-tracked railroad-tracked streets lead to the gangplank of the U. S. S. Empire State. A rifle-belted seaman clicks his heels, salutes and leads on to the skipper's quarters forward, below the bridge. The skipper is Capt. L. B. Green, second assistant superintendent of the academy, commanding the training ship. He is a graduate of the United States Naval academy at Annapolis. A sharp wind slices across the navy yard, but Captain Green marches down a gangway connecting con-necting the training ship with its auxiliary vessel ves-sel lying alongside the Annex. The latter Is a converted sailing ship. Her once towering foremast fore-mast and mainmast are stubbed. She carries no rigging, but has a broad deck for boat and other drills. Below decks she is laid out for school rooms, dormitories, electrical and mechanical me-chanical work shops. Cadets In the Annex are nominal newcomers. Here they are taught mathematics, navigation, hygiene, rope and wire cable use and splicing, signalling, fire prevention, launching and handling han-dling of boats and a hundred other maritime duties. Here, too, they have their first taste of discipline aboard ship. The cadets are hard at work. In one room, equipped with regulation school desks, they are deep in trigonometry. Below, In the hold of the Annex, they are working in the machine shop. Others are bending and weaving heavy wire cable ends around an oval eye. Still another group has taken a heavy water pump apart and U busily at work putting It together again. Captain Green proceeds through the passages, Furlinq the Sails past blue-uniformed lads. Each group snaps to "attention" and holds It until the senior officer says "carry on." "Topside" are several groups engaged In boat drills, launching, handling long sweeping oars in heavy life boats coxswains standing up, astern In each boat, giving orders. It's a cold and windy day but the boys bend to with a will and send their boats cleaving the navy yard waters. "Below" is the real "feel" of the ship. Not a quick rush to the side to unburden an upset stomach . . . but the atmosphere of being at sea. It is quiet but exciting. The only thing lacking Is the throb of turning engines . . . the gentle lift of long ground swells. Captain Green goes forward to Inspect paint lockers, shower baths and living quarters, where the boys sleep in beds. Romantic days of the hammock have vanished. The skipper admits that sleeping, when tucked in cocoon comfort within one's hammock, is a blissful state, but there is more luxury in cadet accommodations today. Lockers are provided for personal effects and uniforms. More cadet study space is discovered, with long, polished, white wooden tables that swing up to the ceiling and out of the way when not In use. The canteen for candy, tobacco and other, oth-er, luxuries, strikes a responsive note. Mess hall serving tables, cafeteria style, where 150 hungry young men can be served in eight minutes. Food is sent down from the galley, located on a higher deck, by dumbwaiter. The whole place shines with cleanliness. Next came a visit to the "sickbay" or ship's hospital. One youngster had a touch of sore throat but was recovering quickly. A regular doctor Is assigned to the ship. Anyone on the "binnacle list" is promptly attended and officers of the training vessel said there were few patients. pa-tients. Captain Green and his staff have their own mess, a room done In dark wood with light green trimming. Here the deck and engineer staff units dine at separate tables, because there always has been a bit of pleasant rivalry between be-tween the two groups. Although boys join the academy for training to fit them for captaincy or engineershlp, they have their own choice of the branch preferred. Once they have completed the school couHse and have graduated, there is little time lost In getting get-ting them assigned to active duty aboard one of Uncle Sam's merchant ships. The boy who wants to go to sea as a professional pro-fessional mariner Is trained at one of the four academies to become an officer or engineer and enjoy life on the rolling deep, and he has the additional ad-ditional opportunity for service in steamship offices of-fices ashu f This gives him an excellent incentive incen-tive to grow in the maritime world and to "point" for an executive position In steamship circles. This is not a pipe dream. It is the design de-sign and reason for the existence of these four nautical training schools. Uncle Sam has to battle for his peace time and war rights. Ships must carry commerce, passengers, pas-sengers, mails to every country. Commanders and chief engineers ot these ships must be level- Kjotinq the Sun" with Sextants hended and well-trained. For this reason, It was pointed out, unusual care Is exercised In selecting se-lecting merchant marine academy candidates. Boys must be United States citizens, have high school education or its equivalent, be physically, phys-ically, mentally, morally sound as a new dollar and must have the qualities that make for lead-ershlp lead-ershlp courtesy, promptness In obeying commands com-mands and correct seamanlike habits. The wheel and chart house come next for Inspection. In-spection. In the afternoon sun the compass, steering apparatus, engine room telegraph and other bright work gleamed and glinted from elbow-greased high polish. It was exactly like any other American merchantman's bridge except that there were two large, long tables extending the width of the enclosed space, upon which cadets, ca-dets, studying navigation while on summer cruise, work out the ship's course. A huge flag locker was located nearby, bulging with neatly rolled multi-colored bunting. Atop the bridge was the diamond shaped radio direction finder loop, open air binnacle and steering wheel. Nine times out of ten the U. S. S. Empire State Is steered from the enclosed bridge, or the flying bridge by a helmsman, generally a quartermaster. But Captain Green went below and pointed out the line of steering apparatus to a room far astern In the ship, where the rudder tiller Is swung by automatic devices and where cadets are instructed, at times. In blind steering. A bridge lookout may be the eyes of the ship, on such occasions, but cadets are taught to navigate safely by using Inside compass and wheel. The engine room, deep in the bowels of the vessel, was fragrant with hot oils. Here a maze of shining iron ladders wind up, around and about the powerful driving equipment of the training ship. All brightwork was spotless and the ship could cast off on short notice, for steam is kept up in the boilers most of the time. Intricacies In-tricacies of this department prohibit elaborate description. It is a world of machinery In itself . . . the pride of engineers who undergo exhaustive exhaus-tive instruction and training aship and ashore and who are charged with the mechanical welfare wel-fare of their vessel. It is interesting to note that, In most cases, the captain and chief engineer of a ship hold nearly equal rank. Both wear four gold stripes. They are associates in command, although In the last analysis the captain's word is supreme. The cadets have an abundance of recreation. Many are amateur musicians, have their Instruments Instru-ments aboard and make use of the ship's piano. And when some one tears off a large amount of "In the Evening by the Moonlight" a flood of barber shop harmony generally haunts the ship. Captain Green pointed "out a number of cadets ca-dets engaged In Infantry drill on the concrete docks below. This gives them a taste of military mili-tary activity. Such military schooling will automatically auto-matically entitle cadets to become members of the naval reserve. Cadet Instructors are capable, efficient and painstaking In their work. For them special training is required. The skipper said that several sev-eral had taken not one but numerous Instruction Instruc-tion courses. A number of them are graduates of the New York Merchant Marine academy, preferring teaching to life aboard ship where they start In as third class officers. Over sandwiches, cakes and orange pekoe in the captain's quarters plans for summer were explained. "We will have our regular training cruise," said the skipper, a twinkle of anticipation in his eyes, adding that "we expect to shove off some time in June, take In a bit of the Atlantic for cruising purposes and touch at several European ports." These cruises are duck soup for cadets. The boys get their fingers Into navigation and engineering en-gineering and, In addition, see the world first hand. Stops include many Continental and Mediterranean Medi-terranean ports. One leaves the U. S. S. Empire State with the Impression of having seen a number of splendid, splen-did, clean-cut, ambitious young fellows eagerly carving out their maritime careers, on a smart merchant training ship, under the watchful, kindly kind-ly supervision of a "four striper who knows his stuff." Similar activities are pursued at the other three nautical schools. - ( by Western Newspaper Union.) |