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Show THE MARINE CORPS. (Home Sentinel.) The landing at Vera Cruz of a force from the United HtateB Marine Corps bring into the theatre of national conflict a body of men to whose work and sor ice the public pays little attention. at-tention. Tho story iB told of a writer who was prepariug a sketch of certain services rendered by the navy. Being Be-ing a land-lubber, he referred several times to the United States marines, where he should have spoken of the "Bluejackets" or "Jackles." "Cut out the marines," said a naval officer, ' If you want to sell any copies in the navy." In times of peace there would seem to have been some friction or at least lack of sympathy between marines and bluejackets In any such crisiB as the Mexican trouble, all arms of the service probably work together In better harmony than Is the case with European powers. Formerly In the English navy, the marine corps controlled the turbulent spirits of the sailors. The crew ot a battleship was commonly recruited by force from the gutters of seaport town. In the early days of the American Ameri-can navy, the marine corps similarly provided a police force to hold down the wilder character who might create cre-ate ructions. Of recent years there has been a great improvement in the personnel of the bluejarkets They are perfectly perfect-ly capable of policing themselves. The marine corps coulo never be really popular in the navy as long as It was recalled as a club to compel the obedience obe-dience of sailors. Under rules issued in 1908. tho marine's ma-rine's service is mostly confined to police work at naval bases, and to expeditions ex-peditions on shore like the taking of Vera Cruz Little romance attaches to him in the public eye. But when there is a duty to be performed in some miasmatic tropic clime, or under un-der the cover of hostile guns as at Vera Cruz, he offers his service and his life with fine efficiency and patriotism. pa-triotism. IVI |