The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

A = ; ; Rulings on Marine, Matters SONATA il Cae of securing an ade- quate supply of carefully trained ships’ officers—already insufficient in certain districts—has become of even greater importance owing to the cer- tainty that American shipyards will turn out vessels in constantly increasing num- bers for months to come. The officials at Washington have been studying this question and an announcement just made by the committee on public infor- mation reveals their plans. The United States shipping board and the depart- ment of commerce are co-operating’ to obtain the large number of officers needed to operate the great fleet of mer- chant ships to be provided for the war emergency. A director of recruiting has been appointed and is now at work - gathering together the force to form the material from which the future officers will come. The United States shipping board and the department of commerce issued this statement jointly: “Henry Howard, Boston, has been ap- pointed director of recruiting under the shipping board, and will conduct a cam- paign for men out of whom we expect to make ship’s officers and engineers and mate’s and engineer’s assistants. The headquarters of this campaign will be at the Boston customhouse. Already a large number of recruits have been ob- tained without much publicity. “We recognize that there are many men with nautical experience, who are good potential material for officers. “It is estimated that there will be needed four deck officers for each ship and four engine-room officers to care for the ships’ building. This totals 8000 officers needed, and the German ships taken over, and ships under construction will bring the required number of officers we must have to 10,000. Nautical School at Boston “The work started June 4 with a nautical school near Boston, where a considerable number of recruits have volunteered and will begin to receive in- struction. They will be given an in- tensive course of training in the essen- tial and practical matters of knowledge regarding navigation. The instructors nent Improvements to Waterways Hints to Navigators noi ie are headed by Dean Alfred E. Burton, of the Massachusetts Institute of Tech- himself a practical navigator and a former member of the United States coast and geodetic survey. The others will be drawn from the staff of the Institute of Technology, and from explorers, navigators and former mem- bers of the coast and geodetic survey staff. All will be thoroughly practical men. The secretary of commerce has offered to assist through the trained officers of the steamboat-inspection § ser- vice. “The technical instruction will be fol- lowed by actual experience on _ the bridge and in the engine room, ‘splitting watches’ with those who are already qualified. The first period of instruc- tion will be given along the coast from eastern Maine to Norfolk. At present it is intended to establish 15 of these schools at once. In the winter season it is likely the instruction will be moved to the milder climate of the south. nology, _Work Very Attractive “The work is a very attractive propo- sition. Current wages are about $250 a month for mates and $350 for captains, with the war bonus in addition. While we are training a man at sea he will be paid a reasonable compensation. It is thought that in two months at the out- side we can take a man of good under- standing and some foundation of nauti- cal knowledge and make a competent officer of him, in the main essentials, sufficiently as to do practical work. “The applicants need not be of any particular age. There is no reason why a well qualified man of 50 should not enter the schools and be made into an officer, provided he is able to pass a physical examination. Those who can not do this as a first requisite will, of course, be rejected. Only men who are in fine physical condition can be used. “Plans for the Pacific coast and the Lakes region have not yet been matured. It is proposed to get the 15 schools along the eastern shore in operation be- fore any extension of the work is made. “Tt is not thought that there will be the slightest difficulty in obtaining suffi- cient men. There are many who have 238 HA KS is Domg had experience as sailing masters, or who have had practical experience in one way or another as regards the sea, who-r form a mass of material for the schools to draw from. “It is proposed to take men who have had some sea or engineering experience and to give them a period of intensive training. Officials recognized that there will be a tremendous demand for capable men to officer the new fleets of the merchant marine but as the ships are launched, it is proposed to have the officers ready to take charge of them. _ “According to figures of the census bureau, the total number of males en- gaged in water transportation and in selected occupations under water trans- portation in 1910 was 148,091. Of the selected occupations the following figures are given: Captains and masters, 7985; mates, ship or boat, 2373; pilots, 2834; engineers, ship or boat, 13,584; machin- ists, 727; firemen, ship or boat, 8245; sailors, 19,750; deckhands, 12,043, and oilers, ship or boat, 1391. The bureau declined to make an estimate on the present numbers, there being such a wide variation in averages between the census of 1910 and the preceding one, as’ regards this class of men, that there is no tangible basis to go upon. Has Hearty Co-operation “The graduates will be examined for licenses by the steamboat inspectors of the department of commerce, and after receiving licenses will be assigned to practical work on merchant ships as fast as they are graduated—taken on to feel their way in responsibility and practical use of their knowledge—and in the work of co-operating with us there has been a cordial response in every line. “This recruiting service has the hearty co-operation of George Uhler, super- vising inspector general of the steam- boat-inspection service, who has assigned Supervising Inspector Eugene O’Donnell, of the fifth district, with headquarters at Boston, to assist Director Howard in every way. “Secretary Redfield, of the department of commerce, is also making every effort. to aid the campaign, and _ has offered to co-operate with the director