PART IV. WATER TRANSPORTATION[21]

[21] In the preparation of this part the following publications have been utilized extensively: “United States Department of Labor Description of Occupations--Water Transportation,” Reisenberg’s “The Men on Deck,” and “United Spates Shipping Board Emergency Fleet Corporation Hearings before the Committee on Commerce, United States Senate, 1918.” Water transportation may be considered from two standpoints, terminal and interterminal. Terminal transportation does not differ materially from transportation upon the rivers and canals. Interterminal transportation, whether on the Great Lakes or on the sea, is practically the same. In this place we shall, accordingly, deal with only terminal and ocean transportation. PLAN No. 1013. TERMINAL TRANSPORTATION Terminal transportation has to do with the loading and unloading of cargoes, and is usually heavy work that requires men with strong backs and little training. The men who supervise the laborers on the boats must have executive ability and a knowledge of boats, equipment, and harbors. The chief qualification of a captain of a barge, a scow, a lighter, or a covered barge, is ability to direct other men at the work of loading and unloading the vessel, of handling lines, and of shifting the boat, and ability to make minor repairs. On lighters and covered barges the captain tallies and signs up for the cargo received. The master steers the boat, gives orders to the crew, and signals the engineer for movement of the boat. He is responsible for the safety of the passengers and the crew. He must have keen eyesight and the ability to act quickly and efficiently in an emergency. He must be thoroughly familiar with the harbor and with harbor conditions. He supervises the pilot, if one is carried on the boat. On smaller boats, the pilot acts as master, and then his duties are the same as the master’s. The wheelsman is an assistant to the master, and performs part of the latter’s duties. Deckhands sometimes act as wheelsmen, and may advance to that position, or higher--to pilot, captain, or master. The engineer is usually a man of considerable skill and experience and possesses a thorough knowledge of the machinery of the boat. He sees that the engine is properly cared for, oiled and kept in good working condition. He directs the work of his assistant, of the oiler who oils the machinery, and of the firemen. He receives his orders for the movement of the boat from the master. DISABILITIES Of these men, only those who supervise other men could have sustained serious injuries. None of them may have either defective eyesight or hearing. The loss of an arm would usually be a serious handicap, and also the loss of a leg would be such an inconvenience for most men in climbing on and about the boat as to be a serious handicap. In these occupations good opportunities for men seriously disabled are comparatively few. OCEAN TRANSPORTATION On board a large ocean liner is to be found a complete organization of officers, supervisors, clerks, and skilled and unskilled laborers. As a general rule, all of these men must be physically sound, and about the only disabilities allowable are the loss of fingers, of a foot, and perhaps of one eye if the remaining eye is very good. For men so disabled there is some slight opportunity for advancement. Only the clerical positions such as the purser, assistant purser, or freight clerk, can be filled by men who have lost a hand or leg, or who are otherwise physically unfit for climbing about on slippery decks in a rolling sea. Wages paid during the war have been abnormally high. OCEAN VESSELS VARY GREATLY There are two general classes of ocean vessels--sail and steam, steam vessels being in many instances equipped for sailing. In these two general classes there are, however, all sorts and types of boats and ships. PLAN No. 1014. CREW AND DUTIES LIKEWISE VARY The crew of a steam vessel has three departments--deck, engineer’s, and steward’s.[22] [22] The United States Shipping Board has made the following announcement of free training for deck officers and engineers: “The United States Shipping Board is creating a new national fleet of merchantmen, controlled by the United States Government. The Shipping Board needs for these ships 4,000 new watch officers and 4,000 new engineers. Men of proper experience will be trained free of charge to take examinations for licenses in either branch of the service to fill these positions.” The experience required ranges from two to three years at certain maritime occupations. You can learn more about this opportunity to get training by conferring with representatives of the Federal Board for Vocational Education. The deck crew of a steamer depends upon the size and type of the vessel, and ranges from as low as nine on a small steamer to 972 on the _Olympic_, officers included. The average number of able seamen is about seven for ocean-carrying vessels. The others are officers, ordinary seamen, deck boys, etc. It has been charged that boats frequently ship without any able seamen, and depend upon ordinary seamen and deck boys in emergencies. Deck duty is varied and crowded with emergencies. “The sailor’s daily work in all kinds of vessels and weather, at the wheel, on the lookout, and on deck, teaches him to know the sea and how to work with it. His work with tackles, lines, and cables, in hoisting and lowering, trains his judgment of strains and distances.”[23] “The amount of gear and equipment used in the deck department on different classes of steamships varies greatly, but the difference is one of degree rather than of the kind.”[24] [23] International Conference on Safety at Sea, p. 119. [24] International Conference on Safety at Sea, p. 121. PLAN No. 1015. NAVAL VERSUS MERCHANT MARINE CREWS The crew and the work done on a merchant vessel are so different from those on a naval vessel that the disabled sailor would have much to learn in going from a naval vessel to a merchant vessel. One fundamental difference is this: The merchant vessel carries generally only about one-third the crew--ton for ton--that the naval vessel does. On a naval vessel the men work in groups; on a merchant vessel the man works as an individual and not in a group. The crew of a large merchant vessel consists more or less of the following officers, seamen, and attendants: Master, chief mate, second mate, third officer, fourth officer, senior quartermaster, quartermaster, master-at-arms, chief steward, chief second-class steward, chief third-class steward, chief engineer, first assistant engineer, second assistant engineer, third assistant engineer, junior engineer, deck engineer, leading fireman, oiler, electrician, carpenter, boatswain, able seamen, ordinary seamen, deck boy, water tender, lookout, purser, assistant purser, freight clerk, and bakers, chefs, cooks, buglers, butchers, cadets, storekeeper, and watchman. PLAN No. 1016. THE MASTER OR CAPTAIN The master has general supervision over the vessel, crew, and passengers. He has complete charge of the vessel at all times, but during a severe storm or other emergency he stands on the watch continuously day and night and issues the necessary orders. He is responsible for the safe navigation of his vessel. His responsibility extends to the management of the various departments as well as to the vessel and its care as a whole--for the safety of the lives of passengers and crew, and for the safe storage, carriage, and unloading of cargo. He must have a thorough knowledge of navigation, which subject he must have studied thoroughly, and in which he must have passed a rigid examination before he received his license as a master. He must likewise possess a legal knowledge of the laws governing right upon the sea and determining his duties as regards the ship and its passengers, crew, and cargo. Among his other duties are to keep the log properly and to inspect the ship regularly as to ventilation, warmth, and cleanliness. He must be the last man to leave the ship in case of disaster, and must do everything within his power for the safety of the passengers and crew. He must have received much of his training in lower positions upon the sea, but he must also have studied navigation in some school or under some able master. He must have executive ability of a high order and be able to act efficiently in an emergency. PLAN No. 1017. THE CHIEF MATE Next to the master in authority and responsibility comes the chief mate. He shares with the master responsibility for safe and proper navigation of the ship. He is the chief executive officer and must organize and supervise the routine work of keeping order throughout the ship. He is held responsible for discipline. Under him is the master-at-arms, the ship’s policeman, who keeps order among the crew and steerage passengers. His knowledge of the vessel, its equipment, stores, and complement of men must be thorough. He supervises the preparation and care of the holds, and the loading, stowing, and unloading of cargo. This is done under his personal direction or under another officer to whom he has delegated the duty. He sees that the cargo-handling gear is kept in proper working condition. It is his duty to inspect the lifeboats and have them kept properly equipped and in working order, and to hold regular lifeboat drills. The firefighting equipment is likewise in his care, and he must also hold fire drills regularly. His training and knowledge is very similar to that required of the master. Ordinarily he takes his turn with the third and fourth officers at a watch on the bridge. PLAN No. 1018. THE SECOND MATE The second mate stands his watch on the bridge, takes various observations, and gives orders to the quartermasters. On large liners he has complete charge of the navigating equipment, and is known as the navigating officer. When the vessel docks he supervises matters at the after end of the boat. In general, he has charge of the after holds, the after cargo, and the after gears. Only in experience and degree of training do his qualifications differ from those of the chief mate. PLAN No. 1019. WATCH OFFICERS The third and fourth officers are watch officers. The fourth officer is frequently left in charge of the bridge in fair weather and under good conditions, and like the third officer takes observations, and gives orders to the quartermaster. The third officer has general charge of the forward holds, under the supervision of the chief mate. On some vessels, he is the signal officer and has charge of the care and use of the signal flag and other signaling equipment. Frequently he supervises the placing of the gangway and the embarkation of the passengers when the vessel docks. Both of these officers must have had instruction in navigation, and must be alert and attentive to duty. PLAN No. 1020. THE CHIEF ENGINEER AND HIS ASSISTANTS The chief engineer, the assistant engineers, the junior engineers, the deck engineers, the firemen, oilers, and electricians care for all machinery of the ship. The chief engineer stands no watch, but the assistant engineers do, and are responsible for all that takes place in the engine room and fireroom during their watch at sea. Under these assistant engineers are the junior engineers, one of whom is in direct charge during each watch of each of the firerooms, the engine room, and the auxiliaries. In port the junior engineers help the other engineers, the firemen, and the oilers in the repair, packing and overhauling of the machinery. The chief engineer is held responsible for the proper functioning of the engines and boilers, the deck machinery, the electrical, refrigerating and sanitary equipment, and for all steam connections on the ship. He must see that the regulations of his department are carried out, that the engine and fireroom crews are qualified and conduct themselves with sobriety. At the end of each voyage he reports on these matters, and on the working of the machinery--its breakdowns and repairs, especially any exceptional one made away from port--the miles traveled, temperatures, and consumption of fuel. It is his duty to have the steamer properly coaled, both as to quality and quantity of coal. He must possess executive ability, and must have studied engineering in a nautical school or under a competent engineer for a period of years. The first assistant engineer has as his special duty the general charge of all boilers and machinery in the engine department. The second assistant engineer usually employs the fireroom crew and reports to the chief engineer on their qualifications and conduct. He has charge of the repairs and overhauling of the main engines and auxiliaries on the starboard side. The deck engineer supervises and keeps in repair the deck machinery, the steering gear, windlass engine, capstans, and the sanitary systems. The leading fireman has supervision over the firing of the boilers, the keeping of water in the boilers, and over the firemen, coal passers and water tenders. He personally tends a set of fires. On some boats he acts as interpreter of the orders of superior officers to the firemen who are foreigners and can not understand the orders in English. The oiler must keep all the engines clean and well oiled, and see that they are running smoothly and without undue heat. The electrician supervises and keeps in repair the dynamo engines, the electric motors, and other electrical apparatus on the ship. The work of keeping the ship in working condition is usually done by the engineering department. There is, however, some work of repairing that is done by the carpenter, whose duties depend greatly upon the character of the ship. He is generally charged with the upkeep of masts and booms, the repair of wooden decks, and the opening and covering of the hatches. PLAN No. 1021. THE BOATSWAIN The boatswain, under the supervision of the chief mate, has active charge of the deck crew, and works the seamen at washing, repairing, and painting decks. PLAN No. 1022. ABLE SEAMEN Since all officers must have served as able seamen, the required duties of the able seamen are worth noting in detail. “While on board ship in port, the able seaman is occupied with cleaning, painting, repairing, and overhauling. When the vessel is at sea, the able seaman washes decks and the outside of deckhouses, slacks off exposed gear when shrinking too tight in damp weather, and tightens it again when it becomes too lose in dry weather. When a storm comes on the able seaman closes all open hatches, ports, etc., and lashes down all movables on deck or stows them away.” The ordinary seaman does the same work as the able seaman, so far as his training and ability will permit. The deck boy is simply an apprentice seaman. “The man who expects to be known as an able seaman on a steamship must know the use of rigging screws, fids, marlinspikes, serving mallets, the palm and needle, calking tools, and most of the carpenter tools; the mixing of paints and colors; how to obtain strong leverages with bars, ropes, tackles; how to brace with wedges and shores; besides knowing the various knots and splices; and to worm, parcel, serve, and seize, with rope and wire; and must be able to hold up his end of a job when it comes to climbing and working in places where both armhold and foothold is difficult. He must know the lead line, not only its marks but how to use it to get correct sounding when the ship is in close quarters, the night dark, and the sea heavy, whether he stands in a smother of sea on a low freighter or far up the side of an immense liner. The compass, of course, is a familiar object to him, but he must know how to use it, how to steer the ship under all conditions, what to expect and how to meet it when he is steering across a current as well as with it or against it, through the swift rush of a narrows, passing at close quarters in and out of the suction of another heavy ship under speed, with the wind light or strong from any direction, heading into a heavy sea, taking it on either bow or quarter or abeam, under check or full speed, rolling and pitching heavily, or running before it, when a blunder may mean total loss of ship with lives and cargo. The man at the wheel must know his work, what to expect and how to meet it instantly, in calm or storm, daylight or dark, in clear weather or in fog. The man who learns to be a reasonably good helmsman in even three years is an exception, because, regardless of the aptitude of the individual, the personal knowledge of varying conditions, different ships and how they act under differing circumstances, familiarity with the various steering gears, can only be gained through experience necessarily covering a good deal of time. The steam steering gear, rendering less physical strength necessary and making possible the handling of larger ships, requires greater skill than the old hand method, which permitted the man at the wheel to feel the increasing or decreasing rudder pressure and thus warned him of just how the ship was acting. “Prepared paint is seldom brought on board ship. The raw material is put on board and is mixed according to needs by the able seaman. Graining, filling, varnishing, and lettering is done as well as ordinary flat painting. Sailors become sufficiently skilled at this work to qualify as journeymen painters on shore. The deck crew cleans all outside parts of the ship, except the funnel, from the masts and booms to the deck houses, decks, and sides of the ship.”[25] [25] International Conference on Safety of Life at Sea, pp. 124-125. HOURS OF LABOR The hours of labor for workmen are: On deck, two shifts (watch and watch) 12 hours each; in the engine room three shifts of 8 hours each. In emergencies the hours are greatly lengthened. WAGES Following is the wage scale which has been established during the war. In 1915 wages were about half the amounts here given: Sailors and firemen, $60 per month; coal passers, $50 per month; oilers and water tenders, $65 per month; boatswain, $70 per month; carpenters, $75 per month; overtime pay for cargo work 50 cents per hour, and for ship work 40 cents per hour. The bonus for going into the war zone was 50 per cent of the wages, the wages and bonus to continue until crew arrive back in the United States; $100 compensation was paid for loss of effects caused by war conditions. Board and quarters are of course provided in addition to the wages.[26] [26] United States Emergency Fleet Corporation Hearing before the Committee on Commerce, United States Senate, pp. 854-857. TRAINING Seamen are required to have three years’ experience at sea to receive able seamen’s certificates. Vessels differ greatly to-day and conditions and duties abroad are so radically different, while the voyages to various parts of the globe subject seamen to so many varied emergencies, that a long training at sea is necessary to make an able seamen. It is the rule for seaman to change from ship to ship. There are training schools for seamen. During the war the school at Boston gave intensified training for six to eight weeks, then placed the learner on a boat at sea, and after about six weeks he qualified as an ordinary seaman. For a man to get his “sea legs” requires this long a period. “It takes some time for a man to get himself so accustomed to the sea he can walk along the deck without holding himself fast to something when the vessel is rolling and pitching.” SAFETY The seaman is exposed to bad weather conditions, accidents, and disease. The mortality rate among seamen is very high--much higher than among some occupations commonly thought to be extra hazardous to life and health. English mortality statistics show that the death rate among seamen is far greater than among miners and railroad trainmen. Since it is a dangerous calling for men sound in limb and body, it is, accordingly, very undesirable in general for disabled men. PLAN No. 1023. THE LOOKOUT The lookout has a position of responsibility. Stationed in the crow’s nest or on the forecastle, he watches for everything that comes in sight, and especially for things that might damage the ship, such as derelicts, icebergs, submarines, and on-coming steamships. When he sights anything, he reports it immediately to the bridge, either by shouting, speaking tube, telephone, or telegraph. He must have keen eyesight and attend strictly to duty. A disabled soldier or sailor with these qualifications, and whose disabilities do not prevent his climbing readily, or holding himself in position in stormy weather might qualify for this position. PLAN No. 1024. THE PURSER--A POSITION FOR DISABLED SOLDIERS A far better position for the disabled man is that of the purser, or assistant purser. The purser is a treasurer, accountant, and chief clerk on the ship. Money and valuables may be deposited with him by the passengers for safety. He acts as a sort of cashier for the passengers and crew in changing money and cashing traveler’s checks, etc. He keeps the wages account of the crew, and is present when the crew is paid off. He collects or supervises the collection of all tickets, and checks these against the passenger list as soon as practicable after the vessel has sailed. He is responsible for the manifests, bills of health, clearance papers, and cargo. He should know everything about the passengers and cargo. Although the master must record in his log any death aboard, the purser must get the details for his own report and for the master’s log. He supplies information and encourages entertainments among the passengers. He should be able to speak the languages of the countries at which his ship comes to port. He should possess tact and be courteous to the passengers. The freight clerk has a position, that for the freight is somewhat similar to that of the assistant purser for the passengers. PLAN No. 1025. CHIEF STEWARDS Chief stewards have positions corresponding closely to those of a large hotel, sanitarium or similar institution. They must have business and executive ability, and are held responsible for the comfort and service of passengers in matters of sleeping quarters, food, heat, and ventilation. Under them are the chef, cooks, and numerous other attendants. Each of these occupations has the characteristics of the same occupation as followed on the land. Upon chief stewards devolves the further duty of purchasing in advance of a voyage in proper quantities the supplies needed. It should be added that if a disabled soldier or sailor is qualified for any of these positions, he will generally find work on land preferable to work on board a ship. OTHER POSITIONS IN WATER TRANSPORTATION A large number of office positions corresponding to those in railway service exist at the leading ports. Disabled sailors could qualify for these and find their former experience of value. PLAN No. 1026. OCCUPATIONS IN NAVY YARDS ACKNOWLEDGMENT This monograph was prepared by Charles R. Allen, special agent of the Federal Board for Vocational Education. Acknowledgment is due to Dr. John Cummings, of the Research Division, for editorial assistance. Perhaps you have been on a ship when she was in the yard. In that case you have some notion of the various jobs that are carried on. Perhaps you have seen in one part of the yard a ship under construction on the ways, and have seen and heard the riveters, bolters up, chippers, and calkers at work. Perhaps you have been in the shops and have seen the boiler makers, the sheet-metal men, the machinists, the jointers at work. In short, perhaps you already have a pretty good idea of the different kinds of work that are carried on in a navy yard, but would like to know more about it. Perhaps you never were in a navy yard, or if you were, you were too busy to notice what went on. In that case you may be still interested in knowing how many different trades are carried on in a navy yard, and how they are carried on. In either case if you followed a trade before you entered the service, if you learned a trade while you were in the service, or if you intend to take advantage of the opportunity offered to you by the Federal Board for Vocational Education to take further training in your trade or to take training for some new trade after your discharge, you may be interested in finding out what a navy yard is, what trades are carried on, how they are carried on, what their requirements are, what a man must do to qualify for a navy-yard job, what sort of working conditions he would work under, what the chances of promotion would be, how much pay he could get, and, in general, whether there is anything in navy-yard employment that appeals to you and that you would want to try to get into. This pamphlet gives you some general information about navy-yard employments, and tells you how you can get more detailed information if you are interested in finding out more about opportunities for navy-yard employment. GENERAL WORKING CONDITIONS If you go to work in a navy-yard you get an eight-hour day, with Saturday half holidays from June 15 to September 15. You can be granted 30 working days leave of absence each year without loss of pay during such leave, but it would be lawful to allow you pro rata leave only after you have served 12 months or more. During the second year of service you could be allowed 60 days leave with pay, 30 days at any time during the year and 30 days at the rate of 2¹⁄₂ days a month as earned from the beginning of the service year. After two years of service you could get 30 days’ leave per year, at the rate of 2¹⁄₂ days per month. Should you be injured in the usual course of employment you would be entitled to receive compensation under certain conditions. STABILITY OF EMPLOYMENT Of course, during the war navy-yard work has been rushed and a large number of extra men have been taken on, but under ordinary conditions, such as existed before the war and will exist after the war, navy-yard work is pretty steady, and if you are a good man when you are once employed you are likely to hold a steady job. Should you be laid off on account of lack of work, you can get your name on a furlough list for reinstatement. As a civil-service employee, you can not be discharged at the whim of your superior, but only for cause. Rates of pay will average well with those paid for similar work in private concerns, and there is little danger of loss of employment through the concern going out of business. All of these conditions make employment in navy yards desirable from the standpoint of holding a steady job when you are once employed. WHAT ARE THE HEALTH CONDITIONS IN NAVY-YARD EMPLOYMENT? The list of navy yard trades and occupations show you that the general health conditions in the different shop trades are about the same as in the same trades anywhere. Since most navy yards have been established for a good many years many of the shop buildings are not up to modern-shop standards, especially as regards lighting, but new buildings are constantly being erected that are much better than the old ones. The yard trades are mostly carried on in the open air, which might be a very desirable thing if you need outside work for your health, and could stand the heat in summer and the cold in winter. As a general rule few if any of the navy yard trades and occupations would be rated as extra dangerous to health on account of dust, dangerous gases, etc. CHANCES FOR PROMOTION If you are employed as a laborer or at work that requires no mechanical skill or trade knowledge you can not be promoted, but you can, as can any one else enter open competitive examination for higher positions. With the trade and technical knowledge that you now have, or that you can secure through training with the help of the Federal Board for Vocational Education you will not have to take jobs of that kind. Without such knowledge and training, however, these are the only sort of jobs that you could get. If you start in a position that requires some mechanical skill or trade knowledge, such as an apprentice or helper, you can secure promotion in several ways. If you have rendered six months’ satisfactory service you may, if the head of your department requests it and the commanding officer approves, be promoted to a position in the artisan group, upon passing the tests of fitness required by the Civil Service Commission. If you are employed as an artisan promotion to such positions as foreman, leading man, quarterman, etc., is open to you if you possess the necessary qualifications. HOW TO APPLY FOR WORK IN A NAVY YARD In applying for a job in a navy yard you do not “go to the gate” or to a superintendent or a boss, as you would if applying for work in a private concern. All employees in navy yards are employed under the civil service rules. Under these rules when there is a vacancy it is filled by offering the job to the individual whose name stands highest on what is called the eligible list. The way to get in line for a navy yard job is, therefore, to get on the eligible list with as high a rating as possible. As a disabled sailor or marine you have a special advantage here as is explained later. GETTING ON THE ELIGIBLE LIST For detailed official information as to just what your qualifications must be and just how you must proceed to secure a place on the eligible list for employment in navy yards you should secure a copy of Instructions to Applicants for Employment at Navy Yards and Naval Stations. Probably you can get a copy from your vocational adviser, or you can write to the United States Civil Service Commission, Washington, D. C. Probably you will want to get some explanations from your vocational adviser and you should take the matter up with him. The following will give you a general idea of how individuals for navy yard appointments may proceed to get their names on the eligible list for their trade or occupation. Your first step is to apply for examination for a civil-service rating. At nearly all yards and naval stations there are labor boards that receive applications for employment in the yards to which they are attached. (The “instructions” already referred to will give you exact information on this point.) If men are needed or are likely to be needed, arrangements will be made to determine your qualifications and rate you. In general, if you are applying for examination and rating as an artisan (as you probably would be), you would be rated on your experience, your training, and your physical ability. If your physical ability is affected by your services in the Navy or the Marine Corps, it is the understanding of the office of the Federal Board for Vocational Education that wherever a soldier, sailor, or marine has been disabled in the war and desires employment in any occupation in a navy yard or shipyard under the jurisdiction of the United States Government, the question of his physical ability to discharge the duties of the position properly will be passed upon individually for each case. Should the Civil Service Commission determine that, notwithstanding his handicap, he is able to do the work of the position in a satisfactory way, any general rule or regulation regarding disability now in operation under the rules of the commission will not apply. Therefore, if you are a disabled soldier, sailor, or marine interested in navy yard occupations, you should first communicate with representatives of the Federal Board for Vocational Education regarding your case. These representatives are to be found at the central office at Washington, D. C., or in one of the district offices given at the back of this pamphlet. You do not have to pass written examinations, but your rating is determined by the values given to your training, physical ability, and experience as stated by you under oath and verified by the examining board. If your rating is over a certain number your name is placed on the eligible list. The higher your rating the nearer your name to the top of the list. When vacancies occur appointments are made from the top of the list down, and appointees are notified when and where to report for work. HOW PREVIOUS TRAINING, EXPERIENCE, AND EDUCATION HELP If you have already had some experience in a navy yard occupation that you wish to follow you are at a great advantage. For example, if you worked in a machine shop or in an office before you entered the service, the time that you would need for training for similar work in a navy yard would be greatly reduced--the more you know the more time you can save. If you learned something about the job during your service, this experience, also, will enable you to shorten your training. The more education you have the better off you are--in the first place a man with a good education stands a better chance for promotion, and the better his education the better man he is on his job. A high-school education, for example, would help you very much in office work and in the shop trades. If you can read drawings and blue prints, you can easily learn to read the special sort of blue prints that are used in navy yard work, and this will enable you to shorten your training period. A knowledge of geometry will help you very much in a number of shop trades, such as sheet-metal work and mold-loft work. If you know how to make mechanical drawings you can greatly shorten your training time for work in the drafting rooms. The more mathematics and drawing you know the better your chance of securing promotion to some form of supervisory work. If you have followed an occupation that is somewhat like one of those carried on in navy yards you have a great advantage. Suppose, for example, you were a structural-steel man, or an electrician, or a house plumber, or house carpenter, or stenographer, you already know a great deal about these occupations, and you have only to learn what you do not know about these jobs as they are carried on in navy yards. In order to do this you will not need to take as much time for training as you would if you were entirely green. In all these ways and in many others any education, training, or experience you may have had in trades or occupations will help you very much, either in shortening the time that you would have to take for a training, or in enabling you to train yourself for a higher grade of work. EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR NAVY YARD TRADES You have some education and you will naturally be interested in knowing how much general education a good man must have in the different navy yard trades and occupations. Through your vocational adviser you can get a copy of Aids to Employment Managers and Interviewers on Shipyard Occupations with Descriptions of Such Occupations issued by the United States Shipping Board, Emergency Fleet Corporation, which will give you considerable information along this line. The following may give you some general ideas of the amount of education that a man would need in the different sorts of trades and occupations. In general you can not have too much education for any navy yard jobs. The more education you have the better workman you will be, the better your chances for promotion and, in general, the greater your opportunities. So do not be afraid of knowing too much. On the other hand, if you have had only a common-school education, or even less than that, you need not feel discouraged, not only because many of the men now making good on their jobs have had only a limited school training, but because, with the approval of the Federal Board for Vocational Education, you can secure such additional general education as you may need to equip you for the work that you wish to do. Most navy yard occupations require only a common-school education. That is, if you can read, write, and speak English, and can do ordinary work in arithmetic, you probably have as much general education as most men in these occupations were able to secure before they went to work. Such occupations as draftsman, tracer, electrician, patternmaker, and a few others, especially office work, call for some high-school education. In addition to the general educational requirements the different trades vary in the amount of technical training required. In many trades, such as, for example, that of the machinist, patternmaker, coppersmith, boilermaker, or plumber, a man must be able to read drawings and blue prints, and to follow specifications. This is true of many of the shop trades. In many of these trades a man must be able to make necessary calculations in connection with his work. In some cases a man must have special knowledge about the particular kinds of material that he works on, such as brass, steel, copper, and so on. You should consider carefully what technical training you require for the sort of work you intend to follow, remembering that the opportunity to secure this technical training is a part of the offer for training made to you by the Federal Board for Vocational Education. HOW MAY TRAINING FOR NAVY YARD OCCUPATIONS BE SECURED? Suppose that you have decided that navy yard work looks good to you and you intend to take training for some sort of navy yard work. You have consulted with your vocational adviser, have “taken stock” of yourself, and have selected the particular sort of work that you would like and think you can do best; and have your application approved. How can you secure the training that you need? There are several ways: