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INSPECTION NO CURSORY AFFAIR AFFAIRAll All the ships of the American squadron were represented in the large assembly that lined the upper deck of the flagship Each had sent the cap ¬ tain two other officers and fifty men to represent it at the inspection by the king and the inspection was no cursory affair There are little differences in uniform between American seamen and ours and the meaning of the differences had tpfTbe explained before the king would pass on The review of per ¬ sonnel was followed by a detailed examination of the ship herself and here there were many differ ¬ ences of note noteThe The American ships for example have fully equipped dental parlors if I may borrow the phrase from the unlicensed gentlemen who practice in London and every man has to submit to dental examination at regular Intervals There is an eaually fully equipped barbershop for the sole use of the lower deck men and the tower deck of the American navy today includes university graduates and men who have given up billets at 2000 a year for the duration of the war warMoreover Moreover the American bluejacket receives a much higher rate of pay than our men do and can afford such luxuries as face massage On the other hand he receives no free issue of tobacco but he can buy most of the best brands at his canteen cheaper than he buys them ashore ashoreAfter After his inspection of the main deck the king went into the engineroom and stokehold The flag ¬ ship has little that is new in engineering science to show but after today she has one implement that no other ship in the American navy possesses the shovel with which the king fed the fire under one of the boilers boilersThe The inspection ended with a quaintly democratic incident Chief Boatswains Mate Schirm who has twentysix years service in the United States navy to his credit was presented to the king and in honor of the occasion the men of his division were allowed to line up on the quarterdeck when all the other men had gone forward and salute both king and petty officer officerBefore Before his visit to the American flagship the king held an investiture on the quarterdeck of the the fleet flagship for those officers and men who on account of the rarity of leave in the navy had been unable to go to Buckingham Palace He first presented the insignia of the K C B to Admiral Hugh Rodman and the K C M G to RearAd miral Strauss the two leaders of the United States forces with the grand fleet but neither officer received the accolade nor were they strictly speak ¬ ing invested A number of British officers and men who volunteered from the grand fleet to take part in the ZeebriiggeOstend operations and won honors received their decorations also alsoA A number of othgr interesting incidents occurred during the day that can only be briefly summarized There was an inspection of the destroyer flotillas at which the king passed in review more than 5000 men a general inspection of the fleet when the king passed up and down the lines of the anchored ships in a destroyer an inspection of officers and men of various battle squadrons on board the flag ¬ ship of the second in command In the evening nearly all the flag officers of the different squad ¬ rons dined with the king ou board the fleet flag ¬ ship
