HOW JACK LIVES BY JOHN D. LONG EX-SECRETARY OF THE NAVY HE opening of the new century TH naturally suggests a retrospection in all branches of science, and a comparison of things as we find them to-day with what they were a hundred years ago. I shall, while touching on the general improvement in warship construction, confine myself rather to what has been done to make our ships more attractive to the people who have to man them. To do so, it is necessary that I should tell you what many of you probably know, that in the days when the Constitution was the embodiment of all that was considered stanch, powerful, and picturesque in naval architecture, the comforts enjoyed in the ships commanded by such men as Hull, Porter, Bainbridge, and Lawrence were few indeed for the officers, and correspondingly less for the men. Steam, that powerful agent which has worked such a revolution in the method of propulsion, had not been thought of for use in warships. All operations were performed by manual power, and the extended voyages, made under sail and necessarily of long duration, entailed what nowadays would be looked upon as great hardships by both officers and men. Corned beef, or salt horse' as it is still called by the men, and salt pork were the only meats carried, and to these were added salt fish, flour, rice, potatoes, beans, and peas. "Hardtack," of course, formed the principal bread supply, and tea and coffee the beverages. Such was the menu at sea. 66 In port, fresh beef took the place of |