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864 ILLUSTRATED WORLD
cargo, to "subsist" the troops after their
arrival on foreign soil, but this is a matter
that would be determined by circumstances.
Let us suppose the Logan started on
her perilous trip across the Atlantic with
two thousand fighting men on board.
They are under the command of an army
colonel. But his function is purely disciplinary.
He has nothing to do with
the management of the ship. In fact, he
is merely a passenger, and his soldiers
have the same status.
The management of the ship is exclusively
in the hands and under the control
of its captain, a civilian officer who is
responsible only to the War Department,
his employer.
But there his authority ends. On
board is an officer of the regular army, a
"transport quartermaster", who holds
the vessel's purse. He pays the wages of
the captain and the crew. When the ship
arrives at a port, he buys the supplies
with drafts on the United States Treas­
ury, and manages the finances of the
men.
The transport quartermaster is the real
commander of the transport, because he
holds the purse-strings. But he has also
the authority to govern the course of the
voyage, and even to negotiate, as a quasi-
THE BUNKS
During their voyage across, the men will sleep in "stacked" beds as shown above. The equipment is hung
alongside on racks.
diplomatic officer, with foreign governments.
In this respect his functions correspond
to those of the captain of a
warship.
It should be explained that on a big
transport, such as the Logan, only about
sixty-five men are required to work the
vessel. But one hundred thirty-five or
thereabouts, in addition, will be needed
for the guns—including, that is to say,
ammunition-handlers and others who act
as helpers. This raises the number of
the crew to two hundred, as already
stated.
Just how many guns will be carried by
each transport crossing the Atlantic, and
what their calibers will be, is at present
a military secret.