"THE TRADE.”

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XLI, Issue 11650, 19 August 1916, Page 2

"THE TRADE.”

[Copyright 1916 by Rudyard Kipling] They hear, in place of classic names, Letters and numbers on their skin. They play their grisly, blindfold games In little boxes made,of tin. Sometimes they stalk the Zeppelin, Sometimes they learn where mines are laid Or where the Baltic ice is thin. That is the custom of “Ihe Trade.” Few prize-courts sit upon their claims, They seldom tow their targets in, They follow certain secret aims Down under, far from strife or din. When they are ready to begin No flag is flown, no fn&3 is made More than the shearing of a pin. That is the custom of ‘‘The Trade. ” The Scout’s quadruple funnel flames A mark from Sweden to the Swin, The Cruiser's thund’rous screw proclaims Her comings out and goings in. But only whiffs of paraffin, Or creamy rings that fi«z and fade, Show where the one-eyed Death has been, That is the custom of ‘‘The Trade.” Their feats, their fortunes, and their fumes ~ Are hidden from their nearest kin; No eager public backs or blames, No journal prints the yarns they spin (The Censor would not let it in?) When they return from run or raid. Unheard they work, unseen they win, That is the custom of ‘‘The Trade.” No one knows how the title of ‘‘The Trade” came to be applied to the Submarine Service. Some say that tljecruisers invented it, because they pretend that submarine officers loon like unwashed chauffeurs. Others think it sprang forth by itself,- which means that it was caused by the lower deck, where they, always have the proper names for things. Whatever the truth, the Submarine Service is now “The Trade”; and if you ask them why, they will answer: “What else could you call it? The Trade’s ‘The Trade,’ of course.