commission as a Commander in the Navy. Captain Morgan was the first officer in the Navy to take a ship of the Navy through the St. Lawrence River and canals to Chicago, that vessel was the Dubuque. Captain Morgan was the senior Naval officer present during the Cuban outbreak in 1911, and was S. O. P. during the Santa Dominican and Haitian Revolutions in that year and the one following. He was in command of the battleship Minnesota at Vera Cruz in 1914, and was at the War College, Newport, R. I., when we declared war on Germany.

His first command during the war was the Sixth Squadron, Patrol Force, with Hampton Roads as its base, and the Albany as the flagship. The patrol was ordered to the other side, and Captain Morgan was ordered to command the Agamemnon, the ex-Kaiser Wilhelm II. In April, 1918, he was ordered to the staff of Vice-Admiral Gleaves as Force Transport Officer, and remained in that capacity until May 23, at which time he took command of the Great Imperator.

The U. S. S. North Carolina which operated with the Force.

PLACING HER IN COMMISSION

It was a big job, placing the Imperator in commission for the first time by American Navalmen. Fresh from the hands of the enemy into the hands of proud Yankee sailors was the fate of this great leviathan of the deep. She had been tied up alongside the docks at Hamburg, Germany, for four years and nine months, and while her engines and boilers were in fair condition, they were, nevertheless new to the men who were first to sail her under the Stars and Stripes.

Getting a crew to man her was also a big proposition. Without men she would not serve us our purpose, so her first commanding officer had to draw his crew from several naval bases in France, London, and Cardiff, Wales. The Imperator was brought to Brest by a German crew, including a commodore, two captains and a score of other German officers. She was officially placed in commission with Old Glory flying proudly at her flagstaff on the 5th day of May, 1919. Captain John K. Robison, U. S. Navy, was her first commanding officer, and Commander Laird, U. S. Navy, was her first executive officer, and 2500 Yankee fighting men comprised her crew.

Many of the Imperator's officers and enlisted men had been on foreign station for some time, and her commanding officer was ordered from Admiral Sims' headquarters in London.

SHE SAILS FOR THE UNITED STATES

She sailed from Brest on May 15, with 1500 officers of the Army, 300 enlisted men of the Army, many distinguished civilians and 500 nurses on board. She left in company with the Leviathan, and the two vessels had an exciting trip across the Atlantic. While it was not officially announced as a race, it was a close run all the way over. The Leviathan won by a few hours, but be it remembered that the "Levi" had made about twenty trips over, they were hardened to the transport duty, and they knew their ship. When we get a little more accustomed to the packet, we'll show 'em how to put the old Imperator through the water!

The Imperator arrived in New York on the 22nd of May, after a delightful passage over, and she tied up to the dock along with her sistership, the Leviathan. Two of the world's greatest ships—Leviathan and Imperator—at the same dock, and best of all the dock was in the good old U. S. A., and greatest of all, they had the American flag floating over them.

The Imperator lay at the dock at Hoboken until June 3rd, at which time she sailed for Brest. During her stay in port she was given a complete overhauling, standee bunks were installed by the thousands, a new wireless outfit was placed on board,