The hundreds of thousands of men taken from civil life into the army are now showing a death rate from disease below that of men of military age in civil life. WORK OF THE NAVY The navy was ready and began to take part in the war even before the formal declaration, for as early as March 12, 1917, in response to the President's order, it began arming American merchantmen and fighting their battles. Meantime, the navy gathered in recruits and set about building ships and getting in supplies ready for the more important work which followed when the nation was actually at war. At present there are 150 warships, including battleships, with 35,000 personnel, in the war zone. In a year the navy has more than trebled its personnel. As a beginning it called up its own reserves and also the National Naval Volunteers and the Coast Guard. The following figures show the increased personnel: APRIL, 1917 Officers. Men. Regular Navy 4,366 64,680 *Naval Reserves ---- 10,000 Naval Volunteers ---- 10,069 *Coast Guard ---- 4,500 Marine Corps 426 13,266 Total 4,792 102,515 APRIL, 1918 Officers. Men. Regular Navy 7,798 192,385 *Naval Reserves 10,033 79,069 Naval Volunteers 805 15,000 *Coast Guard 639 4,250 Marine Corps 1,389 38,629 Total 20,664 329,333 *Approximately. On May 4, twenty-eight days after the declaration of war, United States destroyers arrived at a British port to assist in patrolling European waters, and on the following day Admiral Sims attended an allied war conference at Paris. The first of the regular armed forces of the United States to land in France were units of the naval aeronautic corps. They arrived on June 8. The first contingent of the army transported and convoyed by the navy was landed safely at a French port early in July. Night and day since then American warships have convoyed transports and supplies across the Atlantic and brought the ships safely back. Only one empty transport in its care has succumbed to an enemy attack, and only two naval vessels have been sunk by enemy U-boats--the destroyer Jacob Jones, torpedoed Dec. 6, and the patrol vessel Alcedo, a converted yacht, sunk Nov. 5, 1917. The small destroyer Chauncey was sunk in collision with a British transport. The Cassin was torpedoed, but reached port under her own steam, was repaired, and returned to service. Casualties in the navy have been 144 killed or died and 10 wounded; total, 154. NAVAL AUXILIARIES