Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-09-22

| at Annapolis, and FOR
| FT M the next three years
they will study in
Europe the art of building ships of war.
The government sends two or three young
men across the water every year for this
| purpose. They are always chosen by the
Secretary of the Navy from the graduating
class at Annapolis, tine faculty of the acad-
envy being consulted. However those who
are first in scholarship are invariably Sc
| lected.
| They are ordered to take a course of in
| struction at one of three great naval
| scholastic Royal Naval College at Green
witch. the University of Glasgow, or the
| Ecole dApplication du Genie Maritime
| invariably the young men from Annapolis
| carry of ali the prizes. On that account
| the professors at the Ecole say that the
\ American students do the institution honor,
but the English people take a different
| view. The latter have become so DISCUS ted
with the success of the Americans in out
| stripping British youths that a great clam
| or has been raised. Last year the president
| Of the Greenwich Naval College evoked ap-
plause by recommending that foreigners
shoOld not be admitted to that establish
| meht any longer. One OF our boys, III. q.
| Gillmor, is now on his way back to the
| United States with a ''first-class certificate
from OTeenWlch-dn nOnOr Tar more diff
| cult to obtain than double-first at oxford
or senior wranglership at Cambridge.
| These young men are interesting. They
| are the designers of the coming American
navy. They return to this country mas
| tiers Of the shipbuilding art up to date. able
| to superintend the construction of great
| naval vessel from the laying of the keel
| to the last rivet in the armor. Our new
warShlps have been built under the direc-
| ton of maritime architects thus taught
| To educate them costs money, but this
method is vastly cheaper than to main
| tain naval school in this country, at an
| expense of $JO.OO0 or SlG.GU per annum.
| Courses in marine architecture have been
| established recently at Cornell University
| and at the Institute of Technology in Bos-
| ton. But the period of study abroad af-
| fcrds opportunities OF observing and com
pairing the latest types of Vessels in ac-
tual process of building by the nations
| most advanced. in the art.
| Promotion Is Rapid.
The fortunate student selected for this
| duty enters thereupon into the construction
| corps Of the navy. This has SO many adj
vantages that the opportunity is rarely re-
| fused. Promotion is rapid. The young off,
| Ger attached to this branch of the staff
jumps into the relative rank OF junior !ieu-
tenant at once on leaving Annapolis, skip
! ping the grade of ensign, il. which a line
! officer, as things go now. may stay tel
years before reaching a junior lieut., nanCy
The pay is proportionately better. 1t is for
| such reasons that the line in the navy is
always jealous of the staff. On the other
hand, the staff officers consider an injustice
| Is done them because they are under no
circumstances permitted to take comma nd
| Of a ship. Their rank is hardly more than
courtesy rank. The engineers particularly
have fought against this discrimination, and
now even the paymasters aid surgeons are
| claiming that they ought to command.
Nevertheless, AN officer of the line, IL he
| lives long enough. will come out ahead of
| the stan officer in respect both to pay and
| rank. The highest relative rank In the con-
| struct!on corps is that of captain. with pay
very much less than a rear admirars. The
business of the construction corps is to
make designs for ships and attend to re-
| pairs. except of engines. There is a popular
notion, by the way. that a war vessel is
| finished when she Is launched, but the truth
| is that she Is not half DONE She has her
| outer shell and framing complete, with
some of the main bulkheads; but after she
| is afioat are added all of the decks, the in
terror woodwork. the arrangements for
drainage and ventilation. and the living ac-
commodations-not to mention most of the
armor, the turrets and the putting aboard
| of the boilers and engines.
Greenwich and Glasgow schools.
Cox and Robert have been ordered to
Greenwich. Naval students have been sent
thither from this country ever since 1879.
Only two are permitted to take the course
at any me time, and this quota is always
kept filed. Gillmor and another young Of
| ficer named Smith returned this fall, having
completed three years study at the college
They will make ten who have been grad
uated from the institution. OF these ten,
only six are now left in the navy. Three
of the original number are dead, and one,
Lewis Nixon, resigned recently from the
service. and is at present employed by the
Cramps as manager of their shipyards.
me tulti6n fees for our naval students are
Uncle fn
year at Greenwich. At the University of
Glasgow they are slightly less. The regu-
lar course Of study at the latter institution
covers two years, but one year in addition
is devoted to advanced studies. The estab-
lishment is under private ownership, aided,
to some extent, by the British government
No limit is placed on the number of Ameri-
cans admitted.
At Greenwich and Glasgow the Ameri-
cans enter on the same terms as English
students. However, they are not obliged
to pass examinations in order to get in.
their certificates of graduation from An
napolis being deemed sufficient evidence of
their qualification in point of scholarship.
They live outside the college. and no re-
Straint Is put on their liberty. There are
no recitations, instruction being given by
lectures in designing, marine engineering.
naval architecture and practical shipbuild-
1n8. examinations are held three times a
year. The young officers are not compelled
to wear uniforms, unless on some such ex-
traordnary occasion as a presentation to
the Prince or Wales. At the Ecole d Appli-
cation du Genie Maritime in Paris they are
glad TO get as many Americans as care to
enter. Seven of our naval students have
finished there. and two more have taken
part of the course. The regular studies oc-
cupy two years, preceded By one wear in
the School of Mines No fees for tuition n 70
charged, the school being supported by tho
government. The studies have a somewhat
wider range than at Glasgow and Green
wich. Undergraduates learn how to buiId
marine engines and acquire knowletlge of
netallurgy. The latter is likely to be OF
value to them in case, at any time. they
shall be called upon to inspect material for
warships.
With the French Students.
The students lake French lessons inc,-
dentally. They have already had two
years of schooling in the French language
at Annapolis. In the summers they mako
tours Of the ship yards, and the Journals
| in which they set down their obserya t:ons
must be submitted for criticism on their
return to the Ecole in the fall. Last year
the French undergraduates were sent on
a tour of the English ship yards while
the English young men visited the French
snip yards. Thus they had an opportunity
to compare two different systems of naval
4 r.V.l..