The San Francisco call., 1896-01-23
Indications Are That Neither
Branch Will Oppose the
Measure.
NAVAL APPRENTICES NEEDED.
Increased Efforts to Educate Boys Of
the Country to Become
Seamen.

WASHINGTON, D. c., Jan. 22-The
prospects are very favorable for the passage
of Senator Perkins bill establishing a
naval training-school on Goat Island. The
bill was to-day reported favorably by Sena-
tor Chandler from the Committee on Naval
Affairs. Representative Hilborn, being an
influential member of the House Naval
Committee, will doubtless be able to Sc
cure a favorable report also, which would
insure its passage in that body. The
Senate committee, in making its favorable
recommendation, says:
"There is need at the present time OF in
creased efforts to educate the boys of the
country TO become seamen of the navy.
They can be enlisted between the ages of
l6 to Is to serve until they arrived at the
age of q years, not, however, without the
consent of their parents or guardians.
They can be trained partly on shore and
partly in practice-ships, and the good eff
fects of the system have been made ap-
parent by many years of experience. Much
real benefit is derived by boys while they
are undergoing their apprenticeship, and
later, when they enlist, as most of them
do, as seamen, they make the best possible
recruits for the navy.
'The establishment at Coaster Harbor
Island, in Narragansett Bay, of a training
station has been fruitful of good results.
A similar establishment is needed upon
the Pacific Coast, and unless it is pro-
vided no apprentices can be enlisted on
that coast. This impossibility works an
injustice to boys there who desire to enlist
and is injurious to the Government, which
needs to train and utilize them as it does
boys upon other coasts OF the country
There is ample room for Pacific home
station upon Goat Island, near San Fran
cisco, and the Navy Department will have
no difficulty in providing suitable train
ing-ship, SO that the education and dis
cipline of boys will not be carried on too
much on land, but may be conducted
mainly upon the water. No possible OBJ
lection can be conceived to the passage of
the bill authorizing part of Goat Island
to be taken for buildings for shore sta
ton and the transferring of so much OF the
island as may be necessary to the control
of the Navy Department for the purposes
OF station.
"The bill contains the provision that
boys constituting the naval apprentices
shall be in addition to the total number of
seamen in the navy allowed by law and
not be counted as part thereof. The
vessels Of the new navy are requiring all
the seamen now by law allowed, and, in
deed, the number ought to be consider
ably increased in accordance with bills
now pending in Congress with that end in
view
ITO the present bill, therefore, is added
the provision that all boys who may be
enlisted as naval apprentices to serve until
they are 81 shall be additional to the num-
bel OF enlisted persons allowed by law for
the navy. This provision, unless previ-
ously made law in some other bill, ought
to remain and be adopted as part of the
present bill, as clearly appears from the
letter OF the Secretary of the Navy and
hereto annexed, as follows:
NAVY DEPARTMENT, Washington, Jan. %.
SIR: herewith return to you the bill pro-
viding for a naval training station on the
Island OF Yerba Buena Tor Goat Island), in the
harbor OF San Francisco, California, aud for
other purposes, together with my opinion as
requested.
The establishment of a training station for
naval apprentices at San Francisco would un.
doubtedly benefit the naval service and would
greatly assist the department in its efforts to
have the enlisted force of the United States
| navy composed entirely of American citizens
The proviso in Senate bill 744, "that oil ap-
prentiees of the navy while at training station
or on board of an apprentice training-ship
shall be additional to the number of enlisted
persons allowed by law for the navy" is abso,
lutely necessary for the success OF the appren.
tice system. There being now no United States
| merchant marine the navy is obliged to de.
pend upon its apprentice system to supply il
| with seamen, especially officers, and it is
| therefore necessary that there shall be enlisted
annually the full number of apprentices per-
mitted by law. The laws now in force regarding
enlistment of apprentices authorize $50 to be
enlisted annually, provided the total number
of enlisted persons, including appren tices
does no exceed 10000.
The demand for enlisted men for crews on
new vessels recently commissioned has forced
the department during the past two years to re-
duce the number of enlistments of apprentices
so that during the fiscal year ending June 80
1894, only Sol apprentices were enlisted, and
during the last fiscal year ending June 80, 1895
only 3S4 could be enlisted. Since November
Is. 1895, it has been necessary to stop all en-
listments for apprentices. Very respectfully,
H. A. HERBERT, Secretary
HON. ]. DONALD CAMERON, Chairman Com
mittee on Naval Affairs, United States Senate