The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1899-06-02
HoR sAnoRs ~ MApE
The TrnInins-sehooI for naval Ap-
preafIeea at New
pert.

port
Many are the ways and means en-
Ployed Tor the proper training Of our
seamens and It is only after many years
Of hard work that good results can be
expected The government, fully real
ling this necessity, about the time that
the modern vessels came into use or
ganized the apprentice training system
for American boys who might wish to
become modern man-Of-war's-men-
Headquarters for the apprentices
have always been at Newport, r l.,
and there the boys are sent from dif-
ferent parts Of the country &c receive
their first lessons fitting them to be
able seamen. There one Of the largest
old-time sailing vessels Of the navy is
fitted up as a receiving ship for them.
and aboard Of il they are all quartered.
The old Constellation. sister ship 10 the
Constitution cold IrOnsides''), is now
in use for this purpose
Boys who are enlisted on receiving
ships at the several naval stations are
sent on to Newport to begin their work
at once. There are usually at the sta
ton about 800 undergoing instruction
1T the same time Any American youth
between the ages Of Il and II who has
the consent Of parents or guardian, who
can read and write the English Ian
gUage and who is possessed Of a sound
physique, viii find no difficulty IN being
enrolled IN the navy as an apprentice.
When n boy first enters the
navy he receives as pay nine dollars a
month. besides his ratiOns, and he is
also provided free with a complete out
fit Of bedding and clothing
As soon as the apprentices are re-
ceived into the service they are az
ranged into classes, being known as ap-
prentices Of the first, second OF third
class, according TO the length Of time
they have served.
It has been the custom Of the gov
eminent recently 70 detail apprentices
Of the highest two classes first and
secOnd) TO the several modern cruisers
and battleships that are in active serv-
ice, to do duty among the older and
fuIl-fedged seamen. At first their pres
enee on board such ships was protested
against by both officers and men, as IT
was thought by the latter that the aP-
Prentices were too young and too light
TO do the work Of seamen.
It was very soon found, however, that
what the apprentice lacked in weight
and strength he made up for by his
agility alOft and by his quickness to
pick up and to master the important de-
tails Of gunnery, signaling and cleo
tricity, and by this time he has become
an Indispensable part Of the crew Of
every large ship in the service.
There are usually not more than 40
apprentices allowed to any one ship;
but in urgent cases, when the supply
Of regular seamen on board a ship is
low, there are more apprentices sent to
fill up such deficiency.
It may be interesting to know that in
the great naval engagements at Manila
and at Santiago nearly every American
gun captain was an ex-apprentice.
The government, knowing that il is
difficult to make good gunners out of
raw material, recently hit upon the plan
of laying open to the most deserving Of
the ex-apprentices what might be called
a postgraduate course in gunnery,'
which fits them to have precedence over
other seamen and TO be assigned as
gunners where skill and science are
needed.
In pursuance Of this plan the navy
department directs the captain Of each
ship at certain times to recommend a
fixed number of apprentices on board
his ship whom he regards the most
worthy Of trust and prominence, and
from these lists Of names apprentices
are selected and sent to Newport for
advanced training.
Such apprentices are taught the de-
tails Of guns, explosives, prOjectiles,
electricity, signaling and all the imPOr-
tant duties of a modern sailor. They
the given several months Of practical
work with all the modern armament
used in the service, they being sent on
short practice cruises aboard of either
a battleship or a dOuble-turreted mon
itOr, on which are guns of every descrip-
ton, from a small machine gun to the
large 12-inch gun mounted in a turret.
AS soon as one detail of apprentices
has been put through the required !
course il is relieved and another is sent |
TO take its place; so in this way there |
is always good timber from which 10 |
draw competent gun captains and cleo /
tricians.-JOseph c. Croft, in St. Mich /
Olas-