Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-01-14
BRIGHT YOUNG JAckIES
IMPORTANCE OF-GIVING THEM A
CHANCE TO BE OFFICERS.
Intelligent Views From the stand
point of a Man Behind the
Guns.

One of the most important and far-reach-
Ing bill. 10 ue introduced In Congress this
session is the recommendation of Secretary
Long that meritorous boatswains ana gun
ners may be promoted to the rank of en-
sign, the lowest commissioned rank In the
navy and corresponding with the rank OF
second lieutenant in the army. as 1t indi-
rectly affects thousands of men in the SER
vice and is great step in the direction OF
solving a problem which eminent writer's
on naval affairs have contended can be
solved in but one way, to wit, legislation
which will give the enlisted man In the
navy at least a fighting chance to retire
with a commission and to elevate not only
himself, but the entire personnel OF the
navy.
A Star reporter this morning spoke with
several young jackies who are In this city
on leave of absence. one of whom was par
ticularly bright and well educated
A Young Tar's Experience.
II was born and bred in New York he
said, land am a graduate of the PUBIC
schools of that city, and also attended Tor
two years the University OF New York.
My father is the captain of an ocean tug
boat and against his wishes ] quit my
studies and yielding to my aiways-cherish-
ed desires ! enlisted in the navy. L DO not
regret the step at all, as l am passlonately
fond of the sea, but am free to say that
would not re-enlist l think my education
and nautical knowledge can now be utll-
lied to better advantage in the merchant
marine, unless this bill which you say Is TO
be introduced offers some chance for capa-
BILE, educated young men to stand for an
examination which has a commission in
view no matter how great may be the COM
petition the odds against its attainment
ct has always seemed to me inequtable
jnI tfC priN
army to stand for an examination which
will give him the straps and deny the
same privilege to young men in the navy
OF attaining the anchor The navy gets IT'S
best men from New York and Brooklyn, as
young lads from these two great cities seek
the training ships and enlist by the hum
dreds at the age limit. Many of them, like
myself grew up on the waters of the bay.
river and sea- and are the very best naval
material as they are courageous and fear
less. and often quite we'll educated.
The line between the quarterback and
forecastle has always been more rigidly
drawn than between officer and man in the
army. There was time when the navy OF
the United States was not composed or the
same material as now, but that time mas
gone by. and with the enlistment of young,
ambitious Americans a complete change has
been wrought. l do not think that Con-
gress itself fully understands how thor
oughly this has been Accomplished. espe-
| clally since the Spanish war. Probably this
| is because the President has not the ap-
pcintment of ensigns in the navy as he has
| second lieutenants in the army, and repre-
| sentatives' interest Is correspondlngly less
| stimulated in the matter Of appointments
Would Work Great Results.
1.-THE passage Of this bill would give new
| life to the entire ensemble of the navy, ana
the only fault can see with the putting Of
such an idea into practice is that the limit
of six appointments annually is too small
| if the strength of the navy is to be raised
| to 20 600 men approximately. Twenty-four
would be a low figure. Our ships are being
| built and they must be manned and OIL
| cered; and as as has been demonstrated in
| the army so it will be in the navy-the en-
| listed man must have something besides
| warrant berth, which corresponds to non
| commissioned officer in the army, to look
| forward to, or he won't enlist IN Suflcent
| numbers to keep up the full complement.
This is particularly true. in view of the
proposed and much-needed increase of 5000
men.
1.-The men will rise through the various
warrant officers grades to gunner and
boatswain before eligible to a commission.
| They will be men who must of necessity
| know pretty much all there is about the
! practical side of ship, the seamanship OF
| today the actual handling Of men and of
| the guns on board. Save in social stand
| ing and higher education. they are the
| peers of the average naval graduate, and
! neither of these qualifications ever won
sea fight, Unanswered ship or trained
| gun.
High Class of Enlistments.
| "Many of the young men who enlist today
are well educated, like myself. The stimu-
| lus of the possibilities of further advances
ment would be remarkable to those al
| ready in the service, and would attract
much higher grade of enistments. Once
| the men in the navy know that :ntelli-
gence and merit mean the chance of
commission and the entire enlisted force
will experience an electric shock which Will
not only rebound to their credit, but to
that of the navy entirety. This piece
of legislation will be the best piece of
practical elevatng enactment which has
| been put through Congress in years.
secretary Long Is popular with the men,
| and this time he has pped the right call
| to quarters. The foreign-born element in
| the navy has been eliminated in recent
| years that the country can well afford to
| recognize its youth in offering them n help
| ing hand in the manner proposed. In the
army man may enter a private and come
out a major general. but in the navy he
stops at boatswain or chief gunner.
Paul Jones, one of the greatest, if not
the greatest admiral of our old navy was
not troubled by Il superabundant. classic
naval education. but he thrashed success
| sively, under desperate odds, every highly
trained English captain whose ship came
within gunshot. He was a fighter, and
| that's what the men board of United
| States men-of-war are today. ] hope we
| may have our chance to be captains too"
|