Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-07-29
THE NAVAL ACADEMY
Report Of the Board of
Visitors.
TERMS OF INSTRUCTORS
WOULD HAVE OFFICERS DETAIL
ED FOR THREE YEARS.
Favors Dropping French and Giving
More Time to Spanish-Full-
Rugged Ship Needed.
TERMS OF INSTRUCTORS

The report of the board of visitors of the
Naval Academy, of which Mr.. Solomon
Lincoln Of Boston is president, has made
its report to the Navy Department. The
principal recommendations of the board
are for longer tenure of detail of officer
instructors at the academy, the commits
sioning Of cadets upon graduation and the
discontinuance Of the study of French with
the substitution therefor Of the Spanish
language.
The board approves the plans for the
reconstruction Of the Naval Academy build
ings and recommends that no change be
made In them. 1t commends the state of
discipline at the academy as well as the
management. 1t recommends that one of
the new monitors be used as gunner ship
and that a modern practice vessel Of 1900
TONS rugged as a full-rigged ship be placed
at the disposal Of the academy. 1t recon-
mends that the designation of naval cadet
be discontinued and that the former desg
nation of midshipman be restored.
Terms of Instructors.
In discussing the length of time for which
officers are detailed as instructors in the
academy. attention is called to the fact that
the average length Of detail Of the heads
Of departments is only 2.41 years. while
that Of other instructors averages but 1.9
years. The board states that officers fresh
from sea duty require considerable time,
perhaps a year. to familiarize themselves
with their work, and that their real eff
cheney as instructors Is barely reached until
they are sent away for other duty. The
conclusion, the board says, is Irresistible
that the efficiency of the officers is i'm
paired by the ShortneSS of the periods for
which they are assigned to duty at the
academy, and the board recommends that
all such assignments should be for three
years. this rule especially to apply to heads
OF departments, and further that the as
signments should be so arranged that only
a portion of the detail of any department
should be changed at the end of each school
year.
Foreign Languages.
Upon the question of teaching foreign
languages, the board finds that the time
noWadivided between French and Spanish is
not sufficient to give cadet proficiency
in both languages. As the board considers
French the less important of the two at
this time owing to our relations with the
Philippines and West Indian Islands it
strongly recommends that the teaching of
French be entirely discontinued, and that
all the available time for the study of for
eign languages be devoted to Spanish.
The board also recommends that the
practice Of permitting the reappointment
of cadets who failed to pass their entrance
examinations or who "bilge" during their
course at the academy be discontinued ex-
cept with the consent of the academy
board. Experience, the board says, dem
onStrates that those who fail in the work
Of their class are not successful in later
classes, and in proof of this fact they in
stance the case of the present graduating
class, in which seventeen reappointments
after failures OF past examination, ten
subsequently, obliged" leaving but seven
reappointed cadets to graduate. This per-
centage, the board says. is below a rea-
sonable standard of efficiency for youth
educated at government expense.
Age Limit for Entrance.
The board recommends that the maxi
mum age limit for entrance to the acad-
envy be reduced to eighteen, and expresses
the opinion that at thefend of their course
at the academy the cadets are entirely
competent to receive their commissions.
being of opinion that the acceptance of
responsibility at early age would be
beneficial to the service.