The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1903-08-26
a NAVAL ACADEMY DAY.
The Rigid Routine That Rules the
3Iiddies' Waking Hours.

Let us look for moment at the d.
vision of time in week in the acade-
my. The morning gun awakeuS the
young midshipman at & o'clock. He
has thirty-tive minutes to dress end
appear for roll call. When this is over
lie and his comrades march O.. once to
breakfast 1t is then about twenty min
utcs before o'clock. After breakfast
a short prayer is offered by the chap
lain The meal is over by 1:3O, and
then there is the sick call. Twenty
minutes later the miG:;hipmcn must be
in their rooms ready to so 10 their first
recitation. At 7:55 they form and
march to their classes in squads. At
o'clock they are called to order in their
clasSroomS.
The actual work Of the day has be-
gun early, and there has been no lag
ging or loating. At the Naval academy
the midshipmen are trained to walk
with quick step and at a Lively gait.
The men in the class SQUadS-from six
to twelve each-march two abreast and
in close formation. 1t does not take
them long to go from one building to
another. For each midshipman there
are three recitation periods of two
hours each. Half of each period is de-
voted to study. half to actual recita-
ton in class. The first period IS from
8 to- 10 o'clock in the morning, tic sec
ond period from 1915 to 1915 o'clock
and the third period from , O'Clock 10
4 in the afternoon. Between 1915 and
2 o'clock the midshipmen eat their din
ner and have a few minutes afterWard
for rest. At o'clock all the class work
is over, but not the work of the day,
for then comes the call to drill.
Drill lasts an hour and a half, and it
Is work. too, for the naval officer must
know thoroughly the infantry and ar
tille1y practice Of the soldier as we'll
as his own particular branch Of tie pro-
fession Of being ready to fight. When
his task is over at $50 the midship-
man has an hour and half Of recrea-
ton. This is the playtime Of the day.
engaged in football or baseball prac-
tee, depending on the time Of the year;
sailing in catboats on the harbor or in
dulging in other amusements that they
may choose. But during til, our they
are still under theerules gov. ing gen
ersll conduct.
When G:55 comes the men are called
to supper, and at 1880 the midshipmen
must be in their rooms again and at
their books. The study period is two
hours long There is half hours re-
taxation before bedtime, during which
the young men may visit each others
rooms, but at 10 O'Clock all lights must
be out.
For five days in the week this is the
unvarying routine. with the exception
of two hours liberty Wednesday after
noon for the first class. On Saturday
and Sunday there is a change. Vary
ing with the length Of time which they
have spent in the academy. liberty is
granted to all midshipmen on these
two days of the week The members of
all four classes are permitted to leave
the grounds after the roll call to din
ner, but they must return before the
formation for supper. After the supper
call the members Of the first and Sec
ond classes have permission to 80 again
beyond the academic limits, but they
are required to be back by 9:30. They
hit ~ hn
academy mess, as they desire, but they
must always report for roll call. In
this way the authorities Of the institu-
ton keep a finger on them. - Leslie's
Weekly