The Minneapolis journal., 1903-04-22
GO INTO The NAVY
The Government Opens the Door Of
Opportunity . Little Wider
This Year.
A Fair Salary Guaranteed and q
Good Pension for Ones
'a.. Old Age. 2,ss d
From The journal Hur... Room Is, Post Huila-:

at Its last session, opened the SQ0or 40 LIE
profession a little wider. The quota OF
appointments to the naval academy at
Annapolis was doubled, and this increase
is to remain in force. for ten years by
which time it is figured there will bel
enough officers to man the ships property;
then the old law again goes into effect.
Altho the number has been increased,
there has been no let down In the stand
ard Of requirements. 3. The manner I, IN
which candidates are chosen and the char
acter Of the examinations are Just as they
always have been Each United States Ei
senator and representative In congress is
allowed to name two candidates. They IH
also pick alterllates, who become candi-
dates In event OF the failure Of the first
appointee to pass the necessary examina-
tions. There are five appointments at
large at the disposal Of the president.
Porto Rico also sends a man. Under the
new law the next freshman class will be
double the size Of previous classes. ~
They Are Mldshlpmen.
Students of the naval academy, under
the new law, are to be styled midshipmen.
Under the old law, and by long practice,
they have come to be known as naval ca
dets. The course for mldsh1pmen is SIX
years, four years at the academy and two
at sea. And, by the way, it is one OF the
best and stfmest courses in the country
if not in the world It IS mostly engineer
ing, but it includes about as much Of the
Il
college. But the grade Of scholarship is
very high, not being surpassed by Boston
Technology or Cornell. Additional advan-*
tages are the military training, the bene-
fits Of the discipline, and the drill. All
graduates are we'll set up, athletic, grace
full men, usually with very sound consti-
tutfons. It is a physical i1npossibility to
| be dissipated and remain at Annapolis,
The strict rules and the quantity of work
required Of one kind and another, leave
neither opportunity nor time to a man so
I inclined. -
| After the six-year course at Annapolis
and on the training ship, the graduate T
midshipnlan has a very excellent educa-
tion. Should he desire to enter CONNER
cial life, in some capacity where his tech |
nical knowledge will avail him, he Is likely
to have the opportunity But this is not
1 encouraged. And particularly at the
present time, when President Roosevelt |
is trying to build UP a great navy, and
when officers are SO scarce that our best
! ships are many Of them tied UP in docks
and r,isting because there are not officers
enough to man them. The young men
who get this education at the expense Of
the government are expected to adopt the,
navy as their life profession. This does
not mean that they shall pace a quarter
deck all the rest of their days, or keelhaul
ropes or "splice binnacles' forever. The,
navy is a. varied and specialized profess
sion, and there will be many years Of it
spent on land Often it win be desk
work, routine, typewriters, correspondence
and dictation. Again It may be scien-7
tiic. chemical, testing explosives, buying
/ materials calculating strains, or superin-
tending the construction Of a battleship.
Almost all bright naval men have some
fad or fancy which they pursue in their
leisure time. One becomes inventor,
another connoisseur of ceramics, another
a photographer, and all manner and varf-
: ETY. of the collector IS found among them.
: Sometimes the specially runs away with.
!. the man and carries him out Of the navy
and into commercial life, as witness Mr..
9 Nixon of New York, who drifted into ship
. building. 1t is almost essential that an
army or navy man, in time Of peace, have
d some activity to occupy him to- the full
): and to bring out the best that is in him.
t Sometimes the fad proves lucrative, and
i sometimes it keeps him broke.
The Graduates Pay.
q The graduate midshipman is appointed
It to fill vacancies in the line Of the navy and
marine corps. This means that he is first
: made an ensign in which grade he will
draw S1,19O a year while on shore duty,
land 81 400 while at sea or in foreign parts.
After year or so he may become second
, Of marines, or lieutenant, Junior grade, in
, the navy, where he will draw $1,000 on
shore or adoat if the former and $500
af1oat or on foreign station, or $1,275 on
:. home shore duty. Then comes lieutenant
=" (navy) at $1,5s0 ashore and 81, 800 atioat
These salaries are eked out a little by al
lowances for rations, etc, but the young
officer will not lay up much money even
with this allowance. If he marries he had
better see that she has money in her owr
right, for she will find it convenient tt
> travel about from place to place, to meet
his ship and visit him once in a while
spending her time meanwhile with hel
mother, or the in-law, renewing acquaint
49, =,
attentive. For the first year or so tn.
young officer will have to borrow or draw
i on his ancestral estates to pay the tai
~ lor for the uniforms required cost almos
a years pay. ..: r..
y, .-~s If He Has Luck. &:5z.:G: * :
- If the young officer has luck he may ris
in five or six years to the grade of cap
tain of marines, where he will have tn
munihcent income Of $1,Soo a year, or,
commander in the navy he will dras
$4,000; as Commander, $4,000. AS ful
captain he is entitled to $500. If he. ha
political sagacity and the necessary quail
ncations he may be made chief Of bu
reau by the time he is 45 and will ge
$5, 900 a year. If he becomes a rear-ad
miral he will draw from $500 to $3.50
a year, and If he attains Dewey's ranl
admiral Of the navy, he will draw s13,5 ,50t
In all grades below the latter, when a
officer is serving on shore at home h
draws Is per cent less than the pay Of hi
grade, the presumption being that it doe
not cost him as much to live ashore as Q
board ship. where he has to share til
mess bills with the other officers.
A Comfortable Pension.
But although the salaries are small, til
young man who adopts the navy as Ii
profession, need not worry about panic
He is always sure Of his job. IF he
decently well behaved he will not be !.
out when business grows slack. and II
'"s dividends dwindle. And when he Is t
old to work he will be retired on a con
edi Portable pension. There are other advan
an ages incident to the calling besides Il
and certainty OF a living. One which Is al
TOT ,tor preciated by men more than others. Al
tbe more by the wives than the men. is Il
ads SOCIAL advantage. Inc SOCIAL STATUS z
be navy people is absolute. It is so secu
ord that it is difficult to lose it. and it som
ana ana times happens that navy officers subje
,eae ,e, their privileges to very severe strains.
,nia socially inclined the navy officer has
opportunity to see societies Of all sor
-. and in all quarters OF the globe, and
ha apt to become a very entertaining and a
, or complished person. The navy is .dispos
it. to look down a trif1e on the army, even
free the army: looks down from an immeasu
} to able height upon the other strata Z
. 81, a officers Of the navy come as near as an
1o4s,ae