Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-03-11

ATTACKED THE NAVY.
Midshipman Deserter's Father Calls
Service Unchristian.

In a letter to Raleigh, N c., newspaper
Rev. M. c. Arrowood, the Burlington
preacher. whose son, Midshipman AFRO
wood, is the frses Annapolis graduate who
ever deserted from the navy accuses the
Naval Academy of refusing to allow cadets
to attend church outside the academy lin
its. He declares by all the shades of our
Scotch forefathers,' that the social life of
the navy, like that of the Four Hundred, is
absolutely unchristian.''
Mr. Arrowood says he sent a letter to
Commander Wainwright asking that his
son be allowed to connect himself with a
Presbyterian congregation, and that he got
a reply saying that it was against the reg
ulations to allow boys to go out to church,"
The minister says his son had an inalien-
able right to rescind his oath of service on
the ground that mo oath of service can be
binding in it's moral aspects when that
oath was taken in Ignorance of the moral
conSequenceS.
MY letter to the department, which
your correspondent fdignifies by the sig
nificant adjective Remarkable was my
own, based upon information CLEANED from
various sources, the least of which was
directly from my son.
Il said that the pickering. injustice and
jealousies of the service were such that
my son could not be true to the demands
of the service and maintain the Christian
manhood and integrity his conscience de-
manded. My letter is in the hands of the
Navy Department. If it is so remarkab BILE
let the department publish it.
Now is my statement as to the bicker-
ing, jealousies and injustice in the per-
sonnet of the service untrue? No intelli-
gent American who followed the Samp-
son-Schley Investigation doubts it for
moment. The whole service, from top to
bottom, In this respect, is honeycombed with
rottenness.
"Is the personnel of the navy immorals
No, when Judged by the worlds standard
of morals. : Is it Christian? Again no,
when judged by the standard of morals
recognized by and advocated by Profess
tant Christianity. I do not suppose any
Four Hundred immoral, for the world has
set its seal of approval; neither could
any one be found so bold as to character
iZe the social Four Hundred as a bright
and shining example of Christian morals,
with its winnings and dinings, its balls and
cards, its bettingS and racingS, and its fast
life generally.
LOOK well to the social life of the Four
Hundred and you have replica of the
cial life of the navy. Is this morality? Yes,
the world and Admiral Coghlan, Young
Mems Christian Association preacher in his
old age says it is. Is it Christian? Mo-
The minister goes on to say that for three
years before his son entered the Naval
Academy no boy had been allowed to at
tend the church of his individual denomina-
ton, except Roman Catholics Why that
exception was made Mr.. Arrowood says he
threatened to carry the case to Congress,
he continues, that the department would
listen to reason and right" He adds:
81 call to the attention of all Christian
parents that If you are willing to give
your boy, body and soul, and conscience to
the United States navy, why the navy
wants him Of he is a smart boy), but other
wise they do not