Evening capital and Maryland gazette., 1913-04-03
COLLEGE BOYS TO BE
TREATED AS MIDDIES
tentative Rules for Naval Cruise
of 400 Students.
SPECIAL INSTRUCTION.
Routine Work on About Twenty u. S.
Ships to Include Series OF Lectures
BY Experts on Technical Topics.

Four hundred students from Amer
lean colleges will spend the summer
vacation aboard vessels of the United
States Navy. on terms that ars indi-
Gated in the draft Of regulations pre-
pared by Com. e. {. Beach, U. S. N,
studied and approved by the presi-
dents of certain of the universities
AMI forwarded under date of March
rs TO the department OF the Navy at
Washington.
They will be recurited from about
twenty of the colleges. will be men
who shall have completed either two
Cr three years course, will be treated
1 as midshipmen, will wear the naval
uniform and be under the regular
ship discipline, but are to enjoy special
| instruction.
Commander Beach, who has been
stationed for tive years at Charles
town and VIII take command July l,
of the me st fully equipped naval re-
pair ship that has ever been added to
the service, which he is now occupied
in preparing, in the interview he yes
terday accorded the Monitor, told
of the steps taken in this new student
d ,parture, with the enthusiasm of
one who has seen wide Sc rvice and is
devoted to the naval calling, but with
modesty as to his own part in carry
ing out the orders from Secretary
Meyer:
The project of receiving college
students aboard the naval vessels
for instruction on a regular cruise"
he said, chad its origin in the
proposal of an educator, who devel-
oped the idea that it would be of
benefit to the men and the country
By deepening their interest in the
navy and giving them a practical
extension of their technical train
ing.
1T was taken up with enthusiasm
by the Secretary of the Navy and
other officers, hss be welcomed by
the heads of the universities and met
with a response from the students
that show that there will be more
volunteers than can be received.
''The gain to the nation is chiefly
expected in the knowledge these men
will carry to all parts of the country
of the navy's organization, of its
methods and its equipment, adding
oy this means to the common knowl-
edge of the people and stimulating
interest in the naval reserve, in
which it is quite likely some of them
will find places as officers.
1 Il - hi -
increase popular favor for enlarge
ment of the navy in terms of war
ships, the commander pointed out that
there was in the correspondence no
hint of such purpose and turned the
question by asking if his interviewer
had not observed that naval officers
did not engage in that discussion,
adding that it is not considered
part of the official responsibility to
help in propaganda and that the
practice was to take such equipment
as the government provides and try
to make it yield efficient service, leav-
ing the naval policy to the branch of
| the government charged with it.
In tn order from the Bureau of
Navigation of the Navy Department,
issued to Commander Beach joincly
with Lieut.. Commander Yancy S.
Williams. U. S. NJ, to prepare tenta-
lively a training schedule. the aim
is stated to be ''to lay a substantial
and useful grounnG work for develop
| ing naval reserve Officers.' In the
tentative scheme the comment is add
ed that the training will count for
r,nAa ol h
''these students will eventually spread
about the country and wherever they
go will circulate knowledge of the
Navy gained under actual sea-going
conditions
Sixteen warships and probably |
four armored cruisers will be ready |
to receive the temporary midshipmen. |
General Order No. 10 indicates 4
that one of the senior line officers of |
each ship will be designated in i'm
mediate charge of the students, who |
will not be enlisted but will be re-
quired to bind themselves to observe /
the laws and regulations of the navy /
and of the ship and to obey the or
ders of all persons placed in authority
over them.
The students will be messed to-
gether, the order states, in the gen.
eral mess, at cost of about 30 cents a
day each They will berth and mess
in a compartment set apart for
them. The outfit required to be pur-
chased includes suit of blue dress
uniform, one white dress jumper, two
suits of white undress, two white
hats, blue flannel shirt and other
articles the order names, to be bought
en- ship at a cost of s22.
So outftted, the college boys will
take place on shipboard, come under
ordinary discipline and be put into
practical instruction ir as nearly as
possible the class of study that will
carry out the line of their college
work. In the plan submitted the in
struetion is classified under marine
engineering, electricity and radio in
struction, navigation and ordnance
and gunnery.
The students will not stand by as
observers of the operations of hand
ling the machinery of the ship, they
will handle it. If in engineering,
they will put their hand to the ma
nipulation of the 80, ,0O0-horsepower
that DRIVES the monster. If in nav
igation, they will make the required