The Rathdrum tribune. (Rathdrum, Idaho) 1903-1963, 1913-09-05
Make Navy Training School.


By Josephus Da niels. Secretary OF
the Navy, in September Popular
Mechanics Magazine:
1t is my ambitio % as Secretary of
the Navy to make the navy a great
university, with college extension,
high.school extension, all on board
ship. Every ship should be a school,
and every officer should be a school.
master. In this way we can give the
young man his rtphtful chance to
better his position. and at the same
time benefit the navy by increasing
the knowledge and usefulness o. its
personnel.
1t is not easy to secure the full
complement of young men of charac-
ter needed each year to man our ships.
TO stimulate enlistments it has been
necessary to resort to recruiting sta
lions, travelling recruiting parties,
and advertisements.
We are all familiar with the gaily
colOred advertisements of the navy.
showing the American bluejacket in
natty costume, doing all sorts of
interesting things. One OF the chief
features of these advertisements is
the offer to young men, as an induce
ment to enlist, of the opportunity to
learn one OF more than score OF
trades.
When became Secretary of the
Navy, determined I'd to fnd out if the
young men who had been attracted
to the navy by these advertisements
were really getting what had been
promised them. soon reached the
conclusion that only in exceptional
cases has the navy been making good
its promises. l found that it was
only the young MI an of exceptional
merit and ability, or with unusual
determination to learn useful trade,
who was really getting the kind of
instruction which all who enlisted
had been led to believe would be af.
forded them. l decided then that
| either the navy must stop publishing
such advertisements, or else it must
give the young ma n all that the ad-
vertisements promise.
l intend to do the latter. 1 intend
to see that the young man who Ia
| good faith accepts the promise of the
| navy to teach him a useful trade
shall have abundant opportunity to
| learn. l consider that to give the
enlisted man that chance which as an
ambitious American he demands is
| my chief business in the Navy De-
partment today.
To establish on each ship school
of instruction for the enlisted man Is
my aim at present. These ship
schools should be open not exclusive
ly TO the exceptional man, but to
each young man On board. purpose
that every young man who enllsts
shall be given at the outset an oppor-
tunity to choose for himself what
line of training be wishes to pursue,
whether it be electricity, radiograph,
carpentry, machinery, plumbing,
painting, shipftting, coppersmithing,
blacksmithing, boiler-making, gun
pointing, hospital stewardship, COM
missary stewardship, bookkeeping,
stenography, or any of the other
occupations for which the navy Is
prepared to fit him. When he has
made his choice he should be assigned
to regular course and given regular
instruction in the kind Of work that
he has selected. / Wish to emphasize
the fact that l intend to see thai
first of all every young man is giveL
his choice, and second, that he actual
" receives that kind of instruction
which he elects. The rest must de
pend upon the young man himself.