The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1915-07-01
CAUSES PANG TO
EVERY OFFICER IN
NAVAL SERVICE
Use of PurIoined Examination
Papers at Annapolis Hits
Traditions of Navy.
CODE OF HONOR is PECULIAR
Rigid Discipline Develops Certain Pc
cuIlar Customs-hazins and Use
of Intoxicating Liquors Stamped
Quito Succeed at An
napoIis Means Hard
Work.

Work.
Annapolis, Md.-The revelation OF
widespread use of pu-loined examina'
ton papers by the young men OF the
United States Naval academy Is caus'
Ing a pang to every officer In the serv-
Ice, for It hits them In quarter OF
which they are very jealous-thelr
honor.
The traditions of the service have
been stained-this graduates OF ten
and twenty years standing admit
The situation seems to be that the
course of study In the academy has
been too severe for the material which
1t gets. The prescribed studies are
fitted to turn an exceptional candidate
into an exceptional naval commander,
and the academy gets only the ordi-
nary run OF young Americans.
However, this is not given here as
a palllation. The naval code OF hon
or Is a peculiar one, but 1t does not
IN any way cover up cheating to pass
exams"
To succeed at Annapolis the ordi-
nary young man has to work very
hard. He has TO make himself an au-
tomaton. The authorities do all they
can to turn him into a machine.
Six days a week he has to jump
out of bed at six o'clock; and on the
seventh at seven.
He has his allotted number Of min
utes for dressing and for breakfast;
he has his study hours and his reci-
tation hours all rigidly marked on,
and at ten o'clock he must go to bed.
willy-nilly.
Orderly Habits Taught.
He must keep his room in apple pie
order. hang his bedclothes over the
footboard In prescribed way every
morning. and be ready for an inspec-
ton Of his bureau drawers at u
times.
Even his dancing Is prescribed and
forced down his throat, whether he In.
cllnes to the society OF the fair sex or
not.
Under this rigid discipline the naval
cadets have developed certain peculiar
customs some of which are continued
after they leave the school They have
even their peculiar language, which Is
largely unintelligible to an outsider.
The duel persisted In the navy many
years after 1t had died out In Ameri-
can society elsewhere. The frequent
serious and sometimes fatal boxing
matches are a relic OF the old time
encounters Of pistol and sword.
Navy discipline has troubled the
halls Of congress on numerous coca
sions. Most often hazing was the sub
ject Brutal and humiliating treat.
mont OF lower classmen long be.
smlrched the academy, AZ 1t did other
American higher institutions OF learn.
ing.
The fatal Branch -Meriwether boxing
match In 1905 was tho cause OF revela
tons OF pecullarities In the academy.
The fight was held In room OF Ban.
croft hall during supper time one eve
ming. Meriwether was then a third
class man and Branch a first class
man. To hold the fight at such time
involved the consent and conniyance
of flrstclass men, for under the core
such fights must be refereed by a first
class man; another senior class man
aat Inn nI Ia, 10
Instance II was necessary for two
company captains at least TO fail to re.
port absent from supper formation the
principals, their seconds and the time
keepers. It was also necessary for the
officer OF the deck door upon which
the fight WAS held TO fail TO report
what WAS taking place.
Fist Fight is Fatal.
Many such fights had been held be
fore and everyone. including the sur
geon, who had TO patch up the partlci
pants, had winked a. the practice.
But this time Meriwether became
unconscious in the twenty -secont
round and later died without regain
ing consciousness. A rigid inyestiga
ton was helc and punishments wer,
me,ed out. but the very superior OF
ficers who imposed tho penalties hat
little stomach for their work becaus,
they realized that everyone involved
had simply followed the code
Indeed, 10 q landsman IT seems tina
the naval cadet will tell falsehoot
10 protect brother officer a, an,
time ii IL part OF the code that n,
classma,e shall report another for
violation Of academy regulations Nh
less a. consequence of his failur
TO make such report he himself vii
be reported and for more seriou
ofense than that of which his clas,
mate IL guilty.
Conditions have improved somewha
at the academy Of late years. Seer,
tary OF the Navy Josephus Daniels ha
stamped out serious hazing by disuI,
sing man guilty OF violating an OF
der In tbs regard. He further threa
ened 10 sentence hazers TO one year