The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-07-08
DEFENCE OF THE MIDDIES.
An inside Explanation Of Recent In
cidents nj AnnapoIis.

cidents nj Annapolis.
To EDITOR or THE suN-Str: For
four weeks ! and my classmates. to-
scther with the rst of the reeiment OF
inidshipincn, have been constra med TO
sit back idly and hear ourselv,s branded
AZ a set OF sneaking, constituencies, UNI
s%crupulous rascals in whom all sense
of honor is and has long been dead.
AT first ! reckon some of the corps
were inclined to laugh at the attempts
at sarcasm that appeared In almost
every newspaper OF the country. 1t is
no longer Il joke, but Is a personal af-
front to about IS per cent. Of the mid
shipinen.
Who writes these articles that state
In oinniscicnt way the situation at the
academy? Are the authors personally
and at first hand acquainted with the
real interior life at Bancroft Hall, our
quarters? No.. Their gross ignorance
and blatant smugness IL shown In every
paragraph.
Their feeble attempts to assume the
viewpoint of a midsnipman would ne
ludicrous were they not so da ma aging.
Perhaps a word or two from a midship-
man in his own defence would not be
rejected by a public whose love Of de-
ccncy has been SO manifest of late.
First-There are upward OF 800 men
here, and no matter where recruited, no
man can choose 300 men without in
GLIDING a few black sheep In the outnt.
Yes, We have them. and the court OF
Inquiry with its subsequent court-nar-
TIA is no more anxious to get the real
Offenders than are We. Granting hat
one man got the now famous papers,
he passed them on and In turn they
were circulated around until no one out
side OF that pna Snt kpav. i,,st ,rbapra
they did come. In every section tips
We're given out In modern Languages.
We OF the first and second classes have
one hour a week In DagO, as W. call
IL, ana at that rate in one term we cover
all forms of official and Informal cor
r~espondtnce, forty pages of nautical
phraseology and two Ions essays in
volVing In one case hundreds OF strange
words, relating to dockyards. harbors
ana the like, while the other describes a
modern dreadnought in narrative style.
DO YOU know much about marine
nomenclature in English? | think not.
Well. IMAGINE 1t In French or Spanish.
ohe can see. then. that tips are almost
n necessity. In my section an attentive
man might have CLEANED a 80, equiva-
lent TO % per cent, In tips, or dope" IL
that term Is now accepted. and many
Others sought out members OF different
sections we compared. and as there was
a certain unanimity on certain Ques-
tons a dope sheet was drawn up. More
over. II was nearly correct. Others coll
ltcted dope in the same way, that is,
from old exams, In class and from their
friends.
Yes, many OF us recognized the aues-
lions In the exam, but we came by them
legltlGnately. Look at the records OF the
court, ana nowhere is there a board OF
research whose capacity for probing can
excel that of "a military board. OF all
the midshipmen. perhaps "a dozen or less
were actually guilty. What of the rest
OF us? Are we To come under the cloud
that seems So generally cast on the
academy?
People talk. too, OF .'ragglng the
MARKS. That simply means getting
your mark before the class marks are
posted. 1t is asainst regulations, but is
not criminal. AS for the man who en-
ploys Jimmy and fiashlight, | can say
nothing save that he Is one in almost
a thousand.
Now let me ask something OF civilian
COLLEGES. Why is It that all manner OF
deViltry In tolerated and condoned in
college boys. whereas II misdeed on the
part OF ten midshipmen brands the
who!e academy as "A den of muckers and
N''A'Se SNuItIll gets UTUik IL
is a SPLENDID joke. | have seen col
lege students insult a young sirl
openly In a street car. II was
ffowned on by some present. What
would lave happened had ! or my con-
freres done such a thing? n yet 80 per
cent OF the midshipmen have attended
citizen colleges. They are representa-
tive OF the people when they start,
They are no different from college Eel.
ows When they graduate 30 per cent.
OF them are men and some are nonent!-
ties and maybe one or two bad. Are
these Few bad men TO give us a black
eye with a public that ought to pride
Itself on its squareness?
What OF the old proverb that tells o,
a futile attempt to make a silk nurse
from "A sow's ear The same holds good
win men. some are bound TO be bad
but II Is a raw outrage and a slur on
the intelligence. deccncy and PATRIOTISM
or any man who sits down and FOR the
sake of flline space and saying some.
thlng Jots down a critical article OF sub.
!. Jects he knows nothing OF. Perhaps tn,
little he does know is worse than moth.
l ing.
is n mar convicted In n civil court n,
| hearsay? Are We To he branded a,
~blackguards on the superficial and mis-,
Ieadins facts that the public knows?
f1hd out before you write. tha is IN,
; ADVICE to all who would speak hereon
: Now Is a time to back the navy and keer
= the country favorably Interested. ",
= need II, and it is for you tina the nav,
STANDS as a wal insurance. Think n
over is 1t worth II TO prejudice IN,
/, people against the personnel for IN,
, sake of something to say?
Compare us with colleges, too Thinl
that over. We have almost 1000 mo,
| here, and there are AS many real me,
| here nj the Naval Academy az in an,
other college in the country. Ana /
hurts a man to be ciassed as nor ,
man when there is no justice in IN,
; accusation MIpsHIPMAN.
D ANNAPOLIS, Md. July :.