Evening star., 1915-12-26

lad Of seventeen in his native Vir-
ginia, he learned that a change had
been made in the course Of instruc-
ton at Annapolis by which twenty-five
cadets were to be appointed by COM
petitive examination to go through the
four-year course. ultimately to be
graduated as cadet engineers.
He and l07 others took the examina-
tion, and he was one Of the victorious
twenty-five. His was the first class
Of cadet engineers to take the four
year course at the academy. Since
then the aystem has been changed,
and all OF the student body take the
same course, which is presumed to mt
them for both deck and engineering
duty.
was In the ancient wooden Alliance to
the Mediterranean. Following his sec
ond cruise he was assigned to duty
under the naval advisory board. with
special duty connected with the in
spection Of the machinery of the At
lanta, the Boston. the Chicago and the
Dolphin. the first ships OF what has
been designated the new navy"
Since that day a real new navy has
been built, new in everything from
ships themselves to equipment. and In
the making of it Admiral Griffin has
had large and an intimate part.
Afioat he has served In every .cs,s class
and ashore he has served in the office
of naval intelligence. as an inspector
Of machinery at building yards and as
a member of many boards for the
In general; all this aside from his
work in the bureau itself. During the
Spanish -American war he was CHIEF
engineer of the Mayfiower on the San
tiago blockade.
4 Il
Observe him engrossed in papers at
his big. fiat-topped desk. OF standing
at q curious. old-fashioned high desk
Of a type retained only in the Navy
Department, signing his mail, and you
are prone to think that he is not
hard-worked mamie does things SO
easily. In such an orderly manner.
thsa ad ~ YET accomnIsbes II Is 1GIG 'ae Tremendous %
amount of labor. Perhaps the very
ordsrliness accounts for this Then.
too. he has a fondness for long hours.
for his work is his recreation. nights
and holidays find him there, for he
explains to his subordinates that those
are fine times in which to work out
dinicult problems uninterrupted.
Possibly. too, he takes sI such II times 9 TO
other navies are doing with their ma
chinery. Master of several foreign
languag ages, he Is an omnivorous reader
Of foreign journals and reports.
In recent months one of his duties
has Increased remarkably. That is
dealing with inventors and would-be
inventors Of mechanical devices for
ships of the navy. The number Of these
has multiplied amazingly since the war
in Europe began.
DO they ever have anything of value
to offer?" some one asked the admiral.
About one in a hundred has an idea
that might be developed. Most of the
others have something that was old
many years ago"
Not long ago there came into the ad-
mirars Office an enthusiastic gentle
man from one Of the prairie states,
sent. SO he said. by a very important
public official who halls from that
state.
He wanted to talk to the admiral
about certain wonderful invention
in the form Of a propeller. based on
ne& principle that would be of infinite
benefit to the navy. 1t Is a curious
fact that by far the greatest number
Of startlingly new types Of propellers
for deep-sea craft that come to Ad-
miral Grimm in this fashion come from
the prairie states
Led along by the patiently courteous
questions Of the admiral, the visitor
described the new propeller.
"Ah," eaid the admiral. interrupting,
"our old friend the duck FOOT" ("
whats that?" said the visitor, sus-
peciously. -
'Wait moment" suggested the ad-