Evening capital and Maryland gazette., 1915-07-08
SYSTEM OF COLLEGES
NOT SUITABLE AT ACADEMY.
Mr.. Ralph Robinson Writes to Balti-
more Paper in Defense of Naval
Academy Alleged system"

lam. in defenes of the alleged "sys-
TEN" in vogue at the United States
| Naval Academy:
Il have noted several editorials and
letters in The Sun concerning the Tou-
bles at the Naval Academy. especially
the editorial of July l.. in which you
quote from a letter published by Colo
mel Thompson. who graduated at the
Naval Academy in1S6S.and from which
YOU draw the conclusion that the GUS
tom by which instructors assist mid
shipmen in giving them certain point
ers or special instruction concerning
important features in their studies,
with view to preparing them for their
Examinations. may have in some meas
ure excused them for using the exam
ination papers which in the recent case
were either stolen or unlawfully pro-
cured by them.
I'm this editorial and indeed i'm other
letters on this subject it is suggested
that this system, which has long been
IN vogue at the Naval Academy ever
since il existed, is wrong and should be
replaced by the systems in vogue at our
great universities. Having had init
mate knowledge at the Naval Academy
for many years, l beg to state that this
criticism of the methods there and the
proposition to follow the customs in
other schools would not have been made
if the writer's had realized that the
whole system of instruction at the
Naval Academy is, and must be, diff
ferent from that in any other college,
and for this reason the methods and
practices in the latter would not be ap-
plicable. In the college, for instance.
instruction is largely by lectures to
large bodies of students, whereas at
the Naval Academy the instruction is
given TO small sections. numbering
from eight TO twelve midshipmen, and
a great deal of direct personal instruc-
tion and assistance must be given to
the individual, and sometimes to whole
classes.
"It is a mater of record that dis
tinguished professor of Yale University
who visited the Naval Academy as
member of the annual board of visitors
expressed his unbounded admiration for
the system and declared that under no
other system would it be possible for
the Naval Academy tC cover the ground
in time available and obtain the sur
prising results in four years course.
In other words, il is the duty of every
instructor and heads of departments
to emphasize salient features in the
months work, and in the years work
in order that midshipmen may concen-
trate upon these governing principles.
If this system were condemned and i'm
structors simply heard recitations with
out giving advice or circulating special
information and assistance the bottom
would drop out of the whole course of
instruction and it would be utterly im-
possible to cover the ground at the Ma
val Academy. The plan proposed by
uniformed critics would be very easy
for the instructors, but it would be dis
astrous to the midshipmen. The pres
ent system takes kindly account of
their needs. To change it, as has been
proposed would work great hard
shipto them.
'It is not too much to expect, there
between assistance which is legitimate
and which is given to them in a spirit
of Kindness and a desire to help them,
from assistance which is obtained dis
hOnorably by theft or otherwise-cop-
les of examination papers, for instance,
which, by their form and arrangement,
annot be mistaken for legitimate assist
nd et ho Iafp a
effect would be disastrous if few dis
honorable men among them are pro-
tected by the argument that they can
not reasonably be expected TO distin-
guish between honesty and dishonesty,
fraud.and integrity.
1T must be remembered that the af-
fairs of the Naval Academy are admin
istered by graduates of that institution
who have been all their lives in con
stant touch with the service and with
| its ideals and it's traditions, who are
/ thoroughly interested in the midship-
men and who know exactly what in
| struction they need and how best to
| impart it. 1t is no more reasonable TO
| follow the system of Cornell or Prince
| say that the Naval Academy should
| ton than it is to say that the latter
should follow the plans of the Naval
| Academy. Indeed, it may be said that
| all educational institutions in this
country should learn more from the
| Naval Academy than the latter could
| from them, and il is a matter of record
| that many of the graduates of these in
stitutions freely admit this fact.
For instance take the question oi
discipline. 1t is reported that after the
| last Army and Navy football game al
| Philadelphia the regiment of midship.
| men. 900 strong, returned to the Naval
| Academy after the game without a sin
| gle report of any kind, and il is even
said that not a single midshipman took
a drink of any intoxicating liquor dur.
ing hte entire trip.
| "ln contrast, it is matter nF
that after football game in one of our
big cities the students of competing
| colleges behaved in such a disorderls
manner tina. great scandal was caused
Why should not the colleges. therefore
be placed under the same system ol
discipline that obtains at West Point
and Annapolis. in order to prevent sucf
behavior on the part of the students.
| Why should not the latter be kept in
| ranks and marched back and forth and
be required to abstain from the use ol