The daily Alaskan., 1916-10-17
OUR NAVAL SCHOOL.
Origin and Rise of the Grand In-
 StitutiOn at Annapolis.
BANCROFT GOT IT STARTED.

He Worked For Its Establishment Wish ; ttUntIrlns Zeal, and It Was Formally
 Opened on Oct. 10, 1s45A-ouF PrsVl-
 ous Naval Schools.
 We had a military academy almost half a century before we had a naval academy. It was not until the admin istration of President James K. Polk that the government thought 1t neces- Bary to establish a naval academy at which young men could be educated for that part of our protective service George Bancroft was the founder of the United States Naval academy, which was at first called the Naval school. It was formally opened at An napolis on Oct. 10, 1s45. For several years prior to this effort there was a school working along similar lines at the Naval asylum in Philadelphia where the midshipmen prepared them selves for examination and promotion.
 The school was recrganized in 1SoO and the course was increased from hVe to seven, the first and last two years to be passed at the school, the inter vening years at sea. At this time the separate departments of instruction were established, a vessel was pro vided and annual practice cruises were instituted. In 1851 the requirements of sea service were abolished, leaving the course four consecutive years of study.
 At the outbreak of the war in 1861 the Naval academy was removed to Newport, R. l., where 1t remained un- til the summer of 1865, when 1t was re- established at Annapolis. In 1870 the title of cadet midshipmen was sub stituted for midshipman, and three years later the course was increased by the addition of two years sea serV- ice in cruising vessels, at the eIpira- ton of which the cadet midshipman returned to the Naval academy for ex- animation in professional subjects prior to graduation.
 Previous to the establishing of the Naval academy several attempts had been made to establish training schools for officers and sailors of the navy. In 1888 Captain NJ. c. Perry suggested school for engineers, but little was ac- complished before Bancroft called the meeting in Philadelphia which decided the establishing of the present school.
 At first there was considerable of wrangle as to where the school should be located. The site finally chosen was an old army post known as Fort SeY- ern. located on the point of land which forms the easternmost extremity of the city of Annapolis and lies between the harbor and the Severn river. Poor as the place was in the eyes of Bancroft he saw that 1t was far less likely to challenge congressional criticism than a more pretentious habitaton, and be- sides, as the board of naval officers had said, the fact was undeniably true that it might ''be enlarged and perfected at some future time"
 Fort Severn was duly transferred by the war department to the navy on Aug. 15, 1S45, and fortnight after ward Secretary Bancroft published his "plan," which, together with the regulations" subsequently prepared by Commander Buchanan, governed the workings of the school until 1850. The first superintendent of the Naval academy was Commander Franklin Buchanan.
 At Il o'clock on the morning of Oct. 10, 1S45, all hands assembled in one of the recitation rooms, and the super. intendent, after brief but pointed ad- dress, in which he announced he should exact rigid compliance with all laws, orders and regulations, declared the school open. The old buildings at the ancient army post at Annapolis, where the midshipmen began to re- ceive instruction, had been termed by Secretary Bancroft "a modest shelter for the pupils" and 1t is said that they certainly deserved no more comph- mentary description.
 Mir. Bancroft at once began plans to have the academy more commodlously housed, and he asked congress for an appropriation of S2S,000 to be expend- ed for repairs, improvements and in- structions at Fort Severn, Annapolis. The secretary brought all his diplo- macy and skill to bear, and at last had the profound satisfaction of receiving the appropriation by an ample ma' jority and of seeing the naval school of the United States then become duly organized by law.
 Thus ended the long fight for 1t Three days after the bill became a law Secretary Bancroft directed the super intendent to enlarge the buildings and construct new ones sufficient to sc- commodate 100 mIdshipmen. This small beginning was the foundation of the present large and effective inst- tuition, which trains the sailors in a