Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1918-10-01
INTERESTING LETTER ON
A NAVY SCHOOL

The following letter is from Ray
mond j. Reiser, who is attending the
Officer Material School at Princeton
University, Princeton, N. j., and tells
about the naval work in this school:
I'll now give you an idea of our
daily routine. This is called intensive
training and intensive it certainly is.
The reason for this is that the course
am now taking, in ordinary times
would consist of a year and one half's
work, but we are forced to cram this
knowledge in our "solid ivory" in
eight weeks.
Reveille at 6:15 a. m. We dress
and rush down, and have what is
called Swedish or setting up drill for
fifteen minutes (an appetizer for
breakfast.) Then we go back to our
rooms, shave, make up our beds, shine
our shoes, and get ready for breakfast,
which takes place at a. III. At 8
a. m. we have colors and go to our
class rooms for instruction and lee
lures, until the noon hour, with fifteen
minutes recess-10 to 10:15. We have
dinner at 1890 and at 1:3O we go
back to the class rooms for instruc-
tlon until 2:30. At D. m. on Tues
days, Thursdays and Fridays, we have
infantry and saber drill until 5 p. N.
On Mondays during this period we re-
ceive instruction in deck work, navi-
cation and seamanship, and boat drills.
On Wednesdays we have lectures by
the medical officer on First Aid, which
consists of shock, hemhorrage, bruis-
es, sprains, wounds, poisons, band
ages and splints, and resuscitation of
the apparently drowned, etc. From
500 to $3.50 we have recreation, DUR
ing which time we can visit Princeton,
or do as we wish. At $50 we have
supper and at 8 p. m. we go to our
class rooms again for study until
1918. At 1925 tattoo goes and at
10:30 taps. When that hour arrives
we are all ready to dive into the
feathers to repose peacefully until the
unpopular bugle again calls us to our
daily routine at 6:15 a. m. We are off
from 1870 p. m. Saturday, and must
be back again at $3.50 p. m. Sunday
oh! what glorious place to spend
your few hours of freedom-not even
a movie in town. There are $50 men
here in the school at present, and an
ts
have fine quarters here.
Our work here consists mostly of
practical work connected with actual
work carried on on the vessels and
through out the navy. 1t consists
mostly of accounting in a very COM
plicated form. The duties of Supply
Officer as a Paymaster on board ship
is as follows: He has charge of the
ships store or canteen, buys all the
provisions for same and the clothing
and small stores, which consist of all
uniform clothing. He has charge of
the General or Crew mess, buys all
provisions and stores for same. He
has charge of the G. S. X. or General
Store Keeping system, which takes in
all stores used on board ship, every
part and piece of the ship except steam
engines and the hull. Besides this he
is in charge of the pay rolls, pays the
crew and officers and carries their ac-
counts. All this must be accounted for
| by quarterly returns (eyery three
months) which are forwarded to the
Department, Bureau Supplies e Ac-
counts. Every expenditure must be
charged against the proper appropria-
| ton, which are made by congress from
time to time for maintenance of the
Naval Establishment. A paymaster is
under a $4,000 bond. He often car