Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1918-01-19
CANDIDATES COLONY
IN ANNAPOLIS
Now Numbers Three Hundred
Constantly Increasing
CONTRAST OF "BEFO' DE WAH."
Pioneer School Established BY Prof.
". H. Thompson Present Day
Regime ReIrospection


The candidate colony at Annapolis.
composed of young men preparing at
its naval preparatory schools for the
examinations for admission to the Ma
val Academy, which viii occur on
February 10, 20 and q. has now be-
come so large that once again has
been revived the suggestion that they
are entitled to public recreation
room for themselves There are now
IN Annapolis over 800 candidates and
their number is constantly increasing.
They are here all the year in more
or less numbers
Before the Civil War few candidates
came TO Annapolis and they general
ly stopped at the City Hotel, the Colo
nial Mann's Inn, where Gen. Wash
lngton stopped when here to resign
his commission on December %, 1888.
Then the Southern boys in a semi
facetious spirit would bless "the Yam
KEGS from New England who could
outspell them in examinations on ac-
count of their fine public school sys-
tem.' The naval preparatory schools
and the betterment of schools in the
South have abolished that distinction
There is now no North, no South. no
East, and no West on graduation day
or entrance tests at the Academy
All sections in turn carry off the
honors.
The pioneer establishment of naval
preparatory schools at Annapolis was
Prof William H. Thompson, late
head OF the Preparatory Department
of st. Johns College. The war had
broken up the college, and Prof.
Thompson took up the work of pre-
pairing candidates for the Naval Acad
emy soon after the school returned in
1866 to Annapolis from Newport. r.
l., where it had been during the great
struggle.
DR.. w. H. Hopkins, afterwards
President of ST. Johns, and of Gou-
cher College. Baltimore, was then
head of the Anne Arundel Academy.
ten miles from Annapolis, and every
day he and his little band Of candi
dates would go up to the Academy
from Annapolis on the cars and re-
turn in the afternoon
In 1879, Capt. John Wilkinson. of
the United States Navy, and of the
Confederate Navy, opened a prepara-
tory school here and successfully car
ried it on until 1891.
st. Johns College then, with the aid
OF Prof L. w. Werntz, who had re-
signed from the q. S. Navy, undertook
the work of preparing candidates for
the entrance examinations. This al
lance was shortly dissolved.
In 1887 Prof Werntz opened his ma
val preparatory school at Annapolis.
and it has been successfully carried
on since with constantly increasing
students in attendance.
About 1896 Mr. A. Peary. who had
been an Ensign in the Navy, and who
had resigned because for two whole
years as Passed Midshipman he suf-
fered from sea-sickness, opened a
school and carried it on for a year.
He then entered into a contract with
Prof. Joseph r. Wilmer, a retired Off
Ger of the Navy, to prepare candi-
dates.
About the year 1897 Mr.. Peary ac-
cepted position with the Independ-
ent United Gas Co, of Philadelphia.
Prof. John L. Chew, of st. Johns Col
lege then entered the faculty Of Prof.
Winners school. which has had
masterful success
In 1914 Prof Roland NJ. Teel OPEN
ed the Severna Park School, about u
miles from Annapolis. He limits the
number of candidates he takes. The
school is in fourishing condition.
Two new schools were opened in
Annapolis in 1917 Prof. A. Knox
Starlings, after long experience in
coaching, began his Army and Navy
Preparatory School" and Prof. G. A.
Pfeiffer, a graduate of the Virginia
Military Institute, who began train
ing candidates as early as 1887, COM
menced the Annapolis Naval Prepara-
tory School, and has met with mark
ed encouragement and has had fine
results.
The Annapolis preparatory schools,
inclusive Of the Seyerna Park Acad-
emy, have the enviabIe reputation of
having more successful candidates.
per rata. in the examinations than any