Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1918-12-19
LETTER TO EDITOR
To the Editor Of the Epening Capital:

4 To the Editor of the EDening Capital:
| / regret very much on reading the
article last night in your paper of Ad-
miral Eberle. U. S. ~, before the naval
affairs committee of the house of
4 Representatives, that you omitted
one phase of his recommendation and
! his efforts 10 better the various condi-
ton now existing at the academy
What | most desire to speak of affects
more than 500 employees of the Naval
Academy and very incidentally all the
merchants of the city OF Annapolis
more or less. Namely, proper appro-
4 priation for the U. S. Naval Academy
/ to pay the civilian force employed
there. Vital as il is to the business
| of the city of Annapolis there is quite
lack of interest by those who should
I be on the job TO see that the academy
1 should receive proper appropriations
10 pay it's civilian force, and keep up
/ the buildings in proper repairs.
speak now of this as purely selfish
proposition leaving aside that great
national pride we all should have
the academy and its proper up
keep. | write this with two objects in
view; first that the public should
know that the hearings before the
naval committee showed that Admiral
Eberle, as superintendent of the Naval
department proper and just recon-
mendations for the academy and that
the Navy department, as they have
done in the past, cut these recommen-
dations so they were not workable
Hence, when Admiral Eberle appeared
before the naval committee they asked
him to revise the bill now pending be-
fore the committee. / shall not go into
detail as TO what was left out but
briefly say that Admiral Eberle has
revised the estimates for the academy
now pending before the naval affairs
committees so that Justice may be
done all employees No one knows
better than the writer last year when
the employees found they were far I'M
der paid when compared with other
yards, how Admiral Eberle earnestly
and persistently wrote and urged that
congress make proper appropriation
to pay the employees the salaries and
wages justly due them. Aside from
the quetsion of salaries and wages
there has been during Admiral
Eberle's administration at the acad-
envy a most humanitarian side to his
dealing with the men. No man has
ever had just grievance but what he
could receive a hearing through the
proper channels and time will not
efface the debt of gratitude of how
during the shortage of coal last winter
when he appealed to the department
to be allowed TO distribute coal to
those of us who were suffering for lack
of fuel: how he commandered contrac-
tors trucks and in less than two days
delivered over two hundred tons. 1t is
not TO be wondered at that with these
facts and others as equally potent and
vital to the academy that the organi-
cation of employees of the academy re-
quested me to use every effort to keep
so just, efficient. and accomplished an
officer as our superintendent for a
longer period of time. So with this
in mind when | called on Admiral
Palmer, late head of the Bureau of
Navigation, and asked for the good of
the country that Admiral Eberle be re-
tanned at the academy Admiral Palmer
spoke with open frankness. saying it
WAS giving them great concern, as
they recognized Admiral Eberle's eff
cheney, and they might be compelled
TO keep him at the academy when sea
assignment might mean q great deal
to him personally. and to his future
naval life. When we reflect how able
an administrator he has been, in the
training of officers for our navy we
must all agree the Secretary of the
Navy did wise thing when he decided
to retain Admiral Eherle here for an
other year. And we hope for another
still. 1t might not be out of place at
thi slime to state that last year Can
tain Standby. officer in charge of
buildings, ably seconded every effort
of Admiral Eberle and it was with deem
regrets as far as the working force
are concerned that he was transferred
to the position of commandant of mid
shipmen. But we are indeed fortunate
I in having so able an officer as Com
mander Kibbee, take his place as he
has had wide experience in dealing
with employees and can fully appre-
ciate a mans worth.
! You spoke in your article of Con-
gresham Butler having snecial Unfair