The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-11-21
UNREST AT ANNAPOLIS.
Situation Brought About by the Meas.
ures Taken Against Hazlng.

To TINE NEW YORK HERALD: The sys-
TEN of government which Admiral Scales
has instituted in the Naval Academy at
Annapolis is fundamentally wrong and
has resulted since the beginning OF the
present academic year in nothing but
general decentralization. loss Of morale
and loss OF honor.
On October 26 the present fourth class
was segregated from the three upper
classes to protect its members from the
system of bringing up which is the fruit
of over fifty years of successful Naval
Academy administration. This system
has made such men as Dewey. Hobson.
Sampson and Schley, to say nothing of
the present generation of naval officers.
The mild system OF hazing which the
present fourth class is now being pro-
tected from consists In learning to obey
all orders without question. no matter
how foolish or trivial they may appear
In learning the language Of the sea in
learning the ms and outs of their future
profession. and In becoming imbued with
that respect for rank upon which the
navy Is built.
Undoubtedly to the plebe this system
seems unfair and exaggerated, Just as
to the child the discipline of its parents
seems uncalled for. yet the reflections of
later years show him the wisdom of 1t ALL
Nevertheless. no matter how justifiable
this system of hazing may be. the plebes
are now segregated. This segregation
consists In the absolute isolation of the
al ,Har 81
in two wings of Bancroft Hall, while the
upper class men are quartered in the
other two. Between the plebe and the
upper class wings all communications
are cut, armed guards are stationed at
the entrances to the wings. and all COM
municating windows are heavily barred.
The privileges and liberties formerly
enjoyed by both the fourth class and the
upper classes together have of necessity
been curtailed to each, since both must
enjoy them at different times.
This segregation has resulted In a
practically complete loss of morale In
the regiment of midshipmen. The ia
nous navy spirit is at very low ebb,
and in its place there Is a deplorable
spirit of devil may care. Practically
every privilege formerly accorded to the
upper classes has been done away with
or curtailed to some extent, until It
seems to them that these measures have
now exceeded the bounds of reason. Con-
sequently it is no wonder that a spirit
of antagonism toward segregation and
everything connected with it prevails In
the minds of these embryo officers in
stead of that spirit of fairmindedness.
honor and respect for authority which
has hitherto exemplifled the navy and
which the Naval Academy should foster.
The results of this segregation and
its accompanying penalties are Of the
worst. Conditions are such that the
truth is punished and the lie goes free
Surely something Is wrong with a sys-
tenn wherein a man is given penalty
for telling the truth so heavy that he
can easily appease his conscience when
he lies and avoids that punishment.
In view Of the very apparent faults
of the Scales regime a change undoubt-
edly should be made. and that as soon
as possible. Before segregation was eff
fected the Naval Academy was a happy
and contented institution now discon-
tent and incoordination prevail The old
system was success when left to itself.
The new honor system has shown itself
a success at West Point. Why shouldn't
one or the other be substituted for pres
ent failure? INTERESTED.
ANNAPOLIS, Md, November 20.