New-York tribune., 1921-02-22
State Nautical
School Doomed
ByENp'ense Cut
Senator Hewitt Also May
Ask That Training Ship
Newport Be Abandoned in
General Economy Wave
Alleges Great Waste
Budget Allowance for
Cornell Farm Classes
Also Faces Curtailment

The New York State Nautical Schools
,-aining ship Newport may be junked
,nd the school abandoned on account
nf the economy wave engineered by
senator Charles j. Hewitt, chairman of
me Senate Finance Committee, who is
ahewing to the line" in carrying out
covernor Miller's recommendations,
Senator Hewitt is making final in
vesticstion of the status of the train
;nr ship. He has been informed that
shout thirty boys are graduated every
YEAR as seamen, and that they are sup
rosed to be superior men, but he has
not as yet been able to find that the
boys distinguish themselves after they
finish their course. Most of them, he
ix informed, take up commercial pur-
suits.
The thing that most interests the up
state men in charge of the retrench-
ment program, however. is the cost Of
turning out these thirty graduates.
Exceeds 100000 Year
For the fiscal yea- 1921-'22 the board
Of governors of the Nautical School
has made requisition for S111,117.4s,
of which s52,420 is on account of per-
sonal service, or, in other words, to
rsv thirty-seven employees on the pay
roll Senator Hewitt has figured it out
that at this rate the education of the
he
year on the basis of their last requi-
siticn.
The secretary and treasurer of the
hoard Of governors of the school is
Charles Williamson, whose salary is
$4,000 year, and who is asking for an
increase eThe superintendent and com
handing officer is j. s. Baylis, at
$4,000, and the chief engineer and
senior instructor receive $4,000 a year
each.
Another item which is bothering Sen
ator Hewitt and his colleagues in charge
of the budget is the large requisitlon
for the Cornell College Agricultural
School. maintained by the state. The
requisition this year for maintenance,
repairs, new buildings and salaries is
above 50 900.
1t is the personal service requisition
however, that is challenging the atten-
tion of Messrs. Hewitt and Lusk For
1920-2I. the appropriation was $685.
9S0 while for the current fiscal year
it is $1,124, ,440. There were 468 en-
ployees on the college pay rolf paid by
the state last year, and the requisition
for this year calls for SEA employees s.
The students receiving instruction IN
192021 numbered 2,450.
State Farms a Burden
Senator Hewitt is farmer from
Cayuga County. 1t has been brought
to the attention of Senator Lusk and
himself that the state owns eleven large
farms in connection with agricultural
institutions, with acreages running
from 500 to 1,700. The Cornell Agri-
cultural College employs a staff of
lecturers to tell the farmers how to
make their farms pay.
Sentor Lusk says that the state fails
to make its eleven big farms pay, al
though the labor employed on them is
mostly free, and nothing is paid by the
state for Insurance. Senators Lusk
and Hewitt say that the people will
expect these Cornell lecturers to ex-
plain why the states eleven big farms
90 not pay, in view of the fact that the
labor cost to operate them is very low
Charles Williamson, secretary and
treasurer of the New York Nautical
School, with offices in the Municipal
Building, says that the showing for
the school is not nearly as bad as it
appears on nrst glance. and that no
matter what the school costs it is
worth it, as its board of governors
stands ready to demonstrate.
II is true that last year we turned
cut about thirty boys" said Mr.. Will
hanson yesterday, "but during the
war period we did much better than
that Of the state appropriation OF
$4,000 for 1920 we turned back S10,-
goo. On account of the interest taken
IN our work by the Federal govern
ment, Uncle Sam gave the state $25,-
O0O, so that the net cost to the state
was about 100000
the boys we turn out go aboard
ships owned in New York. Fifty pei
cent of all American owned vessels
make New York their home port anC
the maintenance of the Newport anC
Its school is almost wholly loca
matter. The board of governors is Sc
lected by the great representative in
stltutlons of the state like the cham
befs of commerce of New York, Buf-
ialo and Albany, and the Maritime Elk
change. The members of the boart
serve without pay. Massachusetts hai
such a school. Pennsylvania had on'
and abandoned it, and now IT is pre-
pairing to resume. Washington hal
such a school and Maine is preparing
to establish one. All of our money Il
well spent"