The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-06-15
MIDSHIPMEN GO
 TOSEA TOLEARN
 NAVY OPERATION
'Crabs" From Annapolis Off This Month On
 Practice Cruise

T of '51 the first sea-dogs to enjoy a practice cruise puffed about Chesa- peake bay in little steamer called JtS'n Hancock, says a writer in the Mes York Times. Later in the summer the naidshipmen completed their cruise off the coast of Maine in the sloop of war Preble. Since that first experimental voyage there have been practice cruises every year, with the exception of 1881, when the outbreak of the Civil war forced the Naval academy to transfer its activities to Newport. R. l.
 During those exciting years the Macedonian, the John Adams, Marion and the yacht America, joined forces as practice ships, and afforded the mid shipmen many thrills in their various searches for Confederate privateers. Later practice ships were the Ply mouth, Savannah and Dale, and the famous old Constellation, built in 179S for the French war, later rebuilt, and a highly useful man-o'-war, which took the midshipmen on every summer cruise from 1871 to 1893. With that long twilight of naval decadence, which set in after the Civil war, many cadets ex- perienced the absurdities of antiquated steamers and the fussy, fizzing boom of the old smoothbores aboard the monitor Nantucket.
 And at this period, the period of transition from sail to steam, it is well to pause and remember the recent words of Kipling, in an address at St. Andrews Remember always that, ex- cept for the appliances we make, the rates, at which we move ourselves and our possessions through space, and the words which we use, nothing in life changes" The numerous yarns of an- other day with Yankee lads sailing be- fore the mast can be duplicated one by one with the misadventures of Ne braska farm boys afloat for the first time on a modern battleship.
 In the early days, at about the time of the founding of the Naval academy, many a weary lubber bound for four hours sleep in the filthy berth dack of some ancient sloop assigned to midship- men, was apt to find fragrant indi- vidual securely lashed up in his ham mock. It was usually the captains goat. For those were the days before refrigerators and canned milk, and many a goat was carried about the seven seas to supply the captains pri- vate dariy.
 When Midshipmen Were Thieves
 The condition of the midshipmen, fi- nancial and otherwise, was absurd. They bad absolutely no money to spend at BreSt, Cherbourg, Gibraltar, Madeira or dozen ports of the Mediterranean where they were wont to roam. And the food was miserable. As a result, the moment a ship touched port sex tants, clothing and chronometers disap- paI sa f... A.. food. Captains walled to the navy de- pertinent that on inspection tours of forts, ordnance plants and navy yards their charges had to be forcibly dragged out of eating places. They were often a beaten, half-starved and thoroughly hard-boiled lot. As for clothing, the white service, blue service, khaki ''X-ray" and dress uniforms, with reef CTS, overcoats, rainclothes and other &C., cessories of a modern midshipman' s wardrobe were unheard of.
 In the 1S20s and '30s the shortage of clothing grew so acute that in cruises up and down the coast it was tacitly agreed that no invitation should include the entire midshipmen's mess. There weren't enough clothes to go around. A third of the boys might appear impec- cable at the governors ball. A half could just manage to scrape enough clothing together to make presentable appearance, but more than half might well have been termed a bare majority
 On all ships and under all conditions, however, the mocking, irrepressible spirit of midshipmen has never waned. When the navy's classic, "Luce's Sea- manship," was first written, in 1862, by Lieut.. Stephen B. Luce, then head of the department of seamanship at the academy, great was the outcry of the old sea-dogs, who viewed with hate and suspicion the spread of higher learn ing" among the junior officers of the navy.
 Navigation By the Book
 And when a certain sailing sloop of war returned from the Capes with the tale of young graduate on his first tour of duty as a deck officer, loud were the shouts of glee. It seems that on this particular occasion tho weather was a little heavy, and the young man had an eye out for emergencies. So he carefully tore out certain pages of Luce apropos of his present duties and pasted them inside his hat. Sure enough the unexpected happened. His ship, with the helm down, came well up into the wind.
 "Maintopsail haul" he roared, and the yards flew around. His next order should have brought over the head yards on the new tack and his troubles would have been over. But in trying to keep an eye on the yards and on the printed directions of Luces work, the harrassed officer skipped two pages and suddenly shrieked Let go port and stsrboard anchors" to the astonishment of the crew, and an infuriated captain A blood brother, indeed, to the young modernist, who swings his hammock from the standard comnass ooas +o +L.