354 AMERICAN SHIPYARD APPRENTICESHIPS, 



course of training these boys some very brilliant ones may come along and that an oppor- 

 tunity should be given such boys to develop. The object is distinctly not to furnish a liberal 

 education but to stimulate the worthy, deserving, promising boys. For this reason we con- 

 sidered the establishment of scholarships of such a range as to furnish an incentive to the 

 brightest boys and also to the average boys, hence the different scholarships suggested as 

 follows : 



(a) Four years of college work. 



(b) Two years of college work. 



(c) One year of college work. 



(d) Thirty-six weeks of correspondence school work or night school work. 



We feel that scholarship (d), in correspondence school work and night school work, 

 of which there are the larger number, will be of great advantage when taken under the guid- 

 ance of the supervisor of apprentices. It is well known that the correspondence schools fur- 

 nish courses of great value in many trades and boys who follow these courses are so bright- 

 ened and stimulated that they see many things in their trade to interest and encourage them 

 which would otherwise go unnoticed ; for instance, we have had during the past year a night 

 school course of instruction in foundry work, taught by one of our college graduate engineer- 

 ing draughtsmen, Mr. F. R. Benson. This class proved a most remarkable success, and I 

 wish the members might have seen the splendid work and development which took place 

 among the men and quartermen who followed this work. 



The communication from Dr. Macalpine is full of important suggestions. 



We have intentionally made no claim on the future service of any apprentice who may 

 be appointed to a scholarship, as we believe that the young man's feeling of loyalty and appre- 

 ciation will naturally lead him to desire employment with the company who may have granted 

 him the scholarship, and further, the scholarships are intended as incentives and rewards 

 for ability and excellence of service while in the employ of the company and, therefore, we 

 think the company can afford to make the contribution without attempting to control the re- 

 cipient after his term has been completed. This point of the boys returning to the yard is 

 brought out by the communication of Professor Cathcart. We have felt that the two-year 

 course in marine engineering and naval architecture, suggested by Professor Cathcart, could 

 not be taken without first having the foundation gained by the science studies, and there- 

 fore naval architecture and marine engineering are included as only part of Scholarship (a). 



Since the preparation of this paper the owners of the Newport News Shipbuilding and 

 Dry Dock Company, Mr. and Mrs. Henry E. Huntington, have approved of the granting of 

 scholarships corresponding to (6), (c) and (d), providing for an annual total number of 

 appointees as given in the paper for the four scholarships there mentioned. The president, 

 Mr. H. L. Ferguson, the directors and the other officials are interested in making this the 

 means of encouraging and helping the young men serving apprenticeships. We believe that 

 here is a field for development, and we should be glad to cooperate with shipbuilding com- 

 panies or other large business concerns in outlining practicable working plans. 



It is most encouraging to note the interest shown by the Society in this subject. 



Referring again to Captain McFarland's comments, I believe there is a general desire 

 to find and help the boy who may be our apprentice today and who has the mind and heart 

 to become what another apprentice boy became, an Admiral Melville, or what still another 

 apprentice boy became, a Stevenson Taylor, the Society's beloved former President. 



