Show old salts scoffed at naval academy eighty years ago when george pan ilan croft the historian and then secretary of the navy founded the united states naval academy at annapolis old sea dogs doga scoffed at the idea of training naval officers ashore says the mentor magazine previous to that time any lad who aspired to command of t a mano man o war went to sen sea at the age of ten and was placed under the ut elage of a c commissioned officer who stood sponger forthe for the training of young midshipmen it was a hard school this practical training among the roughnecks rough necks the scum of the water fronts of seaport towns produced some of the most illustrious names in american naval lil history tory but this training also alao unmade many an ambitious voting lad lit in spite of the opposition from hardened sea dogs bancroft founded the naval academy and today it stands as the leading school for the training of naval officers in the world |