Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1891-02-07
MIN FOR THENAVY
One Of the Serious Needs Of the
United States
In Putting Afoat the New Cruisers
and War Ships.
More Natives and Fewer For
eigners Needed on Deck.

Many of Uncle Sans seamen Not Amer
lean Citizens and Have Never Set Foot
ON American Soii-Rea,ons why Amer
icans Are Not Anxious to Enter the
service-The Embarrassments of the
Position of the United States Navy in
Contrast with the Conditions Prevail
ing in England and France.
NEW YORK, Feb. IA difficult ques-
ton which the government now has to
deal with is the manning of the new
ships of the navy. The Jingoes of Eng
land declared that 1--WE have the ships,
we have the men, we have the money,
too" The United States has the money
in plenty, and the ships are coming rap
idly, but men to man them are scarce.
Even now it is very difficult to obtain
men enough to man what few ships we
have, and hardly vessel has its full
complement for crew.
The departure of the squadron of evo-
luton left few men in the receiving
ships and nearly exhaused the resources
of the government in that respect, and
but few men can be procured to re-
plenish the supply. 1t is no wonder
that this matter should cause serious
concern in the bureau of navigation,
which has charge of it. Within the
next few months the Omaha and Ian
caster will have to be supplied with
new crews, as the terms of enlistment Of
the present ones expire. and crews must
be procured for the Bennington, Con
cord, Newark and Miantonoma of the
I, ~, md
vessels of the new navy, including two
almost ready at Mare Island. will fol-
low rapidly and must each lie supplied
with their complement of men.
Too Many Foreigners in the Service.
At present it is well understood that a
large proportion of the seamen ON the
ships of the United States navy are
foreigners, many of them are not citi-
zens Of this country, and some of them
cannot speak the English language and
have difficulty in understanding orders,
One instance is given in these polyglot
crews of petty officer who was unable
to give his orders in English, and who,
though an officer in the American navy,
was not citizen of the country and had
never set his foot on its soil. According
to report, one'of our cruisers that came
into the port of New York recently had
among her crew half dozen or more
seamen who had never before seen
America.
The famous Trenton, of our navy,
represented in her crew upon her last
cruise twenty-seven different nationali-
ties. Thirty-three per cent. only were
native-born Americans, and out of q
total of 450 souls there were not more
than fifteen who had passed through the
training service. The Trenton is a fair
illustration of the condition as it exists
to-day among the ships of the navy, and
it certainly is not encouraging. In the
stress for seamen the authorities cannot
afford to be particular as to the person
nel-they must have men, andso they are
driven to accept the services of nomads
of the seas, refuse from foreign ports
and fugitives from justice.
The navy needs at once at least 1000
men, and as soon as they areapportioned
another / 900 will be just as urgently
wanted; and only hundred or two are
available. 1t is significant that re-en-
listments are few This shows that the
service is not attractive, and betrays an
important weakness, for the re-enlist-
ment of sailor is of more benefit to the
service than the enlistment of half
dozen raw men, 1t is not expected, for
instance, that over dozen or fifteen OF
the crew of the Omaha will re-enlist.