The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1894-12-29
SHORT OF sEAMEN.
A Lack Which Is Ono OF Eng
lands Grevest Dangers.
Some Interesting Facts About Great Brit
aims Huge Naval squadrons-N"t
Enough Trgined iEen to
HAn1ie Them.

It may be said without exaggeration
that the question of the hour is the
supply of seanen for our fleet, says /
the Pail Mall Budget. No jugglirs
with figures can conceal the fact that 4
in case of war we cannot send even all 4
our modern vessels to sea. Though 4
every nerve was strained at the maneu- I
vers, though the depots were depleted
Of seamen and stokers, we had to leave /
IN port no less than l55 fighting craft. (
In this total are included ten first and
second class battleships, ten third-class
battleships, seven coast defense iron
clads, four old ironcla95, seventeen
cruisers, eleven torpedo gunboats, forty
destroyers and sixty-nine seryiceable
torpedo boats. Many OF the vessels in
this enormous category are Of the new
est construction, and, though some are
not yet completed for sea, all should be
finished by the end OF the financial
year. We have none too many cruisers
as it Is, and when war is upon us we
shall want every single one to protect
our colossal trade. All the older IRON
clads will be needed to convoy our slow
ocean tramps, all our coast defense
vessels to protect our unfortiticd ports
and towns on the coast. The French
are known to contemplate the bonn
bardment of open towns, and this is the
only means by which we can prevent
stray cruisers doing US terrible harm,
Our battleships will be wanted for the
combat and to watch our enemies
ports. Our ironclads lack their proper
complement of torpedo gunboats and
torpedo boats; ind eed, our frst line,
the Mediterranean fleet, has still
only two. The crews required for
the ships which woul not be able to
put to sea amount to no less than
22,6lo men, or, reduc ing them to
the lowest possible limit, 10000. ships
we can build in three years and less,
but sailors can hardly be trained for
war in twice that time. Since 1889 we
have been building faster than we could
obtain seamcn. We have on the stocks
or projected, to-day another mass OF
vessels which require at least l0,0o(
more men. 1t is true that the naval es
Inmates for 1894 contemplate al addi
tod to our personnel of over COCO men
but this is a mere drop in the ocean t.
the number which we require. w,
must understand that the English fee
disposes of practically no trained re
serve. Though the navel conflict O
tomorrow will be bloody beyond be
lief, involving holocausts Of ships anC
men, we have not merely too few sail
ors to take our effective ships to sea
but no one to replace those who fall il
the struggle.
, Year by year the proportion of Eng
I lish seamen in our mercantile marint
dwindles, while the proportion of for
eigners increases. OF our $4,000 .Dl,
seamen no less than 27.O0O are foreign
, ers, and half the remainder have ha'
: less than four years service. Nor is i
. a question of wages. From the shi
: owners goes up the ominous complain
that the Swede or the German is bet
ter educated, more sober, more respect
ful. He does not desert, he is bette
sailor, and his physique is superior
The supremacy Of the English sailo
is waning" says the chairman Of tn
, West India and Pacific Steamship com
: pany. These are terrible words for US
/ whose pride and whose heritage in tn
past has been the sea.
, our naval reserve Huulpers III It's uFs
class 10000 men. Their training
, limited in the extreme. They are
: many of them, ignorant of the manipr
. lation of the breechloader, for such
], the wisdom of our rulers that they pei
: sist in drilling our reserves with oil
solete guns. At Wick, where LIE
men are trained, there is not singl
: modern weapon. After this they get
y month at sea on war ship. And thu
is all The trumpet will sound; {
I many of them as can be obtained
our home ports will be huddled c
: board our ironclads; lieutenants an
= officers will be borrowed from ships
commission, and our fleet will be pr
to sea-to sure and certain defea
:! Abroad there is readiness for instal
: :, action, at home unreadiness-