Evening star., 1895-06-07
NAVAL FORCE INCREASE
One Thousand Men to Be Enlisted After
July l.
They Will Not All BE Taken Mt
Once, but in Lots as
Needed.

Preparations are now being made at the
Navy Department for the enlistment of
l,ooO additional men for the navy in ac-
cordance with the provisions of the naval
appropriation bill, which goes into effect on
the lst proximo. This increase in the sea
force Is made necessary by the completion
OF new warshfps, some of which are now
ready to go into commission and the re-
mainder of which will be turned over to
the government during the next fiscal year.
Not Men Enough.
1t Is becoming each day a more serious
problem for the Navy Department to man
our new ships with the small number OF
sailors allowed by law. In recent years
tnere nave been constant additions to the
shlps or the new navy, but Congress has
not seen hit to Increase In like proportion
the number of sailors allowed to man them.
The modern ship, with Its complex ma
chinery and great size, requires more men
than the small sailing steamers of the war
period, yet, with all of the liberality which
congress fas shown in appropriattng
money for the construction Of new ships
1T has failed to grasp the Importance of
giving them effective crews Last year
Secretary Herbert appealed to the legisla-
i've branch of the government to author
lie the enlargement of the number of en-
Lsted men by 1000. pointing to the num-
Der of new ships that will be completed and
turned over to the navy in the course of a
year or two as the basis for his applica-
ton. The appropriation committees. how
ever, saw mt to cut this number down to
i,ooO men. The enlistments will include
landsmen. firemen and seamen. The lands
men VIII be enlisted at New York and the
others at Boston, Philadelphia and San
Francisco.
The Best Available Material
Great care will be exercised in the enlist
ment, in order to secure the best available
material. The number of applica tions al
ready made to the Navy Department shows
that there will be no excuse for leniency in
this respect. 1t will be the policy of the
department to reject all candidates who
are not physically sound or who show
symptoms that rre likely to develop into
early disability, emitting the unfortunate
possessor to retirement or pension 1t is
not proposed to increase the government
pension list by the admission into the navy
OF persons who do not give physical evil
dence of their ability to serve out their
terms under ordinary conditions.
In Lots as Needed.
The whole one thousand men will not be
enlisted at once. but only in lots sufficient
to meet the demands of the service Crews
will first be needed for the battleships
Maine and Texas. The Maine is at New
York and the Texas at Norfolk. They are
row practically ready for sea, but probably
Will not be put in commission before the
1st of August. The torpedo boat Ericsson,
in case she makes a successful trial trip,
will also be put in commission in few
months. Another vessel requiring a crew
Is the old frigate Lancaster. now being
fitted out at New York as a practice gum
merry ship.
Nearly All Vessels Short.
Nearly all the vessels of the navy are
short Of their complement and the author
lied increase will not much more than
meet existing needs. A still further IN
crease will be necessary in order to man
the big battleships Iowa, Indiana, Massa-
chusetts and Oregon, now approaching
completion, and that fact will be brought
to the attention of Congress at its next
meeting.