The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1895-01-28

far ahead of any judicial process. OF
late tkey have been using many plays
which were not even printed. A stenog-
rapher was employed to take down the
words when the play was first present
ed, an an expert to study the scenery
and situations, and thus the strolling
0ramatists were able to start in distant
states and run a season with impunity.
A general bill setting forth the powers
of the federal courts was introduced by
Hon. Amos Cummings, and Judge Dit
tenhoefer of New York has been quite
active in support of it. Chairman Gov
ert of the committee says the greatest
difficulty in getting proper bill through
is the present objection of southern and
western members to charging the juris-
diction of the federal courts, and he re-
grets to add that, SO far as he can see,
said objection is very much on the in
crease at present.
Naval Prospects
The greatest interest just at present
is probably in the committee on naval
affairs. and Hon. Jacob A. Geissenhai-
ner, who became its chairman on the re-
tirement of Amos Cummings. talks with
an earnestness amounting to warmth
about the random statements that have
been made in the papers. In answer to
my questions he summed it up thus:
please dismiss from your mind all
statements that we are going to build
s or 48 or any other number of war
ships right away. tt is all speculation
on the part of the public. The commit
tee is an uncertain body, the house is
more uncertain still, and as to the SEN
ate-well, you ought to know by this
time that it is safer to guess at the YER
dict of petit jury. The navy has long
been subject on which there is a deal
of partisan debate. Each party wants to
prove that it is better friend to the
navy than the other. But the great trou-
BILE is shat naval construction is rapidly
improving, Or, at any rate, changing.
1.-The great powers of the world copy
from us, and we copy from them, and
by the time a certain type Of vessel is
really perfected it is obsolete. An eff
cient navy. therefore, is always in con-
dition which the philosophers call an
unstable equilibrium. l don't know but
the process will result as it has in SO
many other things--that is, we shall go
on adding and adding to the appliances
for naval warfare until they reach such
point of completely that they will be
useless because nobody can work them,
or, more likely, when we shall have
reached the greatest possible perfection,
some entirely new system will be in
vented, and the great navies will be sal
able as old iron. All you need say at
present is that the department has asked
for nearly So 900, 900 for construction
and repairs for the year 1856, and
with this l hand you over to Mr.. Meyer,
who is doing his best for the bill to re-
organize the personnel of the navy. -
The Value of Age.
Mr.. Meyer explained his bill at some
length, and after hearing him and read
ing the recent report 1 can only conclude
that there has been a deal of unneces-
sary delay for a matter of such impor-
lance. The chief trouble is that, owing
to an enormous excess of appointment
in 1907 and other causes, certain
grades of the service are overloaded, and
if the regular rules are followed officers
will not reach rank to command until
their best years are passed and the habit
of depending on others has become
chronic. Thus the age of reaching the
! grade of rear admiral is now So, and in
few years it will be y, with only 8
months to serve before retirement, while
the age of reaching the grade of captain
is 5O1s years and rapidly increasing,
and so of the grades of commander and
! lieutenant commander. In 1871 there
J was such an excess of appointments that
very few were made for several years
! afterward, and all the appointees of that
! era are long since out of the service.
! Thereafter until 1860 the graduates from
the naval academy did not supply the
| annual waste. A tremendous change fol-
lowed, and now there is an excess of 1876
officers on the active line list of the
navy, and promotion is distressingly
| slow.
Surplus officers.
By joint resolution of Jan. IL, 1884,
joint committee on this subject was
created consisting Of Senators Butler,
Black burn and Hale and Representa-
tives Meyer. Money and Wadsworth. but
owing to the tariff debate and other
causes it has done little until lately and
now has acted in a great hurry. 1t rec
ommends in brief. that 100 of the sur
| plus officers be transferred to various
shore duties, such as inspecting mer-
chant vessels, supervising harbors, in
| SPOSe1hS StCO4 anu OtA4O4 es11AO1s 81 PCL4A-
tending gun factories. naval homes and
photographic offices and serving as sub
ordinates in the naval bureau 1t is
claimed that this will reduce expenses,
give more room for promotion and yet
retain these 100 officers ready for active
service afioat in case of war. Much is
said about the fact that there is SO little
chance for enlisted men, and that in
oil ~1r6
mainly by foreign seamen, and the bill
reported provides for promotion on the
same principle as promotions from the
| IL IL