Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-11-24
WORK OF THE NAVAL MILITIA
Lieutenant Gibbons Report Approved by
Mr.. Roosevelt.
Second Line Of Defense Ia the
Country and How IL Can
De Utilized.

Assistant Secretary Roosevelt has for
warded the report of Lieut. Gibbons on the
operations of the naval militia for the year
1877 to the Secretary of the Navy. with
his approval. In a review of the general
subject, Mr.. Roosevelt says:
The different state organizations are
continually asking for old vessels, ard the
DIT partment has finally tried the experiment
of sending the Yantic to the lakes for the
use of the Michigan militia The supply
of these old wooden vessels has now be-
come practically exhausted. The depart
ment has tried the experiment Of loaning
monitors to the different organizations but
the results have not SO far been salts
factory as monitors are poor ships for
cruising or for use as barracks
This office has paid parJic lilar heed to
the development of the naval ,piliiia. 1t
must he remembered that the naval mill
ia are in no sense proper substitutes Tor
an ehlcient naval reserve, - consist of sea-
iarinS men under cirect control of The Ha-
iohai authorities. The department be-
ieveS that such reserve should be con-
stituted. but ii would DE expensive and
hitherto the expense has been the insuper-
allie obstacle in securing action from Con-
Sress. In the absence Of such reserve the
naval militia offer the only means of pro-
curing what is in any way a substitute for
1t; and, moreover, they nave particular and
very important functions which belong to
them alone. The department has but a
very small sum to devo.e 10 their mainte-
nance end care, and this sum becomes
smaller for each division from year to
year. inasmuch as the number of orSani-
cations is continually on The increase. The
department is therefore moi able TO drill
and supervise these organizations as il
would like TO, ana they mus; be left large
iy to their own good sense. energy, and in
itlative. In consequence there is n great
variety in the condition of efficiency reach
ed by the different organizations.
How Ii Can BE Utilized.
There are three or four of these organi-
cations which, in the event of a sudden
emergency, could be utilized at once for
manning the smaller national cruisers; but
this, of course, can not generally be the
case with the majority of the orsaniza-
tons. They must be depended upon pri-
marily as a second line of defense There
are TWO very important features whic n
should be attended to by such a second
line one is the placing of mines: the other
the establishment of signal stations tor
coast defense. The department should sir
request that there should be inserted in the
provision for the maintenance of the naval
militia the words submarine mining out
MIS- so as to allow of training them for this
purpose. The department has also been
maturing plans for the signal stations for
the coast defense. and very slight ex-
penditure of money, with the cooperate
of the Treasury Department, will put this
on satisfactory basis. The organizations
are continually requesting the detail of
officers to instruct them, and they can best
of all be instructed by actual service on
regular war vessels, or under the super
vision of naval officers and in conjunc-
ton with the sailors
Substitute for the Michigan.
is-
upon the resources of the navy to provide
for the annual drills of the different or
ganizations. especially as plans for joint
ercampments have hitherto invariab bly,
fallen through, owing to the inability of
the states to act together. Ii IS much to be
wished that Congress will authorize. in
the first place, the substitution for the old
paddle-wheel steamer Michigan on the
lakes of d small modern gunboat. perhaps
on the Petrol type. to be devoted largely
to cruising with the lake militia organiza-
tons, and to overseeing them; and. further
more, to the building of similar small
cruiser on the Pacific. and two on the At
lantic, to be used for this same purpose
With these cruisers il would he possible to
bring the naval militia organizations to a
very high standard of efficiency, and the
cruisers themselves. of course, would be
available at any moment for any of the
regular naval uses in an emergency.
There has been a steady increase in the
efficiency. as well in the number, of
these naval militia organizations, both on
the Atlantic and Pacific, on the great lakes
and even in the Mississippi valley. The
movement is one of promise. The reports
by the different regular officers who have
taken part in their encampments give good
ground for belief in the usefulness of these
organiza tions in time of war. The depart
ment has earnestly endeavor ed to encour-
age this movement in every way; ii would
be well to commend the above propositions
to the especial attention of Congress.