Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-08-10
THE NAVAL MILITIA.
Assfstant Secretary RooseveIt-s De-
tailed Report Of His Inspcction.

HIS inspection.
Assistant Secretary Roosevelt has made
detailed report of his inspection of the
raval militia of New York and the lake
states.
THE different bodies of naval militia
show" he says. very unequal develop
'hent toward the proper standard of pro-
ficiency- Some have been only recently
organized; others, for various reasons have
made less rapid progress than they should.
Nevertheless. as a whole / was very great
ly impressed by the progress the naval
militia have made They displayed rote-
worthy zeal, energy. perseverance and in
form body of men who would play an
important part in the defense of tine coun-
try II We were to become involved i'm war
with any foreign power or course, the
backbone OF this defense, far as the
nigh seas and our coast works are con-
cerned, must always be the regular navy.
Fortunately We now have at least the
beginning of a navy such as this country
needs IN order that it may take the posi-
lion to which it is entitled among the ma
tons of the earth; and, though our navy
Tails far short of what is should be I'm point
OF numbers, especially of battle ships and
torpedo boats. yet the ships We have are
as good of their kind as are to be found
anywhere (and this is especially true. L
would parenthetically remark of our ar
mor), and the officers and men who man
them need not fear a comparison with the
officers and men of any foreign navy.
Nevertheless. good though our ships are
and excellently though they are handled
by the officers and crews who man them.
both ships and men are too few for our
needs. In men We are particularly short.
In the event of war we should not be able
TO man all of our ships. not to speak of
manning the auxiliary cruisers which We
would desire TO put in commission.
Need of a Naval Militia.
1.-THE ranidiiy with which ,nndar,, ,,.ar-
are decided renders it imperative to have
men who can be ready for immediate use,
and outside of the regular navy these men
are only to be found in the naval militia
of the various states. 1t is to be hoped
that in the future shall he able to or
ganiZe genuine naval reserve apart from
the naval militia, but at present IL is the
latter who themselves furnish the only
available organized reserve. and not the
least valuable of the services they would
perform in the event of sudden outbreak
of war would be acting as nucleus round
which Immediately to assemble the men
needed.
Most of the naval militia are now in
condition to render immediate services of
a very valuable kind in what may be called
the second line of defense. They could
operate signal stations. help handle tor
pedoes and mines, officer and man auXil-
larry cruisers, and assist in the defense of
points which were not covered by the
army. There are numbers of advance bases
which do not come under the present scheme
Of army post defense. and which would
have to be defended, at any rate during
the first weeks of war. by bodies of naval
militia; while the knowledge they get by
their incessant practice in boats on the
local waters would be invaluable. Fur
tnermore, the highest and best trained
bodies could be used on board the regular
ships OF war. and this applies to the mill
Tia of the lakes as well as TO the militia of
the seacoast-and certainly no greater
tribute is necessary to pay to the lake
militia.
Il am aware that this statement will
seem very surprising to those who are un-
acquainted with the progress that has
been made by certain battalions of the
naval militia, but 1 am so thoroughly con-
WINGED of it's truth that shall recommend
that next year the experiment be made of
giving a couple of our gunboats of the
Bennington and Machias, or possibly, even
of the Detroit class, one to a specially
to specially selected battalion from the
lakes for their annual sea practice. The
captain and executive officer and naviga-
tor would be kept on board. 1t might also
be that the engineers would have to be
kept aboard, as il is apparently only among
sissippi that any special effort has been
made to develop machinists. who could be
Immediately used on board war ships.
In conclusion, 1 would like to call atten-
ton to the fact that in most of the organi-
cations there is urgent need for more lib
eral appropriations by the state authorities.
The good effect Of such a liberal policy is
shown in both Massachusetts and New
York. Unless the general government Is
aided by the states 1t makes II very diff
cult To bring the organizations up to the
proper point of efficiency. The department
has but $4,000 to spend, and there are al
ready fifteen organizations among which
this has to be divided"