The morning times., 1897-01-10

But while Notifications and secret appli-
anceS for defense are all well, it seems ONE
that we are mighty remisS in some things.
i viii explain hatislacking tw o or three
directions. About two months ago it oc-
CURED to one OF the most accomplished in
spector generals OF our army to see how
long it would take ting troops at Fort Mon
roe TO turn outin case of attack. thoughtI
would like TO see it, ,.too, so went down to
witness the performance. / saw it. Men
were marched out fn clear outline against
the sky, to man the old smooth bores, en-
barbette, with which the fort is presumed
to be defended. Think Of what would hap
pen to men, showing in clear relief against
the sky line, opposed to q fleet with the rap
id-fire guns that every ship in our navy
carries today Why, the ywouldnever reach
a gun, much less be able to load one. Thenin
the navy they have one set of signals, in
the army there is another Why is notthe
system of Signalling uniform in both serv-
ices?, Asit is, the Comman ndcr OF a fleet can
not communicate by signal with the COM
inander of fort If his life depended on it,
and vice versa. Then in small arms there
is the same lack of uniformity. The army
has one caliber of small arm, the navy an
other Suppose the North Atlantic fleet
should suddenly get out of .234 caliber
cartridges. 4..-
Time was when a ship could put in
wherever there was government arsenal
tridges, if so many We're needed. Now it
would not be possible, be the stress ever so
great, to obtain sins gle cartridge suitable
TO the small arms used on shipboard, short
of a government navy yard, and in time Of
war each OF our yards would either be de-
stroyed by the enemy or so blockaded that
no American ship could ever get into them,
or come out il she did get in. Now, all
this new system Of doing things may be
as the cockney saidof Niagara -'dem fine"
Just what its virtue is, for the life OF me,
1 cannot see What we seem to need is
common sense in high places We have
equipped our army of $4,000 men with
rifle of candinavian make, and furnished
the men with the German pickel helmet
as a headdress America has been famous
for her rifles for over so years. The first
breech-loading rifle ever used by an army
was invented in this country eighty-six
years ago. In the name of all that Is our
own, could we not have adopted an Ameri-
can rifle and hat for the regular force?
If there is one thing above another 1 like
about Gen Miles, who is the senior general
officer of the army, it is his sturdy Ameri-
Canism There is a movement on hand to
change Some parts of the uniform, the
headcoverng, it is, l believe. Why not
take the soft hat worn so generally in the
South and Westo It is cofnfortabIe, has
been in use nearly 90 years, and is essen
TALLY American 1t would please the men
who have the hat to wear, and it would be
a return to home ideas.
Capt. Alfred T. Mahan, U. S. N, was
retired from the active service list of the
navy a fortnight ago. Every leading jour
nal in Great Britain and on the Continent
had an editorial in regard to him and his
great literary work showing the influence.
of sea power and great fleets upon his
tory, and newspapers gave him a six-line
paragraph. Had he been a prize-fighter
say, or bicycle champion sc0rcher, he
would have got column There is story