The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-06-15

STATE NAVAL RESERVES.
History Of the Movement
Since its Organization
in 1896.
TWO EFFORTS TO CRUSH IT
At First the Officials Did Not
Like it But Finally
Consented.
TWO EFFORTS TO CRUSH IT

The men Of the First Battalion of the
New York Naval Reserves have been
under fire and have acquitted themselves
creditably and with honor. says the New
airy Sunday Call" The Battalion of the
East, New Jersey Reserves, has put 10
sea on the ship Badger. D-etachmenrs
from the Massachusetts Reserves have
for weeks been serving on Warships, ana
the reserves from other States are doing
duty in one branch of the naval service
or another. The Naval Reserves have, in
a word, amply demonstrated their fitness
to be called into positions of trust and re-
sponsibility in the countrys defense, and
| the grumblers and cavillers are forever
silenced. Had it not been for the Re-
serves the Navy Department would have
been very hard put to 1t long ere this to
get things in readiness for the war. First,
there were the old monitors to be gotten
| away from their messy moorings at the
| Navy Yard at Philadelphia. These had
to be distributed along the coast, and it
seemed impossible to spare regular sailors
to do the t.toting." When this was done
the Navy Department found it had even
more responsible work cut out for the
young sailormen. and since that time the
| Reserves have been told off to this post or
that, and every official In the Navy De-
partment seems eminently satisfied to
give the boys important work to do. No
/ especial Instructions of caution, etc, were
issued. The boys were simply told to go
and do this or that. just as if they had
been in the service for years. fh Naval
Reserves have at a leap, as it were, at
tanned to the confidence and respect Of
the Government, and if they continue to
do their duty as efficiently as they ave
begun the Naval Reserves at the close of
the war will find themselves on a new
and firm footing; they will have the ad-
miration and respect of the whole coun-
try. and their organizations will have be-
come as thoroughly established as the Ma
tional Guard.
But the %upbuilding of the Reserve did
NOT come in a moment or a day. 1t was
slow, painful work. In every State where
Reserve battalions were founded these or
CARNATIONS met with opposition from
various sources. The most powerful oppo-
| sition usually came from the officers of
the National Guard, and each battalion in
the several States found the same sort of
opposition, and readily understood <the
motives. Previous to the Nava Reserve
movement the National Guard had things
| entirely its own way. 1t and 1t alone re-
| ceived all the moneys the State had to
| spare for war preparations. 1t had COM
plete sway. With the coming of the Naval
! Reserves the Guardsmen feared they
would lose part of their annual appro-
priation; hence they were not slow to put
| obstacles in the way of the Naval organi-
1otiovr Tn Norr VnrE tho Naval RoSarVa
was organized so quickly and so quietly
that the Guardsmen did not realize what
| was on foot until the bill authorizing the
formation of a Naval Reserve had become
a law. There was trouble later, however,
and the New York Reserves have never
been entirely free from it. Only about a
year ago dissension was started which
threatened to destroy the organization.
1t was weathered finally, however, and
when the call came for Naval Reserves
at the outbreak of the present war the
New York organization was in first class
condition and ready on the instant.
over here in New Jersey there were
men watching the struggles of the New
York Naval Reserves with sympathy, and
in 1894 these men determined to see what
they could do looking to the organization
Of a reserve In this State. In the summer
of 1893 the Newark Sunday CaI' drew
attention in its columns to the value of a
properly equipped and trained naval re-
serve and strongly recommended the es-
Establishment of such a force in New Jer-
sey. a State with a particularly long and
exposed coast ling, which would naturally
be in more or less danger in case OF war
with a European power. 1t seemed to
some like the building of 'IEcanny castles
In Spain to even mention seriously the
possibility of wal with anybody across
the high seas. and the people OF this State
were slow to respond to the idea. Here
and there a man was found who lookess
far enough into the future to see tne
value OF the suggestion, ana gradually the
force that was TO work tof the estapiish-
ment 81 a naval reserve y TINS S.a'e was
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