Cañon City record., 1898-07-14
MAKEUP OF THE NAVY
Many of Our Good Men Are Foreign
Born.
But the Majority Are Native Ameri-
cans and the Governing Policy
Favors AmericnnfEing
the Service.

There are records which are very
carefully made up from the returns of
the recruiting officers and kept on file
in the bureau of navigation at the war
department. These show That at the
close of the fiscal year 1897, when the
last statistics were summarized, the
number of men in the general service
was S,6S5, and in special service, includ-
ing fish commission and coast survey,
l,0IS. OF the men in the general serv-
ice 2,s45 were petty officers, SO per cent.
of whom were citizens of the United
States, and more than As per cent. ma
tives. OF the remaining 5,si0 about 10
per cent. were citizens and IS per cent.
natives. Taking the service entire, in
GLIDING some special branches, we find
"A per cent. citizens and more than 81
per cent. natives, as against about ~
per cent. and So per cent, respectively,
one year before; md more than IL per
cent. of the remainder had declared
their intention of becoming citizens.
In pursuance of Secretary Longs pol
icy of AInericaniZiug the navy, the
latest instructions sent to recruiting
officers require them to enlist as ap-
prentices none but citizens.
Some little Importance has been
given to this movement by the raising
of the question, what rights would be
recognized, in such case as the Maine
disaster for example, on the part of the
several governments to which alien en-
listed men owed allegiance, if an in
demnity were TO be paid and divided.
Under ordinary circumstances, un-
doubtedly foreign governments would
generally share the feeling expressed
by the diplomatic representatives, OF
Japan, of confidence that the govern
ment temporarily employing the men
would see that their dependent families
were remembered in the distribution,
regardless of their nationality; but is
possible to imagine complications aris-
ing in which the status OF these men
might cause embarrassment, and 1t
would be better on general principles
to have one rule applied throughout the
service. Efforts have been made to
procure legislation in behalf of the
naval service similar TO that which was
enacted for the army in july, iSC2, pro-
vidiug that any adult alien who mas en-
listed and been honorably discharged
shall be admitted TO citizenship with
cut previous declaration of intention or
proof of more than one years resi-
dence; but thus far WITHOUT avail.
There seems to lurk in the public mind
Il suspicion that no material for making
seanen is so good as American native
stock. This is not borne out by facts,
in The Judgment of some OF our most ex-
periencld naval officers. These ex-
,I,- N tlf fbnnUl
il is highly important that we should
have citizens of the United States com
inaud cur ships-men whose natural
agEsa of loyalty 10 the government
Woud not be questioned, and whose
.lGlcrinl interests would point in the
sa:- e direction, since they would have
no ot1cr government to appeal to in
time Of trouble, yet the n!oFted citizen
makes quite as good a sailor and some
timl LILLE better. This is not so
G4ui b e question ol anccstly as OF carly
el.v-i Oh Eeut and training. The YAM
sorn is apt to have much more
,-is.;ness OF perception, promptness of
etian md general adaItubiiity than
is Irii.sL-born cousin, Tor instance;
DHt ca tEe other hand the dullcr Triton
ial t f. have been trained in the school
f d.. terence to superiors and unIeason-
ng obedience, which on the sea prove
highly valuable. Where the Yankee
ailor ll ows all rights, and knowing,
3arss = uintnin, the foreign-born sailor,
sen chauces to one, has never set his
,lugctsA mind to studying the laws of
his twI ,atus. The British sailor has
been aL toned in contrast with the
Arerican merely because they may be
asau re5 10 spring from common
tCcIs a"G to have had thciT traits diff
'.r 'at wholly by their home sur
.gf...s.i. and education; but the same
HT cIc is 10 be observed in even
.5elter gree between Americans and
iiors OF any other northern nation-
ality. While the native recruit, there
fore, Is always welcomed on the receiv-
rg ship. the foreign-born citizen con-
stitutes n valuable leaven to Distribute
throughout the lump, and all cXperi-
enced naval officers recognize this fact.
The movement for AIr.ericaniziDg the
navy has gone on for several years A
glance over the roster of the old Brook
lyn in 1885, for instance. shows only
1OG Americans in a total of 236 blue
jackets. and only Is Americans in to-
tai of 40 marines. At that time, al
though inducements were held out to
uative Americans to enter the service,
Of those who did enter by farthn larger
part had escaped being forgi~n born by
only one Penerntion. The N1nl.a who
! can trace his American lineage back 10
revolutionary time or earlier was then,
as he is now, rare bird in our naval
service.-Boston Transcript.