The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1898-06-17
MAKEUP OF THE NAVY.
Many of Our Good Men Are Foreign
Born.
sut the Majority Are Native Ameri-
cans and the Governing Policy
FavOPS Americanizing
the Service.

the Service.
There are records which are very
carefully made up from the returns of
the recruiting officers and kept on file
n the bureau of navigation at the war
department. These show that at the
.ose of the fiscal year 1897, when the
last statistics were summarized, the
number of men in the general service
vas S,GS5. and in special service, includ-
ng fish commission and coast survey,
l,01S. OF the men in the general serv-
.ce 2.S45 were petty officers, SO per cent.
If whom were citizens of the United
States, and more than Is per cent. ma
ives. Of the remaining 5,S40 about 70
Der cent. were citizens and 5S per cent.
natives. Taking the service entire, in
,luding some special branches, we find
"a per cent. citizens and more than 81
per cent. natives, as against about 72
per cent. and so per cent, respectively,
one year before; and more than IL per
cent. of the remainder had declared
heir intention of becoming citizens.
in pursuance of Secretary Longs pol
icy of AmcrcaniZing the navy, the
latest instructions sent to recruiting
officers require them to enlist as ap-
prenticcs more but citizens.
Some little Importance has been
given to this movement by the raising
If 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
ilemnity were to be paid and divided.
Under ordinary circumstances, un-
loubtedly foreign governments would
generally share the feeling expressed
by the diplomatic representatives of
Japan, of confidence that the govern
nent temporarily employing the men
would see that their dependent families
we're remembered in the distribution,
regardless of their nationality; but tits
possible TO imagine complications aris-
ng in which the status of these men
might cause embarrassment, and it
would be better on general principles
10 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, 1862, pro-
viding that any adult alien who has en-
listed and been honorably discharged
shall be admitted to citizenship with
iut previous declaration of intention Or
proof of more than one years resi-
lence; but thus far without avail.
There seems to lurk in the public mind
suspicion that no mat-'!a for making
seamen is so good as American native
stock. This is not borne out by facts,
in the judgment of some Of our most ex-
perienced naval officers. These eX-
perts commonly agree that although
ii is highly important that we should
have citizens of the United States COM
mand our ships-men whose natural
sense of loyalty to the government
material interests would point in the
same direction, since they would have
no other government to appeal to in
time of trouble, yet the adopted citizen
makes quite as good sailor and some
times a little better. This is not so
much a question of ancestry as of early
environment and training. The Yam
kee-born is apt to have much more
luickness of perception, promptness of
lction and general adaptability than
his British-bo cousin, for instance;
but on the other hand the duller Briton.
is apt to have been trained in the school
Of Difference to superiors and unreason-
ing obedience, which on the sea prove
highly valuable. Where the Yankee
,ailor knows all rights, and knowing,
Iares maintain, the foreign-born sailor,
ten chances to one, has never set his
sluggish mind to studying the laws of
his own status. The British sailor has
been mentioned in contrast with the
\merican merely because they may be
assumed 10 spring from common
stock and to have had their traits diff
ferentiated wholly by their home sur
and education; but the same
difference is to be observed in even
greater degree between Americans and
sailors of any other northern nation-
atty. While the native recruit, there
fore, is always welcomed on the receiv-
ing ship, the foreign-born citizen con-
stitutes a valuable leaven to distribute
throughout the lump, and all expert
pnced naval officers recognize this fact.
The movement for Americanizing the
navy has gone on for several years. A
glance over the roster of the old Brook
lyn in 1885, for instance, shows only
l0G 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
native Americans to enter the service,
of those who did enter by far the larger
part had escaped being foreign born by
pnly one generation. The Yankee who
ran trace his American lineage back to
evolutionary time or earlier was then,
US he is now, rare bird in our naval
Transcript.
The Arl1nnsaw Way.
Good afternoon, sir!" said tour