The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1900-01-06
is difficult to understand why,
at an exceptionally critical time

at al CASCPIAs'iiuAA StAeANoA SAiA1S
are taken from our
ships and sent inland to do the
of soldiers. 1t is not as if we
had officers and men to spare;
we have mot. The seaman
should be used for garrison
work if they are landed at all.
and should certainly not be
thrown away in bloody frontal
assaults upon hostile positions.
And the London. Time declares
that this use rf sailors, if no t
in itself indicates a grave over
sight on the part of aathe war
ofiice-blaming the govern
,>,trt for omiting to furnish the
field force with so necessary
an implement of warfare az
longra"~e artillery the want of
which ha proved so disastrous.
These complaints are I'M
ouestionably we'll grounded,
but the use of e~;lors and ma
rines in land s'1v ei not new.
The Manitoba .iazs t e calls
attention to the that in the
Crimeanswar some 1,400 were
landed from the ships at Seba-
stopul. and were among the
picked men Of she service. The
heavy guns that th=y took with
them were mounted in the
trenches sud they manned two
thirds rf the guns in the
G-eenhill and Right Lancaster
batteries. The naval forces
were also used extensively in
land service during the Indian
mutiny. Capt. Peel then com
handing the Shannon, landed
| with 500 men, reached Alfalfa
bad. and with his men there
dragged SO pounders about as
if they hal been field gums.
and cont i u d in no s ,al:
degree to tile success on the
British arms, In Egypt and
the Soudan, naval brigades
gave good help, and in South
Africa they have been used for
60 years whenever there has
been call for special o(fort. The
Gazette, adds: This splendid
record, while it adds to the
lustre of the navy, does not
ai,p"ase the indictments in
that great arm. Seamen are
Jealous ct II reputation that is
itself a power, AMI naturally
grudgesthe Bloc 81 their brav-
est to a conflict :. ainly fought
by landsmen and directed not
bv admirnlS, but by generals,
They wantjail their heroes for
themselves
1t seeems t'sat the nnvies ~
both Great Britain and the
; United States have a habit OF
being ready sooner than the
army. This is probable largely
owing to the fact that the
naval service is freer from po-
litical Intrigue and manipula-
ton. The navy, as a rule, is
left. to the management of
professionals, and we; hardly
"~er--if ever see n naval Off
cer who is a politician.
In the United States, in our
late Spanish ws.r, The navy was
-.rdv to make a descent on
G. .ba before the army was, and
tie first Handing to hold a
permanent base was made by a
battalion of marines at Guam
tanamo. In our use of the navy
fer land 'Ttraticrs,. he viewer
we observe a better system
than do the English. The
! marines and blue jackets are
u>ed-and are being so used
now, almost every day, in the
Philippines-to make landings
and seize and hold positions,
but they do not get out of touch
with their ships. and remain
under the command of the
chief officer of the navy nearest
at hand. In this wayour navy
is able to cooperate with the
army to splendid effect; but our
authorities would hardly adopt
the policy of stripping our
ships of their guns and sending
naval brigades farmland under
the command of army officers.
That the British have done so
in the south African war indi-
Gates the extremity to which
they have been reduced by the
unreadiness of their war
department.