The Washington weekly post. (Washington, D.C.) 1878-1916, 1900-11-13

The startling statement Is made In the
rer-ort ~ Admiral Crowninshield. chief Of
the Navigation Bureau, that the present
personnel OF the navy would form barely
ane-fourth Of the total establishment nee
essary 20 fight a hrst-class European pow
err II barely sUfiiced for the Spanish war
and no longer can be considered, the re-
port says. as an effective nucleus about
which a larger establishment could be
formed IN case OF war.
The admiral regards this need OF the
navy for officers and men as most urgent
lie saws that the bureau can point To
many eases where che service Is being
harmed By lack Of officers. The Naval
Academy Is suffering for want Of instruc-
tors. and the present high standard OF
training cannot be maintained Every
bureau IN the department Is short OF OF
fcers. and the services, the report pre-
diets, soon will fan behind In the struggle,
first for leaderships. and then for equality,
with the other services The disability OF
the sea-golng corps OF officers has greatly
increased since the Spanish war, and
many OF the best officers are being lost as
a result OF breaking down from overwork.
Takes Congress Co Task.
The admiral severely critlcises the in
effective effort OF Congress at the last ses-
sion to meet immediate needs for officers
by authorizing the employment OF retired
officers, and ne demands the immediate
repeal OF that act He claims that the re-
tired list, intended as a reward for faith
ful service otherwise becomes a hardship
and a punishment The personnel act
thus far has resulted in affOrding fewer Of
fcers than were on the active list before
its passage. as. while authorizing an In
crease. IL failed 10 provide the means
therefor, so there are now 1Sl vacancies m
the list OF naval officers, when vacancies
can be least afforded. Therefore, 1t is
recommended for the next ten years that
appointments TO the Naval Academy be
doubled, the President and Representa-
tives in Congress appointing two instead
OF one wherever authorized now, and in
addition Senators being given the same
privilege Of appointment as Representa- !
tives. Then, TO meet further1needs, IL IS |
recommended that whenever Congress au- /
thoTizes an increase OF vessels to the navy, /
IL also provide, in the same act, for an /
increase of officers and men to man the |
ships The report says that England |
which this year lays down fifteen war YES |
sells. voted an increase Of 42iO officers and |
men 20 the naval establishment to man |
the ships, while Germany, which intends |
doubling her feet in the next sixteen |
years, has provided in the same pro- 1
gramme for increasing the personnel by 50 !
officers and 1857 men easl year until the /
total increase reaches S5,55l.
No Crews for New Vessels.
II Is declared that II is now impossible /
50 man the vessels of our navy already 1
constructed with the present force, not 10 /
mention those building or authorized. |
Congress is urged 10 make any Increase in |
personnel Immediately available.
The training system as now practiced /
in the navy is commended, and il is de- |
clared that by no other means could the |
navy secure the sailors necessary 10 man |
the fleet Since the close OF the Spanish |
war the department has found that the /
resources heretofore depended upon to 1
furnish seamen for the navy are no longer /
adequate. Only 237 seamen have enlisted /
for the first enlistment in the past year,
so the department has been obliged to /
rely upon and develop the training squad /
ron for landsmen. and now has about 4
1000 men under instruction, who on the ,
average require about six months train /
ing.
Need of Large Dock in Far East.
One chapter deals at some length with |
the history Of the Asiatic station during 1
the year, aud the participation OF the /
navy and Marine Corps in the Chinese .
operations IS set out in some detail In I
connection with a reference TO the ground |
ing Of the Oregon, Admiral Crownlnshield |
mentions the courtesy shown by the Japa- |
nese government in generously extending |
its resources for repairs 10 the ship. The |
report maEDs the point that the govern |
ment sh>uld construct or acquire on the |
Asiat< station a dock of its own for the |
largest vessels.
There were 2.452 desertions from the
navy and Sc deaths during the past fiscal
year The enlistments number SI23 from a !
total number OF applicants Of 1854 Over
6S per cent. OF the men in the navy are
native born, 10 per cent are naturalized, |
and per cent. have declared intentions |
Ninety-two per cent. of the landsmen
now under training are native born.
Admiral Crowninshleld finds that the
Chesapeake is too small for the midship-
men. and asks that she be transferred to
the training station at Newport. and that
another vessel DC built for the cadets, TO
accommodate at least 800 besides her crew.
Touching the Naval Academy. IL is !
earnestly urged that no physical disquali- |
hcations OF cadets shall be waived here
after, as there has been a marked de- |
terioration in the past ten years in the
physical condition of the graduating ca
diets, owing 10 their abandonment of the
vigorous wedding OUT process, which
has now fallen into disuse II is also
strongly urged that the two years sup
Elemental course az sea shall be aban-
doned, Finally. strong commentator is
given 10 the superintendent Feeommen-
dalton that the age limit for cadets upon
admission shall be between the ages of
fifteen and eighteen. and that the course
at the academy shall be four years.
Two additional training ships for the
apprentices at Newport are said 10 be
urgently needed. The report urges con
tinued training Of the men In marksman-
ship.
Naval Barracks aud Reeeivins-shias.
The admiral makes a strong point In
his report Of the necessity Of naval bar
racks. 10 take the place OF the present
receiving ships. which he says are moth
ing more nor less than poorly construct
ed. lily ventilated, badly lighted, unsani-
taTy. ld-fashioned floating houses (and In
many cases they often fan In being
afOaO. Congress is urged 10 authorize
an expenditure OF $4,000 for seamen's
quarters al New York and at League
Island. 10000 to be made Immediately
available.
mild reproof upon Congress Is con
tained IN the closing paragraph Of the
report. which calls attention TO the dis
eouraging condition IN which distinguish
"a officers OF the navy have been left by
not receiving any formal recognition for
their heroic services during the war with
Spain. The report says that me navy
had no part In the unfortunate public
controversy which followed upon the
Presidents Recommendation that certain
officers should be promoted and dds
that thus far there has been no recogni-
ton By Congress. except OF those Who
shared in the victory at Manila and three
who served elsewhere In the war