The daily morning journal and courier., 1900-11-12
PERSONNEL OF NAVY WEAK
STA RTLING STATEMENT OF AD-
 NERAL CROWINSHIELD.
Forms Barely e-FoUrth of the Total Establishment Necessary to Fight n First Glass Power--Not an Effective Nucleus About Which a Larger Force Could be Formed in Case of War; Other Needs.


 Could be Formed in Case of War
 Other Needs.
 Washington, Nov. 1.-The startling
 statement is made in the report of Ad-
 miral Crowninshield, chief of the navi
 gation bureau, that the present person.
 nel of the navy would form barely one-
 fourth of the total establishment neces-
 sary to fight first class European
 power. It barely sufficed for the Span
 isl-American war and no longer can
 be considered, the report says, as an ef- fective nucleus about which a larger establishment could be formed in case 1 of war.
 The admiral regards this need of the navy for officers and men as most urg- ent. He says that the bureau can point to many cases where the service is be-
 ing harmed by lack of officers. The naval academy is suffering for want of instructors and the present high stan
 dard of training cannot be maintained. 1 Every bureau in the department is short of officers, and the service the re- port predicts soon will fall behind in
 the struggle, first for leadership and | then for equality, with the other ser | vices. The disability of the sea-going | corps 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 1 The admiral severely criticises the in- effective effort of congress at the last session to meet immediate needs for of ficers by using the employment of re- tired officers and he demands the i'm mediate repeal of that act. He claims that the retired list, instead as re- ward for faithful service, otherwise be- comes a hardship and punishment. The personnel act thus far has resulted in affording less officers than were on the active list before it's passage, as while authorizing an increase, it failed to provide the means therefor, so there are now 131 vacancies in the list of naval officers, when vacancies can be least afforded Therefore 1t is recom- mended for the next ten years that ap- pointments to the naval academy be doubled, the president and representa- tiVes in congress appointing two in- stead of one wherever authorized now and in addition senators being given the same privilege of appointment as representatives. Then to meet the fu- ture needs, it is recommended that whenever congress authorizes an in- crease of vessels to the navy yard it also provide in the same act for an in- 1raaca of rfficarc and man Tn man the ships
 The report says that England, which this year lays down fifteen war yes sels, voted an increase of 4,240 officers and men to the naval establishment to man the ships, while Germany which intends doubling her fleet in the next sixteen years, has provided in the same programme for increasing the person. nel by eighty officers and 1,6S7 men each year until the total increase reach es 35,551.
 It is declared that 1t is now impossi- ble to man the vessels of our navy al- ready constructed, with the present force, not to mention those building or authorized.
 Congress is urged to make an in ClGdSG III GHISOlllcl llllultuldtely dNdlltt- ble.
 The training system as now prac- ticed in the navy is commended and it is declared that by no other means could the navy secure the sailors neces- sary to man the fleet. Since the close of the Spanish war, the department has found that the resources heretofore depended upon to furnish seamen for the navy are no longer adequate. Only 237 seamen have enlisted for the first enlistment in the past year. so the de partment has been obliged to rely upon and develop the training squadron for landsmen and now has about LOGO men under instruction, who, on the average | require about six months' training.
 Admiral Crowninshield regards it as most important commercially that we keep always a fair representation on the South Atlantic station, saying that | in no part of the world are our vessels more cordially received ant nowhere can be traced direct benefit to trade more clearly than on this station. As to the North Atlantic station, regret is that the important drills of the squadron are compelled to be often by attendance of the ves- sels at local celebrations which tend to lemoralize the efficiency of the person. lel. ..
 One chapter deals at some length with he history of the rAsiatic station dur ng the year, and the participation of he navy and marine corps in the Chi lese operations is set out in some de- ail In connection with a reference to he grounding of the Oregon, Admiral mentions the courtesy hown by the Japanese government in extending it's resources for epairs to the ship.
 The report makes the point that tho government should construct or acquire n the Asiatic station a dock of it's own or the largest vessels.
 There were 2,452 assertions from the avy and eighty-six deaths during the ast fiscal year. The enlistments num- l er &. 124 from total number of appli- ants of 40,854 Over 6S per cent. of the : nen in the navy are native born, 19 per | ent. are naturaized and per cent. ave declared intentions Ninety-tWo { er cent of the landsmen now under raining are native born Admiral Crowinshield finds that the I is too small for the mid sly th1t cIa ba tro | q