davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-12-04

grandizement by any non-American power
at the expense or any American power on
American soil. IT is in no wise intended
as hostile to any nation In the old world.
Still less Is It intended TO give cover to
any aggression by one new-world power
at the expense OF any other. 1t is simply
a step, and long step, toward assuring
the universal peace of the world by Sc
curing the possibility OF permanent peace
on this hemisphere.
During the past century other influences
have established the permanence and In
dependence of the smaller states of Europe.
Through the Monroe doctrine we hope to be
able to safeguard like independence and
secure like permanence for the lesser
among the new-wOrld nations.
This doctrine has nothing TO do with the
commercial relations of any American
power, save that 1t in truth allows each of
words. II is really guaranty Of the COM
mercial independence of the Americas.
We do not ask under this doctrine for any
exclusive commercial dealings with any
other American state. We do not guarantee
any state against punishment il il miscon-
not take the form OF the acquisition of ter
ritory by any non-American power.
Our attitude in Cuba is sufficient guar
anty OF our own good faith. We have not
the slightest desire to secure any terri
tory at the expense of any of our neighbors.
We wish to work with them hand in hand,
so that all Of us may be uplifted together,
and we rejoice over the good fortune of
any of them, we gladly hail their material
prosperity and political stability, and are
concerned and alarmed If any OF them fall
into industrial political chaos. We do
not wish to see any old world military pow
er grow up on this continent, or to be COM
PEELED to become a military power our
selves. The peoples Of the Americas can
prosper best II left to work out their own
salvation in their own way.
The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-12-04

ficers and the enlisted mem a chance to
practice maneuvers in mass and on a com
paratively large scale In time Of need no
amount of individual excellence would avail
against the paralysis which would follow
inability to work a coherent whole, un-
der skillful and daring leadership. The
Congress should provide means whereby 1t
will be possible to have field exercises by
at least a division of regulars, and, If pos
sible also a division OF national guards
men, once a year. These exercises might
take the form Of field maenuvers; or, If
on the gulf coast or the Pacific or Atlantic
seaboard, or in the region of the great
could be marched from some inland point TO
some point on the water, there embarked,
diSembarked after couple or days journey
at some other point, and again marched in
land. Only by actual handling and provid-
ing for men in masses while they are
marching camping, embarking and disem-
barking will it be possible to train the
and smoothly.
A great debt Is owing from the public to
the men of the army and navy. They
should be so treated as to enable them TO
reach the highest point of efficiency, so that
they may be able to respond instantly 10
any demand made upon them TO sustain
the interests Of the Nation and the honor
of the flag The individual American en-
listed man is probably, on the whole.
more formidable fighting man than the reg
ular of any other army. Every considera-
ton should be shown him. and In return
the highest standard Of usefulness should
be exacted from him. 1t is well worth
the pay of enlisted men upon second and
subsequent enlistments should not be in
creased to correspond with the Increased
value Of the veteran soldier.
The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-12-04
ARMY MUST BE EFFICIENT.
BEST TYPE OF SOLDIER.
One That Can Fight on Foot Well
as on Horseback.

It is not necessary to increase our army
beyond it's present size at this time. But
it is necessary to keep it at the highest
point Of efficiency. The individual units
who as officers and enlisted men compose
this army are, we have good reason 10 be-
lieve, at least as efficient those of any
other army in the entire world. 1t is our
duty to see that their training is Of a kind
to insure the highest possible expression of
power to these units when acting in COM
binatiOn.
The conditions Of modern war are such
to make an infinitely heavier demand than
ever before upon the individual character
and capacity OF the officer and the enlisted
man, and 10 make II far more difficult for
men to act together with effect. At present
the fighting must be done in extended or
der which means that each man must act
for himself and at the same time act in
combination with others with whom he is
no longer In the old-fashioned elbow-to-
elbow touch. Under such conditions a few
more than many men without the special
skill which IS only found the result of
special training applied to men OF excep-
tional physique and morale. But nowadays
the most valuable fighting man and the
most difficult 10 perfect is the riieman
who Is also a skillful and daring rider
The proportion OF our cavalry regiments
has wisely been Increased. The American
cavalryman. trained to maneuver and fight
with equal facility on foot and on horse
purposes now 20 be found In the world
The ideal cavalryman OF the present day is
a man who can fight on foot as effectively
as the best infantryman and who IL In addi-
The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-12-04
THE PHILIPPINE PROBLEM.
Care Should BE Taken to Properly Fit
Natives for SeIf-Government.

In the Philippines our problem is larger.
They are very rich tropical islands, in
habited by many varying tribes, represent
ing widely different stages Of progress
toward civilization. Our earnest effort Is
to help these people upward along the stony
and difficult path that leads TO self-govern-
ment. We hope TO make our administration
Of the islands honorable to our Nation by
making it Of the highest benefit to the Fill
pinos themselves; and as an earnest of
what we intend to do, we point to what
we have done. Already a greater measure
or material prosperity and of governmental
honesty and efficiency has been attained
In the Philippines than ever before in their
history.
1t is no light task for a nation to achieve
the temperamental qualities without which
the institutions of free government are but
an empty mOckery. Our people are now
successfully governing themselves, because
for more than a thousand years they have
The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-12-04

ton unsurpa ssed IN the care and manage
ment OF his horse and in his ability 10 ngnt
on horseback.
A general stan should be created. AS for
the present staff and supply departments,
they should be filled by details from the
line, the men so detailed returning after
while 10 their line duties II Is very unoe-
sirable to have the senior grades or the
army composed OF mer who have come 70
nj the positions by the mere fact OF senior
ity. A system should be adopted by which
there shall be an elimination, grade oy
grade, OF those who seem unit 70 render
the best service in the next grade. Justice
to the veterans Of the civil war who are
still in the army would seem 10 require
that in the matter OF retirements they be
given by law the same privileges accorded
TO their comrades in the navy.
The process Of elimination OF the least nj
should be conducted in & manner that
would render it practically impossible 70
apply political or social pressure on DehaII
OF any candidate, so that each man may
be judged purely on his own merits: Fres-
sure for the promotion OF civil ofnclals lor
political reasons is bad enough. but II IS
tenfold worse where applied on oehalI OF
officers OF the army or navy. Every pro
motion and every detail under the W ar
Department must be made solely with re
gard TO the good Of the service and TO the
capacity and merit or the man hlrnsen-
No pressure, political, social or personal.
OF any kind, will be permitted 10 exercise
the least effect in any question OF pro-
motion detail, and IL there Is reason 10
believe that such pressure Is exercised a.
the insugation Of the officer concerned ~
will be held TO initiate against him. In
our army we cannot afford to have rev ARDS
or duties distributed save on the simple
ground that those who, by their own rner-
its, are entitled TO the rewards get them,
and that those who are peculiarly NJ 70 DO
the duties are chosen to perform them
Every effort should be made TO bring the
army TO a constantly increasing state OF Ell
hciency When on actual service no work
save that directly IN the line OF such service
should be required. The paper work IN
the army, as in the navy. should be greatly
reduced. What is needed is proved power
Of command and capacity to work well In
the field. Constant care IS necessary TO
prevent dry rot in the transportation ana
commissary departments.
Our army is so small and so much scat
tered that 1t is very difficult TO give the
higher officers (as well as the lower Of
The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-12-04

service The remaining eight will be ready
in from two TO four years but IL Will take
at least that time to recruit and train the
men to fight them. 1t is of vast concern
that we have trained crews ready for the
vessels by the time they are commissioned.
Good ships and good guns are simply good
weapons, and the best weapons are useless
save in the hands of men who know how
to fight with them. The men must be
trained and drilled under thorough and
well-planned system of progressive instruc-
ton, while the recruiting must be carried
on with still greater vigor. Every effort
must be made to eXalt the main function
of the officer-the command Of men. The
leading graduates Of the Naval Academy
should be assigned to the combatant
branches. the line and marines.
Many of the essentials of success are al
which, as the central office of a growing
staff, is moving steadily toward proper
war efficiency and proper efficiency of
the whole navy, under the secretary. This
general board, by fostering the creation
of a general staff, is providing for the Off
cial and then the general recognition of our
altered conditions as a Nation and of the
true meaning of a great war fleet, which
meaning is first. the best men, and, sec
ond. the best ships.
The naval militia forces are state organi
cations and are trained for coast service,
and in event of war they will constitute the
inner line of defense. They should receive
hearty encouragement from the general
government
But in addition we should at once pro-
vide for national naval reserve organized
and trained under the direction of the
Navy Department and subject TO the call
Of the chief executive whenever war be-
comes imminent. It should be a real aux
Hilary TO the naval seagOing peace estab
lishment and offer material to be drawn on
at once for manning our ships in time Of
war 1t should be composed of gradua ties
of the Naval Academy, graduates of the
naval militia officers and crews OF coast
line steamers, longshore schooners. fish
ing vessels and steam yachts, together with
the coast population about such centers as
nfe-saving stations and lighthouses.
The American people must either build
and maintain an adequate navy or else
make up their minds definitely to accept a
secondary position in international affairs,
not merely in political, but in commercial
matters 1t has been well said that there
is surer way Of counting national dfsas-
ter than to be 'opulent, aggressive and
unarmed."
The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-12-04

tent enemy unless those aboard IL have
been trained by years OF actual sea service,
including fncessant gunnery practice,
would be to invite not merely disaster, but
the bitterest shame and humiliation. Four
thousand additional seamen and one thou
sand additional marines should be pro-
vided, and an increase in the officers should
be provided by making a large addition to-
the classes at Annapolis. There is one
small matter which should be mentioned
In connection with Annapolis. The pre-
cadet should be abolished: the title OF
midshipman," full OF historic association,
should be restored.
Even in time OF peace a warship should
be used until II wears out, for only so can
IL be kept fit to respond 10 any emergency.
The officers and men alike should be kept
as much as possible on blue water, for
1t Is there only they can learn their duties
as they should be learned. The big vessels
should be maneuvored in squadrons con-
tanning not merely battleships, but the
necessary proportion of cruisers and scouts.
The torpedo boats should be handled by
the younger officers in such manner as
will best fit the latter to take response
bility and meet the emergencies OF actual
warfare
PRACTICE NECESSARY.
Every detail ashore which can be per-
formed by a civilian should be so per-
formed, the officer being kept for his special
duty in the sea service. Above all, gun
merry practice should be unceasing. 1t is
important to have our navy Of adequate
size, but it is even more important that,
ship for ship, 1t should equal in efficiency
any navy in the world. This IS possible
only with highly drilled crews and OH
GERS, and this in turn imperatively de-
mands continuous and progressive instruc-
ton In target practice, ship handling,
squadron tactics and general discipline.
Our ships must be assembled in sQuadrons
actively cruising away from harbors and
never long at anchor. The resulting wear
upon engines and hulls must be endured;
a battleship worn out in long training or
officers and men Is well paid for by the
results, while. on the other hand, no mat
ter In how excellent condition, II is use
less If the crew be not expert.
We now have seventeen battleships ap-
propriated for, OF which nine are completed
and have been commissioned for actual
The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-12-04
The CosssuIar System.

The consular Service is now organized
under the provihons OF a law passed in
1856, which is enArely inadequate TO exist
ing conditions. Che interest shown by so
many commerciSs bodies throughout the
country in the Reorganization OF the serv-
ice is heartily c3mmended TO your atten-
ton. Several bDl5 providing for a new con-
sular service haze IN recent years been
submitted TO the congress. They are based
upon the just pHs1ciple that appointments
10 the service SHOULD be made only after
practical test OF the applicants fitness.
that promotions should be governed by
trustWorthiness, Sdaptabinty and zeal m
the performance e duty. and that the ten
ure OF Office shOi,,1 be unaffected by parti-
san considerationss.
The guardianship and fostering OF our
rapidly-ex panding-: foreign commerce. the
protection OF American citizens resOrting
20 foreign countcses in lawful pursuit OF
their affairs, antc the maintenance Of the
dignity of the Nation abroad, combine 10
make IL essentia. that our consuls should
be men Of character. knowledge and enter
prise. IL is true+.t that the service Is now,
In the main, eff>.!ent, but a standard OF
excellence canno. be permanently main
tanned until the s-inciples set forth in the
bills heretofore Submitted TO the Congress
on this subject ase enacted into law.
The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-12-04
TRIBUTE TO VETERANS.
No Other oitIssn. Deserve So Wen OF
thy Republic.

No other citize Us deserve so well OF the,
Republic as tx veterans, the survivors
OF those who sSved the Union. They did
the one deed witch, IL left undone. would
have meant thaft,ll else in our history went
for nothing. Butssor their steadfast prowess
in the greatest c9tsis OF our history. ell our
annals would be .neaningless. and our great
experiment in Popular freedom and self
government a AGONY failure Moreover.
they not only lot US a united Nation, but
they left US also.as a heritage the memory
Of the mighty d3eds by which the Nation
was kept united We are now indeed one
Nation. one in ffsct as well as IN name: we
are united in ou~ devotion 70 the flag which
is the symbol Il national greatness and
unity; and the syery completeness OF our
Union enables L: all, in every part or the
country, 20 gloTk in the valor shown alike
by the sons OF <he North and the sons or
the South IN tie times that tried mems
souls.
The men who = the last three years have
done well in she East and the West In
dies and on tlf mainland OF Asia have
shown that this. remembrance Is not lost
IN any serious cEsis the United States must
rely for tho greT< mass OF its fighting men
upon the rClur*eer soldiery who DO not
make permanslt profession OF the mill
tary career: anS whenever such a crisis
arises the death4ess memories Of the civil
war will give to the Americans the lift OF
lofty purpose witch comes TO those whose
fathers have stsod valiantly In the fore
front OF the bate.
The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-12-04
RECOMMENDATION.
Additional Officers and Men should BE
Provided for by Congress-

There should be no cessation IN the work
Of completing our navy. So far ingenuity
has been wholly unable TO devise a substi-
tute for the great war craft whose ham
mering guns beat out the mastery OF the
high seas. 1t is unsafe and unwise not to
provide this year for several additional
battle ships and heavy armored cruisers.
with auxiliary and lighter craft in proper
ton. For the exact numbers and character
1 refer you to the report OF the secretary
OF the navy. But there is something we
need even more than additional ships, and
this is additional officers and men. To pro-
vide battleships and cruisers and then lay
them up. with the expectation OF leaving
them unnamed until they are needed In
actual war, would be worse than folly; IL
would be crime against the Nation.
To send any warship against a compe-
The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-12-04

Recent Act Has Accomplished Several
Much-Needed Reforms

Much good has already come from the
act reorganizing the army. passed early in
the present year. The three prime reforms,
all of them Of literally inestimeble value.
are: First, the substitution of four-year
details from the line for permanent ap-
pointments in the so-called staff divisions;
second, the establishment of a corps Of
artillery with a chief at the head; third,
the establishment Of a maximum and min
imum limit for the army. 1t would be diff
fcult to overestimate the Improvement in
the efficiency OF our army which these
three reforms are making and have In part
already effected.
The reorganization provided for by the
act has been substantially accomplished.
The improved conditions in the Philippines
have enabled the War Department mater
tally to reduce the military charge upon
our revenue and TO arrange the number Of
soldiers so TO bring this number much
nearer 10 the minimum than 20 the maxi
mum limit established by law. There is,
however, need Of supplementary legislation.
Thorough military education must be pro-
vided, and in addition TO the regulars the
advantages Of this education should be
given to the officers of the National Guard
and others in civil life who desire intelli-
gently 10 Mt themselves for possible mill
tary duty. The officers should be given the
chance TO perfect themselves by study In
the higher branches OF this art. At West
Point the education should be Of the kind
most apt 10 turn out men who are good IN
actual field service; too much stress should
not be laid on mathematics, nor should pro-
ficiency therein be held 10 establish the
right OF entry TO a corps d'elite- The typi-
cal American officer Of the best kind need
not be a good mathematician, but he must
be able TO master himself TO control others.
and TO show boldness and fertility OF re-
source in every emergency.
Action should be taken in reference to the
militia and TO the raising OF volunteer
forces Our militia law is obsolete and
worthless. The organization aud arma-
ment OF the National Guard OF the several
States, which are treated as militia in the
appropriations by the Congress, should be
made Identical with those provided for the
regular forces. The obligations and duties
OF the guard in time OF war should be care
fully defined. and system established by
law under which the method OF procedure
of raising volunteer forces should be pre-
scribed in advance. Ii IS utterly impOs-
sible, in the excitement and haste OF i'm
pending war. TO do this satisfactorily II the
arrangements have not been made long be-
forehand. Provision should be made for
utilizing In the first volunteer organiza-
The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-12-04
NEW ISLAND POSSESSIONS.
HAWAII AND PORTO RICO.
Policy That Should BE Pursued-Cubn
soon TO BE Her own Mistress.

In Hawaii our aim must be 10 develop the
territory the traditional American
lines. We do not wish a region OF large
estates titled by cheap labor; we wish
a healthy American community OF men who
themselves till the farms they own. All
our legislation for the islands should be
shaped with this end in view; the we'll
being OF the average home-maker must af-
ford the true test Of the healthy devel-
opment OF the islands. The land policy
should as nearly as possible be modelled
on our homestead system.
It Is a pleasure 10 say that it is hardly
more necessary 10 report as 70 Porto Rico
than as TO any State or Territory within
our continental limits. The island is thriv-
Ing as never before. and IL IS being ad-
mfnistered efficiently and honestly. It's
people are now enjoying liberty and order
under the protection Of the United States
and upon this fact we congratulate them
end curse ives. Their material welfare must
be as carefully and jealousy considered as
the welfare OF any other portion OF our
country We have given them the great
gift OF free access for their products 20
the markets OF the United States / ask
the attention OF the Congress TO the need
OF legislation concerning the public lands
or Porto Rico.
In Cuba such progress has been made
The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-12-04

toward putting the independent government
CT the island upon firm footing that be-
fore the present session OF the Congress
closes this VIII be an accomplished fact.
cuba Will then start her own mistress,
and 10 the beautiful queen Of the antilles
as she unfolds this new page OF her destiny
We extend our heartiest greetings and good
wishes. Elsewhere 1 have discussed the
question OF reciprocity. In the case OF
cuba, however, there are weighty reasons
OF morality and OF national interest why
the policy should be held 10 have a peculiar
application, and most earnestly ask your
attention 20 the wisdom, indeed TO the vital
need, or providing for a substantial reduc-
ton in the tariff duties on Cuban imports
INTO the United States. Cuba has IN her
constitution affirmed what we desired. that
she should stand in international matters
IN closer and more friendly relations with
us than with any other power. and we are
bound by every consideration of honor and
expectancy to pass commercial measures
In the interest OF her material well-being.