The Butte inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1901-1912, 1901-10-12
REAR ARMIRAL CROWNINSHIELD
FILES ANNUAL REPORT.
THE ANNAPOLIS NAVAL ACADEMY
Exhaustive Document Concerning the
Size and Condition of Uncle
Sans Forces on the
High Seas.
lRy Associated PresS.l


port to the secretary Of the navy Rear
Admiral Crowninshield. chief of the nav
1gation bureau, speaks of the reduction
made during the past year in the
strength OF the Asiatic fleet, which was
drawn upon to furnish two vessels to re-
establish the European station and will
be further diminished in order to permit
or the commissioning of at least two
training ships and an increase of the
North Atlantic squadron by two gum
boats. and of the Pacific squadron by
possibly one.
1t is particularly desirable to have
some small ships for gulf service on the
Atlantic side.
Asiatic Squadron.
1t is said that the operations on the
As.atic station were marked by uniform
success and that the conduct of our SOL
diers and marines in China in the main,
was all that could be asked for. The
American fleet in conjunction with the
army in the Philippines, it is stated has
hampered materially the inflow of arms
and munitions to the islands.
Much attention has been devoted to
gunnery training and the report says
that the department is about to UNDER
take long cherished project and estab-
lish two gunnery training ships on the
As,atic station.
Health of Sailors.
Admiral Crowninshield decided that
the time has come when the health of the
sailors, their correct drilling. OF their
comfort and OF economy the United
States navy should follow the example
of every first class navy and provide
barracks in place of receiving ships. It
is figured that the government would
have annually by this course nearly
$50. 900 or the interest on twice the sum
required to provide barracks for 5000
appropriate for such barracks at New
York ss0o.oo0 and for League Island and
Mare Island $4,000 each.
Sailors were enlisted during the year
to the number of $3.50. making the total
men in service 1s.S25. From this number
there were 3.15S assertions.
The beginning of a general staff of the
navy is foreshadowed in q transmitted
recommendation Of Captain Sigsbee, the
chief intelligence officer, looking to a COM
bination in the department of the work
OF the general board the war college and
the office OF naval intelligence, to begin
systematically general staff work.
The Naval Academy.
Touching the naval academy the re-
port indorses the superintendents recon-
mendaticn that 20 cadet be under Is or
over Is years of age; that the course
shall be four years and that 5000 ton
practice ship be provided-six civilian in
structors to take the place of line Off
GERS are recommended. In connection
with the naval training stations 1t is
recommended that small brig Of $50 to
200 tons be built for the San Francisco
station.
Personnel Of the Navy.
The most important feature of the re-
port that of personnel Is reserved for
the last. Admiral Crowninshield already
has given warning to congress of the alb
solutely imperative need of the navy
for more officers and men. Now he adds
some startling figures to support his re-
hewed recommendations. He says if the
department We're called upon to man
ships for service it could not meet the
demand. There are not enough line Off
GERS to man the ships already con-
structed. When in three years the ves-
sells now under construction shall have
been completed the number Of officers
necessary to man them and auxiliary
vessels will be less than thousand and
the problem at present is how these Off
GERS can be secured in the short time re-
naming.
Ten Per Cent Increase.
At present the line of the navy under
the personnel act and as fed from Anna
polls is increasing only at the rate of 10
per cent per year in number (forty off,
GERS being retired arbitrarily each year,
which would make thirty for the three
years. According to Admiral CroWnn-
shield, the only remedy is to increase the
number of cadets at the naval academy
t. not less than 500. 1t is recommended
that beginning with the next congress
there shall be allowed at the academy
two naval cadets for every representa-
tive or delegate, two for each senator
one for the District of Columbia and ten
at large annually and that the course be
limited to four years
More Vice Admirals.
Another striking recommendation of
Admiral Crowninsheld's under the head
of personnel is that four vice admirals
be created, reducing the number of rear
admirals to fourteen if necessary. 1t is
said that the United States often has
been in a humil.atng position on i'm
bortant occasions abroad by reason OF
the lower rank of it's naval representa-
tives. The report closes with an earnest
recommendation for the creation of a
national naval reserve.
Commemoration of Heroes.