The Savannah morning news., 1901-10-13
NEED OF THE NAVY.

The Naval Academy is not turning
out officers fast enough to meet the
demand for officers of the ships which
are being built When the vessels
which have been ordered shall have
been constructed-and they are ex-
pected to be ready for service within
three years-it would require a thou
sand more officers TO meet the
demands of the navy if a
war should be declared. There
are not nearly men enough to
man the ships already constructed and
the outlook for getting a sufficient
number for the new ships is not at
all encouraging.
In his annual report Admiral Crown
inshield the chief of the bureau of
navigation, calls attention to the i'm
portance of providing more officers and
! to the need for more men. He recon-
mends that the number of cadets at the
Naval Academy be raised to 500. and
that the course at that institution be
limited TO four years.
There will not of course be any diff
| fculty in getting as many young men
as are wanted for cadets at Annapolis.
The pressure is strong from all parts
of the country to get into that insti-
tuition. But the problem of getting a
sufficient number of the right kind
of men to man the ships is one that is
not so easy of solution.
The better class of young men-the
| kind desired in the navy-are not an
there is no cha 10 rise to the rank
of a commissioned officer 1t is true
of course that The positions open to
enlisted men are very good ones and
pay desirable salaries, but that does
not satisfy the average young Ameri-
can. He wants a chance to rise to
the topic be a boss himself. He is
willing to serve a reasonable appren-
ticeship, but he doesn't like to feel
that the time can never come, how
ever great his talents or requirements,
or however brilliant his services, when
he can wear fhe uniform of an officer.
He doesn't like the idea of being an
underling, a servant, as it were, to be
forever ordered around by somebody
wearing shoulder straps and never to
be thought as good as the man who
has a commission.
Ever since the building of the new
navy began it has been difficult to get
men TO man the ships, and that diff
Guilty is going to increase. At this very
time special efforts are being made to
get men for the ships at present in
commission. The placards that are be-
ing posted at the recruiting stations
in different parts of the country hold
out some very alluring offers, but still
as many recruits are not obtained as
are needed.
The thing Congress ought to do is
to open the way for enlisted men to
rise to the top. Make it possible for
an enlisted man to win all the honors
that the navy has to offer and there
will not be so much difficulty in getting
recruits. And why should not the way
be opened? In the army an enlisted
man can reach the position of Lieuten-
ant General. Gen. Miles, who holds
that position. is not a graduate of the
West Point Military Academy. AS far
as we know there is no reason
why enlisted men should not be treat
ed as generously in the navy as in
the army. There is undoubtedly among
them some who are capable of rising to
high rank.
1t is true that they may not have
all the graces that come from such a
training as the cadet at Annapolis
gets, but in the navy men of COM
handing ability and strong character
are wanted rather than those who know
how to make themselves agreeable
at social functions. Let Congress give
the boys who enlist chance-the same
sort of chance that young men in
politics have, and there will be less diff
fculty in getting men for the navy.
Young enlisted men will study to make
themselves worthy of the higher posi-
tons.