The Grit-advocate., 1901-10-18

is unavoidable that out immigration is
constantly increasing in illiteracy. Not
only are we drawing more and more
from the countries where illitcracy is
high, but also the immigrants them
selves are showing higher percentages
of illiteracy."
Sumner Lathrop, wealthy New
Yorker, who travels extensively
throughout the world and sends
'he Agricultural Department many
rare plants and other foreign
products, and David Fairchild,
Il special agent of the depart
ment of Agriculture, both of whom
have only just returned from trips
abroad. will leave Washington shortly
on another trip to the Orient and other
parts of the world in search of rare for
eign grains, legumes, grasses and 9TH
er plants for use in this country. par
ticularly those adaptable for growing
in the arid regions. in whose develop
ment Secretary Wilson is especially in
terested. They have been in confer
cnce with Secretary Wilson and he out
lined his ideas for assisting the new in
sular possessions in growing as far as
possible coffee, spices, rubber fiber and
walton here They will send everything
they discover along these lines to the
experiment stations in Porto Rico and
Hawaii and also to the Philippines.
meantime keeping the department in
Washington advised of the results of
their Investigations.
In the annual report to the secretary
of the navy Of Rear Admiral Crownin-
shield, chief of the navigation bureau,
it is said that the operations on the
Asiatic squadron were marked by uni
form success and that the conduct of
our sailors and marines in China in
the main was all that coull he asked
for. The American fleet, in conjunc-
ton with the army in the Philippines.
it is stated, has hampered materially
the inflow of arms and munitions to
The islands. The report recommends
barracks for recruits in the place of
receiving ships. The most important
feature of the report that of person
mel, is reserved for the last Admiral
Crowninshield already has given
warning to Congress of the absolutely
imperative need of the navy for more
officers and men. Now he adds some
startling figures to support his renew
ed recommendations. He says If the
department were called upon to man
the ships for war service, it could not
meet the demand. There are not
enough line officers to man the ships
already constructed. When in three
years the vessels low under cOnstruc-
ton shall have been completed. the
number of officers necessary to man
them and a few auxiliary vessels
would be no less than thousand,
and the problem presented is how
these officers can be secured in the
short time remaining. AT present the
line of the navy under the personnel
act and as fed from Annapolis is in
creasing only at the rate of ten per
year in number forty officers being re-
tired arbitrarily each year)' which
would make thirty for three years.
According to Admiral CrownlNhield,
the only remedy is to increase the
number of cadets at the naval acad-
emy to not less than 300 1t is recon-
mcnded that, beginning with next
Congress, there shall be allowed mt the
academy two naval cadets for every
representative or delegate, two fol.
each senator, one for the District of
Columbia, and ten at large annually.
and that the course be limited to four
years.