Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1901-12-07


whose sons go down to the sea In ships. Tn
less our commerce Is always to be carried
In foreign bottoms, we must have war craft
to protect 1t.
pie have no thought of abandoning the path
upon which they have entered, and especial
ly in view of the fact that the building of
the Isthmian Canal Is fast becoming one of
the matters which the whole people are
united in demanding, 1T Is imperative that
our Navy should be put and kept in the
highest state of efficiency, and should be
made to answer to our growing needs. SO
far from being in any way prOvocation to
war, an adequate and highly trained navy is
the best guaranty against war, the cheapest
and most effective peace insurance. The cost
Of building and maintaining such navy
represents the very lightest premium for in
surfing peace which this nation can possibly
pay.
Our people intend to abide by the Monroe
Doctrine and to insist upon it as the one
sure means of securing the peace of the
the only means of making our insstence
upon the Monroe Doctrine anything but
subject or derision to whatever nation
chooses to disregard 1t: We desire the peace
armed; not the peace granted on terms OF
ignominy to the craven and the weakiing.
1t is not possible to improvise navy after
war breaks out The ships must be built
and the men trained long in advance. Some
auxiliary vessels can be turned into make
shifts which will do in default Of any better
for the minor work, and proportion Of raw
men can be mixed with the highly trained,
their shortcomings being made good by the
skill of their fellows; but the efficient fight
ing force of the Navy when pitted against
an equal opponent will be found almost eX-
cIusively In the war ships that have been
regularly built and in the officers and men
who through years of faithful performance
of sea duty have been trained to handle their
formidable but complex and delicate Weap-
Jons with the highest efficiency. In the late
war with Spain the ships that dealt the de-
cisive blows at Manila and santiago nad
been launched from two to fourteen years.
and they were able to do as they id because
the men in the coming towers, the gun tur-
rets, and the engine-rooms had through long
years Of practice at sea learned how to do
their duty.
While awarding the fullest honor to the
men who actually commanded and manned
the ships which destroyed the Spanish sea
forces In the Philippines and in Cuba, we
must not forget that an equal need OF
praise belongs to those without whom
neither blow could have been struck. The
Congressman who voted years in advance the
money to lay down the ships, to build the
guns, to buy the armor-plate; the depart
ment officials and the business men and
wage-workers who furnished what the Con-
gress had authorized; the Secretaries of the
Navy who asked for and expended the APP
propriations; and finally the officers who, in
fair weather and foul, on actual sea ser.
vice, trained and disciplined the crews OF
the ships when there was no war In sight
all are entitled to full share in the glory
Of Manila and Santiago, and the respect ac-
corded by every true American to those who
wrought such signal triumph for our coun-
try. 1t was forethought and preparation
which secured us the overwhelming triumph
of 1893. If we fail to show forethought
and preparation now, there may come a
time when disaster will befall US instead Of
triumph; and should this time come, the
fault will rest primarily, not upon those
whom the accident Of events puts in su-
preme command at the moment, but upon
those who have failed to prepare in ad-
vance.
There should be no cessation in the work
of completing our Navy. So far ingenuity
has been wholly unable to devise substi-
tute for the great war craft whose hammer
ing guns beat out the mastery of the gh
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 proportion; for the ex-
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.
Increase of the Army Unnecessary.
1t 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 to believe, at least
as efficient as those of any other army in the
entire world. 1t is our duty to see that
their training is of kind to insure the high
units when acting in combination.
The conditions of modern war are such as
to make an infinitely heavier demand than
ever before upon the individual character
and capacity Of the officer and the enlisted
man, and to make it far more difficult for
men to act together with effect. At present
the fighting must be done in extended order,
which means that each man must act for
himself and at the same time act In COM
bination with others with whom he is no
longer in the old-fashioned elbow-to-elbow
touch. Under such conditions few men Of
the highest excellence are worth more than
many men without the special skih which is
only found as the result Of special training
applied to men of exceptional PHYSIQUE and
morale. But nowadays the most valuable
fighting man and the most difficult to per
feet is the rif1eman who is also skilIful 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
horseback, is the best type of soldier for
general purposes now to be found in the
world.
A general staff should be created. As for
the present staff and supply departments,
they should be filed by details from the
line, the men so detailed returning after a
while to their line duties. 1t is very unde-
sirable to have the senior grades of the
Army composed of men who have come to
fill the positions by the mere fact of seniorI-
ty. A system should be adopted BY which
there shall be an elimination grade by grade
of those who seem unfit to render the best
service IN the next grade. Justice to the
veterans Of the Civil War who are still in the
Army would seem to require that In the
matter Of retirements they be given by law
the same privileges accorded to their com
rades in the Navy.
The process Of elimination Of the least fit
should be conducted in manner that would
render it practically impossible to apply DO
litical or social pressure on behalf of any
candidate, SO that each man may be judged
purely on his own merits.
Every effort should be made to bring the
Army to constantly increasing state Of
efficiency. 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 re-
duced. 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 and commits
sary departments.
Our Army Is so small and so much scat
tered that 1t Is very difficult to give the
higher officers las well as the lower officers
and the enlisted men) a chance to practice
maneuverS In mass and on a comparativeIv
large scale. In time of need no amount 81
individual excellence would avail against the
paralysis which would follow inability to
work as coherent whole, under skillfuI and
DARING leadership. The Congress should pro
vlde means whereby it will be possible to
nave neld exercises by at least a division Of