The National tribune., 1901-03-07
ApMIR,L sAMrs ms LETTER.

| Gunner Morgan's application FOR com
mission was painful surprise to many
more than the gallant Admirafs friends
and admirers. There can be no question
as to its revelation of Il spirit among oul
naval officers which is utterly un-Ameri
can, and destructive in tendency Of all oul
pride and interest in our navy. AfteI
strongly indorsing Gunner Morgan for Il
commission, Admiral Sampson proceeds to
advise the Secretary of the Navy not to
make this a precedent, or avail himself
of the provision put in the laws to pro-
mote worthy warrant officers to commits
sions, for these reasons:
while it is true that these men are
selected from Il large class of men of very
unusual abiIty, which distinguishes them
as perhaps the professional equals of their
.. iar as IneIr technical educa-
ton stands, it is also true that they are
recruited from Il class of men who have
not had the social advantages that are Il
requisite for commissioned officer.
1T is submitted that i'll time of peace
the naYy's function consists, to a certain
extent, of representing the country abroad.
and it is important that the nayy's repre-
SCDtatiyes should be men of at least re-
tnement. While there are perhaps a GER
tain few among the warrant officers who
could fulfill this requirement, | am of the
opinion that the vast majority of them
could not.
Once they are commissioned they will
have the same social standing as other
officers. and no distinction properly could
be made in extending general invitations.
The consequences that would arise from
their acceptance might not rebound to the
credit of the navy or the country which
the navy represents.
Il do not mean to detract from the ster-
ling worth of the warrant officers
of the navy; l merely mean to suggest to
the Department that, unfortunately for
them, they have been deprived of certain
natural advantages and in consequence
their proper place is that of leading men
among the crew, and not as representa-
tives of the country in the ward-room and
steerage.'
If this letter had been written by some
young Lieutenant, fresh from Annapolis
and cOnceited as only a college graduate
can be, il could be understood and dis
missed with Il smile Not SO when it
comes from man so high in rank as Ad-
miral Sampson. 1t then becomes Il very
serious matter, for it reflects what must
be the ruling feeling among the officers of
the Navy. If this be the case, then we
cannot too soon stop all building Of bat
tleships and increase of the navy, and de-
vote ourselves to revolutionary reOrgani-
zation of the personnel which will entirely
uprOOt this caddi.Ih spirit.
The only interest and affection that we
can have for either the army or the navy
must rest upon the firm foundation that
they are part of the American people:
that from top to bottom they are made up
of our sons, and that every American boy
entering either shall have absolutely the
same chance to reach the highest posi-
tions. Anything else than this is Aris-
tocracy and Imperialism in their most OBJ
noxious forms. The moment we admit
that the officers constitute privileged
aristocracy, from which common people
are debarred, the end Of our republican
system is in sight.
Obnoxious as Admiral Sampson's posi-
ton is on general and theoretical grounds.
it is equally so as to truth in details. The
course of instruction at Annapolis is far
from being infallible in producing cult
waited, refined, high-toned gentlemen out
of the miscellaneous raw material Of sons
of groggery- keepers, ward-hcaers, cross
roads politicians, and similar men, who
have political pull enough to secure ap-
pointments. The drunkenness, the b0or-
ishness. the cowardice and incompetence,
and other faults which have from time 10
time developed in the navy, have not been,
by any means, confined to officers from
civil life, or who rose from the fOrecastie.
In fact, annapolis has furnished more
than her proportion of the black sheep of
the navy, the same as West Point has
furnished mo-e than her proportion of the
black sheep of the army.
If we should, as we certainly ought to.
throw every commission in the army and
navy freely open to boys who are ambi-
tious of an army or navy career, and give
enlisted men an equal chance with grad
yates from West Point and ANNAPOLIS,
we would greatly improve tue personnel
of our officers. Then the army and navy
would be filled up with young men of
strong martial inclinatiOns, and the very
best soldierly blood OF the country would
be holding commissions. AS it is now,
boys who have no taste for or pride in
soldering or sailing, but who want to get
anu q OWL Dtiiu
enter West Point and Annapolis, manage
by dint OF good memory 10 pass the cx-
aminations, and for the rest of their lives
stay on the pay-rolls, doing only that
which they cannot avoid.
Admiral Simpsons ideas have been
tried in the old world, and found destruct-
i've to both army and navy. Great Britain
is the only one that clings pertinaciously
10 them, and their dangerous falsity has
been written in blood in South Africa.
What we want on our hattle-ships are
sailors, not society dawdlcrs, as Admiral
Sampson would make them. In 1872 the
British ships were commanded by young
sprigs Of nobility, who had all the polite
accomplishments, while the American
ships were ofIicercd by men who had risen
from the ranks. Out of 20 singlc-ship ac-
tions in that war the Americans won Is.
If we must have our drawing-rooms orna-
mcnted by gentlemen in naval uniforms, il
will be cheaper and better in every way
to graduate a special class for that pur-
pose, and allow our fine ships to be ofi-
ccred by men whose main business and
ambition in life is to be sailors.
WORK OF THE PESsIoN BUREAU.