The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1902-12-04

! OF our present obsolete laws a practical
and efficient system should be adopted.
Provision should be made to enable the
secretary of war to keep cavalry and ar
tlllery horses worn out in-long perform
anee Of duty Such horses fetch but a
trif1e when Sold and rather than turn
when thus disposed Of it would be better
to employ them at light work around the
Ro5i nSas ana y When necessary to put them
For the first time il our history naval
maneuYers on large scale are being held
under 1lie1e1 the Immediate command Of the ad-
attention is being paid to the gunnery Of
the navy, but it is yet far from what it
e enssad BE- Si,ad f earnestly urge that the IL
navy in the appropriation for improving
the craftsmanship be granted. In hattie
the only shots that count are the shots
f fnad MT IT, IL IS necessary to provide ample
Tune OF peace. These funds must provide
h,1t only on ,fer the purchase of projectiles
ou ue t fon allowances for prizes to encour
pointers, and for .perfecting an intelligent
system under which alone it is possible to
| get good practice.
There should be no halt in the work of
building up the navy, providing every
year additional fighting craft. We are a
very rich country, vast in extent Of terri
| tory and great in population, a country,
| moreover, which has an army diminutiye
lndeed when compared with that of any
other oth;sr first class power. we have deliber-
! ately made our own certain foreign poll
cies which demand the possession of a
| hrst class navy. The isthmian canal will
greatly increase the efficiency of our navy
II the navy is Of sufficient size, but if we
nave an inadequate navy then the build
ing OF the canal would be merely giving a
hGSea Ten to any power Of superior strength
me cardinal feature of American foreign
policy, but it would be worse than idle
TO assert 1T unless we intended to back it
| ID. hn Io 1IyNl
thoroughly good navy. A good navy is
not provocative of war. It is the surest
Each individual unit of our navy should
pc the most efficient of its kind as regards
a4Hn IN tt the Nv World call your special
manning manning Of the ships. Serious trouble
threatens us If we cannot do better than
1 we are now doing as regards securing the
services OF a Sufhc1ent number Of the high
est type OF sa1lormen, of sea mechanics
Inc veteran seamen of our warsslips are
OF as high type as can be found in any
They are unsurpassed in daring, in reso-
d9tlon, IN readiness, in thorough knowl-
e ee1; OF their cir Profession: They deserve ev
no more possible to improvise crew than
II IS possible to improvise a warship. To
battery. and to send it afo1t ~-ith a raw
crew no matter how brave they were in
N1V1uUdlly, WOulu UG 10 insure O1SaStor ii
foe Of average capacity were encountered:
Neither ships nor men can be -in1proVised
when war has begun.
We need thousand additional officers
IN order to properly man the ships now
provided for and under construction. The
classes at the naval school at Annapolis
should 4i1ou 81 be greatly enlarged At the same
we need them, we should facilitate the re-
tirement Of those at the head of the list
whose usefulness has become impaired.
m ho f0cf r.
Is to be kept efficient
The lamentable scarcity Of officers and
the large number of recruits and Of un-
new vessels as they have been commits
stoned has thrown upon our officers and
especially as on the leutenants and junior
gravely strained their powers Of endur-
ance: Nor is there sign of any immediate
letup in this strain. It must continue for
graduated from Annapolis and until the
recruits become trained and s<illful in
their duties In these difficulties incident
upon the development Of our war fleet the
conduct Of all our officers has been cred
table to the service, and the lieutenants
and junior grades in particular have dis
played an ability and a steadfast cheer
fulness which entitle them to the ungrudging
thanks of all who realize the disheartenng trials
and fatigues to which they are of necessity SUBJ
There is not cloud on the horizon at present
There seems not the slightest chance Of trouble
that this state Of things may continue, and the
way to insure its continuance is to provide for
thoroughly efficient navy The refusal to- main:
trouble came would insure disaster. Fatuous self
complacency or vanity or shortsightedness in re-
fusing to prepare for danger is both foolish and
ence! has shown that such faulty in refusing to
recognize or prepare for any crisis in advance is
usually succeeded by mad panic Of hysterical
| fear once the crisis has actually arrived.
The striking. increase in the revenues of the
postofice department shows clearly the prosperity
Of our people and the increasing activity Of the
The receipts of the postofice department for
the fiscal year ending June 90 last amounted to
the preceding year. the largest increase known in
the history of the postal service. The magnitude
Of this is increase viii best appear from the fact
amounted to but ss,5ls, o67. ~
Rural free delivery service is no longer in the
Tsrt 5tage has become fixed policy
justified the congress in the large appropriations
made for it's establishment and extension. The
average yearly increase in postofice receipts in
the rural districts of the country is about per
| cent. We are now able, by actual results, to
show that where rural free delivery service has
been established to such an extent as to enable
On Nov l, 1902, 1850 rural free delivery
covering about one-third of the territory of the
United States available for rural free delivery
service. There are awaiting the action of
the department petitions and applications for the
establishment of l0,74s additional routes. This
shows conclusively the want which the establish
ment Of the service has met and the need of fur
ther extending it as rapidly as possible. 1t is
justified both by the financial results and by the
practical benefits to rural population; it
brings the men who live the soil into close
relations with the active business world; it keeps
the farmer in daily touch with the markets; it is
potential educational force; it enhances the
value of farm property, makes farm life far
pleasanter and less isolated, and will do much to
check the undesirable current from country to
city.
It is to be hoped that the congress will make
liberal appropriations for the continuance of the
tension
Few subjects OF more Importance have been
| taken up by the congress in recent years than
the Inauguration of the system of nationally aided
irrigation for the arid regions of the far west.
good beginning therein has been made. Now
that this policy Of national irrigation has been
adopted the need of thorough and scientific forest
protection will grow more rapidly than ever
throughout the public land states.
Legislation should be provided for the protec-
! ton OF the game and the wild creatures gener-
ally the forest reserves. The senseless slaugh-
ter of game. which can by judicious protection be
permanently preserved national reserves
| for the people as whole, should be stopped at
once. It is, for instance. serious count against
our national good sense to permit the present