Mexico weekly ledger., 1902-12-04
NEEDS OF tue NAVY.
More Ships Aad Men Needed to Keep
Pace with fhe Times

Il NGttbN UT NANAs
l
More ships Aad Men Needed to Keep
Pace with the Times.
For the FIRST time m our history naval
[ maneuvefs on a large scale are being held
I under the immediate command of the ad-
+ mirhl OF the navy. Constantly Increasing
( attention Is being paid 10 the gunnery Of
! the navy. but II Is yet far from what It
I should be, earnestly urge that the n
I crease asked tor BY the secretary OF the
the marks mans hip b. grtnsed. In haltlt
the eniy shots th-.t count are the shots that
hit. IL is necessary 20 provide ample
fumes for practice with the great guns in
time OF peaee. These funes must provide
not only Tor the purchase OF projectiies. but
for allowances for pTiEes to encourage the
gun crews, and especially the gun pointers
aAd for .perfectlng an intelllgenf system
under which alone 1t Is possible to get good
practice.
building up the navy providing every year
additional fighting craft We are a very
rich country, yass IN extent Of territory and
great In population; country. moreover,
which has an army diminutive indeed when
compared with. that OF any other first-ciass
power. We have delioerstel made our
OWE certain foreign pokcles which demand
the possession OF nrst-class navy. The
isthmian canal will greatly increase the
efficiency Of our navy II the navy Is of suf-
hcient size; but II we have an inadequate
navy. then the building OF the canal would
be merely giving a hostage TO any power
Of superior strength. The Monroe doctrine
should be treated as the cardinal feature OF
American foreign policy; but 4 would be
worse than idle to assert II unless we In
tended to back Il up, and II can be backed
up only by thoroughly good navy. A good
navy is no7 provocative OF war. II is the
surest guaranty Of peace.
Each Individual unit OF our navy should
be the most efficient Of its kind as regards
both material ana personnel that Is 10 be
found in the world. eall your special at
ri In fnH fu
manning OF the ships Serious trouble
threatens US If We cannot Go better than
we are now doing as regards securing the
services of sufficient rumber OF the high
est type Of sailormen. OF sea mechanics
The veteran seamen Of our warships are
OF as high type as can be found In any
they are unsurpassed IL daring. in resolu-
ton, In readiness, IN thorough knowledge
Of their profession. They deserve every
consideration that can be shown them
But there are not enough Of them. II IS
no more possible TO imprOvise crew than
II IS possible 10 imprOvise 2 warship. To
build the finest ship, witt the dea6liest
crew no matter how brave they were In
dividually. would be to insure disaster il
a foe OF average capacity were encountered
Neither ships nor men can be imprOviseG
We nee6 thousand additional offieersin
order to properly man the ships now pro-
yideo for ard under construction. The
II
shsuld be greatly eSarged. At the same
time that we thus add the officers where
we need them, we should facilitate the re-
whose usefulness has become impaired
Promotion must be fostered II the serv-
ice is to be kept cfllciant
There is not a cloud on the horizon at
present. There seems not the slightest
chance of trouble with a foreign power
We most earnestly hope that this state
o. things may continue; and the way to
insure its continuance Is TO provide for
thoroughly efficient navy The refusal
20 maintain such a navy would invite
trouble. and II trouble came would insure
disaster. Fntuous self-complacency or
vanity, or short-slghtedneas IN refusing
70 prepare for danger. Is both foolish ana
wicked In such a nation as ours; and
past experience has shown that such
atuity 10 refusing 20 recognize or pre-
Pare Tor any crisis IN advance Is usually
succeeded BY mad panic Of hysterioal
fear once the crisis has actually arrived
Rnrai Free Delivery.
The striking Increase IN the revenues
of the post ofiice department shows clear
y the prosperity Of our people and the
country.
The receipts OF the post ofice depart
meut for the nscal year ending June 30
last amounted 10 u2l So. .Of7 26 an Increase
q $lO,IassS.M over the preceding year.
the largest Increase known In the history
o. the postal service. The magnitude of
fact that the entire postal receipts for
the year 1850 amounted to but IS 5ls0g7
Rural free delivery service Is no longer
N the experimental stage; It has become
hKed policy The results following Its
INTRODUCTION have fully justified the con-
gress In the large anproprlations made
Tor its establishment and extension The
eebis n FF a FuFai psYt iFs sod5. bs
Try Is about two per cent We are now
aele. by actual results, to show that
where rural fraa
been established to such an extent as 10
enable US to make comparisons the yearly
increase has been upward Of ten per
On November /, 1907. 1850 rural free
delivery routes had been established and
were in operation, covering about one
Ihird 81 the territory Of the United States
available for rural free delivery service
There are now awaiting the action OF the
department petitions and applications for
the establishment OF 10.Hs additional
routes. This shows conclusively the want
which the establishment Of the service
mas met and the need OF further extend
ing i as rapidly as possible. IT is fusti-
ned both by the financial results and by
the practical benefits to our rural pop
ulatiO1: it brings the men who live On
the soil Into close relations with the ac-
tive business world; L keeps the farmer
N aaiiy touch with the markets; II is a
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 undes rahle
current from country to CITY
II Is TO be hoped that the congress will
make liberal appropriations for the con-
tinuance OF the service already estab.
hshed and Tor It's further extension.
Progress of Irrigation.
Few subjects OF more Importance have
been taken up by the congress in recent
years than the Inauguration of the svs-
TEN OF nationally aided irrigation for The
arid regions Of the far west A good be-
that this policy OF national Irrigation has
been adopted. the need Of thorough
and scientific forest protection will grow
il,,h,i In9fs Tapidly than ever throughout the
50 far as thev are available for arri-
culture, and 70 whatever extent they
may be reclaimed under the national r.
rigaton iaw, the remaining public lands
should be held rlgldiy FOR the home
builder, the settler who lives on his land
and tor no one else. In their actual use
the dtsert-land law. the timber and stone
law, and the Communication clause Of the
homestead law have been 80 perverted
from the Intention with which thev were
enacted as 70 permit the acquisition OF
large areas Of the public domain for oth.
er than actual settlers and the conse-
quent prevention OF settlement More
over, the approaching exhaustion Of the
public ranges has Of late led 60 much
discussion a. to the best manner Of using
these public lands In the west which ID
suitable chiefly or only FOR rrazina TIE
.onad and steady development Of the
west depends upon the huiid'r~ rr
homes therein. Much Of our prosperity
as nation has beer due e. he 6p
Ion OF the homeHtc a law. on the 1fhar
hand. we FhOutd isco~nize the fact thai
y the grazing region the man who cor
responds 20 the homa asteader uaov-5 o a.
able 70 settle permanently II only allowed
TO use the same amount of u7 rttre lard
nat MS brother, tho homesteader. Is al
lowed to use Of arabic land one hun
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