The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1902-10-15

- ~ ~ HllS from II variety OF
causes in times of peace.
Sailors are made and not born, al
| though here, as in all other professions
and callings some men are more adapt
| ed and take kiudlier to Il life on the
| ocean wave than others. But as Il rule.
given a certain number of young men
or boys of he official physical standard
| and in the course of time and the requi-
| site disciplinary training they can in a
| surprisingly short training be trans
| formed Que of uncouth landsmen into
| smart and technically experienced sea-
men. We cannot. however. in this
| fashion mould officers for our navy
| upon whose practical experience and
| scientific ability the readiness of our
| navy in peace and its success in war
| depends 1t is not in any way to the
| credit of the country that our fleet
| making due allowance for the drafting
| of graduated cadets from Annapolis. is
six hundred short according to Secre-
tary Moody, of the complement imme-
| diately demanded for the ships in com.
not 10 speak of those which are project.
ed. There is here no question about
| increasing the navy: it is one Of sup
plying officers in sufficient numbers to
command the ships we have already
afloat. or those we shall shortly see in
| active service.
i is not the fault of the navy depart
ment that this Scandalous state of af-
fairs is permitted tn exist. Our system
of recruiting offices for the navy is not
Objectionable under the existing system
so far as it fuiils efficiently the pur-
pose for which it was instituted. But
since nominations by congressman
have proved inadequate to eXigencies
of the service greater latitude and with
it responsibility must be placed in the
navy department to obtain the increase
in the number of officers which will Sc
cure Il normal limit to the tension of
duties.
Complaint is made that only six COM
missions can be conferred annually
among enlisted men, and the case of
Gunner Morgan is adduced as an in
stance of superciiouS eXclusiveness.
Now. Morgan'S is n case in point and
the merit of promoting enlisted men
from the deck to the quarter deck can
be argued from his disappointed ambi-
tion in practical and dispassionate
way. Morgan was a gunner. \ gun
ner is neither Il sailor, nor a navigator:
he X = a,ti-
iiccr. In his own line he Is inquest ion
ably an excellent man and worthy of
the dignity to which he aspired. But
While the late Admiral Sampson laid
more than necessary stress upon the
fact that an officer in the American
navy should possess the social qualin-
cations fourd among officers of foreign
nations, we can We'll believe. that he did
so in narrow sense of caste, \ ship at
sea, and especially II buttleship, is
very autocratic monarchy. Ii Is essen
tial that it should he SO. The real drift
of Sampsons objection to Morgan and
men of his stamp was that it is of the
highest Importance that IA naval officer
should be trained from boyhood to
manhood for the position which he is
to occupy
a battleShip is Il complicated ma
chine which demands in the men who
command ii il nautical, IL scientific and
"A military education which cannot be
acquired in the forecastle or the gum
ner's room. If it Is practicable to fill
vacancies in the wardroom by drafts
i'm the forecastle, Annapolis is AN en-
pensiVe supertiuty, but no advocate
of promotion from the folks hole goes as
far as this. To be logical, or even ra-
tional they should. An hospital orderly
may be Il very intelligent man in his
line but the most rabid democratic par
tisan would hardly undergo as matter
of principle a surgical operation, in
yolving life or death, at his hands. Let
congressional nominations both To
West Point and Annapolis be supple
mented by competitive examinations
without this condition, and the mate
rial for supplying the navy with all the
officers it requires is unlimited.
The New York state platform of the
Democratic party is reeking with social