Free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1888-1908, 1902-12-06
NEEDS OF THE NAVY.
More Ships and Men Needed to Keep
Pace with the Zines.

NEEDS OF THE NAVY.
More Ships and Men Needed to Keep
Pace with the Times.
For the first time in our history naval
maneuvers on large scale are being he'd
uEcer the immediate command of the al
attention is being paid TO the gunnSry OF
the navy, but it is yet far from what il
crease asked for by the secretary of the
navy in the appropriation for improving
the only shots that count are the shots that
hit. It is necessary to provide ample
time of peace. These FUNDS must provide
not only for the purchase of projectiles. but
for allowances Tor prizes TO encourage the
gun crews. and especially the gun pointers.
and for pertectiEg an intelligent system
under which alone it is possible to get gooo
There should be no halt in the work of
building up the navy. providing every year
rich country, Vast in extent of territory and
great in population; country, moreover,
wt6 that Of amy otSer
power. We have deliberately MADE our
own certain foreign policies which demand
the possession of a frst-class navy. The
isthmian canal will greatly increase the
ficient Size; but if we have an inadequate
navy, then the building of the canal would
Of superior Strength. The Monroe doctrine
should be treated as the cardinal feature of
an fGf Ge saae but 1nes wo%d be
tended to back 1t up. and It can be backed
navy Is not a provocative of war: 1t is the
surest guaranty OF peace.
Each individual unit OF our navy should
be the most efficient OF It's kind as regards
both material ana personnel that is to be
enon IN to 5hf the need Of f1
manning Of the ships. Serious trouble
threatens us If we cannot 90 better than
services Of sumcient number of the high
est type of salormen, of sea mechanics.
a m nf oil - fFAc
of as high a type as can be found in any
navy which rides the waters of the world ;
ton. in readiness. in thorough knowledge
of their profession. They deserve every
But there are not enough of them. It is
no more possible to improvise a crew than
build the n 80 Hh}p Wt the rSnp 4
battery, and to send il afioat with a raw
dividual1y. would be to insure disaster if
a foe of average capacity were encountered
Neither ships nor men can be improvised
We need a thousand additional officers in
ORDER to properly man the ships ROW pro-
classes at the naval school at Annapolis
should Shout II, be greatly eE;arged- Al the same
We need them. We should facilitate the re-
tirement Of those at the head of the list
whose usefulness has become impaired.
Promo ton must be- fostered if the serv-
ice is to be kept efficient.
There is not cloud on the horizon at
present There seems not the slightest
chance of trouble with foreign power.
We most earnestly hope that this state
of things may continue; and the way to
insure its continuance is to provide for
a thoroughly efficient navy. The refusal
10 maintain such a navy would invite
trouble, and if trouble came would insure
disaster Fatuous -complacency or
vanity, or Short-Sightedness in refusing
to prepare for danger. is both foolish and
wicked in such a nation ours; and
faulty in refusing to recognize or pre-
pare for any crisis in advance is usually
fear once the crisis has actually arrived
Rural Free Delivery.
The striking increase in the revenues
OF the the post office department shows clear
increasing activity of the business of the
The receipts of the post Office depart
men Tor the nscat year ending June so
Of over the prece an vear
the largest increase known in the history
Of the postal service. The magnitude of
fact that the entire postal receipts for
the year 1850 amounted to but $S.518 OS7.
in the experimental stage; il has become
a fixed policy. The results following its
gress in the large appropriatfons made
for its establishment and extension. The
ceipts in the rural districts of the coun-
try is about two per cent. We are now
able. by ACTUAL results. to show that
been established to such an extent as to
enable to make comparisons the yearly
increase has been upward of ten per
cent.
On November /. 1902 1850 rural free
delivery routes had been established and
were in operation. covering about one
third of the territory of the United States
available for rural free delivery service.
There are now awaiting the action of the
the establishment of 1674S addItions nal
which the establishment of the service
has met and the need of further extend
q nj &c hi to .n-k
fed both by the financial results and by
the practical benefits to our rural pop
the soil into close relations with the ac-
tive business world; IT keeps the farmer
potential educational force; it enhances
the the value val OF farm property. makes farD,
will do much to check the undesirable
current from country to city.
1t is to be hoped that the congress VIII
make liberal appropriations for the con
tinuance of the service already estab-
lished and for its 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 sys-
arid regions of the far west. A good be-
ginning therein has been made. Now
been adopted, the need of thorough
and scientific forest protection will grow
more rapidly than ever throughout the
So far as they are available for agri-
ana TO Whatever extent they
may be reclaimed under the national ir-
rigation law, the remaining public lands
should be held rigidly for the home
builder. the settler who lives on his land.
and for no one else In their actual use
the desert-land law, the timber and stone
law. and the Communication clause of the
homestead law have been so perverted
from the intention with which t1ev were
enacted as to permit the acquisition of
large areas of the public domain for 9TH
er than actual settlers and the conse-
quent prevention of settlement. More
over, the approaching exhaustion of the
public ranges has of late led to much
discussion to the best manner OF using
these public lands in the west which are
suitable chiefly or only for grazing. The
sound and steady development OF the
west depends upon the building uD ~
homes therein Much of our prosperity
as a nation has been due TO the opera
ton of the homestead law. On the other
hand. we should recognize the fact that
in the grazing region the man who GER
responds to the homesteader may be
able to settle permanently If only allowed
to use the same amount of pasture land
that his brother. the homesteader, is al
lowed of arabic land