Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1902-12-04

orientaIs under their own governments
Sava tbe Jananese alone. We have no
gone too far in granting these rights of lib
erty and self government; out we nave Ger
tainly gone to the limit that IN the inter
ests of the Philippine people themselves i
was wise or just to go. To hurry matters
to go faster than we are now going, Woult
entail calamity on the people OF th'
islands No policy ever entered into by thu
American people has yindicated itself il
more signal manner than the policy o.
holding the Philippines. The triumph o.
our arms. above all the triumph of oul
we had any right to expect. Too mucl
praise can not be given 70 the army To-
what it has done in the Philippines bott
in warfare and from an administrative
standpoint in preparing the way for civi
government: and similar credit belongs tC
the civil authorities for the way in which
they have planted the seeds OF self-gOvern
ment in the ground thus made ready fol
them The courage. the unf1inching endur
ance. the high sOidierly efficiency, and the
general kind-heartedness and humanity OF
our troops have been Strikingly manifested
There now remain only some $1,000 troops
in the islands, All told, over one hundred
thousand have been sent there Of course
there have been individual instances OF
wrong-doing among them. They warred
under fearful difficulties Of climate and
surroundings: and under the strain of the
terrible provocations which they cOntin-
ually received from their foes, occasional
instances of cruel retaliation occurred. Ev-
cry effort has been made to prevent such
cruelties, and finally these efforts have
been completely successful. Every effort
has also been made to detect and punish
the wrongdOerS After making all allow
ance for these misdeeGs, it remains true
that few indeed have been>the instances in
power against semi-civiliZed or barbarous
forces where there has been so little
wrongdoing by the yictors as in the Philip
pine islands. On the other hand, the
e. Sa,,J+ INN Mt
cent work which has been done is we'll
nigh incalculabe.
Taking the work of the army and the
civil authorities together 1t may be ques-
times the world has seen better example
of real constructive craftsmanship than our
people haze gfa sbnrd the ,so PRb hi
those Filiplnos in the aggregate very nu-
merouS who have accepted the new cOndi-
lions and Joined with our representatives
to work with hearty good will for the well
fare of the islands.
The army has been reduced to the mini
mum allowed by law. 1t Is very small for
the size of the nation, and most certainly
cheney. The senior officers are given Scant
chance under ordinary conditions to cXer-
else commands commensurate with their
rank. under circumstances which would fit
them to do their duty in time of actual
war. A system of maneuvering our army
in bodies of some little size has been begun
and should be steadily continued. Without
such maneuvers it is folly to expect that
in the event of hOstilities with any serious
foe even a small army corps could be
handled to advantage. Both our officers
and enlisted men are such that we can take
hearty pride in them. No better material
can be found. But they must be thorough
ly trained, both as individuals and in the
mass The craftsmanship of the men must
receive special attention. In the circum-
stances of modern warfare the man must
act far more en- his own individual respOn-
Sibilfty than ever before, and the high in
dividual efficiency of the unit is of the ut
the regiment; it is now not the regiment,
not even the troop or company; it is the
individual soldier. Every effort must be
made to develop every workmanlike and
quality in both the officer and the
enlisted man.
The measure providing for the reorgani-
cation of the militia system and for secur..
ing the highest efficiency in the national
guard. which has already passed the house,
should receive prompt attention and &C
ton. 1t is of great Importance that the re-
latiOn of the national guard to the militia
and volunteer forces of the United States
should be defined and that in place of our
present obsolete laws a practical and eff
cient system should be adopted.
NAVAL AFFAIRS.
For the first time in our history naval
on a large scale are being held
under the immediate command of the adj
is being paid to the gunnery of
the navy, but it is yet far from what it
should be. l earnestly urge that the in
crease asked for by the secretary of the
navy in the appropriation for improving
the craftsmanship be granted In battle
the only shots that count are the shots
funds for practice with the great guns in
time of peace. These funds must provide
not only for the purchase of prOjectiles,
but for allowances for prizes to encourage
ia1l 1,n
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 territory
and great in population; a country, more,
over which has an army diminutivc indeed
when compared with that of any other
tirst-class power We have deliberately
made our own certain foreign policies
which demand the possession of first
class navy. The isthmian canal will great
ly increase the efficiency of cur navy if the
navy is of sufficient size: but if we have an
inadequate navy, then the building of the
canal would be merely giving a hostage to
any power of superior strength. The Mon
roe doctrine should be treated as the car
dinal feature of American foreign policy;
but it would be worse than idle to assert
it unless we intended to back it up, and it
can be backed up only by a thoroughly
good navy. a good navy is not q provo
cative of war. 1t is the surest guaranty of
peace.
Each individual unit of our navy should
be the most efficient of its kind as regards
both material and personnel that is to be
found in the world. | call your special at
tentiOn to the need OF providing for the
manning of the ships. Serious trouble
threatens US If we can not do better than
We are now doing as regards securing the
services of u sufficient number of the high
est type of SailOrmen, of sea mechanics.
The veteran seamen of our Warships are of
as as, nigh type as can be found in any navy
which rides the waters of the world; they
are unsurpassed in daring, in resolution, in
readiness, in thorough knowledge of their
profession. They deserve every cOnsidera-
ton that can be shown them. But there
are not enough of them 1t is no more pos
sible to imprOviSe a crew than it is posi-
bic to improvise a WarShip. To build the
finest ship, with the deadlIeSt battery, and
to send it atlOat with raw crew, no mat
ter how brave they were individually,
would be to insure disaster if Il foe of av-
eraGe capacity were encountered. Neither
ships nor men can be improvised when wal
has begun.
We need a thousand additional officers in
order to properly man the ships now pro
Vided for and under construction. The
classes at the naval school at Annapolis
should be greatly enlarged. At the same
time that we thus add the officers where
we need them, we should facilitate the re
tirement Of those at the head of the list
whose usefulness has become impaired
Promotion must be fostered if the service
is TO be kept efficient.
The lamentable scarcity of officers, ant
the large number of recruits and of I'M
skilled men necessarily put aboard the new
vessels as they have been commissioned
has thrown upon our officers, and espe
cially on the lentenants and junior grades
unusual labor and fatigue and has graveN
strained their powers of endurance. No
is there sign of any immediate Iet-up il
this strain 1t must continue for some tim,
longer, until more officers are graduated
from Annapolis, and until the recruits be
come trained and skillful in their duties
In these difficulties incident upon the de
velopment of our war fleet the conduct o
all our officers has been creditable to tn,
service, and the Iieutenants and JUNO
grades in particular have displayed an abil
ity and a SteadfaSt cheerfulneSS which en-