The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1902-12-05
PRESIDENTS MESSAGE.

by the American people has indicated it.
e es Of II h mHHn sls the P Philipnid than T The poll oil
umph of our arms. above all the triumph
of cur laws and principles, has come soon
er mar we mad any right to expect. Too
much praise cannot be given to the army
for. what 1t has done in the Philippines,
both IN warfare and from an administra-
TIVE eiyi, standroint, in preparing the way for
longs TO the civil authorities for the way
in which they have planted the seeds Of
self government in the ground thus made
hinchlrg c;Iiurance, the high soldierly etfi-
cheney ard the general kind heartedness
striklngly manifested. There now nwV re,n nair
only some Is. 900 troops in the islands. All
told. over 100000 have been sent there. OF
co., $ II there e haTe been individual In
warred under fearful difficulties of eli
mate and surroundings, and under the
strain of the terrible provocations which
they continually received from their" foes
occasional instances of cruel retaliation
occurred. Every effort has been made to
efforts have been completely successful.
Every effort has also been made to de-
tect and punish the wronsdoers. After
making an ailoWance for these misdeeds
the instances in which war has been
waged by a civilized power against semi
civilized or barbarous forces where there
has been so little wrongdoing by the vic
tors as in the Philippine Islands. Or the
other hand, the amount of difficult, impor-
tant and beneficent work which has been
done is well nigh incalculable.
Taking the work of the army and the
civil authorities together, it may be ques-
toned whether anywhere else in modern
times the world has seen a better exam
pie of real constructive craftsmanship
than our people have given in the Philip
pine Islands. High praise should also be
very numerous-who have accepted the
new conditions and Joined with our repro
sentatives to work with hearty good will
for the welfare 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
should be kept at the highest point of eff
cheney. The senior officers are given scant
chance under ordinary conditions to ex-
erclse 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 be-
gun and should be steadily continued.
pect that in the event Of hostilities with
any, serious foe ever a small army corps
could be handled to advantage. Both our
G ..ct:s and enlisted men are such th"t
we can take hearty pride in them. 40
better, material can be found. But thu.
must be thoroughly trained, both as indi-
snip OF the men must receive special at
tention. In the circumstances Of modern
W wa + are the man must act far more on
AHS " ItSpOllSlDllllY IMAM
eyer before, and the high individual eff
cheney Of the unit is Of the utmost i'm
portance. Formerly this unit was the
even the troop or company; it is the indi-
vidual soldier. Every effort must be made
to develop every workmanlike and SOL
enlisted man.
l. urgently call your attention to the
need Of passing a bill providing for a gen
ara staff and for the reorganization 81
bill proposed by the secretary of war last
year. When the young officers enter the
army from West Point. they probably
military service. Every effort should be
made by training. by reward Of merit, by
scrutiny into their careers and capacity,
throughout their careers.
The measure providing for the reorgan.
ization of the militia system and for Sc
al guard, which has already passed the
house, should receive prompt attention
and action. 1t Is OF great Importance that
the relation of the rational guard to the
and volunteer forces of the United
should be defined and that in place
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
tillery horses worn out in long perform
ance of duty. Such horses fetch but L
trife when sold, and rather than turf,
them out to the misery awaiting them
when thus disposed of it would be better
to employ them at light work around the
and when necessary to put them
painlessly to death.
maneuVers on a large scale are being held
under the immediate command Of the ad-
miral of the navy. Constantly increasing
attention is being paid to the gunnery OF
the navy, but it is yet far from what it
should be. earnestly urge that the in
crease asked for by the secretary Of the
royyHy ~ f1o t;~, f~-
the craftsmanship be granted. In battle
the only shots that count are the shots
that nit. 1t is necessary to provide ample
time Of peace These funds must provide
not only for the purchase of projectiles.
but for 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 uvery
year additional fighting craft. We are a
very rich country, vast in extent of terri
moreover. which has an army diminutive
indeed when compared with that of any
other first class power. We have deliber-
cies which demand the possession Of a
first class navy. The isthmian canal will
greatly increase the efficiency Of our navy
have an inadequate navy then the build
ing 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 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 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 and personnel hat is to be
found in the world. l call your special
attention to the need of providing for the
manning of the ships. Serious trouble
threatens us If we cannot do better han
we are now doing as regards securing the
services: of a sufficient number of the high
est type of Sailormen, Of sea mechanics.
The veteran seamen of our WarShipS are
of as high a type as can be found in any
navy which rides the waters Of the world.
They are unsurpassed in daring, in reso-
luton, in readiness, in thorough knowl-
edge of their profession. They deserve ev-
cry consideration that can be shown them.
But there are not enough of them. It is
no more possible to improyise a crew than
it Is possible to improvise a warship. To
build the finest ship, with the deadliest
battery, and to send it afloat with a raw
crew, no matter how brave they were in
~dividually, wouldtbe to insure disaster if a
Zoe OF average capacity were encountered
when war has begun. T
We need a thousand additional officers
in order to properly man the ships nov
provided for and under Construction. Tht
classes at The aval school at Annapolis
Should ba greg tJv& an1 oroad rEA+ i. -.