The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1902-12-03
PRESIDENTSMESSAGE

troop or company; It Is the Individual
soldier. Every effort must be made 70
develop every workmanlike and soldierly
quality In both the officer and the enlist
ed man.
urgently call your attention to the
need of passing a bill providing for a
general stan and for the reorganization
of the supply departments on the lines
of the bill proposed by the secretary Of
war last year. When the young officers
enter the army from Vest Point they
probably stand above their compeers IN
any other military service. Every eff
fort should be made, by training, by re-
ward Of merit by scrutiny into their
careers and capacity, TO keep them OF the
same high relative excellence throughout
their careers.
The measure providing for the reorgani-
cation Of the militia system and for Sc
curing the highest efficiency in the Ma
tiona1 Guard. which has already passed
the house, should receive prompt atten-
ton and action. It s,of great importance
that tho relation 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 efficient system should
be adopted.
Provision should be made to enable the
secretary Of war to keep cavalry and ar
ance of duty. Such horses fetch but
trihe when sold; and rather than turn
them out to the misery awaiting them
when thus disposed of, 1t would be better
to employ them at light work around the
posts. and when necessary to put them
painlessly to death.
NAVAL MANEuvERs.
For the first time In our history naval
maneuvers on a large scale are being
held under the Immediate command of
the admiral of the navy. Constantly in
creasing attention is being paid to the
gunnery of the navy but 1t Is yet far
from what 1t should be. l earnestly urge
that the Increase asked for by the secre-
tary of the ravy in the apr opriation for
improving the craftsmanship be granted.
In battle the only shots that count are
the shots that hit. 1t Is necessary to pro-
vide ample 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 the gun crews, and
especially the gun pointers, and for per-
fecting an intelligent system under
which alone 1t is possible to get good
practice.
There should be no halt In the work of
tuilding up the navy, providing every
year additional fighting craft We are a
ritory and great in population a coun-
try, moreover, which has an army dimln-
utive indeed when compared with that
of any other first-class power. We have
deliberately made our own certain foreign
policies which demand the possession Of
a hrst-class navy. The isthmian canal
Will greatly Increase the efficiency of our
navy If the navy is of sufficient size; but
If we have an inadequate navy, then the
Of t,a
giving hostage to any power OF superior
strength. The Monroe doctrine should be
treated as the cardinal feature of Amer
lean foreign policy; but It would be worse
than idle to assert 1t unless we intended
to back 1t up, and 1t can be backed up
only by thoroughly good navy. good
navy is not provocative Of war. 1t is
the surest guaranty of peace
Each individual unit of our navy should
be the most efficient of its kind as re-
CARDS both material and personnel that
is to be found In the world. l call your
special attention to the need of provd-
ing for the manning of the ships Serious
trouble threatens us If we cannot do bet
ter than we are now doing as regards Sc
curing the services of a sufficient num-
Der Of the highest type of sailormen of
sea mechanics The veteran seamen Of
our war ships are of as high type as
can be found in any navy that rides the
waters of the world they are unsur-
passed In daring, in resolution, in readi-
ness. In thorough knowledge of their pro-
fessfon. They deserve every consldera-
ton that can be shown them. But there
are not enough of them. 1t is no more
possible to improvise crew than it is
possible to improvise a warship. To
build the finest ship, with the deadliest
battery, and to send 1t af1oat with raw
crew, no matter how brave they were
individually, would be to insure disaster IL
Zoe of average capacity were encount-
cred Neither ships nor men can be i'm
provised when war has begun.
We need a thousand additional officers
in order to properly man the ships now
provided for and under construction. The
classes at the naval school at Annapolis
should be greatly enlarged. At the same
time that we thus ado the officers where
we need them. we should facilitate the
retirement of those at the head of the
list whose usefulness has become i'm
paired Promotion must be fostered If the
service is to be kept efficient
The lamentable scarcity of officers, and
the large number of recruits and of I'M
skilled men necessarily put aboard the
new vessels as they have been commits
stoned, has thrown upon our officers and
especially on the lieutenants and Junior
grades, unusual labor and fatigue and
mas BraVeiy strained their powers of en-
durance. Nor is there sign of any inn
mediate let-up in this strain 1t must
continue for some time longer, until more
'nlcers ere graduated from Annapolis
and until the recruits become trained and
skiliful In their duties. In these difficult
ties incident upon the development of our
war fleet the conduct of all our officers
has been creditable to the service, and
the lieutenants and Junior grades in par
ticu1ar have displayed an ability and a