The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-11-01
JAPAN'S GREAT NAVY
WOULD BE NO MEAN ANTkGoN.
 IST FOR RUSSIA.
British Influence Strong in the Flowery Kingdoms Bulldogs of the Sea-Victory Won Over
 Chinese Was Easy.

The navy of Japan is the child of Great Britain; the ships were built mainly in England, and most of the officers and men have been trained either in British men-of-war or in colleges and schools founded and for many years controlled by British naval officers, As late as ten years ago a British officer was retained as naval adviser to the Japanese Govern ment. It Is, therefore. appropriate that tbe two forces should be bound in a close alliance during these years when the out look in the Far East becomes intermit- tently threatening. The fleet which flies the ensign of the Rising Sun-"Dar Nip pon," as the people call their Kingdom, means "the great land on which the sun first rises'-is linked to the fleet Of an empire on which the sun never sets.
 In no department of the State has British influence been stronger than In the navy. Englishmen in the early days organized and trained the officers and men. and the ships have been built almost entirely by English labor, Japan had no navy a quarter of century ago; today her fleet Is one of the dominating factors in the Far East. The rise of Japan in naval power has no parellel in history, and this year the Emperor must have been a proud ruler as he passed down the review lines of this assembled men-of-war, which include some of the finest and most powerful ships in the fleets of the word.
 The fighting fleet nominally dates from about 1877 (though small ship had been purchased a short time before from the
 United States), when Samuda's old yard on the Thames built the earlist ironclad
 Fuso from the design of Sir Edward Reed. For several years the movement toward the construction of a large fleet made little progress, though in that time the foundation was being laid for the great expansion of the past ten years. The Japanese understood that an ade- uuate oragnizat ton and a system of train- ing for officers and men were the first essentials. Thirty years ago. with the consent of the British admiralty. Japa- nese officers were undergoing instruc- tions at the gunnery and torpedo schools at Portsmouth, and gaining sea experience with the British squadrons and down to quite recent year sthe aspiring officers of the Japanese navy were to be met with on British ships. Meantime, in Japan itself training establishments were being founded, and for thiA work the Japanese authorities, having firm belief In Eng fish methods. borrowed officers from the British admiralty to carry out the work of organization. The present vice-ad- mlral, Str ATcnlDalQ OOuBidS HoW III command of the British North American squadron, was the commanded of the naval mission sent to Japan In the '7Os to instruct the fleet of that country. and afterward he became director of the i'm peral naval college at Tokio. Another officer who assisted in the work. Vice. Admiral Sir Arthur Wilson. V. C., is now in command of the British home fleet; while as late as 1893, Japan retained the services of Admiral J. Ingles as naval adviser. Under these auspices the foun- dation was laid of the naval power of this regenerated kingdom.
 For many years the Japanese people had little faith in their fleet; they re- ea rded it as an aristocratic institution and grudged the money spent on ships. This was the state of affairs as late as the outbreak of the war with China. In this struggle the Japanese navy won with ease against the more powerful fleet or China. Japan had few vessels of much fighting value, and not a single modern arrnored ship. She achieved victory by the daring, resourcefulness and Judgment of the officers and the splendid devotion to duty of the crews.
 The world rang with stories of the way in which the Japanese had fought, and these achievements planted In the breasts of the Japanese people a pride not felt before In the marine forces of the island Kingdom. The events which occurred at the time of the signing of the treaty Of peace at Shimonoseki fired the nation newly awakened to the meaning of sea power, with a determination to build and equip a fleet capable of meeting any probable combination of enemies. While Japan was dictating terms to China, Rus sia Germany and France stepped in be- a~d that In the interest of the integrity of China. Japan could not be allowed to hold Port Arthur. which she had captured. Neither Great Britain nor the United States made effective protest against this interefer- ence. The victor had to bow in face or superior force and within short period had the modification of seeing Russian soldiers take over the barracks built dur ing Japanese occupation of Port Arthur, and the sway of the Muscovite power slowly but surely spread over the whole province of Manchuria. The sequence of events was sufficient to rouse the whole people to a resolve to build a fleet which should be able not only to defeat China again If need be, but to hold it's own against any probable European enemy.
 As soon as the war was over the Ja- panese Government, which had two bat tleships already under construction de- cided to put in hand a great ship-buildtnB program which was to occupy British workmen for several years, for all the battleships and most of the cruisers and torpedo craft were ordered from Eng land. The scheme was a gigantic one for a small and commercially backward coun- try like Japan, for Japan is poor. It included no fewer than four flrst-class battleships. and, in addition to smaller craft, six first-class cruisers, so heavily armored and carrying so many big guns as to be battelships in all but name.
 Out of the spells of her fight-for Japan received a heavy indemnity from China the victorious navy has been rebuilt, while the personnel has been doubled. Now the program, which was outlined at the conclusion of hostilities, has been completed, and this year the emperor now a constitutional monarch, but the head of his navy, as Is the German em- peror of the German heet-has had the pride of reviewing his new fleet. So great an expansion in so short a period Is un- exampled in the history of modern na- vies. for not even Germany's growth is comparable to that of Japan, when their relative wealth development and indus trial resources are borne in mind. At the time of the war with China the whole fleet of Japan displaced only about 5000 tons; today the aggregate displacement is oyer 250.0oO tons.
 While this armada has been In process of creation other powers have been add ing to their naval strength in the Far East Russia has hurried from Europe practically every new ship as 1t has been finished, while France also maintains