The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1904-11-29

Washington, November. 23-Hov-
BADLY of the nav is for officers and
now seriously this condition NAV affect
the navy and the nation is plainly told
IN the annual report OF Rear Admiral
George A. Converse. chief of the IN
reau OF navigation. approved by Secre-
a Morton today. Experience. esoA-
cially in gun fire, he says had shown
that IL IS necessary TO increase the
number of officers assigned to shias
so that the estimate made in 1902 oe
the number of officers needed for
shlps IN commission is Inadequate. IF
provided for onlv about one half as
many officers as ships of tne
same class carry in the British. Frenc,
and German navies.
Admiral Converse recommends ina
the number of l~ieutenants be in
creased from $50 to 600 and that -be
number OF lieutenant commanders ha
increased from 200 to 500. .It Is espa-
claily desirable" the admiral sivs
that every battleship and other powerful
vessel requiring the greatest skin ma
- picpVi tIIlClSlcN ShDlid
nave her fluid quota of officers of suit
able rank; vet many OF our battleshlps
nave heutenants as ordnance off Gers
ana several battleships have ns;pn
"hu even mldShlpmen as watch and di-
VISION Officers. This very unsatisfacto-
" anu even dangerous condition is due
10 the many urgent demands for Off
GERS the existing i~nadequacy of NUM-
pels often making it impossible TO de-
tail Officers of annrnnriatn y-analy -
Because of the important part played
ny torpedo craft in the war in the far
east. 4 is deemed advisable that the
larger vessels of this type be command
ca by lieutenant commanders.
authorization by congress Of two vice
aornirals is urgently recommended in
order that u flag officers may no be
beneath foreign officers holding eo1aI
or inferior commands. 1T is manifest
undesirable says the admiral. for
orr lac officers to be beneath all others
In matter Of precedence in International
affairs with which they have to do
- representatives Of the United
States" It is. therefore, recommend
ed that the rank of vic admiraI be
conferred on the officers detailed az
commander in chief of the North Allan
tic and Asiatic fleets.
Regarding the paramount efficiency
Of the battleship and the part playel
by them in the far eastern war Admit
raj Converse saws:
although a hundred and more tor
pedo boats have been actually engaged
for five months against battleships
which have been exposed to attack
times without number. we have yet to
learn authoritatively Of a torpedo from
a torpedo vessel causing the loss of q
single battleship. Those which have
been sun owed their destruction to
submarine mines. anchored or broken
adrift, torpedo vessels not contributing
to the result except by the confusion
and sense OF greater danger due to
their presence. It is evident that in
the final summary of losses the
achievements Of torpedo vessels viii
count less than was at first supposed.
Tt canrot be claimed, therefore, .hat
there has been so far anything to dis
credit the battleship as a type; no. is
any such outcome to be expected from
this a whatever may be the casual
ties among battleShips. To wage sue
cessful warfare with a naval force re-
quireS now, as il has required In all
ages a type of vessel which shall COM
bine in the most effective manner the
qualities OF o~ffense. mobility. defense
endurance, self maintenance. Such
vessels are battleships and they ccnsti-
tute the main strength rs reliance Of
a ma w."