Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1904-12-06

as has been witnessed both in Armenia
and Macedonia. 49, ,.,,.. s4[:.. ~. >s,.4=
| y The Navy. r.. ~ r..
! Tie strong arm of the government in
enforcing respect for its just rights In
international matters is the navy Of
the United States. 1 most earnestly
recommend that there be no halt in the
work of upbuildipg the American navy
There is no more patriotic duty before
us as a people than to keep the navy
adequate to the needs of this country'f
| position. We have undertaken to builC
the isthnian canal. We have under
taken to secure for ourselves our JUS
share in the trade Of the orient. W.
have undertaken to protect our citi
zens from improper treatment in for
eign lands. We continue steadily tt
insist OH the application of the Monrot
| doctrine to the western hemisphere
Unless our attitude in these and al
similar matters is to be mere boast
ful sham we cannot afford to abandon
our naval programme. Our voice l:
now potent for peace and is so potent
because we are not afraid of war. Blu
our protestations upon behalf of peace
! would neither receive nor deserve the
slightest attention if we were impoten
! to make them good.
The war which now unfortunately
RACES in the far east has emphasized
In striking fashion the new possibili
| ties Of naval warfare The lessons
taught are both strategic and tactica
| and are political as well as military
The experiences Of the war have shown
In conclusive fashion that, while sea
going and sea keeping torpedo destroy
| ers are indispensable and fast, lightly
armed and armored cruisers very use
full, yet that the main reliance, the
main standby in any navy worthy the
name must be the great battleships
heavily armored and heavily gunned
Not Russian or Japanese battleshir
has been sunk by torpedo boat or by
gun fire, while among the Jess protected
ships cruiser after cruiser has been de.
stroyed whenever the hostile squad.
rons have got within range Of one an.
others weapons. There will always be
large field of usefulness for cruisers.
especially Of the more formidable type
We need to increase the number of tor.
pedo boat destroyers, paying less heed
to their having q knot or two extra
speed than to their capacity to keep
the seas for weeks and If necessary
Tnnrfho a iS Yyricn RI
build submarine torpedo boats, as un.
der certain circumstances they might
be very useful. But most Of all we
need to continue building our feet OF
battleships or ships so powerfully arm.
ed that they can inflict the maximum
Of damage upon our opponents, and So
well protected that they can suffer a
severe hammering in return without
fatal impairment Of their ability to
fight and maneuver. Of course ample
means must be provided for enabling
the personnel Of the navy to be brought
to the highest point of efficiency. Our
great fighting ships and torpedo boats
must be ceaselessly trained and maneu.
vered in squadrons. The officers and
men can only learn their trade thor.
oughly by ceaseless practice on the
high seas. In the event Of war it
would be far better to have no ships
at all than to have ships of poor and
ineffective type or ships which, how
ever good, were yet manned by un.
trained and unskillful crews. The best
officers and men in poor ship could do
nothing against fairly good opponents,
and, on the other hand, a modern war.
ship Is useless unless the officers and
men aboard her have become adopts in
their duties. The craftsmanship in
our navy has improved in an extraor.
binary degree during the last three
years, and on the whole the types Of
our battleships are improving, but
much remains to be done. Sooner or
later we shall have to provide for some
method by which there will be promo
lions for merit as we'll as for seniority,
or else retirement of all those who
after a certain age have not advanced
beyond certain grade, while no eff.
fort must be spared to make the serv-
ice attractive to the enlisted men in
order that they may be kept as long as
possible in it. Reservation public
schools should be provided wherever
there are navy yards. .e s''i
!. .",. The Army, ~: -.
Within the last three years the
! United States has set an example in
disarmament where disarmament was
proper. By law our army is fixed at q
maximum Of 100000 and a minimum
Of 10000 men. When there was insur-
rection in the Philippines we kept the
army at the maximum. Peace came IN
the Philippines, and now our army has
been reduced to the minimum at
which it is possible to keep it with due
regard to it's efficiency. The guns now
mounted require $4,000 men il the
coast Notifications are to be adequate.
~ manned. Relatively to the nation 1t ia
not now so large as the police force Of
New York or Chicago relatively to the
population Of either city. We need
more officers. There are: not enough to
perform the regular army work. It is
very important that the officers of the
army should be accustomed to handle