Daily Kennebec journal., 1905-12-06


war Of a department. wilton slacksA.a
third of the number 0f officers necest
sary to perform the medical sesyice. in
time Of peace. We need rfiep VINO are
not merely doctors; they bust ~ be
trained in the administration Of milf ;
tary medical service.
our navy must. relatively to the ma
vies of other nations. always be 0f
greater size than our army. We have
most wisely continued for number
OF years to build up our navy, and It
mas now reached fairly high STAN
dard of efficiency. This standard of
emclency must not only be MAIN
tained, but increased. 1t does rot
seem to me necessary. bhoxever. that
the navy shouldn't least in the i'm
mediate tutare-be increased beyond
the present number of units. What
Is now clearly necessary'iis to substi-
t'he'2-efficient for inefficient units.
as the latter become worn-out
or as 1t becomes apparent
that they are useless. Probably
the result would be attained by
auoing single battleship to our navy
each year, the superseded or outworn
vessels being laid up or broken up as
they are thus replaced The four single-
turret monitors built Immediately af-
ter the close of the Spanish war, for
instance, are vessels which would be
or but little use in the event OF war.
Tne money spent upon them could
have been more usefully spent in other
ways. Thus it would have been far
better never to have built a single
one OF these monitors and to have
put the money into an ample supply
of reserve guns. Most Of the smaller
cruisers and gunboats. though they
serve as useful purpose so far as they
are needed for international police
work. would not add to the strength
of our navy in a conflict with serious
foe. There is urgent need of pro-
viding a large increase in the number g;
of officers. and especially in the num-
Der OF enlisted men. .9rss "
Recent naval history has emphasized
certain lessons which ought not to, but !.
which do, need emphasis. Seagoing
torpedo boats OF destroyers are indis-
pensable, not only for making night at
tacks by surprise upon an enemy, but
even in battle for finishing already
crippled ships Under exceptional cir
cumstances submarine boats would
doubtless be of use. Fast scouts are
needed. The main strength of the
navy, however, lies and can only lie in
the great battle ships, the heavily arm
ored, heavily-gunned vessels which de-
eide the mastery of the seas. Heavy
armed cruisers also play most useful
part, and unarmed cruisers, if swift
enough, are very useful as scouts. Be
tween antagonists of approximately
equal prowess the comparative perfec-
ton of the instruments of war will
ordinarily determine the fight. But it
is of course true that the man behind
the gun, the man In the engine room. ,
and the man in the coming tower,
considered not only individually. but
especially with regard to the way in
which they work together, are even
more important than the weapons with
which they work. The most formid-
able battle ship is of course helpless
against even a light cruiser If the men
aboard 1t are unable to hit anything
with their guns; and thoroughly WELL
handled cruisers may count seriously
In an engagement with much superior
vessels. if the men aboard the latter =:
are ineffective. whether from lack OF
training or from any other cause Mod
ern war ships are most formidable
mechanisms when well handled, but
they are utterly useless when not well
handled; and they cannot be handled
at all without long and careful train
ing. This training can untler no cir =
cumstance bc given when once war has
broken out. No fighting ship of the
first class should ever be laid UP save
for necessary repairs; and her crew
should be kept constantly exercised on
the high seas. so that she may stand
at the highest point Of perfection. To
put a new unframed crew upon the
most powerful battle ship and send It
out to meet formidable enemy Is not
only to invite but insure disaster and
disgrace. To improvise crews at the
outbreak of war. so far as the serious
fighting craft Is concerned. is absolute
ly hopeless. If the officers and men are
not thoroughly skilled in, and have not
been thoroughly tra ined to, their duties.
it would be far better to keep the ships
in port during hostilities than to send
them against a formidable opponent
for the result could only be that they
would be either sunk or captured. The
craftsmanship of our navy is now on
the whole in gratifying condition,
and there has been great improve
ment In feet practice. We need ad-
ditionIi seamen; we need a large store
OF reserve guns; we need sufficient
money for ample target practice, am
pie practice of every kind at sea. We
should substitute for comparatively in
efficient types-the old third-class bat
tleship Texas, the single-turreted
monitors above mentioned, and indeed
all the monitors and some of the old
cruisers-efficient. modern, seagoing
vessels. Seagoing torpedo-boat de-
stroyers should be substituted for some
Of the smaller torpedo boats. Dur
ing the present Congress there need
be no additions to the aggregate num-
ber of units of the navy. Our navy.
though very small relatively to the
naties Of other nations, is for the pres
ent sufficient III point Of numbers for
our needs and while we must con-
stantly strive to make its efficiency
higher, there need be no additions tn
the total number Of ships now built