The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1905-07-14

i
smallest, poorest, and least "ciy
ilized" of the powers to prick tn
bubble which Russian agents ha,
industriously blown, with the re
suit that Russia's military pres
tige for months past has bee
sinking in the eyes of the world
and she has ceased, for the time
to be a naval power of any con
sequence.
Russia, Mr.. Hurd continues
has been forced to abdicate he,
naval position in the West in or.
der to deal with the situation ir
the far East. But she has never
really been a maritime nation.
Since the time of Peter the Great
she has had a navy, IAN exotic
and purely political instrument "
She won her naval prestige
wholly by her wars with Turkey
and Sweden in the last cent? ,.
II was 2 bad day for Russia, ne
are told, further; when rnecban
ical propulsion for vessels was
introduced. She has never had had
many born mechanics.
She had a fair supply of sail
ors of splendid courage and MAG
nifcent hardihood, but She pos
sessed no system of education
and no trades to provide the sea-
men of the new type, instinct
with mechanical aptitude. AS
the years passed and the domina-
tion of physical science on board
of men-of-war became more and
more pronounced, the Russian
deficiency became increasingly
apparent. No nation without
high technique can maintain a
great fleet in efficiency in these
days. Russia refused to face
ehe situation. The admiralty at
st: Petersburg still looked upon
the mere ships as synonymous
with.sea power, and additie,se1
or no ~ resa1G II 56 the most import
ant faOtors-properly educated
and vell-trained crews. AS the
demand for more seamen in
the Sefds in districts far re- re-
moved from the sea. They had
no love of the life, the sea was
to them a force which they did
not understand and did not wish
to understand, and at the same
time they were lacking in intel
ligence and in all mechanical
knowledge. They were agricul-
tural laborers, that and nothing
more. The greater the fleet be-
came-the more rapidly ships
were built in French, German,
American and Russian shipyards
the more apparent became the
difficulty to obtain crews, and
year by year the quality of the
personnel fell. 1t is not sug-
gested that the Russian sailor
has been or is devoid of courage.
On the contrary, he has always
been brave and daring, and in
the present war he has shown
his metal on many occasions.
But the day has passed when
brute courage, unallied with an
active, trained mind and mechan-
ical skill, counted for much in
naval warfare. While Russia
should have been concentrating
attention on the means of train
ing men for her fleet, she was
satisfied with building ships, or
ordering them abroad ships,
still more ships-under the de-
lusion that these vessels, howev-
er inadequately manned, meant
power.
When we remember, also,
Russia's geographical position,
we can we'll understand her diff.
culties in creating a powerful
navy.
She had to organize four ma
vies-one for the East, one fol-
the Caspian Sea, one for the Bal.
tic, and another immured in the
Black Sea by the treaty of Paris
She had to utilize the Baltic fol
the training of her main SCI
| forces, and here each year thu
winter closed up the waters early
and failed to release them unit
late in the Spring. All th'
months which Great Britain ant
the United States employ il
training were useless to the Rus
sian admiralty.
The dispatch of these ships t
the East, the United Servic
writer admits, was an unparal
leled event. 'It is the most i'm
posing force which has eve
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