Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-07-22

nation. SO far, that has made the best
success of combined naval and maritime
forces is Italy, and that country is expert
encing many drawbacks on that very &C
count" So said prominent diplomat be-
fore departing for Europe.
But speaking of Russia as naval
power, and all the schemes she Is planning
in order to secure one or more ports on
the Baltic, I will say that Russia's task
of building a great navy Is mighty, II not
impossible. In this respect, though, Russia
is very fortunate, even though she does not
know 1t.
Russian Idle Dreams
'It has long been known that Russia
is always scheming. and her friends and
sycophants are continually speaking of her
being powerful conjuring up phantom
pictures of what she could do IL she would.
There is very little heard now, however,
of the hundreds of thousands of men under
arms OF whom 1t was the custom to boast
not very long ago-just before the Russo
Japanese war. We-that Is to say, the
world-are asked today to marvel at what
the navy OF Russia will be when 1t has
been built up once more. It is an idle task
TO anticipate the events of tho inscrutable
future, but this form OF prophecy Is one OF
Russia's most valuable national assets. She
Is, and always has been. feared not for
count of what her apologists claim she can
do.
Russia has been forced to abdicate her
naval position In the west in order to deal
with the situation In the far east" con-
tinued the diplomat. But she has never
really been maritime nation. Her people
are land people, and they have never
acquired the sea habit. Since ~She time Of
Peter the Great, she has had navy. an
exotic and purely political instrument as
it Is generally known at the foreign chan
celleries She won her naval prestige who'll
ly by her wars with Turkey and Sweden In
the last century
II shall CALI to your attention the report
of Mr.. Archibald 8. Hurd. an English naval
expert. which was eagerly sought by the
officials Of all the European powers at the
time 1t was made. His report which was
unofficial, was purely scientific, but of the
Russian navy he said:
Revelations by Naval Expert
Tt was bad day for Russia when me-
chantcal propulsion for vessels was intro
doced. She has never had many born me-
chanics. She had a fair supply of sailors
Of splendid courage and magnificent hardi-
hood, but she possessed no system Of edu-
cation and no trades to provide the seamen
of the new type. instinct with mechanical
aptitude AS the years passed and the
domination OF physical science on board
men-of-war became more and more pro-
nounced. the Russian deficiency became
more and more apparent. No nation with
out high technique can maintain great
fleet In efficiency these days Russia re-
fused TO face the situation. The admiralty
at st. Petersburg still looked upon mere
ships as synonymous with sea power. and
additions we've made to the neef with niue
or nolregard to the utmost important rae,
tors properly educated and weil-trained
crews.
" As the demand for more seamen IN
creased mem were called from the heids IN
districts Tar removed from the sea- They
had no love for tho life, the sea was TO
them force which they did not wish TO
understand and at the same time they were
1ackinv n fnteIffgence and In all mechan-
lcai knowledge. They were agricultural
laborors and nothing more The Greater