The Vinita daily chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1902-1913, 1906-12-04
THE ARMY AND NAVY.
Asks for Maintenance Of Our Present
Sea Strength.

Sea Strength.
The United States navy IS the surest
guarantor OF peace which this country
possesses. It is earnestly to be wisht that
we would profit by the teachings of has
tory in this matter strong ana wise
people will study its own failures no less
than it's triumphs for there Is wisdom TO
be learned from the study Of both, OF the
mistake as well as Of the success. For
this purpose nothing could pc more In
structive than rational study or tne war
Of 1872 as ii is told for instance, by Capt
Mahan. There was only one way IN which
that war could have been avoided. IL
during the preceding ~ years navy reia-
lively as strong as that which this coun-
try now has had been built up, and an
army provided relatively as good as that
which the country now has, there never
would have been the slightest necessity
Of fghting the war and If the necessity
had arisen the war would under such cir
cumstances have ended with our speedy
and overwhelming triumph But our peo-
ple durinE those l2 years refused to make
any preparations whatever, regarding
either the army or the navy. They saved
a million or two Of dollars by so doing;
and in mere money paid a hundredfoid
for each million they thus saved during
the three years of war which followed
q war which brought untold suffering
upon our people, which at one time
threatened the gravest national disaster.
and which, in spite Of the necessity Of
waging It, resulted merely In what was
in effect a drawn battle while the balance
/ do not ask that we continue to IN
crease our navy. | ask merely that it be
maintained at its present strength; and
this can be done only II we replace the
obsolete and outworn ships by new and
good ones, the equals Of any aiiOat in any
navy. To stop building ships for one year
means that for that year the navy goes
back instead Of forward The old battle
ship6Texas, for instance, WOULD now be
% little service IN a stand-up fight with
powerful adversary. The old double
turret monitors have OutWorn their use
fulness. while 1t was waste OF money to
build the. modern single-turret monitors.
All these ships should be replaced by
others; and this can be done by we'll
settled program Of providing for the
building each year Of at least one first
class battleship equal In size and speed 70
any that any nation Is at the same time
building; the armament presumably 70
consist Of as large a number as possible
of very heavy guns Of one caliber. to-
gether with smaller guns TO repel torpedo
attack; while there should pc neaVy ar
NOR turbine engines, and IN short, every
modern device. OF cou&se, from time 70
time, cruisers. colliers, torpedo-boat de-
stroyers or torpedo boats, Will have TO be
built also. All this, be 1t remembered.
would not increase our navy, but would
merely keep II at its present strength.
Equally Of course, the ships viii be abso-
lut.iy useless II the men aboard them
best possible service out OF the formidable
but delicate and complicated mechanisms
intrusted to their care. The marksman-
ship Of our men has so improved during
the last five years that I deem IL within
bounds TO say that the navy Is more than
twice as efficient, ship for ship, as half
decade ago. The navy can only attain
proper efficiency If enough officers and
men are provided, and If these officers
and men are given the chance land re-
quired to take advantage Of it1 70 stay
continually at sea and 70 exercise the
fleets sinPly and above all in squadron
the exercise to be Of every kind and TO
include unceasing practice at the guns,
conducted under conditions that viii test
craftsmanship in time Of war.
in both the army and the navy there IS
urgent need that everything possible
should be done to maintain the highest
standard for the personnel alike as re-
CARDS the officers and the enlisted men.
do not believe that in any service there
is a finer body Of enlisted men and of
Junior officers than we have Ia both
the army and the navy. including the
marine corps. All possible encOura ge-
rnent to the enlisted men should be given,
in pay and otherwise. and everything
practicable done 10 render the service at
fractive to men Of the right type. Ihey
should be held to the strictest discharge
ST their duty. and IN them a spirit should
isa encouraged which demands not the
mere performance OF duty, but the per-
formance of far more than duty. If it
conduces 20 the honor ana sne interest,"
nf the American nations and in return
the amrlest consideration should be
t1eirs
Need New PromotionaI system.
West Point and Annapolis already turn
am excellent officers We do not need
+o have these schools made more scnQias-
fs~ on tire contrary we should never
I1-o 7rnf of the fact that lne ann or
each scao5i Is 10 turn out a man VINO