Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1906-12-04

guarantor OF pence which this country
possesses. 1t is earnestly to be wished
that we would profit by the teachings
Of history in this matter. A strong
and wise people will study it's own fall
ures no less than its triumphs, for
there Is wisdom to be learned from the
study OF both, Of the. mistake as well
ais of the success. For this purpose
nothing could be more instructive than
d rational study of the war Of 1872 as
1t is told, for instance. by Captain
Mahan. There was only one way In
which that war could have been avoid
ed. II during the preceding twelve
years a navy relatively as strong as
that which this country 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
fighting the war, and IL the necessity
had arisen the war would under such
circumstances have ended with our
speedy and overwhelming triumph.
But our people during those twelve
years refused to make any prepara-
tons whatever regarding either the
army or the navy. They saved q mil
! lien or two Of dollars by SO doing and
in mere money paid a hundredfold for
each million they thus saved during
the three years Of war which followed
Ia war which brought untold suffering
/ upon our people, which at one time
! ~. %1,,|r 0l
! ter and which, In spite Of the necessity
! Of waging it, resulted merely in what
! was in effect drawn battle, while the
balance OF defeat and triumph was al
most even. f. -. +.
T.. 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 If
/, we replace the obsolete and outworn
! ships by new and good ones, the
equals Of any afioat In any navy. To
stop buildings ships for one year
means that for that year the navy
goes back instead of forward. The old
battleship Texas. for instance, would
now be Of little service in a standup
fight with a powerful adversary. The
old double turret monitors have out
worn their usefulness, while 1t was a
waste Of money to build the modern
single turret monitors. All these ships
should be replaced by others, and this
can be done by well settled pro-
: gramme Of providing for the building
each year Of at least one first class
battieship equal In size and speed to
any that any nation Is at the same
time building, the armament presum
j. ably to consist of as large number
as possible Of very heavy guns Of one
caliber, together with smaller guns tt
repel torpedo attack, while there
: should be heavy armor, turbine en-
gines and, in short, every modern de
vice. OF course from time to time
cruisers, Golfers, torpedo boat destroy
4 ers or torpedo boats will have to b.
built also. All this. be 1t remembered
would not increase our navy, bu
would merely keep 1t at its presen
. strength. Equally, of course, the ship!
1 will be absolutely useless IL the me1
aboard them are not so trained tina
Il they can get the best possible service
I out Of the formidable but delicate. ant
complicated mechanisms intrusted tt
i. their care. The craftsmanship of oul
men has so improved during the las
Eve years that deem 1t within bounds
to say that the navy Is more thar
twice as efficient, ship for ship. as hall
a decade ago. The navy can only at
tain proper efficiency If enough officer:
and men are provided and If thes.
officers and men are given the chance
land required to take advantage Of it
to stay continually at sea and to exer
else the fleets singly and aheye all IL
squadron, the exercise to be Of ever
/ kind and to include unceasing practic
! at the guns conducted under cond
, tons that will test craftsmanship /
/ time Of war. s.as4S2S5s ~ p:
Maintain High Standard. 4
, In both the army and the navy Their
. is urgent need that everything possibl
should be done to maintain the highes
! standard for the personnel alike as n
CARDS the officers and the enlisted mel
I do not believe that in any seryic
) there is a finer body of enlisted me
), and Of junior officers than we have
Z both the army and the navy, includin
the marine corps. All possible encou
z y agement to the enlisted men should b
J, J, given in pay and otherwise and ever,
: thing practicable done to render til
Z service attractive to men Of the rigl
0 type. They should be held to til
s strictest discharge Of their duty, and
them a spirit should be encourage
which demands not the mere perform
4 ance OF duty, but the performance
s far more than duty il it conduces
q the honor and the interest Of the Anne
lean nation. and In return the ample
conside rat lion should be theirs.
Il West Point and Annapolis alread
g turn out excellent officers. We do NJ
+ need to have these schools made MOI
scholastic. On the contrary, we shou
d never lose sight Of the fact that Il
q aim OF each school is to turn out
AS