The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1906-12-21

duces to the honor and the interest of
the American nation; and in return the
consideration should be theirs
West Point and Annapolis already
turn out excellent officers. We do not
need to have these schools made more
On the contrary we should
never lose sight of the fact that the
aim of each school is to turn out u man
who shall be above everything else
fighting man. In the Army in particu-
lar it is not necessary that either the |
cavalry or infantry officer should have |
special mathematical ability. Probably |
in both schools the best part of the |
education is the high standard of char |
acter and of professional morale which |
it confers.
But i'm both services there is urgent
need for the establishment of a princi-
pie of selection which will eliminate
men after a certain age if they cannot
be promoted from the subordinate
ranks, and which will bring into the
higher ranks fewer men, and these at
an earlier age. This principle of Sc
lection will be objected to by good men
of mediocre capacity who are fitted to
tons, but who are not fitted to do well
when at an advanced age they come
into positions of command and Of great
responsibility. But the desire of these
men to be promoted to positions which
they are not competent to fill should
not weigh against the interests of the
Navy and the country At present our
mon, especially in the Navy, are kept
far too long in the junior grades, and
then, at much too advanced an age, are
put quickly through the senior grades
grades in which they are too old to be
of real use in them; and if they are of
real use, being put through them so
quickly that little benefit to the Navy
comes from their having been in them
at al.
The Navy has one great advantage
over the Army in the fact that the
officers of high rank are actually
trained in the continual performance
of their duties-that is, in the manage
ment of the battleships and armored
cruisers gathered into fleets. This is
not true of the Army officers, who rare
ly have corresponding chances to e1er-
else command over troops under serv-
ice conditions. The conduct of the
Spanish war showed the lamentable
loss of life, the useless extravaganza
and the inefficiency certain to result,
if during peace the high officials of
the War and Navy departments are
praised and rewarded only if they save
money at no matter what cost to the
efficiency Of the service, and If the
higher officers are given no chance
whatever to exercise and practice COM
mand. For years prior to the Spanish
war the Secretaries Of War were
praised chiefly if they practiced econ
omy, which economy, especially in con-
nection with the quartermaster, COM
missary and medical departments, was
directly responsible for most of the
mismanagement that occurred in the
war itself-and parenthetically be it
observed that the very people who
clamored for the misdirected economy
in the first place We're foremost to de-
nounce the mismanagement, loss and
suffering which were primarily due to
this same misdirected economy and to
the lack of preparation it involved.
There should soon be an increase in
the number of men for our coast de-
lenses.
The readiness and efficiency of both
the Army and Navy in dealing with
the recent sudden crisis in Cuba illus
trate afresh their value to the Nation.
This readiness and efficiency would
have been very much less had it not
been for the existence of the general
staff i'm the Army and the general
board in the Navy; both are essential
in the proper development aud use of
our military forces afoat and ashore.
The troops that were sent to Cuba
were handled fiawlessly. 1t was the
swiftest mobilization and dispatch of
troops over sea ever accomplished by
our Government The expedition
landed completely equipped and ready
for immediate service, several of its
organization hardly remaining in Ha-
vana over night before splitting up into
attachments and going to their several
posts. 1t was a fine demonstration OF
the value and efficiency of the generaI
staff. Similarly, it was owing in large
part to the general board that the
Navy was able at the outset to meet
the Cuban crisis with such instant eff
cheney; ship after ship appearing on
the shortest notice at any threatened
point, while the marine corps in par
ticular DerfOrmad indisnansa hIa qats,yica