Arizona republican., 1906-12-05

VIII De eSlapllsneQ: next season a
 United States war vessel will also be sent there.
 We have not relaxed our efforts to secure an agreement with Great Brit ain for adequate protection of the seal herd, and negotiations with Japan for the same purpose are in progress.
 The laws for the protection of the seals within the jurisdiction of the United States need revision and amendment. only the islands of St Paul and St. George are now, in terms included in the government reserva- tion, and the other islands are also to be included The landing of aliens as well as citizens upon the islands. with out a permit from the department of commerce and labor, for any purpose except in case of stress of weather or for water, should be prohibited under vessels for the excepted purposes should be regulated. The authority Of the government agents on the islands should be enlarged. and the chief agent should have the powers of committing magistrate. The entrance of a vessel into the territorial waters surrounding the islands with intent to take seals should be made a criminal offense and cause of forfeiture. Au- thority for seizures in such cases should be given and the presence on any such vessel of seals or seal skins, or the paraphernalia for taking them, should be made pyima facie evidence of such intent. I recommend what legis- lation is needed to accomplish these ends: and commend to your atten- ton the report of MT. Sims of the de- partment of commerce and labor on this subject.
 In case we are compelled to abandon the hope of making arrangements with other governments to put an end to the hideous cruelty now incident 10 pelagic sealing. it will be a question for your serious consideration how far we should continue to protect and main tain the seal herd on land with the re- suit of continuing such a practice, and whether it is not better to end the practice by exterminating the herd ourselves in the most humane way possible.
 A GUARANToR OF PEACE.
 The United States navy is the surest guarantor of peace which this country possesses. It is earnestly to be wished that we would profit by the teachings of history in this matter. A strong and wise people will study its own failures no less than its triumphs, for there is wisdom to be learned from the study of both, of the mistake as well as of the success.
 do not ask that we continue to in crease our navy. I 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 building 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 stand-up fight with a powerful adver- sary. The old double-turret monitors have outworn their usefulness. while it was a waste of money to build the modern single-turret monitors. All these ships should be replaced by oth- CTS: and this car be done by a we'll settled program of providing for the building each year of at least one first class battleship equal in size and speed to any that any nation is at the same time building; the armament pre- sumably 10 consist of as large a num- Der as possible of very heavy guns of one caliber. together with smaller guns to repel torpedo attack; while there should be heavy amor. turbine en- zines. and in short. every modern de. vice. Of course from time to time. cruisers. colliers. torpedo boat de- stroyers or torpedo boats. will have to be built also. All this. be it remem- bered, would not increase our navy, but would merely keep it at its present strength. Equally 1f course. the ships will be absolutely useless if the men aboard them are not so trained that they can get the best possible service out of the formidable but delicate and complicated mechanisms intrusted to their care. The craftsmanship of our men has so improved during the last five years that I deem it within bounds to say that the navy is more than twice as efficient, ship for ship, as half a 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 (and required to take advantage of it) to stay continually at sea and to exercise the fleets singly and above all in squadron. the exercise to be of every kind and to include unceasing prac- tice at the guns. conducted under con- ditions that will 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 regards the officers and the enlisted men. I do not believe that in any service there is finer body of enlisted men and junior officers than we have in both the army and the navy, includ- ing the marine corps. All possible encouragement 10 the enlisted men should be given, in pay and otherwise, and everything practicable done to render the service attractive to men of the right type. They should be held q. rfr nf fhaft- Inf