The Huttig news., 1907-12-07

| has been made to prepare a medical corps of sufficient size to prevent the | repetition of the same disaster on a much larger scale if we should ever be engaged in a serious conflict.
 But the medical department is not tho only department for which increased pro- vision should be made. Tine rate of pay for the officers should be greatly in- creased there is no higher type of citizen | than the American regular officer, and he | should have fair reward for his ad- | mirabe work. There should be a rela- lively even greater increase in the pay for | the enlisted men. An especial provision should be made for establishing grades equivalent to those of warrant officers In the navy, which should be open 10 the | enlisted men who serve sufficiently long 1 and who do their work well. Inducements l should be offered sufficient to encourage l really good men to make the army life i occupation. The prime needs of our pres- | ent army is to secure and retain compe- | tent noncommissioned officers. This dffi- | culty rests fundamentally on the ques- | ton of pay. The noncommissioned officer does not correspond with an unskilied la boref; he corresponds to the best type of | skilled workman or to the subordinate official in civil institutions Wages have | greatly increased in outside occupations in the last 40 years and the pay of the soldier, like the pay of the officers, should be prop9rtionately increased. The first sergeant of a company, if a good man. must be one of such executive and ad- ministrative ability, and such knowledge of his trade, as to be worth far more than we at present pay him. The same is true of the regimental sergeant major. These men should be men who had fully res solved to make the army life occupa- tion and they should be able to look for ward to ample reward; while only men properly qualified should be given a chance to secure these final rewards. The | be great in the lower grades for the first one or two enlistments, but the increase should be marked for the noncommis- stoned officers of the upper grades who serve long enough to make it evident that they intend to stay permanently in the army, while additional pay should be given for high qualifications in target practice.
 Among the officers there should be severe examinations to weed out the unfit up to the grade of major. From that position on appointments should be solely by selection and 1t should be understood that man of merely aV- craze capacity could never get beyond the position of sajor, while every man who serves in any grade a certain length of time prior to promotion to the next grade without getting the promotion to the next grade should be forthwith retired"
 President Sees Need of
 Largely Increased Navy.
 The president asks for a continuous increase in the navy, and asks present congress for appropriations for four new battleships. and says:
 We need always to remember that in time of war the navy is not to be used to defend harbors and sea coast cities; we should perfect our system of coast fortifcations. The only efficient use for the navy is for offense. The only way in which it can efficiently pro- tect our own coast against the possible action of a foreign navy is by destroy- ing that foreign navy. For defense against 8 hostile fleet which actually attacks them, the coast cities must de- pend upon their forts, mines, torpedoes. submarines and torpedo boats and de- stroyers. All of these together are ef- fcient for defensive purposes, but they in no way supply the place of thor oughly efficient navy capable of acting on the offensive; for parrying never yet won a fight. It can only be won by hard hitting, and aggressive sea-go- ing navy alone can do this hard hitting of the offensive type. But the rorts and the like are necessary so that the navy may be foot1oose In time of war there is sure to be demand, under pres sure of fright. for the ships to be scat tered so as to defend all kind of ports. Under penalty of terrible disaster, this demand must be refused. The ships must be kept together, and their ob-
 
 Notifications are sufficiently strong, no modern navy will venture to attack them, long as the foe has in exist ence a hostile navy of anything like the same size or efficiency. But unless | there exists such a navy then the forti fcations are powerless by themselves to secure the victory. For of course the mere deficiency means that any resolute enemy can at his leisure con- bine all his forces upon one point with the certainty that he can take it.
 Gives Reasons for Despatch : Of Fleet to the Pacific.
 Until our battle fleet is much larger than at present it should never be split into detachments so far apart that they could not in event of emergency be speedily united. Our coast line is on the Pacific just as much the Att lantic. The interests of California, Oregon and Washington are em- | phatically the interests of the whole union as those of Maine and New York. of Louisiana and Texas. The battle fleet should now and then be moved to the Pacific, just as at other times it should be kept in the Atlantic. When the isthmian canal is built the transit of the battle fleet from one ocean to the other will be comparatively easy. Until it is built I earnestly hope that the battle fleet will be thus shifted be- tween the two oceans every year or two The craftsmanship on all our ships has improved phenomenally dur ing the last five years. Until within the last two or three years it was not possible to train battle fleet in squad- ron maneuvers under service conditions, and it is only during these last two or three years that the training under these conditions has become really ef- fective. Another and most necessary stride in advance is now being taken. | The battle fleet is about starting by the Straits of Magellan to visit the Pacific coast. Sixteen battleships are | going under the command of Rear Ad- miral Evans, while eight armored cruisers and two other battleships will meet him at San Francisco. whither certain torpedo destroyers are also go- ing. No fleet of such size has ever made such a voyage, and it will be of l very great educational use to all en- gagged in it. The only way by which to teach officers and men how to handle the fleet so as to meet every possible strain and emergency in time of war is to have them practice under similar