The Julesburg grit-advocate., 1907-12-06

corps of sufficient size to prevent the
repetition of the same disaster a
much larger scale If We should ever bo
engaged in serious conflict
But the medical department is not tho
only department for which Increased pro-
vision should be made. The 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 ii fair reward for his ad-
mira BILE work. There should be a rela-
lively even greater increase in the pay for
the enlisted men. An especial proviSion
should he made for establishing grades
equivalent To those of warrant officers In
The navy. which should be open to tho
enlisted men who serve sufficiently long
and who do their work well Inducements
should be offered sufficient to encourage
really good men to make the army IA hfe
occupation. The prime needs of our pres
ent army is to secure and retain coinpe-
tent noncommssioned officers. This DIM
Guilty rests fundamentally on the queS-
ton of pay tn" noncommissioned officer
does not correspond with an unskillcd la
borer. lie corresponds to the best type of
skilled workman or to the subordinate
official in civil institutions. Wages have
greatly increased in outside occupations
in III" last 4o years and the pay OF tho
soldier like the pay of the officers. should
be proport tionately increased. The first
sergeant of company. If good man.
must he one of such executive and ad-
ministrative ability, and such knowledge
Of his trade, as to be worth far more than
at present pay him, The same is true
of the regimentai sergeant major, These
men should he men who had fully re-
solved to make the army life occupl-
ton 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
I'M. ont plv
be great in the lower grades for the frst
one or two enlistmcnts. but the increass
should he marked for the noncommis-
stoned officers Of the upper grades who
serve long enough to make 1t evident that
they intend to stay permanently in tho
army. while additional pay should bo
given for high qualifications in target
practice.
Among the officers there should bo
severe examinations to weed out tho
unfit up to the grade of jor. From
that position on appointments should
be solely by selection and 1t should b
understood that man of merely aE-
crage capacity could never get beyond
the position of major. while every man
who serves in any grade n certain
length of tim" prior to promotion to
the next grade without getting the
promotion to the next grade should bo
orthwith 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 bnttleships. and says:
I'VE need always to remember that
in tim. Of war the navy is not to he
used to defend hnrbors and sea coast
cities: we should perfect our system OF
coast fortincationS. The only efficient
use for the navy is for ofrcnse. The
only way in which it can efficiently prU-
tect our own coast against the possible
action Of a foreign navy is by destroy
ing that foreign navy. For defense
against a hostile fleet which actually
attacks them. the coast cities must de-
pend upon their forts. mines. torDedoes.
submarines and torpedo boats and de-
stroycrs. All of these together are ef-
iiclcnt for defensive purposes but they
in no way supply the place of a thor
oughly efficient navy capable of acting
on the offensive; for parrying never yet
won n fight. 1t can only be won BY
hard hitting. and an aggressive sea-So-
ing navy alone can do this hard hitting
of the offensive type. But the forts
and the like are necessary so that the
navy may be footloosc. In time OF wn-
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 he kept together. and their OBJ
jcctiv" made the enemies fleet. II
fortifications are sufficiently strong. no
modern navy will venture to attack
them. long the foe has in exist
oncc hostile navy of anything like
the same size or efficiency. But unless
there exists such navy then the foru-
flea ations are powcrlesS by Themselves
to secure the victory. For of course
deficiency
rcsolutc enemy can at his leisure COM
bine all his forces upon one point with
the certainty that he can take 1t.
Gives Rensons for Dc-pntch
OF Fleet to the Pncif1r.
Until our battle feet is much larger
than at present it should never be split
into dctachments so far apart that they
could not in event of emergency bs
speedily united. Our coast line Is on
the Pacific just as much as on the Al
lantic. The interests OF California,
Oregon and Washington are AS en-
phatically the interests of the whole
union as those of Maine ana New York,
Of Louisiana and Texas. Tho battle
feet should now and then be moved to
the Pacific. just as at other times -
should be kept in the Atlantic. When
the isthmian canal is built the transit
of the battle fleet from ocean to
the other will he comparatively easy
Until 1t is built I earnestly hope that
the battle fleet will be thus shifted be-
tween the two oceans every year or
two. The marksmanship 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 a battle fleet in squad
ron maneuvcrs under service conditions
and it is only during these last two or
three years that the training under
these conditions has become really ef-
fcctive. Another and most necessary
stride in advance is now being taken.
he battle fleet is about starting by
the Straits of Magellan to visit the
Pacific coast Sixteen battl.ships are
going under the command Of Rear ad-
miral Evans while eight arlnpred
cruisers and two other battleships viii
meet him at San Francisco. whittier
certain torpedo dcstroycrs are also go
ing. No fleet of such size has ever
made such a voyage. and II VIII he OF
very great educational use to all en-
gagged in 1t. 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 II
have them practice under similar