Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1907-12-06


repetition of the same disaster on
much larger scae n We should ever y
engaged in q serious conflict
But the medical department 10 not the
only department for which increased pp- /.
vision should be made The rate Of pay
for the officers should b greatly In
creased: there 10 no higher type Of citizen
than the American regular oficer. and ne
should have q fair reward for his sd-
mirable work. There should be rela-
lively even greater increase In the pay for
the enlisted men. An especial provision
should be made for establishing gra1es
equivalent TO those Of warrant oficers n
the navy. which should be open TO the
enlisted men who serve sufficiently }ongt
and who do their work well Inducements
should be offered sufncient TO encourage
really good men TO make the army LIE
occupation. The prime needs Of our pres
ent army Is TO secure and retain compe-
tent noncommissioned officers This din
Guilty rests fundamentally on the ques-
ton OF pay The noncommissioned officer
does not correspond with an unskilled la
borer 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 Ike the pay Of the officers should
be proportionately increased. The first
sergeant Of a company. II a good man,
must be one Of such executive and adj
ministrative ability. and such knowledge.
OF his trade, as TO be worth far more thap
we at present pay him. The same is true
OF the regimental sergeant major. These
men should be men who had fully re- ,
solved to make the army a life occupa-
ton and they should be able 20 look for
ward TO ample reward: while only men
properly qualified should be given z
chance 10 secure these final rewards. This
increase over the present pay need not
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 ' 10
serve long enough TO make II evident tat
they intend to stay permanently in the I
army, while additional pay should bs
given for high qualifications In tar6et
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 II should be-
understood that a man OF merely av1
erage capacity could never get beyond
the position OF major, while every mani
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:
I'VE need always TO remember that
in time OF war the navy is not to be
used to defend harbors and sea-coasd
cities; we should perfect our system of
coast Notifications The only eficienq
use for the navy 10 for offense The
only way in which II can efficiently prof.
tect our own coast against the possible
action OF foreign navy is by destroy-
ing that foreign navy. For defense
against a hostile feet which sctually
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 eff
fcient for defensive purposes. but they
in no way supply the place OF thor-l
oughly efficient navy capable OF actingl
on the offensive; for parrying never yeti
won a fight. II can only be won byl
hard hitting and an aggressive sea-go- I
ing navy alone can do this hard hittingl
OF the offensive type. But the forts
and the like are necessary so that thel
navy may be footloose. In time OF war
there is sure to be demand. under pres
sure Of fright. for the ships TO be scat
tered so as 10 defend all kind OF ports
Under penalty OF terrible disaster. this
demand must be refused. The ships
must be kept together. and their OBJ
jective made the enemies feet III
Notifications are sufficiently strong. mol
modern navy will venture to attack
them. so long as the foe has in exist
ence a hostile navy Of anything like
the same size or efficiency But unlessl.
there exists such a navy then the forth
fcatiGns are powerlcss by themselves
10 secure the victory For OF course
the mere deficiency means that anY
resolute enemy can AT his leisure conn.,
bine all his forces upon one point with
the certainty that he can take H.
Gives Reasons for Despatch
OF Fleet tn the Pacific.
Until our battle feet is much larger
than at present II should never be split.
into attachments so far apart that they
could not in event OF emergency be
speedily united. Our coast line 10 on
the Pacific just as much as on the At
lantic. The interests OF California.
Oregon and Washington are as en-
phatically the interests OF the whole
union as those Of Maine and New York.
Of Louisiana and Texas. The battle
feet should now and then be moved to
the Pacific. just as at other times II
should be kept in the Atlantic. When
the isthmian canal is built the transit
Of the battle feet 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 AL our
ships has improved phenomenaIly dur
Ing the last five years. Until within
the last two or three years IT, was aot 4.
possible to train battle feet in SQUAD
ron maneuvers under service conditions
and II Is only during these last two or
three years that the training under :
these conditions has become really eff
fective. Another and most necessary
stride In advance is now being taken.
The battle feet is about startiAg bv
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 win
meet him at San Francisco whithar
certain torpedo destroyers are also 90
Ing No feet Of such size has ever
made such voyage. and II will be OF
very great educational use to ali en-
gagged in It, The only way by which 10
teach officers and men how to handle
the heet so as TO meet every possible.