The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-12-04

If all that ought to be done cannot
 now be done, at least let a beginning
 De made. In my last three annual mes
 sages, and in special message to the
 last Congress. the necessity for legisla
 ton that will cause officers of the line
 Of the navy to reach the grades of
 captain and rear admiral at less ad- 1 Vanced ages and which will cause them
 to have more sea training and experi-
 ence in the highly responsible duties of those grades, so that they may become | thoroughly skilled in handling battle shlps, divisions, squadrons, and fleets In action, has been fully explained and urgently recommended. Upon this sub . l Ject the Secretary of the Navy has sub mitted detailed and definite recommen- dat1ons which have received my ap- ! proval, and which, if enacted into law, 1 Will accomplish what Is immediately | necessary, and will. as compared with existing law, make a saving of more l than five millions of dollars during the 1 next seven years. The navy personnel act of 1899 has accomplished all that was expected of 1t in providing satis- | factory periods of service in the sev- l eral subordinate grades, from the grade | Of ensign to the grade of lieutenant commander, but the law is inadequate | in the upper grades and will continue to be inadequate on account of the ex-
 
 ! actment Your attention Is invited to ] the following quotations from the re- 1 port of the personnel board of 1906, of which the Assistant Secretary of the l Navy was president
 Congress has authorized a consid- erable increase in the number of mid | shipmen at the naval academy and l these midshipmen upon graduation are I promoted to ensign and lieutenant
 junior grade). But no provision has l been made for a corresponding increase In the upper grades, the result being that the lower grades will become so congested that a midshipman now in one of the lowest classes at Annapolis may possibly not be promoted to lieu tenant until he is between 45 and 50 l years of age. So it will continue un- der the present law. congesting at the l top and congesting at the bottom. The country fails to get from the officers l of the service the best that Is In them l by not providing opportunity for their normal development and training. The 1 board believes that this works a serious detriment to the efficiency of the navy and Is a real menace to the public 1 safety"
 AS stated in my special message to the last Congress: 'I am firmly of the opinion that unless the present condi- 1 tions of the higher commissioned per sonnel Is rectihed by judicious legis- | lation the future of our navy will be 1 gravely compromised" It Is also urg- i ently necessary to increase the eff ciency of the medical corps of the navy. Special legislation to this end has already been proposed; and trust ! 1t may be enacted without delay.
 It must be remembered that every thing done in the navy to fit 1t to do we'll In time of war must be done in l time of peace. Modern wars are short; they do not last the length of time re- quired to build a battleship; and 1t | takes longer to train the officers and men to do well on d battleship than 1t l takes to build 1t. Nothing effective 1 can be done for the navy once war has l begun, and the result of the war, IT the 1 comDatants are otherwise equally | matched, will depend upon which pow CT has prepared best in time of peace. 1 The United States navy Is the best 1 guarantey the nation has that its hon or and interest will not be neglected, and in addition it offers by far the best 1 insurance for peace that can by hu- man ingenuity be devised. I call attention to the report of the of- l fcial board of visitors to the Navai academy at Annapolis, which has been 1 forwarded to the Congress. The report | contains this paragraph:
 "Such revision should be made or the l courses of study and methods or con ducting and marking examinations as VIII | develop and bring out the average aH- l round ability of the midsh1pman rather l than to give him prominence in any one 1 particular study. The fact should pc kept in mind that the Naval academy IS | not a university but a school, the pri- mary object of which is to educate boys | to be efficient naval officers. Changes In curriculum, therefore, should be ln' the 1 direction of making the course or in- 1 struction less theoretical and more prac- l tical No portion of any future class 1 should be graduated In advance or the l full four years course, and unoer no 1 circumstances should the standard or ln- | struction be lowered The academy in almost all of it's departments Is now mag | nifcently equipped, and 1t would be very | unwise to make the course of instructon less exacting than 1t is today"
 Acting upon this suggestion I designated 1 three seagoing officers. Capt Richard l Wainwright, Commander Robert B. GrH- l fin, and Lieut. Commander Albert l.. Key, all graduates of the academy, to investi- l gate conditions and to recommend to me l the best method of carrying into effect l this general recommendation. These or 1 fcers performed their duty promptly ana | intellgently, and, under the personal di- | reetion of Capt Charles J. Badger, super l 1n1enuent or the dcducHiy, SuNh oi e-AS | proposed changes as were deemed 10 De | at present advisable were put Into effect 1 at the beginning of the academic year, 1 October 1 last. The results, l am confi- | dent, will be most beneficial to the acad- 1 emy, to the midshipmen, and to the navy.
 Foreign Affairs.
 In foreign affairs this country's steady | policy is to behave toward other nations
 as a strong and self-respecting man | should behave toward the other men With | whom he is brought into contcat. In | other words, our aim is disnterestedly To | help other nations where such help can | be wisely given without the appearance | of meddling with what does not concern 1 us: to be careful to act as good neigh 1 bor: and at the same time, In good-na- | tured fashion, to make 1t evident that we
 do not intend to be imposed upon.
 The Hague.
 The Second International Peace confer 1 ence was convened at The Hague on the | 18th of June last ana remained in session | until the 18th of October. For the first | time the representatives of practically l all the civilized countries of the world l united in a temperate and kindly discus 1 sion of the methods by which the causes
 of war might be narrowed and Its tn- jurious effects reduced.
 Although the agreements reached in the | conference did not in any direction go to
 the length hoped for by the more san | guine yet in many directions important | steps were taken, and upon every sub ject on the programme there was such full and considerate discussion as to just | +t,l