The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1908-12-10

tillery are too few in number for our
needs. Especial attention should be paid
to development OF the machine gun. "A
general service corps should be estab-
Hshedy AS things are now, the average
soldier has far too much labor of q nom
mlltary character to perform.
National Guard.
Now that the organized militia, the Ma
tional Guard, has been incorporated with
the army as q part OF the national forces,
II behooyes the government to do every
reasonable thing in its power TO perfect
its efficiency. 1t should be assisted in its
Instruction. ana otherwise aided more lib
orally than heretofore; The continuous
officers viii be essential In this connec-
ton. Such officers must be. specially
trained at service schools best to qualify
them as instructors of the National
Guard. But the detailing OF officers for
training at the. service schools and for
ntaansSinri fhesm me from Mnoig phair T resim wbich
are already greatly depleted by detach-
ment OF officers for assignment to duties
A bill Is now pending before the con-
gress creating a number of extra officers
In the army, which If passed, as 1t ought
trained as instructors OF National Guard
and assigned to that duty. In case. of
war IL Will be of the utmost importance
TO have a large number of trained officers
to use for turning raw levies into good
There should be legislation to provide
body OF volunteers behind the regular
army and national guard when war has
come. Congressiona assistance should be
given those who are endeaYoring to pro-
mote rifle practice So that our men, In
the services or out OF them, may know
how to use the rifle. While teams repre-
senting the United States won the rife
and revolver championships OF the world
against all comers in England this year,
IL is unfortunately true that the great
hnnV nf MIR Rtfiznnot ahnnt 1naI aud lAgq
as time goes on. To meet this, we should
encourage rifle practice among school
S Ssi az ana ID Ind iRde m among M asrJ al classes w sysS as
means in our power Thus, and not
otherwise, may we be able to assist in
preserving the peace Of the world. Fit to
of the earth our voice for peace will
carry to the ends of the earth. Umpire
dumb and helpless to defend ourselves.
protect others, or preserve peace. The
first step-in the direction of preparation
war II IL should COMETS to teach our
men how to shoot.
.'..,... The Navy.
I approve the recommendations OF tho
general board for the increase of the navy,
additional d~estroyers and Golfers, and
above all, of the four b~attleships. 1t Is
desirable to complete as soon as possible
a squadron of eight battleshipS of the best
existing type. The North Dakota, Della
ware, Florida and Utah will form the first
division of this squadron. The four yes
sells proposed will form the second diyi-
sion. 1t will be an Improvement on the
first, the ships being of the heavy, single
caliber, all big gun type. All the vessels
should have the same tactical QUALITIES
near as possible these tactical qualities
hould be the same as Is in the four yes
sells before named now being built.
l most earnestly that the
general hoard he nv law turned into q gem
eral staff. There is literally no excuse
whatever for continuing the present Du-
reau organization of the navy. The navy
should be treated as a purely military or
ganizatton, and everything should be sub
Ordinated 20 the one object OF. securing
military efficiency. Such murray eth.
cheney can only be guaranteed In time or
war If there is the most thorou~ III previous
preparation in time Of peace-a prepare
ton, ] may add, which will In all proba-
bility prevent any need Of war. The sec
rotary must be supreme, n he should
have as his official advisers a body OF line
officers who should themselves have tho
power to pass upon and coordinate all the
work and all the proposals Of the several
bureaus. A system of promotion by mer-
1t, either by selection or by exclusion, or
by both processes, should be introduced.
1t is out OF the question, II the present
principle of promotion by mere seniority Is
kept, to expect to get the best results from
the higher officers. Our men come too
old, and stay for too short a time, in the
high positions.
Two hospital ships should DE provided.
The actual experience OF the hospital shlp
with the feet in the Pacific has shown the
invaluable work which u a ship does,
and has also proved that 1t Is well to nave
it kept under the command of a medical
officer. AS was TO be expected, all OF the
a~nticipations of trouble from such a COM
mand have proved completely baseless.
1t Is as absurd to put a hospital ship under
a line officer as 1t would be to put a hos
pital on shore under such q command.
This ought to have been realized before,
and there is no excuse for failure to real
lie 1t now.
standpoint has ever occurred than the
cruise of the battle feet around the world.
The Improvement OF the ships In every
way has been extraordinary, and they
tactics than they would have game II
they had stayed in the Atlantic waters
The American people have cause for pro
found qualification, both in view of the
excellent condition Of the fleet as shown
by this cruise, and In view OF the improve
ment the cruise has worked in this al
there is any other service In the world
in which the average OF character and
efficiency in the enlisted men Is as high as
the same statement can be made as to our
officers, taken as a whole; but there must
be reservation made In regard to those In
the highest ranks-as to which I have al
ready ~spoken-and In regard to those who
have Just entered the service; because we
do not now get full benefit from our ex-
cellent naval cho at Annapolis. It Is
absurd not to graduate the midshipmen as
ensigns:t to keep them for two years in
such an anomalous position as at present
the law requires Is detrimental to them
and to the service. In the academy itself,
every first classman should be required in
turn to serve as petty officer and officer;
his ability to discharge his duties as such
should be a prerequisite to his going into
the line, and his. success in commanding
should largely determine his standing at
graduation. The board Of visitors should
be appointed in January. and each mem
Der should be required to give at least six
days service. only from M to three days
to be performed during June week, which
is the least desirable time for the board to.
be at Annapoli so far as benefitinH the
navy by their observation is concerned. .
Theodore Roosevelt.
The White House. Tuesday. December 8.
1908.