Middletown transcript., 1909-12-11

prefer Iacouiine themselves to sucl epi
tones as HE press always furnishes. TIL,
Cabinet members are busy with tbei
several reports and aorne Of them lIaS,
been competed. They are generalt,
asking smaller appropriations than werl
deiua .l,isti last ltar kconomy is Ga.
wsich~oIJ Of the present administratio,
but il is ncs a. all improbable that befOrt
the bndge' Il made up il will exc4rd more
than ihe billion dollar mark as did tbs
lass appropriation. Il is difficult Will
the anItiti"us schemes Of public impro, 9.
ment aud belterment in almost every
direction to rec how appropriations can
be Kept dnw".
~
There are many public plans aud en-.
terprises for improvement of the public
service hut none OF them are startlingIy
new although they are all increasing v
urgent. The Secretary Of the Navy his
issued orders far the reorganization Of The
Navy Drparipr III a.d are looked upon
b. thnse y hnru it viii affect as, motlIil 2
short nl revolutionary. Ii he is success
fnl in carr. ing Out kis plans much good
will he accomplished The keynote to
tie charge in the Naval establishment
has been expressed in tie not novel trni,m
that the uli.ct Of the Navy is ti main.
tain an effective war f,et on the seas.
There j., probably, r schnol bny bu,
kRpRs that II j. j. splf-e,idpnt rrrposi.
sinn AID not S., ator Nhn world main
tsin that thrr" e"nll he any other Iegti
nata oii"t,. FIR the Navy ard. vet, there
are Senators a"i members. admirsls,
captains aud lieuienants Of
tie NAVY With their wives, mot!ers-;n.
law, sisters, cnu- ins aud aunts who have
for seventyfiTe or a hundred years lived,
moved and had their being on the hypothe
sis that the object OF the Navy was to main
tain. first. spleuded Navy Department
at Washington with distinguished Naval
officers at the head of various bureaus
and other Naval officers at a dozen Naval
stations and Navy Yards that are kept
up At an immense expense and that can
not be nsed for any legitimate Naval pur-
pose because the entrance to these Navy
Yards is too shallow for the admission OF
modern warships. Their idea of the
Navy is that it was created and is main-
tanned, not for National defense but for
the benefit of a brilliant corps of Naval !
officers and theft families and friends.
These Naval officers have intermarried
into the families of senators and cabinet
ministers. until they form the highest
social aristocrscy in this country. They
are sore hit by this order of Secretary
Meyer Senator Hale of Maine, who had
the sobriquet ofthe lord of the Navy,
will, doubtless, be heard from in opposi.
tion and other senators and members will
doubtless, speak in eulogy of the old
Navy and the old system and tell how
much was accomplished at Manila Bay
and Santiago. 1t may be excusable to
point with pride'', but naval experts
and close students of naval progress
know that many Improvements in ma.
val equipment and naval practice have
been made since the Spanish War and |
that il the American Navy is equal in
strength, man for man and ship for ship,
with The foremost navies Of the world it is |
because it has made great progress and |
since it sank the leaking
lobster pot navies Of Spain in Manila Bay |
aud at Santiago