The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1909-12-08
news FR0v :. *,hlNGTON.
FORECAST Or RECOMNfENDA.
TIONS OF DEPARTMENT
HEADS.
Much Talk of Economy and Smaller
Appropriations will be Asked for
Army and Navy are Full of
sore Heads, and They Resent
Charges and Intent of Economy.

washington, Dec. 5.-The few
days preceding the meeting of con-
gress in Washington are not with
out interest. The President is i'm
mersed in his message to Congress,
which, 1T is said, will not be as long
as President Roosevelt's last mes
sage, inasmuch, as it will contain
not more than fifteen thousand
words. This, however will be of suf
ficient length and most readers will
prefer to confine themselves to such
epitomes as the press always fur
nishes. The Cabinet members are
busy with their several reports and
some of them have been completed.
They are generally asking smaller ap-
preparations than were demanded
last year. Economy is the watch
word of the present administration
but 1t is not at all improbable that
before the budget is made up it will
exceed more than the billion dollar
mark as did the last appropriation.
1t is difficult with the ambitious
schemes of public improvement and
oetterment in almost every direction
to see how appropriations can be
kept down.
There are many public plans and
enterprises for Improvements of the
public service but none of them are
startlingly new although they are all
increasingly urgent. The Secretary
of the Navy has issued orders for
the reorganization of the Navy De-
partment which are looked upon by
those whom it will affect as nothing
short Of revolutionary. If he is sue
cessful in carrying out his plans
much good will be accomplished.
The keynote to the changes in the
Naval establishment has been ex-
pressed in the not novel truism that
the object Of the Navy is to MAIN
tain an effective war fleet on the
seas. There, is probably, not a
school boy but knows that this. js
a self-evident proposition and not a
Senator who would maintain that
there could be any other legitimate
object for the Navy and, yet, there
are Senators and members, admirals.
commodores, captains and lieut.
enants Of the Navy with their wives,
mothers-in-law, sisters, cousins and
aunts who have for seventy-five or
hundred years lived, moved and
mad their being on the hypothesis
that the object of the Navy was to
maintain, first, splendid Navy De-
partment at Washington with dis
tipeuished Naval officers at the heads
of various bureaus and other Naval
officers at a dozen Naval stations
and Navy Yards that are no longer
used but are kept up at an i'm
mense expense and that cannot he
need for any legitimate Naval purpose
because the entrance to these Navy
Yards is to shallow for the admissions
OF modern warships. Their idea Of
the Navy is that it was created and
is maintained, not for National de-
Tense but for the benefit of q bril-
liant corps Of Naval officers and their
families and friends. These Naval Of
fcers have intermarried into the
families of senators and cabinet min
listers, until they form the highest
social aristocracy in this country
They are sore hit by this order Of
Secretary Meyer. Senator Hale, of
Maine, who has the sobriquet Of the
Lord of the Navy" will, doubtless,
lie heard from in opposition ard
other senator's and members will,
doubtless, speak in eulogy Of the Old
Navy and the old system AMI tell
Mia Bay and Santigo. 1t may be-
eXcusable to point with pride" but
naval experts and close students of
naval progress know that many i'm
provements in naval construction,
naval equipment and naval practice
have been made since the Spanish
War and that if the American Navy
is equal in strength, man for man
ard ship for ship, with the foremost
naVses of the world it is becaus.. it
has made a great progress and i'm
provement since it sank the leaking
lobster pot navies of Spain in Manila
Bay and at Santiago
The Postmaster General is con-
templating improvements in the
Postal establishment, nothing new
but several things urgent that have