The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1909-01-09
NAVY HAS ABILITY TO
MEET ANY TEST
THIS ARM OF THE GOVERN,
MENT FAR SUPERIOR TO
THE NAVY.

| WASHINGTON, Jan, \ = Now
THAT the United States Navy has dem-
onstrated to the world It's ability 70
meet almost any test, the Army au.
Ithorities are considering plans 10
show the itnesS Of that branch OF the
lservice to rise to a sudden emergency
such as would follow declaration !
Iwar, These plans include series Of
iarmy maneuvers which promise to ri.
val in magniiicance, il not in the mum,
Der oG men and munitions involved,
1.-THE great yearly army maneuvers OF
Germany, France and England, Thes>
lmaneuvers will be far more than 4
repetition OF those Of year ago, in
that they viii assemble a greater mum
Der OF men and from spectacular
standpoint viii resemble the popular
conception OF what would follow il
this country were called upon to repel
the attack Of foreign power whose
troops had already landed on our
shores, They will be held next
Spring in several parts Of the country,
and the several states wherein they are
held and those adjacent will be asked
to furnish national guardsmen to
swell the number Of participants and
share in the benifits Of the training
All this is part Of general plan to
stimulate interest in the Army and
impress Congress and the people with
the urgent need OF increasing the
fighting force Of the United States %
Ia peace footing exceeding 100000 men
The present standing army Of about
$4,000 men, it is eontended by Presi-
dent Roosevelt, Mi. Gen. Bell, chitf
of staff, and in fact by most army
men, is wholly inadequate to meet
anything appro9, ming a war emer.
gency Ther is something, too, in
the desire Of Ae Army authorities to
share in tn prominence which the
Navy has enjoyed and prohted by
since the PRONUNCIATION OF the Presi-
dents greater Navy" policy. This
prominence to the Navy has been,
heightened since the departure Of the
battleship feet on It's world-round
cruise, and in consequence Army men
are eager to show just what their SER
vice is capable of doing
There has always been something
about the navy and naval life Of the
American people, and in such way
as TO reinforce and make effective the
solid reasons which exist for the main
-tenance of an adequate navy. There
|is romance and picturesqueness about
everything connected with the navy,
and there has been besides a magni-
ficant record for dash, bravery, devo
tion to duty and unsurpassed achieve
ment which have endeared the Navy
to all classes an secured it unvarying
support for whatever II asks for.
1t is not always the portion of the
army, though personally they are in no
sense less worthy than the navy Of
the country's praise. In time of
peace. except in just such maneuvers
as are proposed, the army has little
or no opportunity to prove itself able
10 meet a test This service. in short,
is Just everyday, prosaic, steady-going
hard work Its requirements, from
the nature of its duties, are scattered |
over so wide an area that there is no.
where any considerable force, and in
it does not impress the
imagination Of the people as the navy
does, and, as its friends have long con
tended, does not secure the support to
which it is entitled.
Cen Bell recently made speech
in which he talked plainly of this
country's unprepardness for anything
like war He declared that his OBJ.
had led him to believe
that had the United States been at
war with Germany or England in
stead Of Spain in 1908 we would have
suffered the worst defeat in our his
tory. His advocated plan to increase
he army to at least 100000 men inn
with the idea Of gradually
doubling the number. These propos-
cd maneuvers are the result Of Gen.
Bells insistence on bringing the army
more to the front. He has twice been
1 spectator at German and French
irmy maneuvers and his ideas may
,e said to have had their inception
rom what he saw in those countries.
Members af the Ways and Means
Committee have shown decided .
disposition lately by self-interest n !
raining the new tariff bill. A recent !
by Dr. James J. orton, Of
Jew York at a meeting of the Ameri. Il