Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1909-12-10
WASHINGTON LETTER.


Washington, DC, Dec. 4.-The few
days preceding the meeting of Congress
IN Washington are not without inter-
est The President is immersed in his
message to Congress which, it is said,
will not be as long as President Roose-
velt's last message, 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 confne themselves to such
epitomes as the press always furnishes
The Cabinet members are busy with
their several reports and some of them
have been completed. They are gen.
orally asking smaller appropriations
than demanded last year. Economy is
the watchword Of the present admins
tration but it is not at all improbable
that before the budget is made up it
| will exceed more than the billion dol
lar mark as did the last appropriation.
1t is difficult without the ambitious
schemes of public improvement and
betterment IN almost every direction 10
see how appropriation can be kept
down.
There are many public plans and en-
terprises for improvement of the public
service but none of them are startling
ly new although they are all increas-
ingly urgent. The Secretary of the
Navy has issued orders for the reorgan-
ization of the Navy Department and
are looked upon by those whom it will
affect as nothing short of Revolutionary.
If he is successful in carrying out his
plans much good will be accomplish
ed. The keynote to the changes in the
naval establishment has been express
ed in the not novel truism that the OBJ
ject of the navy is to maintain an efec-
tive war fleet on the seas. There is,
probably, not school boy but knows
that this is a self-evident proposition
and not Senator who would maintain
that there could be any other legitimate
object for the navy and, yet, there are
Senators and members, admirals, COM
modores, captains and lieutenants oil
the navy with their wives, mother-in-
law, sisters, cousins and aunts who
have for seventy-five or hundred
years lived, moved and had their being
on the hypothesis that the object of the
navy was to maintain, first, splendid
navy department at Washington with
distinguished naval officers at the
heads of various bureaus and other
naval officers at dozen naval stations
and navy yards that are no longer used
but are kept up at an immense expense
and that cannot be used for legitimate
naval purpose because the entrance tc
these navy yards is too shallow for the
admission of modern warships. Theil
idea of the navy is that it was created
and is maintained, not for national de-
Tense but for the benefit of brilliant
corps of naval officers and their fami
lies and friends. These naval officers
have intermarried into the families o.
senators and cabinet ministers, unit
they form the highest social aristocracy
in this country. They are sore hit by
this order of Secretary Meyer. Senato
Hale of Maine, who has the sobrique1
of the "Lord of the Navy" will, doubt
less, be heard from in opposition and
other senators and members will
doubtless, speak in enlogy of the ole
navy and the old system and tell how
much was accomplished at Manila Bay
) and Santiago. 1t may be excusable t.
: point with PRIDE" but navl expert
4 and close students of naval progress
: know that many Improvements il
l naval construction, naval equipmen
E and naval practice have been mad
e since the Spanish war and if the Amer
, lean navy is equal in strength, MAJ
: for man and ship for ship, with tn
D foremost navieS of the world it is be
l cause it has made great progress and
D improvement since it sank the leakin,
: lobster pot navies of Spain in Manil
Bay and at Santiago.
: The Postmaster-Genera is contem
t plating Improvements in the postal es
4 tablishment, nothing new but severa
!? things urgent, that have been long ad
vocated and that would have been car
t ried into effect i'll more effective an,
e less unwieldy government than gu
own. All reforms and governments
$ betterments here have to wait on legls
: lation; legislation has to wait on
: Congress that has been elected thirteer
5 months before it meets, Congress tina