The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-12-22

case of emergency than the battleships
 and we certainly ought to continue the | policy of two battleships a year until | the Panama canal is finished and until in | our first line and in ouls reserve line we can number 40 available vessels of proper armament and size.
 The reorganization of the navy and the | appointment of four aids to the secretary | have continued to demonstrate their use- | fulness. It would be difficult now 10 administer the affairs of the navy with | out the expert counsel and advice of these aids, and I renewd the recommen- | dation which I made last year. that the | aids be recognized by statute. It is certain that the navy, with it's | present size, should have admrals in &C., | tive command higher than rear admirais. The recognized grades in order are: Ad- | miral of the fleet admiral, vice admiral, | and rear admiral. Our great battleshlp | fleet is commanded by a rear admiral, | with four other rear admirals under his | orders. This is not as it should be, and | when questions of precedence arise be- | tween our naval officers and those of l European navies, the American rear ad- miral, though in command of 10 times | the force of a foreign vice admiral, must | yield precendence to the latter. Such | an absurdity ought to not prevail, and | IL can pc dNOlueu Dy tHe ol lWo
 or three positions of flag rank above that | of rear admiral
 | I attended the opening of the new train-
 ing school at North Chicago, Ill., and am glad to note the opportunity which this | gives for drawing upon young men of | the country from the interior. from farms, | stores, shops and offices, which insures | a high average of intelligence and char | acter among them, and which they show l ,F..I t,, discipline and drill which only few l short weeks presence at the naval sta | tion had made.
 | I invite your attention to the considera-
 tion of the new system of detention ana | of punishment for army and navy en- 1 listed men which has obtained in Great Britain, and which has made greatly for | the better control of the men. We should | adopt similar system here
 | Like the treasury department and the | war department the navy department
 has given much attention to economy in administration, and has cut down a num- l Der of unnecessary expenses and reduced 1 it's estimates except for construction and 1 the increase that that involves. I urge upon Congress the necessity for an immediate increase of 1000 men in | the enlisted strength of the navy, pro- vided for in the estimates. Four thou | sand more dIe hoW hScucu to hl"h oii | the available vessels.
 | There are in the service today about l A. 75O enlisted men of all ratings. Careful computation shows that in | April 1912, 49, 166 men will be required for vessels in commission, and 5000 appren- | tice seamen should be kept under train | ing at all times.
 Abolition of Navy Yards The Secretary of the Navy has recom- nended the abolition of certain of the smaller and unnecessary navy yards, and | in order to furnish a complete and com | prehensive report has referred the ques- l tion of all navy yards to the joint board | of the army and navy. This board will | shortly make its report, and the Secre- | tary of the Navy advises me that his rec | concentrations on the subject will be presented early in the coming year. The | measure of economy contained in prop | CT handling of this subject is so great and so important to the interests of the nation that I shall present it to Con gress as separate subject apart from my annual message. Concentration of the necessary work for naval vessels in a few yards on each coast is a vital ne- cessity if proper economy in government expenditures is to be attained.
 AmalgamatiOn of Staff Corps The Secretary of the Navy Is striving to unify the various corps of the navy to the extent possible and thereby stimu- late a navy spirit as. distinguished from a corps spirit In this he has my warm support.
 All officers are to be naval officers first and specialists afterwards. This means