Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1912-12-31
MEN FOR THE NAVY
Department Plans Organization
Of National Naval Reserve.
viii re Similar to the Order Of the
Cincinnati, the Attic Society, Loyal
Lsrlon and the Grand Army
Of the Republic,


Washington. THE navy department
has began the preparation Of data
preparatory to the formation of ma.
tional naval reserve under such con.
ditons as the congress may author.
ize An analysis Of the complement
of a modern man-of-war shows not
! only that so per cent of the men OF
such complement are skilled men, but
that of these the greater part are
skilled in the work that Is entirely
confined to the navy. Such are tur-
ret and gun captains and crews, fire
controls, turbine machinery, etc. The
| demand, therefore, for new men In
time of war can only be filled by those
who have had this particular training.
There are thousands of men In the
country who have had this training in
the navy. The department has no
doubt but that in time Of emergency
these men will give their services to
the country. 1t is felt, however, that,
since modern wars begin quickly and
last only short time. the services
of such men can be most valuably en-
ployed by organizing in time Of peace.
Such is the object of the naval re-
serve.
But there is another object to be
| gained by getting together the men
who have served in the navy. That
object is to keep alive In their minds
an interest in the navy by keeping
alive the memories of their own as
sociations. There is no class of men
in the country whose experiences are
| analogous to those who have served
in the navy. To the merchant sailor
there are experiences Of the sea, of
strange ports and foreign people;
but to the man-of-war's man there
are all these and more, for there are
active campaigns in those remote
places, and there are contests and
competitions from baseball and boat
races to turret guns and high speed
guns.
Looking over the history of this
country, it is found that after each
war, organizations, societies have
been formed for the express purpose
of keeping alive their associations;
such are the Order of the Cincinnati;
| the Attic society, Loyal Legion and
Grand Army of the Republic, Spanish
American War Veterans, etc. The
man-of-war's man of today and of the
future will likely have some campaign
larger or smaller in his experience.
With his interest alive, the desire to
return at intervals for brief associa-
ton with his old service, to renew
personal associations, and observe
the changes and improvements in the
material, will, it is believed, be a
great qualification to the ex-service
man. For unless he is totally differ
ent from all other men, his desire to
return to the fleet will be the same as
that which sends the hundreds of
housands-probably millions-each
year to yell and scream themselves
hoarse over contest between their
college and some rival. Consequent
| ly preliminary to the formation of
this branch of the proposed naval
reserve it is necessary to have the
address of each man, in order that he
may be communicated with. There
fore, it is requested that each man
honorably discharged from the navy
send his address to the Office of Naval
Reserve, Navy Yard, Washington,
D. c.