The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1913-08-19

themselves Mt. And how can
men make themselves fl unless ,hev
.1aih IN peace what they must prac-
tlce IN war? The daily round nf d,,r
ny men IN the navy. from the admiral
70 the newest enlisted man. is nor
tonsonant with gentle balance II
cans Tor robust men and in that sery-
ice me weak grow strong. But the |
ssular employment. making fine sail
oTS ana trained fighters and perfec,
I~narksnlen, is not sufficient to develon |
nat perfection which must be Tho
ann or the most ambitious and most
patriotic. ~
Best Pluck Needs an Opponent.
by nature We lightly prize tina,
"nlch comes easily. and which is not
coveted py others. The best pluck |
needs an opponent. Competition alone
puts men on their nettle. In the
school, in athletics, in the world. in
the navy, everyWhere-when Greek
meets Greek then comes the tug Of
war. The best product Of mankind
comes through struggling against ones
fellows for the goal. We have found
this generous and noble competition
necessary for the development Of the
highest efficiency in the navy. The
competition that calls for the best pre-
parededness and most perfect train
ing is the target practice between the
ships Of h American fleet. These
eyes have beheld many grand sights
but nothing more wonderful and
more thrilling than the target prac-
tice in the American Navy. / shall
never forget the pageant Of sea and
SKY when, during my freshman days
in Office, the heavens were illumined
by the orange rays Of the discharge Of
the mighty guns on Hampton Roads
last April. 1t would have beer awful
to contemplate if there had not been
the knowledge that this p ageantry Of
color n roar OF heavy guns, as dis
charge followed discharge, was but
the expression Of skill, which is OBJ
tainable only by practice. Behind h
roar and fame and smoke was the
clear-eyed and muscle manhood of
the men Of the navy. at once the
pride and protection of the American
Republic. Behind this precision. too,
were the clean and well-Ordered lives
Of the officers and men who were
thinking of nothing but duty and see
ing nothing but the goal.
Gunnery Progress Keeps Step.
The progress in sunnery has fol-
lowed improvement in methods and
Improvement in installation in our
navy.
Where formerly one shot in five
minutes from 4 heavy gun G2-inch)
was considered satisfactory, we now
safely and accurately fire two or more
lb-SACIA SxAOCS q IAAlNU(C. III III
shot a minute was satisfactory about
ten years ago, from a 6-inch u we
now fire eight shots. The range has
increased from about 1000 to 10, 600
or $4,000 yards. All firing is now con-
Quoted at sea. where the motion Of
the ship vastly complexities the prob
lem of rapid, accurate and
we now effectively control the bate
RES of our large vessels in a manner
J beyond the limits Of possibility but a
1 few years ago.. Recently Vice Ad-
miral Sir Percy Scott. Of the British
! Navy. stated in a speech, that
Without hesitation ne could say
l that the British Navy had never
E been in a more efficient state than
I it was today; accuracy of shoot
Z ing was Of more Importance than
: the number Of ships, and accuracy
OF shooting could only be obtained
. by constant practice.
Il fully believe hat the remarks q
Admiral Scott apply with equal force
to our service. During the past yea
and particularly during the pas
spring, a marked Improvement in gun
merry has been apparent. This ha'
been due to the establishment Of reg
ular schedules Of employment for YES
q sells permitting thorough n progress
stve training, as we'll as to the effort
and the interest taken in their wori
n by officers and men.
Idaho Deserves COInmendatiOn.
% THE performance of the ldah
IS during the year has been most com
"a mendable. In the elementary prac
tice of last fail. this vessel attained
standing of three. among the twenty
,e four vessels competing. In the va
q rious forms Of practice of this sprin,
the ship stood two out Of tw..1ty-on
engaged. In past years rhe record
.r show that the IDAHO has general
- consistently done we'll in gunnery. /
% the engineering competition this yea
d the Idaho stood three among IN
N twenty-five ships competing IN tn
Pr battleship class. The ship has steame
at over 1900 miles during the yea
ps without a break down. In the eng
40 neering work in previous years tn
is ship has always taken a very hug
ne standing.
or when the scores in gunnery an
go ITO pnnr were con