Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-05-04
Naval Advances in Fifteen Years.

The cOmmemoration, by means of a
banquet rendered by the survivors of
that engagement, of the fifteenth ami
versary of the battle of Manila Thursday.
serves to call sharply to attention the
remarka BILE Improvement in the American
navy that has been effected in the past
decade and half Probably in no other
space of time has great a stride for
ward been taken by any organiza ton.
In point of mechanical development. the
navy is perhaps not strikingly in adj
vance of the standard of 1898, by which
time the battleship construction had been
brought TO a high point of efficiency. The
change o: greatest moment in these fif-
teen years has been in personnel, both in
wardroom and forecastle.
II may be asserted without fear of con-
tradiction that the American navy is to-
day second to none in the world in per-
sonal efficiency. This has been brought
about by two .causes-first the elmina
ton of the old classifying staff distnc-
tons which separated the line officers
from the men intrusted with the en-
ginery of the vessel. and, second. the
encouragement of the enlisted man TO
regard himself as a responsible part of
the organization and not as a mere hope
lessly subordinated member of the
Grew" The navy has become less of a
social institution and more of a real
business, and the American officers and
the enlisted men take their work serious
ly. study hard for improvement and
strive for promotions through diligent de-
votion to duty.
In two respects these changes show re-
suits. IT costs less to maintain the navy
today in point Of repairs than ever be-
FORE in terms of percentage, and the
Workmanship is almost mmeasurably
improved. These are the two vitality i'm
portant factors in naval organization.
With the development of the modern bat
tleship. highly complex machine requir-
ing incessa<t care and skillful handling,
the repair factor became serious con-
sideration in point of maintenance. With
every man on board ship concerned in
the reduction of the repair bill through
the exercise of care for every part of the
vessel, the percentage of annual cost of
upkeep has been brought to a remarkably
low point which cannot be approached
in any other navy.
A naval force is efficient only to the ex-
tent that it can punish an enemy. and as
this punishment is inflicted by means of
shot and shell the efficiency is ultimately
rated in terms of craftsmanship. given
intelligent handling by fleet commanders
and individual captains. Superior as was
the American shooting at, Manila bay
fifteen years ago over that of the Span
iards the craftsmanship on board the
United States Navy is greatly improved
1t has been stated that the naval gun
ners under the Stars and Stripes are at
this time as much better shots than the
men who fought under Dewey at Manila
as those men were better than their OPP
ponents on that fateful. morning. This
has been accomplished by instilling into
the men in the ranks a spirit of Coop
Grafton which was in large degree lacking
even in 1898. With the possibility Of
promotion from the ranks, with Thought
full consideration of the individual vel
fare of the sailor, with a more liberal
measure of freedom. with opportunities
for mental improvement, the American
sailors of today are in position which
is unapproached by the condition of the
enlisted man under any other flag, and
the results in terms of efficiency amply
prove the wisdom of this new policy of
naval management.