Evening star., 1914-05-05
brow will cost around s15.ooo. .ooo.

morrow will cost around sl3.opn"o. In
cluding those boats in construction. our
navy has twelve ships nj the dreadnonght
type. of an aggregate tonnage OF ani ~"
England including her ships building
has forty-two dreadnouchts. with total
tonnage OF aa115o; and Germany has
twenty six. with total tonnage ~
G2n..4t
Ii is in tho personnel the men behind
the guns where the United States prob
ably holds the ranking position among
the navies of the World There is no
better body Of men on earth than that
which serves in the American navy.
Held to the highest standards ~ efficien-
cy by vigorous discipline. by the Glcr.-
Gus traditions of their organization and
hy keen competition among themselves.
these men constitute an organization
capable of making ALI means at its com
mand doubly effective. The officers are
highly trained for their duties and their
records ieaiousiy watched by the de-
partment. Moreover. the average inie-
ligence and moral character among the
enlisted men is high and they. too, -
through a vigorous schooling. Those who
do not come IN to standard continually
being woeded out. and With a moro
inexorahle thorouChness than could he
carried out by the private employer.
The effects of such a higl-class per-
sonnel are that which is the inspiration
of our nation
American Gunner naval history. 1t
Envy of World. rs + also 20 '"Tse'y ,ga ,,sn %g
standard Of the mon that the american
gunner is unsurpassed. The accuracy of
our gunners has justly earned the envy
and admiration OF the world. True, an
other important factor In the effective
ness with which our men operate the hig
guns is the fact that no other country
in the world expends SO much upon good
shells and targets for practice as does
the United States.
The personnel Of our navy is not large
There are now on the active list of the
navy about ..6S5 officers, OF whom 3i2
are officers of the Marine Corps The
total enlisted strength is 3l.5S mtu-
Added to this are 1921 marines These
65ooo picked men, thoroughly trained.
immediate guarantee behind the pass
port and the rights of our citizens
throughout the world.
Our navy is in a higher state of Of
ficiency today than ever before, and the
general board, that body of experts and
naval statesmen whose business ii is 10
plan the continued development Of the
service. hoping to raise its strength
to point where it will remain equal to
any possible task which may be placed
the object be navy of forty-eight first
| line battleships by 1890. Guided by this
policy. they submitted to the Secretary
of the Navy this year recommendations
that there be authorized four dread
noughts. sixteen torpedo boat destroyers.
| eight submarines. two oilers, two gun
boats one transport, one supply ship and
one hospital ship.
Our navy is vast organization. IT
required Sl32, 1872 749. q, to finance it dur
ing the last fiscal year. OF this sum Se4,
$50. 500 was used for the construction OF
new ships. Nearly SS,00o,oD was ex-
pended in repairs alone. The cost of
maintaining the navy afloat. including the
pay of officers and men and the necessary
stores aggregated s350oo.0D. With the
cost of battleships. fuel and other sup
plies mounting. the budget of the navy
will probably be s15O.00o00o year in the
near future.
| 1t is contended by supporters OF a
large navy that this organization is our