Pine Bluff daily graphic. (Pine Bluff, Ark.) 1893-1942, 1914-06-14
navy IS NOW ON
A Higher Plane
Mexican Crisis Places More
Efficiency in Army
and Navy.
SO SAY THE OFFICERS
Rear Admiral Fiske Says That These
OPPORTUNITIES Come But Seldom
and Always Result in
Much Good.
(By Jonathan winfield }

Washington, June 13.-The Mexican
crisis has placed the army and navy
Of the United States on a more eff
cient footing than ever before accord
ing to officers of both the services in
Washington. Officers of the fleet
have taken advantage of the presence
of so many of Uncle Sans fighting
ships in Mexican waters to engage
in fleet and divisional manoevres.
These opportunities come but seldom,
and it was pointed out by Rear Ad-
miral Fiske, chief of the bureau OF
1.-THE Operations of the Fleet that the
efficiency of the navy has been brought
to a higher degree than ever before
in Its history.
"For instance" he said, "Admiral
Badger before Vera Cruz is daily hav-
ing his sailors and marines go through
fleet evolutions and is constantly drill
+, ing and keeping his men and ships in
the best possible condition for eventu-
alities. No matter what happens in
Mexico, this experience OF the UniteS
States naval forces has been the great
lesson to the men and officers of the
fleet they have had in recent years"
On their return to their home
ports on the Atlantic seaboard the
torpedo flotilla fleet under command
of Captain w. S. Sims, conveyed by
the scout cruiser Birmingham and the
tender Dixie, formed in war line as
a searching party for a hostile enemy.
The small vessels were in reality en-
gagged in looking for the steamer
ont Of po1fimnrp which
was reported lost.
Leaving Vera Cruz with decks clear
ed for action, with lookouts in the
masts of the out of date Birmingham.
the war vessels steamed northward
under full speed and with guns train
ed. Constant drilling under service
conditions was ordered and the short
crews of the little vessels spent, it is
asserted, one of the most unpleasant
trips that any crew of United States
war vessel has ever spent in making
home post.
But discipline is cardinal point
OF the American navy. Its constant
preparedness notwithstanding the eff
forts by statesmen and congressman
to reduce it's efficiency is the best tes-
timonial that can be paid. While
handicaps are constantly thrown
around our naval officers in every
way through the red tape of legisla-
ton and policies of administrations,
nevertheless the army and navy still
retain their marvellous system.
According to Admiral Fiske. how
ever, the American navy cannot be
compared with the German or English
navy and he is not any too optimistic
should the United States have brush
with one or the other of these powers.
In the German navy he said, the
fleets maneuver four times annually
With twenty-one battleships in line
twelve armored cruisers, one hundred
sixty-six torpedo boats, aeroplanes
and hydroplanes, their maneuvers are
something similar to the German army
maneuvres which have become world
famous.
In the United States, the Admiral
stated. the navy maneuvers only in di-
visions and only annually. This, he
points out, is not sufficient. In the
German navy maneuvres about 10000
men and officers are engaged while
in the American navy there are only
about $1,000
Yet he points to the fact that the
navy was able to respond to a cal
to go to Vera Cruz within three days
and the most formidable array o.
naval vessels that the United States
ever produced was under the colors
in hostile country ready to do any
work that the President of the United
States and congress should decide up
on when the word was given.