New-York tribune., 1915-03-28

land. So far our military establishment Is
concerned our place is among the tai-enders.
We are below Switzerland, Sweden Rumania,
or Bulgaria, and hardly hold our own with
Belgium, Greece or Servia.
NAVY ADEQUATE TO ORDINARY BUT
NOT EXTRAORDINARY NEEDS.
In spite of our military sluggishness we have
built up a navy adequate to our ordinary needs.
It's personnel is excellent and it possesses
many powerful and well-armed units But it
is not adequate to all our needs and would
probably fail us in certain grave emergencies.
We have not insured ourselves against various
hostile combinations which fate might bring
about, nor in our easygoing optimism have we
really faced the problems which would arise
to be involved in war with one or
more of the first class naval powers. Our lack
of military thoroughness has left the navy
which we have -re,trt (good as it is in many
respects) faulty organized, unbalanced in
strength and unready for the crucial tests OF
war, because incapable Of being employed
under unified Leadership as complete and
rounded fighting force.
In Our Navy in the Next War;" book just
published by Mr.. Robert W. Neeser, the dan
gerous weaknesses of our naval system are set
forth with critical exactitude. 1t is patriotic
duty to shatter the public's foolish overconi-
dence IN the all-round efficiency of the navy
Congress appropriates for few essentials in
a naval programme, like new battleships and
new submarines, and thinks that its RESPONSE
bility ends there. The Secretary of the Navy
accepts those recommendations of the General
Board which accord with his own Judgment,
and then announces that all naval needs are
provided for.
CRUSHING INDICTMENT OF PRESENT
CONDITIONS IN NAVY.
Undoubtedly our annual appropriations for
the support of the navy have high. But
the value of feet cannot be measured solely
by the capital invested in it. On these points
Mr.. Neeser rudcly pricks the optimism of the
average Congressman and the average man in
the street. His indictment of present condi-
tons is summed up in crushing judgments like
these
Cd "A naval mobilization represents the
physical thing the national investment). But
of its value what do we know2 If the service
is highly trained for war, then the value Of the
mobilization is high. But if it is a mere as
sembage of ships, inadequately manned and
furnished with ineffective and inefficient ma
teral, then its value is small, although the cap
ital represented may be great"
(2) With what Congress has given II the
navy annually accomp,ishes more in war games
and tactical work than any other, navy in the
world. Ours is real seagoing navy-a feet
in being But its organization is not such
that it could expand in times Of mobilization or
Of war Its organization is, on the contrary,
fictitious and planned solely TO gi~c constant
uniform amount Of work at the navy yards. 1t
is a feet organization that, if modified for
actual exercise, would reveal weaknesses sp-
parent even to tn most casual observer
CD I'VE thus see that the United States has
built a naval force at haphazard and without
considering what is to be its ultimate use. Il is
not the feet OF our policy 1t can neither de-
fend the Monroe Doctrine in the Atlantic nor
force the open door in the Pacific Its weak
ness in scouts and destroyers for the purposes
OF locating an advanced enemy in the Atlantic