Bisbee daily review., 1915-04-29
NAVY NEVER BETTER
 SAYS DANIELS
lC9ntlnued from Page Onel

tC5ntinuod from Page One) l these plants in times of emergency
 win enable the Department Co be in a
 better state of preparedness as re-
 gards the supply of ammunition, than
 ever before.
 The personnel of the navy is at
 present composed of 4,355 line. staff and warrant officers and 53,17l enlist ! ed men. Increase in the number of officers is dependent almost entirely
 upon the output of the naval acade- emy, admission to which Is restricted
 by statute The number of enlisted
 men is also restricted, and the navy is ! today recruited Co the maximum strength allowed. There are now with
 the colors 5.S24 more men-an in- ! crease of 12 per cent-than there were Jon March l, 1914
 My professional training as a jour
 nalist has always inclined me Co the ! conviction that any officer within the ] prescribed limits recognized in the ma | wy. shall be free to express his opm- ! ion in regard to matters in the ser vice; and there is not an officer who
 commands a ship today who could or would say that his ship, without or within, was not as good as it was two years ago. or that the officers who command it and the crews who man it. are not as thoroughly disciplined,
 sober, loyal and efficient as they were two years ago, or as they ever had been
 The Atlantic fleet has just re- turned from Guantanamo. where it has for many years held it's annual winter practices. This year more battle ships and destroyers have participat- ed in the maneuyers, and for a longer period than ever before
 Under the direction of Admiral Fletcher. upon plans evolved at the Naval War College and approved by the Department. the fleet has been busted in tactics to try out its effici- ency and readiness. All reports tell of the enthusiasm of officers and men in this practice and the splendid rec ord made by the ships. The fleet is now in Tangier Sound and on the southern drill grounds, where it will be busy in target practice, until May, when it moves to New York for a weeks well-eaned leave. Then will come the review at New York. fol- lowed by maneuvers in Narragansett Bay region, and finally the review in
 Hampton Roades prior to sailing through the Panama canal enroute tO the Exposition at San Francisco.
 These spring practices followed neuyers and tactics in October, No yember and December last This was indeed strenuous practice, but it is the way the navy is kept flt and readyand the new admiral in command of the fleet and the Department planned such extensive eyoluuons because the only way that the navy can be al ways prepared is by practice and prac- tice and then more practice. This simple statement of the operations or the fleet since October is one of the best answers ] can give to your ques ! ton as to the nayy's preparedness. The necessity of keeping ships in
 Mexico last year denied Admiral Bad ger the opporuniy for as long prac- | tice as he had wisely planned, but 1 the sudden call for the expedition tc ! Vera Cruz demanded and exacted un- usual service to which the fleet re- l sponded with an alacrity and readi- ness which amply justify the faith of the country that there exists to- |day no more efficient institution than ! the United States navy. Some critiCN I have said the efficiency of the tieee
 was reduced by reason of going 10 ] Vera Cruz To our regret certain ma neuvers and target practice of value were necessarily omitted. The emer- ! gency experience, however, ot year ] Of stress and strain was of far great CT value in one important respect than i the well planned routine, because it gave a demonstration of teh readi- ness of the navy in every department | afiCat and ashore, to meet an urgent ' call Its heMbility was shown in ad. ] iusting itself to entirely new and un- i expected situations. as well as its re-
 markabe adaptability in handling ey- | cry problem presented to it
 "lt must be conceded by all that
 the best school and preparation for
 war is war itself and it was almost
 under this condition that our fleet
 acted in proceeding almost in a day
 Co Mexican waters The stay at Vera
 Cruz however, did not prevent prao- 1 tice. for the ships individually or in l divisions. during a great part of the time held tactical maneuvers, torpedo ] proving practice and sub-caliber drills
 in preparation for target practice.
 For many years officers have writ
 ten and talked about the formation of
 advance base material and the prac- tice of exercising landing parties Of
 seamen and marines in the use of
 this important adjunct to naval war
 fare. Congress appropriated money
 for this important plan of campaign,
 but never until January Of last year
 was the navy thus exercised. There