Evening star., 1915-01-24

of annual or biennial training, would
be fitted to render f1rst-class service
i'll time of need. Who of them would
not consider it an honor to be enrolled
as a naval reservist? Who would not
willingly labor to fit himself to give
maximum of service?
But securing the personnel is not
all. The next step is to secure the re-
serve material, the equipment, and to
<ecure this should be the duty of what
ever body is charged with the duty OF
organizing and directing this branch
of the national defense.
Uniforms and. food supply consti-
tute the first factor here. Uniforms
and personal equipment should be fur
nished for every reservlst, and COM
plete plans should be prepared and
ready always to insure the proper pro-
vsioning of the force when called to
serve.
THE second factor may be termed
the tools of the reServists. This in
cludes reserve wireless plants and sta
tons-privately owned and to be taken
over when needed: motor boats to be
treated the same way: other means Of
transport. including rail lines and au-
tomobiles. l do not mean that these
should be bought, but that arrange
ments should be made in advance for
their use for naval purposes when re-
quired- Torpedoes, cables. guns, these
are all parts of reserve material which
should be ready for sudden call.
The third factor is reserve Of
SHIPS themselves. VI course, IL Is easy
enough to take the list of merchant
marine vessels and say that every
vessel thereon is a potential naval re-
serve vessel. for the government could
buy It in time of war: but that is not
enough. That is the blundering man
nIer in which we have always operated
in past wars. and it is an expensive
and unsatisfactory method
Always We should know exactly
what vessels are suited to navy needs,
precisely on what terms they can be
taken over. where they are located, and
precisely what is their condition. This
latter can be ascertained by periodical in
spection. Every merchant vessel that
might be Of military service in time of
war should be an American naval re-
serve vessel. II her construction is such
that she will require no alterations for
war purposes. SO much the better; If
some reconstruction is necessary, that
also should be known and plans be ready
for the work to be done. 1t should be
known also just how many men are re-
quired in each department to operate her;
how much fuel she burns and of what
kind; details of her wireless equipment
and the like
'To sum 1t all up, we have in this
country abundant resources in men and
for every naval need in time
of war. But those men and material are
not organized and not even listed We
know nothing about the whole subject
save in a general way.
when we consider the dreadful waste
and loss that invariably results from at
to create new organiza ton in
the stress O. war, and contrast with the
simplicity and ease of making the organ
ization in advance and of obtaining the
of precisely each step which
must be taken to weld the whole into
war machine, 1t seems little
short Of criminal that we abstain from
doing the few necessary things to estab-
Lish this real reserve.
This is not asking men to give up
their civil employment to prepare for
war; it is not diverting an ounce OF
merchant maritime tonnage from
peaceful trade; it is not militarism in
any sense: it is simply doing that
which all history teaches US we ought
to do; preparing. at trifling cost, our
naval resources of men and material
for such call as may be made on them
for the national defense: for without
preparation lives and efficiency ever
are sacrificed.
THE whole plan is thoroughly in llar
mony with the spirit of our demo-
cratic institutions and in accord with
our national traditions that our de-