The Washington herald., 1915-01-31

three and our navy yards represent over
500, 10000 i'm investment. l could spend
the whole evening telling you of the aw-
full waste in the political navy on land.
Waste mt Navy Yards.
Il shall only cite the case Of the Mare
Island Navy Yard, which, so far, has
cost over S35.O0O.OOO, and which is
thirty miles inland and which none OF
our latest ships can reach in safety.
! Secretary Meyer awoke to the horrible
graft Of this expenditure more or less
useless to the navy and reIegated the
/ yard to second class. Mr.. Wilson's ad-
ministratiOn. WHICH was all for econ
Omy, will soon have spent another half
/ million. The futility of the yard is
/ proven by the fact that il has been
necessary to hire drydock on open
water on San Francisco Fay to take
care of the foreign ships which are to
| participate in the naval review at the
/ opening Of the fair. charleston has n
navy yard. 1t had also Ben Tillman
/ But no ship can reach it and this year
ii is To get $1,000. The New Orleans
yard was closed by Secretary Meyer
/ that is, put on a starvation basis as be
! Ing unnecessary. And its story will
appeal to you as business men. This
yard cost some $4o0,OOO The other year It
| produced Sl,O4O.G worth of work while
$4,000 worth of marines guarded il night
and day. There are no docks which can
accommodate our big ships, but the Sec
| retary OF Navy has re-opened the yard,
/ and the Southern politicians Are happy:
and If you wish to follow further the
! political touch in our defenses let me
| say that the present army appropria-
! tion bill now before Congress has a
| clause which distinctly forbids the en-
| ployment of the scientific efficiency sys-
/ ten at Watervliet Arsenal. The useless
| expenditures and accompanying graft
must be wiped away If we are going to
nave navy and an army which is
ready for war and not an ornament This
| Is the first step.
What have we got? We have a
navy of efficient ships. some even better
than those found abroad But it Is like
having high-priced automobiles and no
gasoline. We are shy in the feet alone
1000 men. Instead Of an ambitious per-
sonnel, we have one with a grouch-the
navy is now a university extension with
fighting pushed in the background. Our
Dattleships were doing the army's work
at Vera Cruz, because Mr. Wilson did
not wish to call out more regiments For
year the feet was without battle ma
neuvers or battle practice. Just now the
Vermont is firing her guns for the first
time in two years.
Officers Lose Ambition.
Admiral Fiskc said that it would take
five years TO put the navy on a proper
basis. Secretary Daniels says our sub |
marines are as efficient as anybody's. |
but its tlOtilla commander states that
they cannot dive and that they are not
even safe for their own crew. You
know of the Emden and its brilliant ex-
pIOlts. IT we were at war we would /
have no craft to catch her. We have |
no cruiser that can make twenty knots |
Tor tWenty-four hours. We haven't had !
one for ten years. Do you wonder that |
our officers are losing their ambition and /
pep" when they have to go through
lie Indian file? And those now at the |
Naval Academy will not be lientenants
until they are past fifty. The general |
board says that we must have forty
eight DreadnOughts. four destroyers to |
each. but our building program becomes |
simply a football in Congress.
Now we come to the army. We have |
one man per thousand inhabitants In |
time of war We would meet the enemy
with 10000 more or less trained men |
and this, aside from a small force in our |
colonial possessions. The rest must come 1
from the mob which Mr.. Bryan expects /
to raise over night. Our past history /
-.
hundred years ago at Lundy Lane IOO- |
600 volunteers. from Pennsylvania mainly, |
were defeated by 1900 British regulars |
At seventeen battles in our history the |
militia ran away and at thirteen they
mutinied. And during the civil war
10000 volunteers deserted. In view of
what Is happening abroad 1t takes little \
imagination TO understand what will hap
pen when our volunteers are pitted |
against an army of the continent or the 1
10000 trained men Of Japan. And we
haven't enough men to man one trench
on our coast line.
THE disgraceful episodes. the. graft Of
our unreadiness during the Spanish war,
would simply be repeated again. We ]
have neither field guns nor ammunition.
We have neither uniforms nor accoutre-
ments. 1t Will take over six months to
get an army of half a million in shape.
Meanwhile New York will be sacked, as
was Washington n hundred years ago.
Now. l say with so many others who are
better qualified to speak than that had
England followed the advice of Lord
Roberts and had trained force OF half
a million men to hurl across the channel
Germany would never have declared
war. And Germany has not violated
swiss neutrality because Switzerland has
10000 men trained in arms> And right
here let me say that the slogan OF the
peace people. that the military man Is
for war Is so much bunk. His neck is
Just as dear to him as yours Is to you
And the popular fallacy that the makers
Of war material are for war Is as ridlc-l
lo0s as that the makers Of special surg
ical instruments increase the number of
hospital operations Little Sweden, teh
country OF my ancestors. has an army of
peace strength now mobilized greater
than the army OF the United States at
full war strength. And In this little
country 10000 men have qualified as
and drills and rife shoot
ing are part OF the public school work.
Sweden stands on an un-
usually high plane when il comes to the
finer pursuits OF life.
I've win suppose that the was is over
two years from now-lt will not end I,
sooner. How viii it touch us? You are