Carson City daily appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1907-1930, 1916-08-26
DEWEY ON THE NAVY

: duty. Isn't a ship as important as a
locomotive? Practically every Euro
pean power has copied the order, by
the way"
And craftsmanship? Is it true
that our gunners can't hit the side of
a barn.
Before answering he took tip a re-
; port lying on his desk. Here are
some facts. From 1909 on we did go
down, owing to the discontinuance
J of elementary practice. But we've
pulled up. Admiral Fletcher, report
ing on the 1915 target practice. says
this: 1t is believed that the scores
! recorded are higher than ever before
in the open sea- The recent prac-
toes were held at ranges of 10000.
1000 and $4,000 yards, which are
even longer than the longest ranges
at which firing has occurred in the
European war. About ten out OF
twenty shots would have hit an enc
my ship at $4,000 yards. Do you
know. | believe our bows are the best
| gunners in the world"
Tell me, Admiral Dewey, what is
all this clamor about the navy need
ing a General Staff"
He laughed. Il don't know. I've
tried to PIN them down, but not oNe
has even been able to make clear just
| what it was that he wanted. Down i'll
their hearts, I suppose, they want a
small, select body to have entire
charge OF the navy. Well, they'll
never get it."
"You believe, then, that the secre-
tary OF the navy should be a civil
lam"
".Absolutely. He represents the
, people. and the closer he is to the
| people the better" Same thing with
the bowers of congress-. | can con-
| ceive of no greater madness than to
| put the navy in the power of a naval
group. or the army in the hands Of
soldiers alone. As a matter Of
course. we would look at things only
from our own professional point Of
| view. The whole democratic balnaec
would be destroyed
"I1ere!" his eye caught a clipping
tucked away Under some papers on
the desk. "This thing was in the
back of my head all the time we were
talking about the alleged demoraliza-
ton Of the navy. Put that in What
he handed me was an article by Hec-
tor Bywater. the famous English
naval expert, written for a British
journal after a careful study Of the
American navy. I glanced it over
and saw this paragraph marked: 1t
need hardly be said hat the political
head of the United States navy pos
sesses infinitely more power than the
civilian First Lord in Great Britain.
And there is every indication that
Mr.. Daniels has been using his power
to the utmost. His friends say he
has accomplished wonders: his enc
mics, who are very many. declare
that his personal fads and prejrdices
have undermined the morale Of the
naval personnel and made the service
a laughing stock. But this charge i
not borne out by the evidence. Those
best qualified to speak assert that the
last four years have witnessed a re-
nlarkable all-around Improvement in
the quality OF the personnel. Thanks
to the secretary's drastic order short
ly after he came into office, intemper-
ance has disappeared from the navy,
and although the drink prohibition
excited ridicule and bitter opposition
at the start, the majority OF naval OF
tlcers now agree that it has had a
beneficial effect on efficiency
and discipiine.'
10 you stand tor that: L asked.
Il would be dishonest if i didn't"
he answered ~gravely. AS | told you
| have been in the navy since 1854.
Against the ISLANDERS that have been ;
heaped upon the service hat | love,
| want to say again that never in my
knowledge has the material and per-
onnel been SO efficient. The last
few years have been very wonderful
fr- +la T,i+a1 C+,+o- o,,,'
This is more than | have talked
tor years" he said at last, rising to
his feet and holding out his hand.
But | want the people Of the Unit
ed States to know that it is all right |
with the navy. There is no demon
alization, NO lack Of discipline, no
absence Of enthusiasm. The navy |
has never failed America. It will
not fail"