The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-05-21

made IL a life study before them,
This has always been admitted and
recognized In our navy.
II is equally necessary that every
thing which ia done. from the training
~ the men to the selection and the
building OF the various types Of ships,
shall he on some definite and regular
plan. consistently followed out through
the years, and only modified as new
discoveries In weapons or ships are
made.
The third necessity, that there mus
he some head, some supreme source In
the navy organization which will die
ate and lay down the WORN 70 be done.
has been recognized perhaps II Its full
est extent by Germany. but by almost
every other country also in some de-
gree or other except our own. Almost
every Secretary of the Navy has real
led the first two aX.oms. and n few the
third. but no Administration until the
present has actually created an exclu-
sivcly military department OF the navy
which has been placed above ali the
other departments. Tho Department
has been. as Il were a confederation OF
independent kingdoms. known as bu-
| reau.. each supreme in regard to it,
! own affairs. spending money definitely
! appropriated 20 it by Congress. and
, with only one superior. the Secretary
| Of the Navy himself. to direct its op.
/ erations so rs 10 make them har-
| moni1c with any methodicsl military
| plan.
There has heen Of late years, OF
course. a General Board. but this has
been a body without legal authority
j.. and without any general definite work
L. do. II is really wonderful h a the
! navy. under this plan OF Organization,
has worked together for the common
aood a. well as II has. II is hard u
imagine a more u~nsc!entific or more
uflllliI4'hIN ''''i '''
Fortunately FOR the country the opin-
ions OF the naval experts on the Gen
! cral Board have been listened 10 with
! respect by the heads of the bureaus
! and the various secretaries, with more
| or less success. have been enabled tc
! keep all parts OF the machinery work.
| ing. after q fashion at least, in CO.
! operation.
ON. ~ the bureaus of the navy has
hhen called the bureau OF navigation.
It il charged with the education u!
officers. the assignment OF details. the
! securing and training OF enlisted men
and all OF the multitudinous duties
| connected with tn. personnel. AS q
part of that bureau there was unit! a
= few years ago a small s~ub-bureau
known AS the division Of operations
which had charge OF the movements
of ships. The Importance OF this sub
division has been gradually recognized
as well as tnt tdtt N't' S'ouiu 'Hti
l- any one division of wOr superio!
to the others. that division shoulc
properly have under its immediate
! direction all ship movements In both
peace and war.
The great step taken by the present
Administration was TO separate this
division OF operations entirely from
"A chief Of operations. whose duty has
already acquired many OF the func-
tons Of a chief of stan, and to equir
il with a force Of officers and clerks
necessary for II eventually to become
what might he designated as the mil
itary mind Of the Navy Department.
The ideal organization Of n navy
broadly speaking from a military
standpoint, Is an follows:
\ body of the ahlest and most cN'
p%erienced naval officers, freed from
all routine duty, whose business it il
to decide military policy, They must
first Of all. by close contact with tn,
state Department, ascertain the policy
of the Government in it's foreign rela'
tons. To know what kind of navy
is needed it is necessary to know VIVA
a navy is required t" do, To know
what the navy is required tn do it Is
necessary to know the policy Of tn,
Government,
Having this Information, il should b,
this body's duty to determine JUS
what the navy will have to do to carry
out the policy Of the Government I'M
der all possible contingencies. Having
determined all this, it is then in t
position to determine what number o
ships and what kind Of ships are nee,
essary to do the work,
This general policy and plan beins
decided. the creation OF the rest O