Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1916-04-22
SUPERNEN AND
SUPERDREADNAUCHTS
The Destiny of a Nation May De-
pend Upon Proper Handling.
A NAVAL PAPER
Contributed to u. S. Naval Institute BY
Capt. T. w. Kindaid.

naughts and Supermen' an able paper
was among the contributions TO the
United States Naval Institute Proceed
inges Vol -. No. 3 the Narch-April
number. written by Capt. Thomas "
Rinkaid. United States Navy
II is copyrighted by the Naval In
stitute. annapolis. Md. which gives
this paper permission 10 repnblish the
paper Under the title "SuperdreaG-
naughts and Supermen Captain Kin
kaid says
The steady progress that is being
made in warship design and eorstruc-
ton in the United States must be graf
flying 10 every citizen The hulls. the
machinery. the ordnance and the nu-
merous items of equipment all show
advance over previous constructions.
AS 10 the size of these ships. nearly
every boy in the country knows that
the United States usually has the big
gest warship in the world. II would
appear not improbable that before long
we shall have 50000-ton battieship.
Then there are the numerous auxilia-
ries. the submarines. the scouts. gun
miue-layers and so on. Each success
siye year witnesses an advance in de-
sign. and usually increased speei of
construction.
so great is the potency OF indiv,i-
ual vessels Of all of the lighting types
and of divisions and fleets. that the
burden OF responsibility which in these
days rests ON the shoulders of the
commander and his suhordnates. is 1t
times almost appalling Tho destiny
OF nation may depend upon the prop
er handling of the riajn fleet; and the
success OF the main fleet may depend
upon the maneuyeri g OF a minor fleet.
and so on down to ;Ic hlpnh'ts 81 COM
mand II is thus seen that. unless a
nation can and does maintain Sect
of Overwhelming size as compared 10
that of any other nation. it must pay
extraordinary regard TO both material
and personnel Of the fleet which al
actually possesses.
In our own country the opinion ap-
pears to prevail that we shall never
stand higher than second or third
among the naval powers This rat
ing OF course, is made on the basis OF
size alone, and contemplates chiefly
the materia, SO it seems plain enough
that we OF the United States should
strive so the utmost TO secure such a
quality of personnel and material in
our naval service as to make the
world assign 90 us coefficient that
will attest recognition OF superiority
How is such a desirable condition to
be attained
Il have expressed an opinion as to
the high quality of our material But
have not committed myself TO the
opinion that a still higher standard
cannot and should not be attained In
deed, it seems self-eyident 1ssat if we
improve our already good personnel to
that point of excellence which is inn
peratiye. then a considerable improve
ment in the material will naturally
follow The personnel should be ia
ken to include commissioned officers
of the line, and of the various stan
corps. the warrant officers, petty Of
ticers and the non-rated enlisted men,
and the navy yard forces. For the
purpose of this brief paper | am going
to confne myself to consideration of
the commissioned line officers.
'As is well known, each Senator and
each Repres entatiye in Congress is al
lowed to maintain two midshipmen at
the Naval Academy. There are also a
few appointments at large; and provis-
ION has also recently been made for the
appointment of number of young men
annually from the enlisted force of the
navy Some of the Senators and Rep
I esentatives assign their appointments
10 the winners of competitive examina-
ions. the competitions being open to
such young men as may be designated
by the appointing authority. But, as
a rule. the appointment is bestowed
outright. However, the appointments
Of midshipmen may be made, it happens
that a certain proportion of each grad
Mating class is composed of bright
young men, who are more or less adap-
ted for naval service, while the re-
naming members Of the class vary in
eapability from good to ordinary.
Opinions differ as to the advisable
ity a making the entrance examina-
tions more difficult or easier than they
are now, and as to whether the candi-
dates should be older or younger than
they are at present. Doubtless the
majority of naval officers agree as to
the undesirability of lowering the men
tai standard of admission, and l be-
leve also that the present age limits.
Is 20 years. are considered satisfac-
tory by most officers