The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1917-02-15
UNCLE SAM HAILED
AS PERFECT LADY

an army or Navy II. TPntS
Bravery, but no Training. Femir
ism in National Character is Wha
Led First Nations TO Downfall.
Read Admiral Bradley A. Fiskc, I
S. N, retired, in a speech before tn
Lotus Club of New York, on Saturday
declared. "Thc movement for prepar
edness, which some people have talkct
so much about, is intended to secure
for both the army and the navy a de
gree Of efficiency equal to that of tn,
armies and navies that they are goint
to fight.
at might be expected that the mer
and women whom the army and navy
are going TO try to protect would urge
the army and navy to prepare to do II
and a little inertia might be shown by
the army and navy about shoulderinp
so oncrous an undertaking. But the
reverse condition is the case. Tho
army and navy are eager to prepare
but the majority Of the people are
apathctic about it; and very large
proportion are actually hostile.
"The apathy and the hostility arc
mainly due to ignorance of military
and naval matters; ignorance, espec-
tally of the great amount of mental,
moral, physical and material prepara-
ton that modern armies and navies
need. Mr.. Bryan stated that an army
of million men could be raised in a
day, and this statement, coming from
the Secretary of State of this great
nation, had an enormous influence.
But the army of Philip of Macedon,
which he bequeathed to Alexander,
and with which Alexander conquered
the world, was not raised in day;
neither was the army of Caesar, of
Frederick the Great, Of Napoleon, of
Moltke, of William ii. The navy Of
Great Britain was not so hastily i'm
provised. 1t has been in continuous
and strenuous existence for 500 years;
and this is the principal reason for its
effectiveness.
Americans Know Little of Army, Navy
"The good people of the United
States are in the dangerous condition
of Misunderstanding wholly and com
pletely what an army or a navy is.
They regard an army as an aggrega-
ton of many soldiers, and navy as
an cation of many ships. They
misunderstood the fundamental char
actor Of the twin agencies with which
alone they can be protected. They do
not realize that any army and
a navy--is machine which is
designed, prepared, and operated for
one definite purpose only, that OF
fighting against similar machine.
Neither do they realize that the
fighting machines Of the principal
European and Asiatic countries en-
body the very best in personnel and
material that the mind and character
IF each country can accomplish, and
hat each fighting machine is a unit,
Of harmoniously designed
and harmoniously acting parts; that
zach is a living organism. Our navy /
stands comparison with foreign navies {
,ettcr than our army docs, and think +,
General Wood will not dissent from
he statement that any one Of the !
rained European or Asiatic armies |
would have in war as much an advan- !
age over ours as our forcfathcrs, /
rmcd with guns, had over the North
American Indian, armed with bows 4
nd arrows. /
"That a correct appreciation Of the 4
eed for thorough training in armies h
nd navios has been held for centuries /
y the leading nations is shown by the 4
act that they have always had sys- T
en- whcreing certain young men were I
aiken in hand by the Government and r
ducatcd to be officers, and that no +
oung men have been educated by the Il
alton for any other purpose. our D
Vn country fas followed the example h
others, and has thereby tacity 4
rkrowlcdgcd the truth Of the prin ii
pie involycd-the principle that The i
.ilitary and naval professions arc e
rofossions in the strictoet sense IF n
lo word, and professions at least as B
hicult to master as any other
Our Next War
"But our nation recognizes the prin-
pic In theory only; il ighor,s i u
.actice. II ignores It by falling 70
cognizo tie fact tlat the work q -
Il army and navy in the next war +.
IN not be merely the work of pd
1s ants cptai1s and colon
s; not merely the work Of individual T
bmaruos desrogcra arropIaaf
q ships but tie work e. general
4 adnirals; TIE work of men who
Ed. 60 have raster minds trained to
nany years Il experience and prep