And State Papers 581 



There should be no cessation in the work of com- 

 pleting our navy. So far ingenuity has been wholly 

 unable to devise a substitute for the great war craft 

 whose hammering guns beat out the mastery of the 

 high seas. It is unsafe and unwise not to provide 

 this year for several additional battleships and 

 heavy armored cruisers, with auxiliary and lighter 

 craft in proportion ; for the exact numbers and char- 

 acter I refer you to the report of the Secretary of 

 the Navy. But there is something we need even 

 more than additional ships, and this is additional 

 officers and men. To provide battleships and cruis- 

 ers and then lay them up, with the expectation of 

 leaving them unmanned until they are needed in 

 actual war, would be worse than folly; it would be 

 a crime against the nation. 



To send any warship against a competent enemy 

 unless those aboard it have been trained by years 

 of actual sea service, including incessant gunnery 

 practice, would be to invite not merely disaster, but 

 the bitterest shame and humiliation. Four thousand 

 additional seamen and one thousand additional ma- 

 rines should be provided; and an increase in the 

 officers should be provided by making a large ad- 

 dition to the classes at Annapolis. There is one 

 small matter which should be mentioned in connec- 

 tion with Annapolis. The pretentious and unmean- 

 ing title of "naval cadet" should be abolished; the 

 title of "midshipman," full of historic association, 

 should be restored. 



Even in time of peace a warship should be used 



