And State Papers 583 



for, of which nine are completed and have been com- 

 missioned for actual service. The remaining eight 

 will be ready in from two to four years, but it will 

 take at least that time to recruit and train the men 

 to fight them. It is of vast concern that we have 

 trained crews ready for the vessels by the time they 

 are commissioned. Good ships and good guns are 

 simply good weapons, and the best weapons are 

 useless save in the hands of men who know how to 

 fight with them. The men must be trained and 

 drilled under a thorough and well-planned system of 

 progressive instruction, while the recruiting must 

 be carried on with still greater vigor. Every effort 

 must be made to exalt the main function of the offi- 

 cer the command of men. The leading graduates 

 of the Naval Academy should be assigned to the 

 combatant branches, the line and marines. 



Many of the essentials of success are already rec- 

 ognized by the General Board, which, as the central 

 office of a growing staff, is moving steadily toward 

 a proper war efficiency and a proper efficiency of the 

 whole Navy, under the Secretary. This General 

 Board, by fostering the creation of a general staff, 

 is providing for the official and then the general 

 recognition of our altered conditions as a nation 

 and of the true meaning of a great war fleet, which 

 meaning is, first, the best men, and, second, the best 

 ships. 



The Naval Militia forces are State organizations, 

 and are trained for coast service, and in event of 

 war they will constitute the inner line of defence. 



