150 



CONGRESS. (THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE.) 



and the business men and wage-workers who fur- 

 nished what the Congress had authorized; the 

 Secretaries of the Navy who asked for and ex- 

 pended the appropriations; and finally the offi- 

 cers who, in fair weather and foul, on actual sea 

 M-rvire, trained and disciplined the crews of the 

 ships when there was no war in sight all are 

 entitled to a full share in the glory of Manila 

 and Santiago, and the respect accorded by every 

 true American to those who wrought such signal 

 triumph for our country. It was forethought 

 and preparation which secured us the over- 

 whelming triumph of 1898. If we fail to show 

 forethought and preparation now, there may 

 come a time when disaster will befall us instead 

 of triumph; and should this time come, the fault 

 will rest primarily, not upon those whom the 

 accident of events puts in supreme command at 

 the moment, but upon those who have failed to 

 prepare in advance. 



There should be no cessation in the work of 

 completing 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 addi- 

 tional battle-ships and heavy armored cruisers, 

 with auxiliary and lighter craft in proportion; 

 for the exact numbers and character I refer you 

 to the report of the Secretary of the Navy. But 

 there is something we need even more than addi- 

 tional ships, and this is additional officers and 

 men. To provide battle-ships and cruisers and 

 then lay them up, with the expectation of leav- 

 ing 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 war-ship against a competent 

 enemy unless those aboard it have been trained 

 by years of actual sea service, including inces- 

 sant gunnery practise, would be to invite not 

 merely disaster, but the bitterest shame and 

 humiliation. Four thousand additional seamen 

 and 1,000 additional marines should be provided; 

 and an increase in the officers should be pro- 

 vided by making a large addition to the classes 

 at Annapolis. There is one small matter which 

 should be mentioned in connection with Annapo- 

 lis. The pretentious and unmeaning title of 

 " naval cadet " should be abolished ; the title of 

 " midshipman," full of historic association, should 

 be restored. 



Even in time of peace a war-ship should be 

 used until it wears out, for only so can it be 

 kept fit to respond to any emergency. The offi- 

 cers and men alike should be kept as much as 

 |Hi-sibIe on blue water, for it is there only they 

 can learn their duties as they should be learned. 

 The big vessels should be maneuvered in squad- 

 rons containing not merely battle-ships, but the 

 necessary proportion of cruisers and scouts. The 

 torpedo-boats should be handled by the younger 

 officers in such manner as will best fit the latter 

 to take responsibility and meet the emergencies 

 of actual warfare. 



Every detail ashore which can be performed 

 by a civilian should be so performed, the officer 

 being kept for his special duty in the sea serv- 

 ice. Above all, gunnery practise should be un- 

 ceasing. It is important to have our navy of 

 adequate size, but it is even more important 

 that ship for ship it should equal in efficiency 

 any navy in the world. This is possible only 

 with highly drilled crews and officers, and this 

 in turn imperatively demands continuous and 

 progressive instruction in target practise, ship 

 handling, squadron tactics, and general disci- 



pline. Our ships must be assembled in squad- 

 rons actively cruising away from harbors and 

 never long at anchor. The resulting wear upon 

 engines and hulls must be endured; a battle-ship 

 worn out in long training of officers and men is 

 well paid for by the results, while, on the other 

 hand, no matter in how excellent condition, it is 

 useless if the crew be not expert. 



We now have 17 battle-ships appropriated for, 

 of which 9 are completed and have been com- 

 missioned for actual service. The remaining 8 

 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 ves- 

 sels 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 officer 

 the command of men. The leading graduates 

 of the Naval Academy should be assigned to the 

 combatant branches, the line and marine's. 



Many of the essentials of success are already 

 recognized by the General Board, which, as the 

 central office of a growing staff, is mtmng stead- 

 ily 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 organiza- 

 tions, and are trained for coast service, and in 

 event of war they will constitute the inner line 

 of defense. They should receive hearty encour- 

 agement from the General Government. 



But in addition we should at once provide for 

 a national navy reserve, organized and trained 

 under the direction of the Navy Department, and 

 subject to the call of the Chief Executive when- 

 ever war becomes imminent. It should be a veal 

 auxiliary of the naval seagoing peace establish- 

 ment, and offer material to be drawn on at once 

 for manning our ships in time of war. It should 

 be composed of graduates of the Naval Academy, 

 graduates of the naval militia, officers and crew* 

 of coast-line steamers, longshore schooners, fish- 

 ing vessels, and steam-yachts, together with the 

 coast population about such centers as life-sav- 

 ing stations and lighthouses. 



The American people must either build and 

 maintain an adequate navy or else make up 

 their minds definitely to accept a secondary posi- 

 tion in international affairs, not merely in polit- 

 ical, but in commercial matters. It has been well 

 said that there is no surer way of courting na- 

 tional disaster than to be "opulent, aggres>i\c. 

 and unarmed." 



It is not necessary to increase our army be- 

 yond its present size at this time. But it is 

 necessary to keep it at the highest point of effi- 

 ciency. The individual units who as officers and 

 enlisted men compose this army are, we have 

 good reason to believe, at least as efficient as 

 those of any other army in the entire world. It 

 is our duty to see that their training is of a 

 kind to insure the highest possible expression of 

 power to these units when acting in combina- 

 tion. 



The conditions of modern war are such as to 



