232 THE RIGHT TO BE WELL BORN 



With such proofs before us, is it not evi- 

 dent that the American Nation is on the 

 decline? And, is it not time for patriotic 

 Americans to inquire what is best to be 

 done to avert this inevitable crisis? 



I recently had a talk with a high 

 official of our navy. I remarked that I 

 was glad our Government is building so 

 many valuable additions to our navy. His 

 reply was: "I don't know where we are 

 going to get sufficient competent officers to 

 command them. We are having trouble 

 now to properly command the ships we 

 have. What we need for a Secretary of the 

 Navy is an energetic able man of business 

 ability, who has spent a good part of his 

 life in the navy and knows its needs, and 

 is skilled in naval affairs. The position 

 should not be a political plum, a reward for 

 getting presidential votes. Why, if our 

 Naval Academy at Annapolis and our Mil- 

 itary Academy at West Point were filled 

 today to overflowing, they could not supply 

 enough officers for our ships or our army. 

 The ships we have in the navy today are 

 not properly commanded by competent of- 



