THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



31' 



use of) in civil life. Moreover, in ordi- 

 nary times there has been a constant out- 

 flow of officers from the navy who en- 

 gage in civilian pursuits, in many cases 

 with distinguished success. For example, 

 a very large proportion of the shipbuild- 

 ing industry of this country is now under 

 the direction of former officers of the 

 navy. 



There is, however, another side to this : 

 The navy has always prided itself upon 

 the fact that it made free use of the civil 

 developments of the arts and sciences 

 that are of value for its purposes. Some- 

 thing over two years ago the Department 

 undertook to systematize and further de- 

 velop this principle by organizing the 

 Naval Consulting Board, in recognition 

 of the fundamental importance of scien- 

 tific work and scientific specialists to the 

 navy organization as a whole. The 

 Board is now made up of the most emi- 

 nent scientists and inventors of this coun- 

 try, with Mr. Edison as its chairman, 

 and two representatives of each of eleven 

 leading American technical societies. 

 These societies all chose men eminent in 

 their respective professions, with the re- 

 sult that the Board as a whole is com- 

 posed of men of great individual pres- 

 tige, and in this war has devoted itself to 

 the study of naval problems. 



WHEN THE NAVY SPEAKS EOR ITSELF 



The navy as a fighting agency, as the 

 embodiment of power, as the protector 

 of the country from aggression, is today 

 the pride and the reliance of America. 

 But that navy can speak for itself, is 

 speaking for itself through its more than 

 350,000 men and more than 1,000 ships 

 now in active service, and will speak with 

 greater emphasis when the hour comes 

 for which all other hours have been but 

 preparation. 



Never did a nation have more right to 

 be proud of its navy than America has 

 now, and never were fighting ships 

 manned by men of such skill and valor 

 as our fleet is today. Let us send to them 

 across the ocean, in their vigils and in 

 their perils, a message of cheer, a mes- 

 sage of confidence, and a message of 

 pride. 



Once in 29 years the navy is called 

 upon to fight. If in all the 26 years of 



peace, for a war usually lasts three years, 

 its officers and men concerned themselves 

 only with getting and keeping ready, the 

 feeling of safety such a navy affords 

 would be worth all that it costs. 



Today we have all come to agree with 

 Gouverneur Morris, who, when referring 

 to the navy and the expense therefor, 

 said in the Senate: "When we have 20 

 ships of the line at sea we shall be re- 

 spected by all Europe. The expense 

 compared with the benefit is moderate — 

 nay, trifling. Whatever sums are neces- 

 sary to secure national independence 

 must be paid. If we will not pay to be 

 defended we must pay for being con- 

 quered." Those words never sounded so 

 true as today. They have in them the 

 ring of prophecy and warning. 



In the intervals between wars the navy 

 has not found its only occupation in prac- 

 tice and drill and maneuvers, in simu- 

 lated warfare, making ready against the 

 day when it would be helpless unless it 

 is always ready. 



THE NAVY AS AN INSTITUTION IN PEACE 

 TIMES 



In many ways it has demonstrated its 

 necessity as a peace institution, and in its 

 contribution to the spread of knowledge, 

 to the extension of commerce by open- 

 ing new doors to hitherto unknown peo- 

 ples, to the discovery of new worlds, to 

 the charting of the seas, to pioneer work 

 in securing victories through diplomacy, 

 to the study of the stars, to decreasing 

 the time of ocean voyages and cheapen- 

 ing traffic by sea — in these and other 

 ways the American Navy has been a 

 leader, and all the world is debtor to it, 

 because, aside from its place as a fighting 

 machine, it has been a pathfinder in days 

 of peace. 



Palmerston was not thinking only, or 

 even primarily, of naval warfare when 

 he said of English officers what is equally 

 true of American commanders afloat : 

 "When I want a thing well done in a dis- 

 tant part of the world," said that typical 

 John Bull statesman, who incarnated all 

 the prejudices as well as all the virtues 

 of his countrymen, "when I want a man 

 with a good head and a good heart, lots 

 of pluck, and plenty of common sense, I 

 always send for a captain in the navy." 



