Not seeing the navy, not hearing of it in these piping times of peace, having no dealings with it or with ships, never coming in contact with it in any way, and not understanding anything about it, they never trouble themselves with it, and care nothing for it, just as almost every one naturally does with any subject in which he is not personally interested.
But how can our people in the interior be influenced to interest themselves in a subject which really is of vital importance to them, and almost as much so as to those living on the seaboard?
They are told, year after year, that our coasts and our lakes are undefended, that a navy is absolutely necessary, that in its present state it could not stand a chance with the navy of even a fourth-rate power; yet they never care enough about it to instruct their representatives in Congress to put the country in a secure state of defense, and unless so instructed by the people, our politicians will never do anything but dilly-dally with every subject of national importance.
We are slapped in the face, first on one side then on the other, and kicked about by nations which are picayunish in their resources in comparison with ourselves, and yet we take it all with indifference or a faint protest.
We are a strange combination as a nation; the same men who would resent an insult individually, or so provide themselves with weapons that no one would dare insult them, when taken collectively as a nation pitifully ask to be “let off” the moment the British lion shows his teeth, or the Prussian eagle raises his claws.
But it is not intended to appeal to the sentiment of the people of the United States, or to their sense of honor to rouse their interest in the navy. That has been tried too often, and has failed in every case, until truly patriotic men (and thank God there are a few such men left) have almost given up in despair, if not in disgust. This article will, it is hoped, prove, on other grounds than sentiment, the absolute necessity of a navy in time of peace by showing what it does when we are not at war.
Every one knows the navy has something to do with the defenses of the country, but—
What is the use of a navy in time of peace?
What does it do?
What does it consist of?