count upon doubling the efficiency of our fleet; and no argument against it on the ground of economy, the great bugbear of efficiency during peace, should ever be permitted to prevail.

The maintenance of a high morale will be the most essential, and probably the most difficult problem to confront the naval officer during the coming peace. The vital part which morale plays in efficiency of fighting forces is well illustrated by the extremes of morale and efficiency through which recently we have seen some European forces pass within a short period. These difficulties ahead of us will be accentuated by the inevitable slackening of public interest in and support of the service, our lowered prestige in the public estimation, hostility to the navy by radical sections of the press, Congress, and the people, and other influences mentioned previously.

In order to maintain the morale of the service at large at a high level it is essential that the morale of the officer body should be exceedingly good.

The officer must cultivate and feel a patriotism which will transcend all personal questions and prepare him for every sacrifice, including the supreme sacrifice, which may be demanded by the interests of his country.

He must look for no reward other than the inward satisfaction derived from unselfish service in a great cause.

He must bear with fortitude the discouragements and disappointments which inevitably accompany the military service of a country temporarily engrossed in extraneous matters; remembering always, in spite of apparently contradictory evidence during peace, that the true spirit of a big nation can become manifest only in great crises; and that then he will be made aware of the country's loyal support of its defenders.

He must recognize and proudly accept his own responsibility, inseparable from his position as a naval officer, towards the country which has honored him with its confidence, and trusted him with its safety.

He must accept the doctrine that the form of government of our country is the most idealistic which will permit proper safeguards for stability and progress, during the present state of evolution of the race.

He must believe implicitly in those dictates of reason which prescribe adequate military preparedness as the best means of

insuring the nation's preservation and the general welfare of its people.

It is only by thus adjusting his inner consciousness and fundamental convictions, and by formulating for himself a creed of patriotic unselfish service, that the officer can become the embodiment of a high morale, and be capable of transmitting it to his subordinates.

[COPYRIGHTED]

U. S. NAVAL INSTITUTE, ANNAPOLIS, MD.

THE ROOSEVELT MEMORIAL

By REAR ADMIRAL BRADLEY A. FISKE, U. S, Navy

As we look back through the long corridor of history and see the countless millions crowded there, a very few figures stand high above the rest. Though these figures are seen differently from the standpoints of different men, most men could not help seeing Alexander, Cæsar, Charlemagne, Napoleon, and Washington. Among all these men and others, the figure which the world. has declared to be the most perfect and symmetrical is that of Washington.

And now the world is becoming dimly conscious that America has produced another man preeminently great, and to feel that history may declare him a worthy successor of George Washing

ton.

The things that Theodore Roosevelt did for the world are known by the world, and so are the positions that he held; but the things that he did and the positions that he held were because he was the man he was. Strong of mind and will and muscle; brave and kind and true; highly imaginative yet highly practical: audacious and yet cautious; ambitious, yet self-sacrificing; conscious of his talents and yet modest; aggressive and yet submissive; assertive of his own opinions, yet eager to hear those of others; possessing a wider range of knowledge than any other mortal of his time; discerning a straighter and wiser path of personal and national living than any other man; following it more rigidly and inspiring more people to follow it, Theodore Roosevelt stands a unique figure in the "corridors of time."

His active work is finished now he personally can do no more Whether his influence shall continue or shall cease depends, not on him, but on us who live after him.

The Woman's Roosevelt Memorial Association is desirous of possessing the house in which he was born at 28 East 26th Street, New York, to be held, like Mount Vernon, as a continuous reminder to a people prone to be sordid that the life most worth living is a life of devotion to a noble cause. Among all the beneficiaries of his example, none are more indebted than navy men; none are more in honor bound to further the continuance of the inspiration of his life to those who shall come after. Let us do what we can for his memory, in recognition of what he did for us. He was a friend of the navy when the navy needed friends.

[COPYRIGHTED]

U. S. NAVAL INSTITUTE, ANNAPOLIS, MD.

LETTERS ON STAFF DUTY

BASED ON EXPERIENCE ON THE STAFF OF A FLAG
OFFICER AFLOAT ·

By LIEUT. COMMANDER HOLLOWAY H. FROST, U. S. Navy

Motto:

1. No commander can be successful whose time is occupied with administrative details.

2. Proper delegation of initiative to subordinates is the secret of successful command. E. A. ANDERSON.

I. FIRST LETTER

THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE STAFF

The French General Desaix, whom Bonaparte always considered the best of all the great soldiers who served under his orders, claimed that "the chief command of an army is the most difficult thing on earth; it is the one work above all others which requires the display of the greatest number of qualities in a given time." Had Desaix lived to-day, after the new idea of a general's staff had been developed, he would say that this holds good even more in the case of the chief of the staff than in that of the general or admiral in command. It applies to a lesser extent to the subordinate staff officers, especially in the case of a small staff, where each officer must perform a great variety of duties.

In the old days the general or admiral had a staff which was selected for far different qualities than a staff of to-day is selected for. The poor leader had a staff selected for show purposes; the officers were usually chosen from the nobility for the express purpose of gaining the favor of those high in authority in the same way that relatives and friends of politicians to-day are given easy and lucrative government positions. A good general, on the other hand, reduced this type of officer to the lowest number he