tegy directing it be good.
Experience has shown, however, that, in any organization the influence
of the men at the top, and the effect of the policy they adopt, is
so great that the whole organization will in the main be good or
bad according to the kind of men that control it, and the methods
they employ. The better the discipline of the organization, the more
completely the quality of the management will influence the whole,
and the more essential it becomes that good methods be employed. Good
discipline means concentration of the effort of the organization;
and the more concentrated any effort is, the more necessary that
it be directed aright. The simplest illustration of this is seen
in naval gunnery; for there the effect of good fire-control is
to limit the dispersion of the various shots fired, relatively
to each other; to make a number of shots fired simultaneously to
bunch closely together, that is to concentrate; getting away from
the shotgun effect, and approximating the effect of a single shot.
Obviously, if the fire-control and the skill of the gunners are
so great that the shots fall very close together, the chance of
hitting the target is less than if the shots did not fall close
together, if the range at which the guns are fired is incorrect.
A mathematical formula showing the most effective dispersion for
a given error in range was published in the _Naval Institute_ by
Lieutenant-Commander B. A. Long, U. S. N., in December, 1912.

So, we see that if the strategy directing a navy is incorrect,
we can accomplish little by improving the discipline, and may do
harm; when unwise orders have been given in the past, those orders
have sometimes been disobeyed with beneficial effect. Neither would
it avail much to improve the details of the material or personnel,
or to spend much money; for there is no benefit to be derived from
building fine ships, if they are to be captured by the enemy. If
the Russian fleet sent to Tsushima had been weaker than it was,
the loss to Russia would have been less.

Inasmuch as strategy, however, includes all the means taken to make
a navy effective, it is obvious that a good strategical direction
will be more likely to result in good discipline and good material
than would a poor strategy. But this is not necessarily so, for
the reason that a strategy may be in the main faulty, and yet be
good in certain ways--especially in attention to details, for which
a high degree of menta