at he will have the place in the organization
for which his character and abilities fit him, and that he will
be given such duties and exercises as will fit him more and more
for his position, and more and more for advancement to positions
higher.

Not only this, we must exercise foresight in the endeavor that
the material parts and the personnel parts shall be ready at the
same time, so that neither will have to wait for the other; and to
insure the immediate availability when war breaks out, of sufficient
trained personnel to man and fight effectively all the material
units that we shall need to use. This raises the question: "What
units shall we need?" The government itself must, of course, decide
this matter; but it may be pointed out that if in any considerable
war every unit we possess should not be utilized, the navy could
not do as effective work as it otherwise could do. In the present
war, the belligerents have not only utilized all the units that
they had, they have built very many more, using the utmost possible
diligence and despatch. In case we should be drawn into war with
any considerable naval nation, all history and all reasoning show
that we must do the same. Few considerable wars have been waged
except with the greatest energy on each side; for each side knows
that the scale may be turned by a trifling preponderance on one
side; and that if the scale once be turned, it will be practically
impossible ever to restore the balance. Every advantage gained makes
one side relatively weaker to the other than it was before, and
increases the chance that the same side will gain another advantage;
gains and losses are cumulative in their effect. For this reason,
it is essential, if we are to wage war successfully, that we start
right, and send each unit immediately out to service, manned with
a highly trained and skilful personnel; because that is what our
foe will do.

The Germans meet the difficulty of keeping their personnel abreast
of their material very wisely. They utilize the winter months,
when naval operations are almost impossible, for reorganizing and
rearranging their personnel; so that when spring comes, they are
ready in all their ships to start the spring drilling on a systematic
plan. The crews being already organized, and the scheme of drills
well understood, the work of getting the recruits versed in their
relatively simple tasks and the more experienced men skilled in
their new positions