be made for the promotion of exceptionally meritorious men over the heads of their comrades and for the retirement of all men who have reached a given age without getting beyond a given rank; this age of retirement of course changing from rank to rank.  In both the army and the navy there should be some principle of selection, that is, of promotion for merit, and there should be a resolute effort to eliminate the aged officers of reputable character who possess no special efficiency.

There should be an increase in the coast artillery force, so that our coast fortifications can be in some degree adequately manned.  There is special need for an increase and reorganization of the Medical Department of the army.  In both the army and navy there must be the same thorough training for duty in the staff corps as in the fighting line.  Only by such training in advance can we be sure that in actual war field operations and those at sea will be carried on successfully.  The importance of this was shown conclusively in the Spanish-American and the Russo-Japanese wars.  The work of the medical departments in the Japanese army and navy is especially worthy of study.  I renew my recommendation of January 9, 1905, as to the Medical Department of the army and call attention to the equal importance of the needs of the staff corps of the navy.  In the Medical Department of the navy the first in importance is the reorganization of the Hospital Corps, on the lines of the Gallinger bill, (S. 3,984, February 1, 1904), and the reapportionment of the different grades of the medical officers to meet service requirements.  It seems advisable also that medical officers of the army and navy should have similar rank and pay in their respective grades, so that their duties can be carried on without friction when they are brought together.  The base hospitals of the navy should be put in condition to meet modern requirements and hospital ships be provided.  Unless we now provide with ample forethought for the medical needs of the army and navy appalling suffering of a preventable kind is sure to occur if ever the country goes to war.  It is not reasonable to expect successful administration in time of war of a department which lacks a third of the number of officers necessary to perform the medical service in time of peace.  We need men who are not merely doctors; they must be trained in the administration of military medical service.

Our navy must, relatively to the navies of other nations, always be of greater size than our army.  We have most wisely continued for a number of years to build up our navy, and it has now reached a fairly high standard of efficiency.  This standard of efficiency must not only be maintained, but increased.  It does not seem to be necessary, however, that the navy should—­at least in the immediate future—­be increased beyond the present number of units.  What is now clearly necessary is to substitute efficient for inefficient units as the latter become worn out