As stated in my special Message to the last Congress:  “I am firmly of the opinion that unless the present conditions of the higher commissioned personnel is rectified by judicious legislation the future of our Navy will be gravely compromised.”  It is also urgently necessary to increase the efficiency of the Medical Corps of the Navy.  Special legislation to this end has already been proposed; and I trust it may be enacted without delay.

It must be remembered that everything done in the Navy to fit it to do well in time of war must be done in time of peace.  Modern wars are short; they do not last the length of time requisite to build a battleship; and it takes longer to train the officers and men to do well on a battleship than it takes to build it.  Nothing effective can be done for the Navy once war has begun, and the result of the war, if the combatants are otherwise equally matched, will depend upon which power has prepared best in time of peace.  The United States Navy is the best guaranty the Nation has that its honor and interest will not be neglected; and in addition it offers by far the best insurance for peace that can by human ingenuity be devised.

I call attention to the report of the official Board of Visitors to the Naval Academy at Annapolis which has been forwarded to the Congress.  The report contains this paragraph: 

“Such revision should be made of the courses of study and methods of conducting and marking examinations as will develop and bring out the average all-round ability of the midshipman rather than to give him prominence in any one particular study.  The fact should be kept in mind that the Naval Academy is not a university but a school, the primary object of which is to educate boys to be efficient naval officers.  Changes in curriculum, therefore, should be in the direction of making the course of instruction less theoretical and more practical.  No portion of any future class should be graduated in advance of the full four years’ course, and under no circumstances should the standard of instruction be lowered.  The Academy in almost all of its departments is now magnificently equipped, and it would be very unwise to make the course of instruction less exacting than it is to-day.”

Acting upon this suggestion I designated three seagoing officers, Capt.  Richard Wainwright, Commander Robert S. Griffin, and Lieut.  Commander Albert L. Key, all graduates of the Academy, to investigate conditions and to recommend to me the best method of carrying into effect this general recommendation.  These officers performed the duty promptly and intelligently, and, under the personal direction of Capt.  Charles J. Badger, Superintendent of the Academy, such of the proposed changes as were deemed to be at present advisable were put into effect at the beginning of the academic year, October 1, last.  The results, I am confident, will be most beneficial to the Academy, to the midshipmen, and to the Navy.