On Friday week the officers of the United States Atlantic
Fleet were entertained at luncheon in the Guildhall by the City Corporation. Admiral Murdock, who replied to the toast of the American officers, said that the United States Navy was recruited from the middle classes of the whole country east of the Rocky Mountains, and no one physically or morally unfit was accepted. When he was a Midshipman he discovered that among a crew of one hundred and forty in his gunboat no less than nineteen nationalities were represented. To-day no one could enter the Navy who was not an American citizen.
had often been noticed that discipline was less strict in the American Navy than in some other navies. But the object of what was called discipline was to develop the fighting capacity to the highest degree. American officers deliberately encouraged the personality of every young sailor, recognising That in America they could best work through a spirit of independence. Different countries must have different methods ; Americans had only chosen what was the best for themselves.
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