"Break!" How the Navy Prepares for War. By " TreTel-Pen."
(Westminster Press. is.)—" Break!" is the command given to the signalman to unfurl the rolled-up pennant, and thus signal to the flagship that the order has been executed and the ship is ready. So this short, significant word is a happy title for a series of short, vigorous descriptions of the many manceuvres and perpetual practice which alone can give efficiency to a fighting ship. We, or rather the Russians, have had a lesson lately of how useless a fleet is without a very high standard of efficiency. One of the evolutions of a battleship so graphically given us by "Tre- Pol-Pen" is "Out nets!" The record for this is said to be thirty- seven seconds. Few crews, however, can get out their torpedo- netting at this pace. The most perfect practice may not save a battleship, now that the submarine has shown its offensive power. Still, as Mr. Yexley, who writes the introductory chapter on
General Routine," says, the incessant routine, monotonous as it may appear, is essential. What this routine is is lucidly set forth in this little book.
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