Page:American Boy's Life of William McKinley.djvu/259

As said before, the work to be done was tremendous. Generally a war is measured entirely by the battles fought and the victories or defeats. Few people think of the labor involved in raising and equipping an army and a navy, and of maintaining them while one is in the field and the other on the high seas. In the army the men have to be gathered together and properly officered, they have to be clothed and fed and taken care of when they are sick or when they are wounded. They have to be properly drilled, and when they wish to move from one place to another without marching, proper transportation facilities have to be provided. In the navy the vessels must be put into the best possible fighting trim. Stations for coaling and for obtaining ammunition and food must be provided, and those who are carrying on the war must study matters closely so as to have the right ships at the right place when the time comes to use them. These are but a few of the thousand and one details which go to make up a competent war service, and yet which seldom reach the ears of the general public.