Naval Ruler (1917)

When the United States takes possession of foreign territory it sends to govern it a naval officer. But, naval officers are not trained to govern. They are trained to fight! They have made no study of social organization, of human development, of industrial organization; if they are not quite unsympathetic, it is no fault of their training or of the traditions of their caste; yet, today they are well-nigh absolute masters in Nicaragua, San Domingo, Hayti and the erstwhile Danish West Indies. It would be impossible to conceive a more dangerous or foolhardy experiment.

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Citation: Du Bois, W.E.B. 1917. “Naval Ruler.” The Crisis. 14(1):9.