The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-11-18
FIGHTING SHIPS OUR NEED

At the recent dinner in New York of the
Society of Naval Architects and Marine
Engineers Assistant Secretary Roosevelt
made a speech OF wnicn the following is
the gist: II am glad to say that the poll
icy of upbuilGiug the navy will 20 on
In the future as it has in the past, if the
secretary Of the navy gets the means TO
carry on the work. As all of you know,
the work of building the TaVy has gune
on not very symmetrically. We found out
last year that we were further advanced
with battlesEigs than we were with dry
docks and that we needed to build up the
personnel. We needed more officers and
men, more dry docks, and next i'm i'm
pOrtanCe to those two we needed a large
supply of smCkclcss powder ana proj.n-
tiles. The increase of tactical efficiency
that comes from the use Of SmOkelcSs
powder cannot be undCrestimatcd, ana
the secretary feels that he must bring
up to the level of the ships the docks,
the men, the powder and munitions of
war, thus making the nay a symmetrical
whole
o.
81 was pleased the other Gay to see that
the chamber OF commerce had awakened
to the military needs of New York. But
they have awakened only to half We
| need fortifcationC and the best heavy
guns and skilled artillerists, but in them
selves they are not half enough for any
adequate defence. What we need i'm aGli-
tion to them is the Upbulding and main
tenance of a fighting navy, not one OF
commerce dcStroyorS, whose first duty il
is to run and whose heaviest guns are
carried aft. Warships to fight with, but
tleships and torpedo boats are what we
need for defence. In the prize ring no
fighter ever won a battle by parrying and
dolging blows and never hitting, and in
like manner no nation ever won Il war
simply by repelling. Let the coast bri3te
with fortifications, they will not check
for one minute nation at war with rs,
but having a formidable lighting navy
a nation will think twice before attack
| ing US. Therefore the navy is primarily
| for peace. once we were plunged into
war and two or three times were threat
ened with war because we had no navy,
but never did we have a war on account
| of the navy. If any man be base enough
| to wish that we keep peace on conditions
| so contemplate that it will not be worth
while to kick us, let him understand
| that that is not the way to keep peace.
| Peace comes not to the coward or to the
| timid, but to him who will do no wtonG
| and is too strong to allow others to
wrong him. With only the coast pro-
| tCctei We give the enemy absolute choice
| OF time and place of attack, but with an
| adequate navy it is impossible for the
| hostile power TO choose the time, place,
| and condition of attack.
|
| "Yet another thing. As our modern life
| goes on, ever acCelcrating in rapiditY, and
| the nations are drawn closer together for
| good and for evil and this nation grows
| in comparison with friends and rivals, II
| is impossible to adhere to the policy of
| isolation. We cannot avoid responsible
| ties, and we must meet them in a noble
| or ignOble manner by hiding our heads,
| hoping to escape them or shirk them, or
| by meeting them manfully, as our fathers
| did We cannot avoid, as Il nation, the
| fact that on the east and west we look
| across the waters at Europe and Asia,
| and while sincerely and earnestly wish
| ing for no cause of war we would be
| guilty of the greatest folly i'm not being
| prepared for 1t. War has grown TO be a
| matter of preparation, and in this COun-
| try means a prime test of those who 90
{ down to the sea in ships If war comes
| the outcome will depend upon the skill