Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1897-11-25

changes of time and under the providence
Of God oe obliged to enter into contest for
the right, for your countrY's honor and
safety, that victory may be with you. and that |
when you shall have duly thanked the Power
that gave it, you will ill this bowl and you
will all join in the toast [applnuIel Of vic
tory everywhere to the arms of the United
Stutes Applause.
Pray, Therefore, Capt. Todd, for yourself,
for your officers, for your entire ship com.
pany, accept this as the gift of the people of
Wilmington, and with II take THAR warm
hopes for your safety and your security in
all your honorable undertakings. tGreat
applause.l
Capt. Todd accepted the memorial in
the following speeeh
Mr.. Mayor, Mr. Bayard. and kind friends
again; On behalf of the Navy Department,
on behalf of the officers and the crew of the
good ship Wilmington, | accept at your
hands this magnificent gift.
Mr.. Bayard has just said that he witnessed
the giving of the freedom of city to an
officer. The written parchment IN the gilded
| and beiewelled box is great thingto many
| peoples but recognizing as we do here to-day
that we have the freedom Of your city
| through the goodness of your heart, it is OF
/ greater value by far than any bejeweled
case ever bestowed by crowned heads. APP
| plause.
When the government began the present
l
| and the Navy Department decided that some
| of the ships should be called after the larger
| and more important cities of the land, moth
| ing could have been more appropriate than
that the name of your great city should
| have been selected for one. For | may say
| it is the first place in America in marine en-
cheering and metal shipbuiding. APP
| plause. And when one of Del aware's fair
| daughters christened the ship and gave it
the name of this hospitable and generous
| city, she felt doubtless just pride as she
named her after the metropolis of her native
State. lApplause.
Some of the speakers that have addressed
| YOU have been retrospective; | do not with
to be. | would like to speak to the present.
We, of the navy are sometimes reminded
| by oui good friends, the Christian Endeav-
| orers and other Kindred societies, coming on
board of our ships, that We are engaged in u
| dreadful business that of being ready to
destroy our fellow men. We think our
good friends misapprehend the case entirely.
| We are not for the purpose that | have
referred to. On the contrary, our position ia
TO work for peace-peace for our country,s
security at home, respect abroad.l Applausel.
believe the great American people are for
peace. [Applausel. | believe that they will
sacrifice everything, save honor, to main
tain il.
But in the last % years we have made
such tremendous strides that to-day America
stands in the forefront Of the nations of the
earth, and, standing there, certain duties
become consequent-duties national, duties
intcrnntional-and as such she must fulfill
these duties; she cannot eyade them. To
fulfill these duties, it is necessary to have
Il naval power.
Moral suasion is very good thing. Ar
filtration may be good thing but when the
pinch comes 1t is the frowning mu2zle of
the modern gun that determines the issue.
Great applause.
Now, my good friends, one and all, il has
been said here that the sailor has no home.
1t is true. Entering our country's service in
carly boyhood, there we spend our life.
Soon after leaving the hearthstone, cutting
adrift from our parents, we begin to weaken,
then break the ties that bound us to the
loved ones. As these home ties break, we
begin to lose friends at home and Our hearts
become changed. Something comes over us
that makes us realize that, as John Howard
Payne says, There is no place like home
! but we have no home.
, What is the result2 The heart strings
within us, craving home, weave them
, selves about our beloved country as our frs I,
our great, Our only love. [Applause.
Recognizing the position that we as a
I nation are in to-day, liable to be attacked
, from across the sea. we OF the navy realize
. that upon our shoulders must fall the brunt
of the conflict.
Are we strong enough? Every time there
is q strong tension in our diplomatic affairs,
these heart strings of ours, bound around
, our countrys welfare, twang like that of
the mothers in the middle of the night as
the hoarse bark comes from the croupy
throat Of the child. 1t is mighty tension,
mighty drawing of those heart strings,
, and you who live upon the shore cannot
understand it.
Weknew best We know further, though,
that we are not strong enough to-day to
preserve and save our beloved land, should
the attack come.
| hrn In la
Senate chamber in the Island of Syracuse
there arose n wise man. and he made a
/ speech. The subject under discussion was the
probability of attack from the republic OF
Athens. The wise man saidi what, at.
, tack us with all our great resources, and
from across the sea While they will bring
hundreds, we have thousands That same
, sentiment has been heard in our land in re-
! cent years, and even in the halls of Con
gress. Applause.
! What was the result? In less than three
months the Athenians were laundering q;
, the Syracusan gates. In two months time,
upon their Bonded knees the Syracusails
were suing for peace at the hands of Their
enemy, and but for treachery in her enenly's
, , camp most disastrous and complete destruc-
ton would have been the result.
Shall we as a nation be lulled into this
false security by the man who says, ave
are too strong. Our resources are too great
Nobody dares to attack us" 2 But rather
: shall we not heed the wisest, the greatest Of
! all Americans, who handed down the maxim
= which we will all DO we'll to remember, that
! to be prepared for war is the most effectual
, means of preserving the peace. Applause.
The modern warship cannot be built, nor
can the officers and men to man that shir
!, be trained in few months, 1t takes years.
= We must rememb Der that. II is highly inn
= portant. Then we are not strong enough to
, hold our own in any possible attack that
!, may come to us.
= Now a word to my friends of the com
: mereial Observation-Disclosures mer--on bust.
= ness matter pure aud simple. History gives
1 You u lesson. Let us read ii. 1t is this
! That in direct ratio to the armed naval forces
I OF the countries is their merchant marine
/ Forty years ago we were the masters oil
i the sea. Where are we now? Nobody
i knows.
! To-day if we look across the water, wha
! do we see2 Our mother country, with
> magnificent fleet. the mistress of the mer,
chant marine of to-day. Coming clost
behind her and next in order, is the great
| country of France, a splendid navy, splen
a did merchant marine, and so it goes al
!. down the scale. Germany, Russia. aiit
. even little Italy in recent years by the up
: building of her navy has increased her mer
/. chant marine ten-fold.
y Andif we would be safe at home. and i
!, we would resume that supremacy over thu
: seas that we once had, and il we woult
, occupy that position among the nations o
a the earth that is our due function and duJI
n to maintain, our fleet should be strength
i ened, yea, greatly strengthened, and i
! should be done quickly.
Your Senators and Representatives II
= Congress have done much for the new navy
= and we thank them for it; butthereis muel
Il yet to be done and we look for quick ant