Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1899-10-10

that the navy has in the hearts of all
the people and how much they all alike
share its glories 1t has always been dear
to the American heart and has con-
tributed some of the most brilliant pages
in American history, but its exploits dur
ing the recent war have given it a stronger
and broader hold than ever before. Be-
sides, it is not department which per-
tains to>any section of the country or to
any class among the people; it is one OF
the very fundamental elements of Ameri-
can popular growth. 1t is as much the pro-
duct of our schools our homes and conn
mon life as is the shop of the mechanic,
the warehouse of the merchant, the har-
vest of the farmer. Jack halls from the
inland hamlet as well as from the seaport
town. The admiral commanding one OF
our great squadrons, winning victory I'M
precedented in naval history. is the son of
a prominent financial business man; an
other the son of an Irish laborer, working
in a ditch by his fathers side, went from
it to the Naval Academy. Every Con-
gressional district of the Union is repre-
scented there by the cadet. The result is
that the splendid body of naval officers
who to-day so highly command the conf
dence and admiration of the people, are
themselves the immediate representatives
of the people and of their common intel
ligence, spirit and standards.
Il can the more properly, gentlemen. jon
with you in your appreciation of the navy
because, although its head, l am yet only
temporarily connected with it, and can
look at it from the outside I sometimes
think, however, that the great public APP
oil
ers which are quite as deserving
"You cheer for the men behind the
guns: you give swords and banquets here
and there TO an admiral-and both most
richly deserve the tribute-but remember
that all up and down the line there are
individuals whose names never got to
your ears or. if so, are already half forgot
ten, who have earned unfading laurels No
man in the navy has rendered such service
however great, that others were not ready
to fill the place and do as well. The navy
is full of heroes unknown to fame It's
great merit is the professional spirit which
runs through it, the high sense of duty,
the lofty standards of service to which
it's hearts are loyal, and which make them
all equal to any duty. Who sings the
praises of the chiefs of the naval stations
and bureaus of the Navy Department who
wept that there were no battles and glory
for them and who remaining at their de-
partmenta posts, made such provision for
the fitting out, the armng, the supplying,
the feeding, the coaling. the equipping of
your fleets, that the commanding officer
on the deck had only to direct and to use
the forces which these, his brothers had
put in his hands? Who repeats the names
of the young officers who pleaded for
Hobson's chance to risk his life in the hui
and hell of the Merrimae? Who mentions
the scores of seamen who begged to be of
the immortal seven who were his COM
panions in that forlorn hope? In the
long watch before Santiago, the terror of
our great battleships was the two Spanish
torpedo boat destroyers, those swift,
fendish sharks Of the sea, very engines
of death and destruction, and yet, when
the great battle came. it was the unpro-
tected Gloucester, a converted yacht, the
former plaything and pleasure boat of
summer vacation, which without hesita-
ton or turning attacked these demons Of
the sea and sunk them both. I have al
ways thought it the most heroic and gal
liant individual instance of fighting during
the war. 1t was as if some light clad
youth, with no defense but his sword,
threw himself into the arena with armored
gladiators and by his very dash and spirit
laid them low. And yet who has given
sword or spread a feast to that purest
flame of chvalrous heroism Richard
Wainwright? Who recalls all the still
more varied services of our navy, its ex-
ploits and researches in the interest OF
science; its stimulus to international COM
merce its surveys of foreign harbors; its
charting of the sea and marking of the
way Of the merchant marine: its study of
the stars; its contributions, in short, to al
the interests of enlightened and pro-
gressive country"