The evening times., 1899-05-30


bridge and b. w. Beebe; bass. DR.. FREQ
X SWEET and Eugene Stevens; sopranos
Misses Josephine Bryson and Jessie Bart
lett; altos, Misses Lillian E. Calver ana
Fannie NJ. Calvert; accompanist, Mrs. An
ME l.. Gcodhue.
Miss Emma Houchen sang The Rest OF
the Brave" and Edward B. Fox sang saw
ior, When Night Involves the Skies. ac-
companied in chorus by Mrs. Charles p.
SWEET. Miss Regina Baptista, and Mr.: LII
cius F. Randolph. The Marine Band played
the star Spangled Banner" and DIR. w.
ID. Mahry delivered an address on the
American Navy in the Revolution. DIR.
Mabry said:
Mr.. Chairman. Fellow Citizens: am to
address you fer a short time on the
American Navy, During the Revolutiona-
ry Period Peace may be the ideal con-
dition among men, but the martial spirit Is
cne CT the strongest impulses OF human ma
ture We may rejoice in the arts OF peace.
but we glory in the achievements OF war;
We honor the man who devoteS MS ll1e 10
| the promotion of peace. but reserve our
| highest need Of praise for the hero who
returns from victorious battle. Nor Is
man alone possessed CT this spirit OF bel
! ligerency 1t pervades and permeates all
animal life. Everything in the sea. from
the animalculae to the leviathan; every
| thing in the air, from the insect to the
eagle; everything on the land. from the
ant to the elephant, has its enemies and
| its weapon Of offence and defence. The
| stag has his antlers. the OK his horns man
! his two strong arms and the nation It's
army and navy. A nation with an eXten-
| sive seacoast, such as this country had
even in the time of the Revolution. with
| out a navy would be at the mercy OF hos
tile powers a flock of sheep beset by
| wolves, without the protection of dog or
shepherd.
I'm every war upon which the American
people have entered they have accomplish
| ed more than they set out to do. l might
cite proofs of this fact from the results
of every war we have had; but in SO doing
would encroach upon the subjects assign
ed to the speakers who are to follow me.
| This truth. however. Is strikingly Illus
| trated in the results of the Revolutionary
| War. When the patriots OF lII5 entered
upon that heroic struggle, nothing was fur
| ther from their purpose than to sever their
| political relations with Great Britain.
| They lad fondly regarded her as their
mother country. were proud of her great
ness and felt secure in the protection her
| great power afforded. But when that pow
er was employed TO oppress them, and after
they had pleaded earnestly and waited long
for redress which did not come. as last
| resort they appealed TO arms, not for the
purpose CT setting up separate and inde-
pendent government. but for the purpose
of resisting oppression. That was a sig.
| rificant circumstance when John Paul
Jones ran up the first banner ever raised
| over the deck of an American war vessel
with the figure of a rattlesnake and the m
scr:ption. DO not tread on me. Ine
coonists felt that they had been trampied
upon until the time had come TO strike
They had not been engaged year upon
4, han, ytpf
came to their sensitive aud expanding souls
that a wisdom greater and power might
ier than their own was oyerruiing theli
affairs. and that destiny which nc man
| no men. controlled was calling them to thI
establishment of a free and independent
| government under which all who shouic
seek its protection and submit TO its law:
should enjoy, unmolested. the inaiienabi'
| rights of life. liberty. and the pursuit o.
happiness. 1t was also evident to then
that It would be as essentia! that such
nation should have a navy on the seas a:
that it should have an army on the la
1t should be borne in mind that there
was no President in those days with nj:
Secretary of the Navy and other Cabinet
officers; that the Congress was the only
National Government; and that ii eXer'
cised all the powers OF government through
committees appointed from its own body
In the fall of i115. Congress. through th'
| Naval Committee. created the first Anerl
can navy. | should think. Mr.. President
that a study of the beginnings of American
independence. would have one of two ef
fects upon our friends Of today, who seen
to have horror OF anything numbered b.
10 plus 3; it should either convince then
that their superstition is without reason
or that there still awaits the Union, th
Tag and che American navy. some dire ca
lamity. They would not only discover tha
the Union was composed of thirteen States
that the body OF the flag consists of thir
teen stripes. and that in the field OF blue
wss clustered a galaxy Of thirteen stars
but also that the first American naW wa
made up of thirteen vessels OF war. Verify
this despised number seems TO have bec
most popular and fortunate one Wit
our heroic sires.
The question, What's in nance ha
been repeated untold thousands of time
since il was first prCpounded by the in
mortal bard. The answer might Se, Mic
in every way for, while it may he tru
that rose would smell as sweet by IN
other name. the vessels of the first Amer
lean navy mean much to us because of III
names they bore. What biog-apn:, wha
history. what geography. what chivllry
what patriotism. what religious faith an
sentiment are suggested by these names
The Hancock" the Randolph" the 'Ra
| Ielgn- tne Warren, lue NbHsEtssr lI
Washington. the "Effinghlm tn
Providence. the "Trumbull." TIE "Nir
ginia" the Boston the Delaware" an
the Montgomery" The formidab bicncs
, | of tfese vessels, or rather the want OF i
4 may be appreciated by the considerable
| that they actually cost the vast sum
. sS5 666 66, scarcely one-fourth ;he rOst {
one of the first class battleshps of ou
modern navy. These were Increased ;
twenty-five vessels by the Fourth OF Jul.
1T16. At the same time Great Britain M
| I12 vessels of war. carrying 3,114 guns.
which 7S men-of-war. carrying over 2.oC
guns. lowered en- the coasts of the Colo
MES. blockading their ports and destfJy:n
| their commerce. And yet, with but tr en-
! ty-fve vessels only six of which were bui
for purposes of war. carrying only A.
guns the American Congress at Phiiide
| phia had the courage sublime faith to Civ
utterance to the immortal Declaration {
Independence. and to pledge to its suppol
their lives their property. and their sacre
honor.
The struggle went on, and in tw
years our little navy had been reduced. b
the exigencies of war. to fourteen vessel
with only 332 guns; while England had il
creased her naval forces on the America
coasts to eighty nine vessels. with 2.5I
guns. Nevertheless, the results were sin
ply amazing. During the year 1777 tn;
little navy captured 467 British vessels, IL
GLIDING several men-of-war. While a
these captures were of more or less impo
tance, some of them seemed really prov
Dental. At one time, the Continental Al
my was running short of ammunition
when a British prize was captured wit
1900 barrels of powder. In the ear
winter of 1177, the Revolutionary Arm
after a year Of hard and discouragir