The Washington times., 1902-06-12
WORDS OF ADVICE
BY THE PRESIDENT

or. Country, U. S. N. A. West Point.
MDCCCII"
The address of General Porter, the
orator of the day. was in part:
Address of General Porter.
Since the foundation of the United
/, States Military Academy upon the his
| Jric spot on which today this vast con-
| course of visitors is assembled, the dial
hands of the celestial clock record a
century's fight. Upon the centennial
Of the birth of this devoted child of the
nation she stands with outstretched
hands to press the cup of greeting to
the qips OF all who come to pay homage,
and with natural fondness bids her sons
to return to her after the trials and
vicissitudes of their life's career and
once more repose their heads upon her
bosom.
1T is in every sense an ideal site on
which to have founded an institution to
teach the science and the art of war.
Here the Academy sits enthroned In
the fastness of the legendary Highlands;
the cold. gray. rugged rocks which form
her battlements are symbolic CT the rig
or of the discipline exacted of her chill
dren; her towering hills seem to lift
man nearer to his God; the mist-laden
storm clouds may lower above her. but
they break upon her crags and peaks as
hostile lines of battle have so ofen
broken upol the sword points OF her
heroic sons. Her abode is incomparably
beautiful at all hours and in all sea-
sons. AT one time We find her noun
tains reverberating and her plain trem-
bling with the thunder OF her guns as
their volleys rend the air in mimic war
fare. or as. with their crimson breath.
they utter their notes CT greeting to an
illustrious soldier President who hon
ors her imposing fete day by his dis
tinguished preuence. At another time
stiffness rules her camp; the snowy
Wilderness OF her tents giis.ens in the
golden light of midsummer moon. the
prevailing silence is broken only by the
cadenced footballs of her trusty senti-
neis or the ripping Of the waters of the
noble stream which flows at her base.
bearing to the sea those great argosies
of commerce which measure a nations
material prosperity.
Hundred Years of History.
'In the war with Spain West Point
proved her usefulness. Her officers
bore an honorable part in liberat-
ing an oppressed people. lighting their
watchhres even in the lands of the
antipodes. dipping the fringes OF their
banners in the waters of Oriental seas.
setting our country century ahead in
history and raising it to the proud dis
tinction of world-power.
I'm this contest the blue and the gray
Of the civil contest were. blended
into one harmonious. patriotic color. and
men whose opinions had once made them
foes again marched shoulder to shoulder
beneath the folds Of the Red. White and
Blue-that banner which represents a
trinity of colors. a unity of loyalty
1.-The most recent prominent event in
the annals of the Academy has been the
donation of the majestic building. with
its chaste lines and graceful proportions.
the hospitality of which we today enjoy.
The donor by this act of princely gener-
osity gained title deeds to gratitude
of which he can never be dispossessed.
1t has been said that gratitude is a
debt IN WHICH II Is ltlI u the ueDtOf 10
pay in whatever coin he oleases. Alas!
we have no coin save the fervent tribute
Of thankful hearts with which to pay
the priceless debt Of gratitude we owe
to Gen. George ". Cullum.
Men of West Point, in the honorable
career which you have. chosen, whatever
laurels you may win, always be ready to
lay them at the feet of your country, to
which you owe your birth and your edu-
cation"
Secretary Root was the next aad last
speaker. He made a stirring defense of
the army and was heartily cheered.
The academy graduates had their an
nuai dinner tonight in Grant Hall. The
Presidents table was on the east side
Of the great mess hall opposite the i'm
nense standard of sabres and back of
-hese were the flags. Colonel Mills sat at
President Roosevelt's left. and the Ital-
an ambassador, Signor des PIanches, at
MS right.
The four toasts. 1.-THE President"
Our Country" Our Alma Mater" and
Our Dea..' were drunk in silence.
Speeches to the other toasts we're: Our
Guests" Signor Des Planehes. the
italian ambassador; THE Army" Cen
aral Miles: THE Navy" Capt. H. E.
Chadwick: THE Staff and Army
stiles and Colleges" DR.. William R.
Daniel E Sickles; The National
Guard" Major General Charles Dick.
If Ohio.
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