Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1902-05-08
PRESIDENT TALKS
TO GRADUATES
Makes Strong Talk to Naval
Cadets at Annapo-
lis, Md.
AMERICA MUST Be SUPREME
In Case of War There Must BE No Defeat
Unless All Men ON warships Are Trained
to Their Sense of Duty the Navy Must
Suffer.

Annapolis. Md. May 3.-The special
train conveying President Roosevelt
and his party to Annapolis to attend
the graduating exercises at the naval
academy arrived here at GAS o'clock
yesterday over the Pennsylvania rail-
road.
When President Roosevelt address.
ed the class, his remarks were fire.
quently interrupted by applause. Fol.
lowing is the presidents address:
In receiving these diplomas you
become men who above almost any
others OF the entire union are to carry
henceforth the ever-present sense Of
responsibility which must come with
the knowledge that ON some tremend-
Gus day it may depend upon your
courage, your preparedness, your keen
Intelligence and knowledge of your
profession whether or not the nation
Is again to write her name on the
worlds roll of honor or to know the
black-shame of defeat.
We, all OF us, earnestly hope that
the occasion for war may never come.
but II 1t has to come then this nation
must win; and the prime factor in sc.
curing victory over any foreign foe
must OF necessity be the United States
navy.
1t cannot be too often repeated that
In modern warfare and especially in
modern naval war, the chief factor In
achieving triumph is what has been
done in the way of thorough and
preparation and training before the be-
ginning of the war.
IL is what has been done before the
outbreak OF the war that is all-import-
ant.
"A battleship cannot be improvised.
IL takes years to build. and the
skill OF the officers and crew in handl-
ing IL Alright can likewise never be
improylsed, but must spring from use
ana actual sea service and from the
most careful. jealous and systematic
training.
You enter a glorious service. proud
OF Its memories of renown.
You must keep ever in your minds
the thought of the supreme hour which
may come when what you will do will
forever add to or detraet from this re-
nown.
Some of you will have to do your
part in helping construct the ships and
the guns wtiilh you use. You need 10
bend every energy toward making
these ships and guns in all their de.
tails the most perfect of their kind
throughout the world
The ship must be fight worthy.
the armament fitted for the best pro.
lection to guns and men, the guns. in
all their mechanism ut to be of the
greatest possible execution in the
shortest possible time.
From now on throughout your
lives there can be no slackness on 4
your part.
Your duty must be present with
you. waking and sleeping.
If the day for battle comes Won
will need all that you possess OF bold
ness. skill, determination, ability 10
bear punishment, and instant readiness
In an emergency.
Officers and men alike must real
ize that in battle the only shots that
count are the shots that hit and that
normally the victory will lie with the
side whose shots hit oftenest"
AT the conclusion of his address and
distribution of diplomas, the president
requested he be taken to the hospital
where Cadet Emory s. Long, OF
wyoming. member of the graduating
class. was lying Ill. Sitting up in bed
the sick boy received his diploma from
the president, who made few ap-
propriate remarks. in which he ex-
pressed the hope that he would soon
be out. The president was then given
an opportunity of witnessing the Gus.
tomary prank of the plebes throwing
the graduating class out of quarters.
which afforded great deal of amuse-
ment.