The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-09-23
The Pre.ident.. Address.


greeted with storm of enthusiasm, and as
it died away some one shouted, "And who
sent him there?' meaning Manila There
was great cry of Roosevelt" and
cheers followed for the President. That
portion of the address in regard to Cuban
reciprocity was received with very marked
enthusiasm and approval. When the Presi-
dent announced his determination to con-
tinue his efforts to secure reciprocity with
Cuba, the armory rang with applause and
shouts of approval. and the President stood.
with appraised hand. several minutes before
he could proceed. The declaration that we
intend to make our friendship toward Cuba
of continuing character, and that we in
tend to stand by her. was received with
more cheers and fresh enthusiasm. The
speech, in full, follows:
Mr.. Mayor and men and women of Mich
igan, and particularly you, my comrades
who volunteered in the war with Spain, L
THANK you for your greeting. The first en-
gagement made this year was when ac-
cepted the invitation so kindly extended to
me by the mayor OF this city to speak on
this occasion, for / felt that coming from
him, as II did. and extended in such way l
could not refuse.
1.-THE war with Spain, though from IL
such great consequences have flowed. was
itself but small war; and in the presence
or the veterans OF the Grand Army all we
can say is that we hope that we of the
younger generation showed a desire 10
come up to the standard set by our fathers,
the men of 81 to IS. Yet though the ac-
tual deeds done were trivial when meas
ured with the giant struggle in which
Grant and Sherman, and Thomas and
Sheridan, and Farragut and Porter won
imperishable renown, 1t still remains true
that the way In which these deeds were
done was of good omen to the country.
1t emphasized In peculiar fashion the fun
damental unity of our people. 1t brought
home to us what should be the ever-pres-
ent fact in our minds that a good done by
an American Is put odwn to the credit of
all Americans; and that, therefore, con-
versely' no act OF wrongdoing can be per-
formed by any of our number without
the evil effects being felt to a greater or
less degree by all of us.
Here in Detroit, In Michigan. you had
the good fortune most signally to illustrate
this national unity. / myself served in the
army, and therefore at Santiago l served
beside two regiments of Michigan volun-
teers, the Thirty-third and Thirty fourth,
so that with many of your sons l can claim
that right of comradeship which comes to
those who have known one another under
the close intimacy of such conditions. But
Michigan also performed the unique feat
for an inland State of manning one of the
war vessels of the nation. more strik-
ing tribute to the national militia of the
state could not be paid than was paid
when In their custody was placed the honor
and interest of the United States for there
Is no part of our honor and interest which
we more jealousy guard than that bound
up In the fate of any one Of the war ves-
sells of the nation. |:
TRIBUTE TO NAVAL MILITIA.
1T had been my good fortune while as
sistant secretary of the navy to come here
and witness for myself the zeal and work.
manlike efficiency of the officers and en-
listed men OF your naval militia It did
not need long acquaintance with them
TO convince anyone that they meant busi-
ness; that they had in them the stuff that
would make it safe to trust them m time
OF trial and that they had diligently and
assiduously improved their opportunities in
learning all that they could of their pro-
fession.
when the period arose to utilize as
many as possible of our people who were
trained to go down to sea in ships it was
natural and fitting that one of our war
craft should be manned by your naval mi
litia. 1t is. of course. a far more difficult
and complicated thing to learn war duty
afioat than war duty ashore for the naval
profession is a highly specialized one. A
peculiar mode of honor. therefore, right
fully belongs to the naval militia, and es-
pecially to the naval militia of the inland
waters who so quickly and well responded
TO the call made upon them.
"Michigans action is but one illustra-
tion of how closely bound together all our
interests are in this Nation There are
many such Illustrations Every State in
this country had its sons reported on some
of the war craft which won honor in that
short struggle during the summer of 1885,
The names of the ships, no less than the
birth placeA OF the officers and men aboard
them. bear witness to the fact that our
navy, like our army, is indeed national in
character. The war itself was an easy
one. The tasks left behind us. though glo-
rious. have been hard. You. the men of
the Spanish war. you and your comrades in
arms. who fought in Cuba and Porto Rico
and in the Philippines won renown for the
country. added to its moral grandeur and
TO iss material prosperity, but you also left
duties to be done by those who came after
you.
FILIPINOS TO BE WELL TREATED.
"In Porto Rico the duty has been merely
administrative and Ii has been so we'll done
that very little need be said about 1t. In
the Philippines the problem was one of
extreme difficulty. But after three years
of bitter fighting peace has been won by
the valor of our soldiers and civil govern
ment has been introduced, so that the
islanders have now greater opportunities
for life. liberty and happiness than they
have ever enjoyed before. Last week
ordered a taking of the census of the
islands and two years hence, according to
the law of Congress. the first steps will
be taken in the direction of giving the
Philippine people a legislative assembly
No other Oriental country in the posses
sion of an alien power-indeed no Oriental
country at all. save only Japan-has been
given any such measure of self-govern-
ment and personal freedom we have al
ready given to the Filipinos
"One of the most import recent measures
has been the providing OF a cable for the
Philippines, this being necessary both
from commercial and from a military
standpoint. 1t is only just TO the repre-
sentative to Congress from Detroit to
say that we owe TO him more than TO any
one man the fact that this cable is TO be
laid down upon terms absolutely satisfac-
tory TO the government which guarantees
TO the people of this country that their
every right to and interest in the cable
shall be amply safeguarded.
with Cuba the matter Is different We
pledged ourselves solemnly at the out
break of war with Spain to give to Cuba
independence. The world at larSe sneered
at the pledge and even some of our own
people scoffed at the thought that we In
tended to keep II. But we have keep 1t In
good faith and with keen regard for the