The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-05-03
TIE VALUE oF TRAl
Best ships are UseleDs All
 0ut Good GunneFs.
If War Cones ths uaitsd stula -
 win and ths 1srsoanal . ! ths Navy | In x
 portaat II'' X

AuUap01lDv Aoy 6~-kfo31deot 4@4@l and party arrived here this n1ofn116 6o e:G o'clock to participate in the 6r11 ing exercises at tho naval academy. ., Y President delivered tho diplounas to 1T graduates and spoke to then as follooo, !,
 Tn receiving these diplomas you @ come men. who above almost any o<h111 of the entire Union xrs to carry hSIG forth the ever-present sense cf ro1p6d < biiity which must come with the krc x edge that on some tremendous day t TT depend upon your courage. your prepox
 nsss. your keen intelligence and huol edge of your profession whether or no1 the nation Is again to writa her nanI on the worlds roll of honor or to knoW the black shame of defeat. ls$
 "we all of us earnestly hops that occS. sion for war may never come, hut Y t< has to come. then this nation must Win, and the primo factor in securing victorx over any foreign foe. must of necessity be the United states navy If the nsxx fail us then we are doomed to defeat nb matter what may be our material wea1fh or the high average of our citisenshin
 Tt should therefore be an object of prime importance for every patriotic American to see that the navy is con stantly built up and above all that it is kept to the highest point of ef1lcicncv both in material and in personnel, It cannot be too often repeated that iu modern war and especially in modem naval war. the chief factor in ael,ievinx triumph is what has been done In the way of thorough preparation and training before the beginning of the war. It ia what has been done before the outbreak of war that Is all important. After tho outbreak all that can be done fs to usS to the hest aivahfsEe the rrest wnr exl. sinss snd the searnanship, anarkfnAns11tr, and general practical efficiency. which have already been provided by the fore thought of the national legislature and by the administrative ability. through course of years. of the Navy Department
 You. to whom give these diplomas, now join the ranks of the officers Of tho United States navy. You enter R}0ff- ous service. proud of it's memories and it's renown. You must keep ever in your minds the thought of the supreme hour which may come when what you do WiIl forever add to or detract from this re- uOWu% 6BfklG uA yOu Wtkt A1tE kR &N X'VA[ part in helping construct the ships aud the guns which you use. You need to bend every energy towards making these ships and guns in all their details tho most perfect of their kind throughout tho world. ss
 ''But the best ships and guns and the most costly mechanism ass utterly value less. if the men are not trained to use them to the utmost possible adyautago From now on throughout your lives there can be no slackness on your part Your duty must be present with you. waking or sleeping. You have got to train your selves and you have got to train thoae under you. in the actual work of seaman ship, in the actual work of guunery, If the day for battle comes you win need ali that you possess of boidness. skin, ability to bear punishment and instant readiness in an emergency.
 Though without these qualities you can do nothing, yet even with them you can do little If you have not had the fore thought and set purpose to train your selves and the enlisted men under you aright. ofcers and men alike must have the sea habit; officers and men alike must realize that in battle the only shots that count are the shots that hit and that the victory will be with the side where SHuto HtL 0ALcIcSts 0<zdin8At1t1-H and markmanship--these must be the two prime objects of you training. both for yourselves and the men under you.
 In the distributing of special prizes. Neil E., Nichols of Michigan. captain and full back of last years football team. and this year stroke of the academy crew. was accorded the honor of having hts name engraved on the Thomas silver trophy cup for having done the best atli- letic work during the year at the acad- emy. Francis S. whitten of New Mex leo received gold medal for being one of the champion fencers in the tnter-coi- legiate tournament held in New York last March. He also received a gold medal for being the champion cadet small swords- man.
 At the conclusion of the address and the distribution of diplomas, the President re- auested that he be taken to tho hospital. where Cadet Emory S. Long of Wyoming, a member of the graduating class. wns lying i'll. Sitting up in bed. the boy re- received his diploma from the President
 The President then witnessed the GUS tomary prank of the plebes throwing the graduating class out of the quarters, which afforded a great amount of aniIse- ment.
 After luncheon, the President and party went aboard the torpedo boat Gwynn for a short trip on Chesapeake Bay, after which they will take the train for Wash ington.