Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1902-08-25

Imost as many as were in the armies
| of ,Burgoyne and CORVALLIS in the
surrender at Saratoga and Yorktown
| We had no navy then worth the
name. In the war with France the
legions of the victorious army never
invaded this country on account of
the valor of the Americans on the
seas and thus saved Il costly war
! "A bright page was written early
in the history of this country when
the Barbary pirates were stamped
out by the American navy. Europe
was responsible for the Mediterran-
can, but year after year paid tribute
to these pirates. 1t is the glory of
the American navy that il was able
to render this service to all the
world"
The speaker then sketched the SER
vices of the navy in the war of 1872.
the Mexican war and the civil war.
when the vessels of the Mississippi
river flotilla cut the south in two
and kept the army in sections. In
the more recent Spanish war the
people knew what the navy did. but
even in that case few realize the real
work performed.
1.-The chances of Europe combining
against the United States were
great, but this combination did not
take place on account of the demon
stration of extraordinary efficiency
by the navy. There were 100000 sol
diers in Cuba in the Spanish army
and 100000 American soldiers were
called out. The navy was intended
to clear the way and block the enemy
so that it would be possible to trans
port troops safely. The campaign
against Havana never took place and
the cost of $1,000 to $4,000 lives were
saved. The matchless work of the
navy at Manila and Santiago brought
about this result.
I'VE should realize what Il glorious
asset the country has in the navy.
Ours alone among all others has the
distinction of never having lowered
| its flag to another. This spirit was
present at the start when John Paul
Jones in the Bon Homme Richard
fought the Scraps and snatched VIC
tory when has ship was sinking. He
set the standard for the navy and
the pace set has been kept up in most
constant sequence"
Capt. Hobson then spent few
moments in sketching the deeds and
lives of the great commanders of the
navy and paid tribute to their accom-
lplishments.
While the past is glorious and the
services rendered in a dozen wars are
of far-reaching Importance, l be-
lieve the greatest glories of our navy
and the most important services lie
ahead. The navy must be the natur-
nj handmade of the nation in its flu
ture role as worId-power and make
its influence felt all over the earth.
Our country is washed on three
sides by water, and along the fourth
he great lakes form almost sea
border. There are 1000 miles of sea
shore and the homes of 2O.OOO.OOO peo-
! pie are located along it's frontier and
the rivers. There is more national
property vulnerable from the sea
than in all European countries sim
ilarly situated. We have no other ac-
cident insurance than Il navy that
can repel any attack. The amount
of seacoast determines the size of
the navy Il country needs and this
should give America the greatest
navy in the world. The amount of
merchandise carried on the Seas for
America is greater than of all Eu-
rope and this can be protected only
by a fleet"
He called attention to the fact that
the United States furnishes a large
amount of the foodstuffs for Europe
and in case of war among the Euro
pean nations each would cndeavor
to prevent supplies for the other
reaching the shore. Only strong
naSy can make possible the carrying
of these supplies. He referred to the
new policy established by the United
States of removing the women and
children of besieged city, as was
done in Santiago by the American
rmya.
Foreign markets are of pre-emi-
nent Importance to the United States
and the United States is the pre-emi-
nent food country of the world.
There will be a steady movement to
partition and divide up China. The
stakes are so great that the moment
this begins, the world will be set on
fire and the great military powers
will never stop without the test of
war. | believe we alone can prevent.
as we have prevented the partition of
China. The moment any portion Is
seized our interests are menaced.
Our only course is to lay down n
strong foreign policy that China shall.
not be seized. 1t must be opened up,
but by the American method. as ia
pan was. When we say it shall not
be seized. the statement would seem
puerile unless backed by a great navy
The partition was prevented before
by the presence of considerable
feet in the far east and this Will
be the preventive in the future.
I'm council of the nations to de-
fermine the comparative size of ma