The Canton times., 1902-05-09
Graduating Exercises at the United
States Naval Academy at
Annapolis, Md.
PRESIDENT PRESENTED THE DIPLOMAS.
The Chief Executive of the Nation
sought to Impress Upon the Minds
of the Graduates the weight OF
Responsibility that Henceforth
Rested Upon Them.

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 9:45 O'clock
Thursday morning over the Pennsyl-
vania railroad. AS the president
alighted from the train he was re-
ceived by Superintendent Wainwright
and his aide, Lieut.. III. j. Ziegemier.
A battalion of marines, under COM
mand of Capt. Lucas, was drawn up
at the station. The party proceeded
in carriages to the academy grounds,
the president going directly to the
superintendent's house, where there
was short wait to permit the as
sembling of the cadet battalion at
the chapel. The day was most pro-
pitious, and the cadets in their uni
forms presented q fine appearance.
The president walked across the
campus to where the cadets were
lined up and, passing down the line,
looked the cadets squarely in the
face. He was then presented to the
officers of the academy BY Comman-
der Wainwright. While this was go-
ing on the shore batteries fired the
presidents salute of 81 guns.
At the sound of a bugle blast, the
cadets stacked guns, and with pre-
cision that bore evidence OF The dis
cipline which they have to undergo,
marched by fours to the chapel.
A great crowd gathered around the
grand stand, where the cadets We're
to receive, at the hands of the presl-
dent. the diplomas which would make
them officers in the United States
navy.
The graduating class discarded
their guns and accoiitrements, and
advanced close to the platform. Pres
ident Roosevelt then addressed them.
his remarks being frequently inter
rupted by applause. Following is
the presidents address:
The Presidents Address.
In receiving these diplomas you be-
come men who, above almost any others
of the entire Union, are to carry hence
forth the ever-present sense OF responsi-
bility which must come with the knowl-
edge that on some tremendous day, 1t
may depend upon your courage, your pre-
paredness, 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 U.S.
earnestly hope that the occasion Tor war
may never come, but If it has to come,
| then this nation must win; and the prime
| factor in securing victory over any for
xxf.a r-tf t.At thA ffrA
| States navy. If our navy fails us, then
we are doomed to defeat, no matter what
| may be our material wealth or the high
| average of our citizenshop.s 1t should.
| therefore, be an object of prime impor-
| tance for every patriotic American to see
| that the navy is constantly built up and,
about ALL that it Is kept to the highest
| point of efficiency, both in material and
| In personnel. 1t can not be too often re-
| pealed that in modern war, and especially
in modern naval war, the chief factor in
| achieving triumph is what has been done
| in the way of thorough preparation and
| training before the beginning of the war.
1t is what has been done before the OUT
| break of war that is all-important. After
| the outbreak, all that can be done is to
| use to best advantage the great war en-
| gines, and the seamanship, craftsmanship
| and general practical efficiency, which al
| ready have been provided by the fore
| thought of the national legislature and
| by the administrative ability, through a
| course of years of the navy department.
| A battleship can not be improvised. 1t
takes years to build, and the skill of the
| officers and crew in handling it Alright
must spring from use and actual sea
| service and from the most careful, zeal
| Gus and systematic training. You, to
| whom l give these diplomas, now join
| the ranks of the officers of the United
| States navy. You enter a glorious serN-
| ice, proud of its memories or renown.
| You must keep ever In your minds the
thought of the supreme hour which may
| come when what you do will forever add
| to or detract from this renown. Some of
T sps IN wRs
| you use. You need to bend every energy
| toward making these ships and guns, in
all their details, the most perfect p Of their their
| be seaworthy, the armament fitted for
| the best protection to guns and men; the
guns, in all their mechanism. fit to do the
| greatest possible execution in the short
| est possible time. Every detail, whether
| of protection to the gun crews, of rapidity
and sureness in handling the ammunition
and working the elevating and revolving
| gear, or of quickness and accuracy in
| sighting, must be thought out far in ad-
vance. and the thought carefully executed
guns and the most costly mechanism are
| utterly valueless IL the men are not
| trained to use them to the utmost possi-
BILE advantage. From now on throughout
your lives there can be no slackness on
| your part Your duty must be pres
ent with you, waking and sleeping. You
have got to train those under you, in
| actual work of seamanship, in the actual
work Of gunnery. II the day for battle
comes you will need all that you possess
| of boldness, SKILL determination, ability
| to bear punishment, and instant readiness
in an emergency. But, though without
these qualities you can do nothing, yet
| even with them you can do but little II
you have not had the forethought and
set purpose TO train yourselves and the
enlisted men under you Alright. Officers
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 normaIly
the victory will lie with the side whose
| shots hit oftenest Seamanship and marks
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