The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1902-12-05
ThG Presidents
Message.
Continued From Third Page

ton: a country, moreover, winch mas
an army minu indeed when COM
pared with that Of am other frst-class
power. We have deliberately made our
own certain foreign policies which de-
mand the possession CT Il first-class
navy. The isthmian canal VIII greatly
Increase the efficiency of our navy if
the navy is of sufficient size: but IL we
have an inadequate navy, then the
building Of the cana would he merely
giving a hostage to any power Of supe-
rior strength. The Monroe doctrine
should be treated as the cardinal fea-
ture Of American foreign policy; but it
would be worse than lille 70 assert it
unless we intended to back &c up. and il
can be backed up only by = thoroughly
good navy \ good navy IS not a TO-
vocative Of a 1t IS the a!!.est guar
anty of peace.
Each individual unlc Of our navy
should be the most efficient of its kind
as regards both material and personnel
that is to be found in the would. l call
your special attention to the need Of
providing for the manning Of the ships.
Serious trouble threatens US il we can
not do better than We are now doing
as regards securing the services Of q
sufficient number of the highest type
of sailormen, Of sea mechanics. The
veteran seamen of our W~&r5LIps are Of
as high q type as can re found in any
navy which rides the waters of the
world; they are UNSURPASSED in daring.
in resolution. in readiness. in thorough
knowledge of their procession. They
deserve every consideration that can be
shown them. But there are lot enough
OF them. 1t is no mere pCss.DIe to i'm
pTDvise a crew than it IS possible TO i'm
pTpyisc a war ship. To build the finest
ship, with the deadliest hatJeiy, and to
send it aiiDat with n IA crew. no mat
ter how BRAY" they " r. Individually,
would b. To insure dis Is-rr il . foe of
average opacity Were encountered.
Neither ships nor mcI ran be Impru-
yised whcH wal has begun.
We need u thousand additional Off
GERS in order to proper man the ships
now provided for and UM.lc: COnstruc-
ton The classes at tn naval school at
Annapolis should be greatly enlarged.
at the same time that We thus add the
officers where we need them. we should
facilitate the retirement Of those at the
mead Of the list whose Usefulness has
becOn.. impaired. PrOT1JtioI must be
fOStCr,d if the service is to be kept eff
fcient.
The IamentabIe scarcity Of officers.
and the large number of recruits and of
unSkiIIed men necessarily PUT aboard
the new Vessels as they have been COM
missiOn"d has thrown upon our Off
GERS, and especially OIL the lieutenantS
'~ NA>N oAN~~O'f 1890 AcSSA 'tAANA
fatigue ard has grayely strained their
powers 81 endurance. Nor Is there
sign of an immediate lct-Up in this
strain. 1t must continue for some time
longer, until more Officers are gradu-
ated from Annapolis, = until the re
cruits becO:.," trained and Skillful III
their duties. N these difficulties incl
dent upon tn" develODment of our wa
fleet the Id of ali our officers has
been creditabIe to the service, and The
1ieutenants and junior Grades III parti-
cular have displayed al ability ana q
Steadfast cheerfulness which entities
them to the ungrudgInS thanks of ali
who realize the disheartenIng trials
and f~atigues to which they are Of ne
cessity subjected.
There is not a cloud on the horizon
at present. There seems not the slight
est chance Of trouble with d foreign
power. We most earnestly nope tina
this state of things may continue; am
the way to insure its cOnt1n Iance is to
provide for 4 thoroughly efficient IA y.
The refusal t maintain such 4 navy
wssuld invita trouble and If uOU1le
ca ne would insure IISlS-ar- FatuOIS
self-complaccncy Or vanity, or short
ST ShtedneSS in refusing ID CTepare for
danger. is both foolish and wichc1 i'll
such n nation as ours; T. past expert
ence has shown that such faulty in Ie-
fusing to- recognize or prepare for any
crisis in advance is usually succeeded
by a mad panic of hysterical fear once
the crisis has actually arrived
Increased P~ostoIicc Receipts.
The striking increase n the revenues
of the pOstoffice department shows
clearly the prosperity OF u people ana
the increasing activity e the business
OF the country.
The receipts of the DOStOffiCe depart
ment for the fiscal year ending June 80
last amounted to s12l.oiS. G4I-26, an in
ing year. the largest increase known i'll
the history of the postal service The
magnitud of this Increase Will best ap-
pear from the fact that the entire pos
tai receipts for the year -StG GmoUnte,!
to but SS,51S.061.
Rural Free Delivery.
Rural free delivery service - no Ion
ger in the experimental stage: ii has
become a fixed policy. TLe results fol-
lowing its introduction nave fully jus
titled the congress in he Ian sc aDpro-
priationS made for It's establishment
and extension. The average yearly in
crease In postoffice receints IN the ru-
raj districts of the country Is O two
per cent We are now able by actual
results, to show that wner@ rural de
livery service has been established Il
such an extent as to enable Us To make
comparisons the yedIly increase has
beer upward of ten PEI cen
On November 1. 1902. 1850 rural free
delivery routes had been established
and were in operation. covering about
one-third of the territory of the United
states available for rural FREE delivery
service. There are nov Awaiting the
action of the department petitions and
applications for the establishment of
l0.74S additional routes. This shows
concluSively the want which the estab-
of the service has met and the
need of further extending it as rapidly
as possible. It is justified both by the
financial results and b. the practical
benefits to our rural population; 1t
brings the men who live On the soil into
close relations with the active business
world: it keeps the farmer in daily
touch with the markets: 1t IS a poten-
tial educational force. L enhances the
value Of farm property, makes farm life
far p~leasanter and less Isolated. and
will do much to check the undesirable
current from country TO city.