Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-04-03

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urges A STRONG NAVY
CONTINUED From Fifth Page.)
any position which can give just Of
lfense to our neighbors. Our adherence
to the rule of human rights is no,
merely profession. The history of our
dealings with Cuba shows that we re-
duce it to performance.
| The Monroe doctrine is not interna-
| tional law, and tho l think one day 1t
may become such, this is not necessary
as long as it remains a cardinal feature
of our foreign policy amt as long as we
possess both the will and the strength
to make 1t effective. This last point,
my fellow citizens, is all important,
and is one which as a people we can
never afford to forget. l believe in
| the Monroe doctrine with all my heart
and soul: am convinced that the i'm
mense majority of our follow country
men so believe in it; but l would inf
nitely prefer to see us abandon 1T than
| to see us put it forward and buster
about 1t. and yet fail to build up the
| efficient fighting strength which in the
| last resort can alone make 1t respected
| by any strong foreign power whose in
terest it may ever harper. to be to vio-
late it.
Boosting and clustering are as OBJ
a "a
individuals, and the public men of Il
great nation owe 1T to their sense OF
national self respect to speak cOurte-
ously OF foreign powers. Just as brave
and self-respecting man treats all
around him courteously. But tho to
boast is bad, and causalassly to insult
another worse: yet wors, than all is it
to be guilty of Boosting. even without
insult, and when called to the proof to
be unable to make such Boosting good.
There is homely old adage which
runs: Speak softly alld carry big
stick. you will go far" If the Ameri-
can nation will speak softly, and vel
build, and keep at a pitch of the high
est training, thoroughly efficient
navy, the Monroe doctrine will go far.
l ask you to think over this If you do,
YOU will come to the conclusion that 1t
is mere plain common S. nse, so obvl-
ously sound that only the blind can
fail TO see is truth and only the weak
est and most irresolute can fail to de-
sire to put 1t into force.
Importance Of Navy.
Well. in the last Two years am hap
py to say we have taken long strides in
advance as regards our navy. The last
congress, in addition to smaller YES
sells, provided nine of those formidable
fighting ships upon which the real eff
cheney of any navy in war ultimately
depends, 1t provided, moreover, for the
necessary addition of officers and en-
listed men to make the ships worth
having. Meanwhile the navy depart
ment has seen to it that our ships have
been constantly exercised at sea. with
the great guns. and in :llaneuvers, so
that their efficiency as lighting units,
both individually and when acting to-
gether. has been steadily improved. Re-
member that all of this Is necessary.
A warship Is a huge bit OF mechanism
we'll nigh as delicate ard complicated
as it is formidable. 1t takes years to
build it, 1t takes years to teach the
officers and men how 10 handle 1t to
good advantage. 1t is an absolute im-
possibility to improvise navy at the
outset of war. No recent war between
any two nations has lasted as long as
it takes to build battleship; and it is
just as impossible to imrrovise the off,
GERS or the crews as to improvise the
navy.
To lay up a battleship and only send
1t afloat at the outset of a war. with a
raw crew and untried officers, would be
rot merely folly but 4 crime. for it
would invite both disaster and disgrace.
The navy which so quickly decided in
our favor the war in 1898 bad been built
and made efficient during the preceding
fifteen years. The ships that triumphed
off Manila and Santiago mad been built
under previous administrations with |
money appropriated by previous con- !
crosses The officers and the men did |
their duty so we'll because they had al
ready been trained to 1T by long sea |
service. All honor to the gallant Off |
GERS and gallant men who actually did
the fighting: but remember, too, to hon
or the public men, the sh;pwrights and
steel workers, the owners of the ship |
yards and armor plants, to whose
United foresight and eXeriion we owe 1t
that in 1898 we had craft so good, guns
so excellent and American seamen of
SC high type in the corning towers, in
the gun turrets and in the engine
rooms. 1t is too late to prepare for war
when war has come; and If we only
prepare a sufficient navy, not for pur-
poses of war, but as the surest guaran-
Nv of peace. If we have such navy
IL we keep on building 1t up-we may
rest assured that there is but the small
est chance that trouble Will ever come
to this nation; and we may likewise
rest assured that no foreign power will
ever quarrel with us about the Monroe
doctrine.
So All Could Hear.
Pearl-Their engagement is going to