The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-05-31
NAVY ENSURES PEACE.
If 1t Be Strong Enough and Big
Enough, Says the President.


Enough, Says the President.
New York, May BIN his two
Memorial Day speeches in Brooklyn
President Roosevelt expressed his belief
in the necessity for a large, wen-manned
and well-equipped navy for the United
States. In his address at the unYeiling
of the statue to General Slocum the
president said on this subject:
If our navy is good enough we have
a long career of peace and prosperity
before US and the only likelihood Of
trouble ever coming to US as a nation
will arise if we let our navy become too
small or inefficient. A first class navy,
first class in point Of size, above all
first class in point of efficiency and the
individual unit as units in com binatiOn
is the Surest and cheapest guarantee OF
peace. 1 should think that any man
looking out at what is happening and
has happened abroad and in our own
history during the past few years must
| indeed be blind if he cannot read that
lesson clearly
In accepting the statue Mayor Nc
Cellan made reference to President
ROoseYeIt's own service as a soldier and
said that it was fitting that the chief
magistrate of the country, himself a
gallant soldier, should be present at the
unwilling Of a statue to one of the ma
TONS greatest heroes" At the concur
SlOa OF the EXERCISES the DiGSlQE4Ats liz
mayor and the other officials reviewed
the Grand Army parade and then the
president made a hurried trip to the
naval Young Mems Chris tian assocla-
ton building. A rapid inspection of the
! building, the gift of Miss Helen M
Gould, was made and then the president
made a 20 minutes address. The presi-
dent said, in part:
Talks to Y. NJ. c. A
Il don't have to tell-you that believe
with all my heart in the navy of the
United States, and I believe in what
| counts most in this navy-the officers
and enlisted men, the man behind the
/ gun the man in the engine room, the
man in the coming tower, the man,
wherever he is, who is doing his duty. I
feel we owe a peculiar debt of gratitude
/ to those who have taken the lead in
| securing this building. The people of
| the United States should make it their
| peculiar duty to see to the welfare OF
| the men on whose exertiOns, on whose
/ skill and prowess, and on whose char
acter in the time of a crisis, the honor
! of the entire nation will depend, and all
! respect is due to those, especially MISS
! Gould, who have erected this building,
who have given expression to the spirit
that lies behind the building up of eV-
erything of this nature.
I'VE are past the period when it was
thought a man if he was made decent
| could not fight. I have had a good deal
Of experience in civil life and [ never
found a job in civil life to which, other
things being equal, I would not prefer
| to appoint a man who had served IN
the army or navy of the United States,
because such a man. if he IS worth his
salt, has learned certain qualities which
double and treble his value in any posi-
| ton in which he may be placed. We
owe it to ourselves and to the nation of
which we are a part to see to it that
mans capacity for good is given the
| fullest chance for development, to see
! to it that he has every opportunity to
lead a wholesome and moral life
Best Prepared Win.
Much as I believe in the work Of the
Young Mems Christian Association, l
! believe in it most when it takes such
shape as this. And now, I say to you
men that on you a heavy responsibility
rests, because it depends on the way
| you do your duty in peace whether,
| should ever the need of war arise, our
| flag shall receive credit or discredit at
your hands or at the hands OF your
/ successors. I cannot too often say to
| civilians what every naval man knows,
that in battle those who win are those
| who prepare best before hand.
There are men here who fought at
| Manila under Dewey and men who
fought off Santiago. Now in both places
| we won and we won hands down We
won because the shots that hit were
| those that counted, because the men in
our ships knew how to handle them,
! alone and in squadron; knew how to
get out of them the best that was in
them. and knew how to do decent shoot
ing. I want it to be noted that I said
decent shooting, and not first class
shooting. I think most of you are doing
first class shooting now. would be
mighty ashamed of you if you were not
doing better than you did
Nothing has given Americans better
cause for satisfaction than the way tar
get practice has gone up in the navy,
until I think we can say that there are
certain gun crews and certain individual
| g71n pointers who have Raced as high
a degree of excellence as it is possible to
reach.
Importance of Navy.
more and more our people are wax
ing 11p to the need of a navy and, in
view of events happening all over the
world, think we can count on congress
to continue to build up our navy. 1t
| certain will if I can persuade it. It is
all important to have ships the best in
hull. the best in armor and the best in
armament of any nation in the world.
There is something more important than
/ this. though and that IS the character
! of you men and your comrades in the
navy. You can do nothing without
proper training, but the training won't
count for much if you have not got the
right stuff in you. I believe in the
/ United States navy, because believe in
a - saf- - ~