The Roswell daily record. [volume] (Roswell, N.M.) 1903-current, 1905-02-22
Our First President.

though often not strong enough to
do all the good it should have done.
Our possession of the Philippines.
our interest in the trade of the Orient
our building the Isthmian Canal. our
insistence upon the Monroe Doctrine,
all demand that our Navy shall be
of adequate size and for it's size of
unsurpassed efficiency. If it is strong
enough l believe it will minimize the
chance of our being drawn into for
eign war. If we let it run down it
is as certain as the day that sooner
or later we shall ave to choose be-
tween a probably Disastrous for
| eign war or a peace kept on terms
hi imply national humiliation. Our
Navy is the surest guaranty of peace
and the cheapest insurance against
war. and those who. in whatever ca
pacity, have helped to build it up dur
ing the past twenty years have been
in good faith observing and living
Up to one of the most important of
the principles which Washington laid
down for the guidance of his coun-
trymen. Nor was Washington the on
ly one of our great Presidents who
showed farsighted patriotism by sup
port of the Navy. When Andrew Jack
first warship we eve built as part of
our regular Navy; n he voted
h~umiliating tribute to the pirates of
the Barbary States. Old Hickory was
there was not an ounce of timidity
in his nature, and Of course he felt
which purchased an ignoble peace
by c~owardice instead of exacting a
tie willing to submit to as to infict
aggression. Had a majority of Jack
sons colleagues and successors felt
as he did about the Navy, had it Eel
built up instead of being brought to
have been necessary to fight the war
of 1912.
Again Washington said: Give to
mankind the example of a people al
ways guided by an exalted justice and
b~enevolence." This feeling can be
shown alike by our dealings within
and without our own borders. Taft
and Wright in the Philippines and
Wood in Cuba have shown US exactly
how to practice this justice and be
nevolence in dealing with other peo-
| ples-a justice and benevolence which
can be shown, not by Sinking our
duty and abandoning to self-destruc-
ton those unfit to govern themselves.
but by doing our duty by staying with
them and teaching them how to gov
ern themselves, by uplifting them spir
itualy and materially. Here 1T home
we are obeying this maxim of Wash
ington's just SO far as we help in
every movement, whether undertaken
by the Government, or as is, and
should be, more often the case, by
voluntary action among private citi-
zens, for the betterment of our own
people. Observe that Washington
| speaks oth of justice and benevo-
lence, and that he puts justice first.
We must be generous, we must help
our poorer brother, but above all we
must remember to be just; and the
first step toward securing justice is
to treat every man on his worth as
a man. showing him no special favor,
but so far as may be holding open
for him the IGOR of opportunity so
that reward may wait upon honest
| and intelligent ~endeavor.
Again Washington said: Cherish
public credit" Just at the moment
there is no attack on public credit,
but If ever the temptation arises
again let our people at the outset re
member that the worst because of
the most insidious form of the dis
persuade him that it is anything but