Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1905-11-03
ROOSEVELT TO
THE SAILORS
Gives High Praise to the Men Upon
Whom the Country Must Rely
In Case Of War.
MAKES A RINGING ADDRESS
Stirs Enthusiasm Of the Ships Com.
pany to High Piteh-A Word
for the Army.

WdSu1uSCOu, NOV. Z.-ProS10ont
Roosevelt regards his southern trip
just ended as most enjoyable and
profitable experience. Particularly
did he enjoy the sea voyage, and he
expressed himself in tn most enthusi-
astic terms concerning it. While at
sea Sunday the president made a
speech to the officers and men of the
West Virginia. He had just complet-
ed an inspection of the entire ship.
In the boiler room profusely deco
rated shovel was put into his hand
and he was asked to throw a shovelful
of coal into particular boiler. He
threw in two, and the boiler was i'm
mediately christened the Roosevelt
boiler" The shovel was passed around
that every stoker might shovel coal
with it. It was then speedily demol.
ished into bits, each bit being retained
as souvenir.
At the conclusion of the speech the
president was given three rousing
cheers by the officers and men. His
speech follows:
Presidents Ringing Address.
1T is privilege for any president
to come on board a squadron of Amer
lean warshlps such as these, not alone
to see the ships but to see the men
who handle them. From the admiral
down through the ships entire COM
pany every American should be proud
OF what have seen aboard this ship;
the discipline, the ready suborlina-
tion of each man whether officer or
enlisted man, to duty, the care taken
OF the men and in return the eager,
intelligent, self-respecting zeal of each
man IN doing his work. What must
impress especially any observer is how
essential it is that every individual
on ship like this should do his whole
duty, and in any crisis more than his
duty. The result, as l see it, in this
ship is triumph not only of organ
izatlon and discipline, but Of the ready
zeal with which each individual per-
forms his allotted task. At any time
some emergency may arise in which
the safety of the entire ship will de-
pend upon vigilance, intelligence and
the cool courage of some one man
among you, perhaps an officer, per-
haps an enlisted man. Any man in
the whole ships company who does
his full duty can claim as his own, the
honor and repute of the ship. You
and your followers in the navy and in
its sister service, the army, occupy
a position different from that of any
other set of men in our country. Co.
ing through the ship yesterday; in the
firing room, store rooms, turrets, ev.
erywhere, the thing that impressed
h. oil -
each man in his place. The import
work and feeling it matter of keen
personal pride to do it as well as it
could possibly be done. All through
the ship have seen the same pur-
pose, the purpose to learn exactly
what the duty to be done was, and
then to do it; and the power to do
presuppOses the possession of each of
you of intelligence, courage and good
physical address. l believe that this
attitude of yours is typical of the at
tltude of the men of our navy general
ly and of the army also. Now, on
the one hand this should make 0v
county feel toward Uncle Sans men,
our army and our navy, a sense of OBJ
legation and gratitude such as they
feel toward no others; and on the 9th.
er hand it should make you feel that
no other Americans rest under SO
great an obligation to do their duty
well, for in your hand lies the credit,
the honor and the interest of the en-
tire nation.
Should War Come.
"You are doing your duty we'll and
faithfully in peace. Remember if ev.
er, which may heaven forbid. war
comes, it will depend upon you and
those like you whether the people of
this country are to hold their heads
higher or to hang them in shame.
hope that no such crisis VIII ever oc-
cur, but l have entire faith that if it
ever does occur you will rise level to
any demand that may be made upon
you, and that by the way you train
yourselves and are trained in time of
peace you will fit yourselves to do
well should war arise.
To the Officers.
Nov special word to the officers.
Captain Arnold, as boy you witness
ed great fight of the Merrimac. when
she came out to Hampton Roads, sank
the Congress and the Cumberland and
the next day met her match in the
Monitor. That was fight fought with
great honor for our people. The Cum
berland sank with her flags flying and
her guns firing while her decks were
awash, and as the water was shallow,
her flag still flOated from the mast
above her after she had gone down.
The captain of the Congress met his
death in the fight, winning an epitaph
which deserves to be remembered for
ever in the American navy. His name
was Joe Smith, and his father. an old
navy officer. was in Washington.
When word was brought to him that
his sons ship had surrendered, he an
swered simply: Then Joe is dead
ITO have earned the right to have
his death assumed as matter Of
course in such conditions is of itself
enough to crown any life, and every
American officer should keep ever be-
fore him what is implied therein. Let
each of you officers remember. in the
event of war, that while a surrender
may sometimes be justifiable. yet that
a surrender must always be explained.
while it is never necessary to explain
the fact that you don't surrender. no
matter what the conditions may be.