The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1905-11-21
PRESIDENT !
AND NAVY

-
washington Star: President Roose-
Welt regards his southern trip just end
ed as a most enjoyable and profitable
experience. Particularly did he enjoy
the sea voyage and the President ex-
dressed himself in the most entbusi-
astic terms regarding the ships. officers
and men of the squadron. ]
4 While at sea on Sunday, the Presi-
Dent made a speech to the officers and
(nen of the West Virginia. He had
5just completed an inspection of the
entire ship. In the boiler room, pro-
fusely decorated shovel was put into
his hand and he was asked to throw
a shovel of coal into particular boiler.
He threw in two, land the boiler was
Immediately christened the Roosevelt
boiler" The shovel was passed
around that every stoker might shovel
with it. 1t was then speedily demolish-
ed into bits, each bit being retained as
a souvenir.
At the close of the speech the Presi-
dent was given three rousing cheers
by the officers and men.
His speech follows:
PRESIDENTS SPEECH.
TT is O privilege for any President
to come on board squadron of Amer
lean warships such as these, not alone
to see the ships, but to see the men
who handle them. From the admiral
down through the entire ships COM
pany. every American should be proud
of what have seen aboard this ship;
the discipline, the ready subordination
of each man, whether officers or en-
listed men, to duty, the care taken of
the men and in return the eager, in
telligent,i 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
a ship like these should do his whole
duty and in any crisis more than his
duty. The results as / see it in this
ship is a triumph not only of organiza-
ton 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 the vigilance, intelligence
anu SooA SouidBC VA boihS Jig man
among you, perhaps an officer, perhaps
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 and has
right to feel a personal pride in all
she does. You and your fellows 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. Going through the ship yes
terday, in the engine room, store rooms,
turrets, everywhere, the thing that i'm
I, pressed me most was the all-import-
ance of each man in his place; the all
Importance of that man both knowing
his work and feeling it a matter of
keen personal pride to do 1t as well as
1t could possibly be done. All through
the ship have seen the same purpose.
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 intelli-
gence courage and physical address.
believe that this attitude of yours is
typical of the attitude OF the men of
our navy generally and of the army
also.
STATUS OF THE NAVY.
Now, on the one hand this should
make our country feel toward Uncle
Sans men in the army and in the
navy sense of obligation and graft
tude such as they feel toward no
others; and on the other hand it should
make you feel that no other Americans
itndar a m 70 do
their duty well; for in your hands lies
the credit, the honor and the interest
of the entire nation. You are doing your
duty well and faithfully in peace. Re-
member, that If ever, which may heav-
en- forbid, war comes. it will depend
upon you and those like you whether
the people of this country are to hold
their heads even higher or to hang
them In shame. 1 hope that no such
crisis will ever occur, but l have en-
tire faith that If 1t 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.
Now a special word to the officers,
Capt. Arnold. as a boy you witnessed
a great fight of the Merrimac when she
came out to Hampton Roads, sunk the
Congress and the Cumberland, and the
next day met her match in the Moni-
tor. That was fight fraught 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 fioated from the mast
above them 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 ip the American navy. His name !
was Joe Smith, and his father, an old |
naval officer, was in Washington. |
When word was brought to him that
his sons ship had surrendered. he
answered simply Then Jae 10 dead !