The Washington herald., 1906-12-16
ROOSEVELT JOINS
In HONORING PEARY
coNrlNuEp FRoM FIRgr PAeE.

some day and whoever eonquers it shall
| deserve all our congratulations. for the
world may know he is a man"
J Commander Peary dwelt briefly on the
practical results attained by his expedi-
ton. the new meteorological data he had
gathered. the new soundings. new discov-
cries Of fauna, new observations OF the
tides: and he pointed out that these would
be of priceless benefit to those who should
come after him. He said that whoever
/ followed along the path beaten by Amer
/ leans, which has been shown to be the
best, most direct, and most feasible path,
would hnd his task 80 per cent easier be-
cause Of the work that had already been
done. He said that in striving 10 do his
best in the arctic regions. he had been
working for the honor and glory Of the
! country, because he felt that he was
called upon 10 do the work. and must
carry it through In conclusion, he paid
a tribute of grateful thanks to Morris X.
Jesup, of New York, president OF the
Arctic Club. through whose efforts and
help the expedition was made possible.
Honorary Members Elected.
At the conclusion OF the speech of Gem
mander Peary President Moore announ-
ced that the National Geographic Society
had elected as honorary members
| President Roosevelt. the Duke Of AbrUzzi.
Commander Peary, Grover Cleveland.
Prince Roland Bonaparte. Morris X.
Jesup. and Admiral Dewey. He then
read "a telegram Of regret from MF.
Jesup in regard to his absence from the
dinner.
To the toast Of "The United States
| Navy" Secretary Bonaparte spoke in
happy vein. Briefly he recalled the fine
/ traditions of the navy. from Paul Jones
10 Admiral Dewey. and-our great Ad
miral Schley"' at whose name there was
loud applause. He spoke OF Admiral
Schley's rescue of the Greedy expedition.
He then continued.
COngratuIates Explorer.
I'VE owe q deep debt Of gratitude to
Commander Peary, not only for not quite
having found the pole-though he got
nearer to it than any one else before him
but for having solved one Of the prob
lens which are agitating the souls OF
the more thoughtful men OF the nation.
lie has told US. once for al, what We are
10 do with our multimillionaires. con-
fess 1 had some doubt on the subject
myself. Now it is clear. We viii send
the young ones 10 discover the north
pole. and leave the old ones at home TO
pay their expenses in getting there"
Referring more directly 10 the navy. he
said that while he hoped the National
Geographic Society would give many
more dinners. and that he might be alive
to attend them. this was positively the
last chance ne would ever have 10 speak
to the toast Of The Navy"
For" said he the navy is about to
get rid Of one OF the least worthy Of its
members. Therefore, being my last
chance, I want to take advantage Of the
very few hours I have left Of this most
undeserved honor to answer some criti-
cisms that have been Ieveled at the
warmth with which I spoke in my re-
pOrt-the last on the subject / shall ever
make-concerning some things about our
navy that the public should know"
Honor TO Be in Navy.
He went on to say that it was an honor
to be in the navy. he spoke of what aid
the navy had given in exploring the frozen
wilderness of the north. and he declared
that the navy had always been ready 10
do its duty under any and all circum-
stances. He declared that the country
does not give the navy the support in
sympathy. in encouragement. and in
money that it should do, and he spoke at
length upon the disrespect paid 10 the
naval uniform.
He referred to the fact that sailors who
were entitled, after their long isolation at
themselves barred from the places 70
which they would like TO go and were
forced by the Determinations against their
uniform TO the haunts OF vice He said
that to-day our ships are manned by
young Americans who respect themselves.
and who deserve 10 be respected. He de-
clared that the country has reason TO be
ashamed of its treatment Of the sailors.
and though the press had accused him OF
growing hot over trifies, he thought this
subject could not be regarded as a trihe.
and concluded by tribute TO the navy. in
which he said was guarding the safety
OF our country from perils too great to he
lightly mentioned"
In conclusion. he said that with so many
Clergymen present 1t was not amiss TO
ask What IS the objectionable sin?" but
even if a vote were taken he doubted
himself he thought that an after-dinner
speaker who spoke too long committed the
objectionable sin. and. said he: "As
have spoken so long and taken so much
of your time. l can only ask for absolu-
ton "
The tOastmaster called upon Dr. Graham
Bell, the inventor of the telephone, to in
troduce DR.. Frederick A. Cook, which he
did in few words and DR.. Cook began
to speak on the subject, The Top Of
America" He was telling about his ascent
Of Mount Mckinley and was just in
an interesting part Of his discourse, when
stentoTian voice from the doorway in
terrupted him with:
President Roosevelt Announced.
Mr. Toastmaster. have the honor to
announce the President of the United
States"
With a common impulse the guests
stood and broke into cheers. The Presi-
dent made his way hurriedly to vacant
chair by the side Of the POSTMASTER, and
when order was restored he rose, turned
toward Commander Peary, and, holding
the National Geographic Society's gold
medal in his hand, he said:
Ladies and Gentlemen: cuunt myself fortunate
in having been asked 10 be present this evening at
such gathering and on behalf Of such society
20 pay tribute OF honor 20 an American who EN-
phatically deserves well Of the Commonwealth. ZAP
plausel Civilized people usually live under eondi-
ti0us Of life easy that there Is certain tend
cncy 20 atrUphy the harder virtues And II Is a
relief TO pay signal honor 10 who. By his
achievements makes it evident that il some of the
race at least. there has been loss Of hardy yir
the. ! said some loss Of hardy virtue. We viii do
well to rccolect that the very word virtue IN itself
and tarf hood
the Roman spoke Of virtue be meant that sum Of
qualities which Characterize as manliness.
I emRhatiealy believe in peace and all the kin
dred virtues. Iaughterl ! think that they are