Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-05-30
PRESIDENTS ADDRESS
Delivered at Navy Yard, Ports
mouth, Va, Today.
AT MEMORIAL EXERCISES
And dwelling of Monument to Con-
federate Dead.
TRIBUTE TO ARMY AND NAVY
Duties of the Citizen and the Chosen
Leader Defined-Real Power
in the Voter.
TRIBUTE TO ARMY AND NAVY

The following Is the address of President
Roosevelt at the Portsmouth (Va) navy
yard today at the unwilling of the monu-
ment erected to the memory OF its dead
comrades by the Army and Navy Union OF
that place:
This day Is hallowed and sacred in our
history for on this day throughout the land
we meet to pay homage to the memory of
the valiant dead who fell In the great civil
war. No other men deserve so well of this
country as those to whom We owe it that
We now have country Moreover. the men
TO whose valor we owe ii that the union
was preserved have left us a country re-
united In fact well as in name They
have left us the memory of the great deeds
and the self-devotion alike of the men who
wore the blue and of the men who wore
the gray In the contest where brother
Fought brother with equal courage with
equal sincerity of conviction, with equal
fidelity TO a high ideal, as it was given to
each To see that ideal
Moreover. IT is a peculiar pleasure to
speak today under the auspices OF the
Army and Navy Union of the Union which
Is meant To include the officers and enlis.-
ed men of the regular forces of the United
states Exactly as there is no other body
VI men 10 NnOin IN the past we nave owed
80 much as to the veterans of the civil war.
80 there Is no other body of men among ali
OF our citizens of today who as whole de-
serve quite as well of the country as the
Officers and enlisted men of the army and
the navy Of the United States Every man
who has served well and faithfully. afioat
or ashore, In the service of the United
states mas shown that he possesses GER
tam qualities which entitle him in a pecu-
Har degree to the respect of all his fellow
ciizehs. whlIe every man who is now In
the service cannot but feel himself unfit
ed by the thought that In any time of IN,
ture crisis it may be that the honor OF tho
whole nation will depend upon his bearing.
There rests upon each of you a tremendous
burden of responsibility. and therefore to
you belongs the proud privilege of bearing
that load of responsibility well
The Concern of the Citizen.
This audience is composed largely of vet
Grams OF the civil war. largely of men who
nave served Ia or are serving in the army
and the navy OF the United States. They
are concerned not only with the duties of
the soldiet and the sailor, but with the
duties or the civilian, with all matters
aHecting the plsih everyday citizen as he
does his everyday duties For we must
always remember that in our country our
army and ma ~ are an army and navy
made up OF volunteers: all our forces are
volunteers; our regulars. afioat and
ashore. are merely our fellow citizens
who OF their own free will have taken
nr this particular task. The task once
through they return TO the body of our
citizenshir aid exactly as the efficiency
of our rilItary service depends chiefly
upon the efficiency of the average enlisted
man. 50 the efficiency OF the nation as a
whole depends chiefly upon the way in
plain. everyday duties
This does not mean that the leader
whether in military or civil life. can es-
care bearing a peculiar burden OF respon-
E'billty. To him las been given much and
from him much will be demanded. 1t is
right and proper that the In high
position. whether his position be that of
high civilaa cficial In time OF peace or
OF a high military CT naval officer in time
of war. should receive a marked degree
of credit II he performs his diffcult. deli
cate and responsible task well, and
should. on the other hand be held to an
especially sharp accountability for any
shortcomings.
In any time OF crisis the man in high
Office in civil life, the man In high COM
mand in military or naval life. can. II he
be weak or Incompetent. paralyze the
lions OF multitude Of brave and aole
laen VINO Under MIN. On the other
hand. IL In intellect. and above all. In
character, he Is able to rise level to the
need OF the moment. he may combine
and direct the actions OF the many under
him as to make their joint effort irresist-
Idle.
The Duty of the Leader.
The first duty of a leader. civil or mill
tary. is TO lead. and he must lead well.
Exactly as the people must demand the
highest grade of integrity and efficiency
from their leaders in civil affairs, so In
military affairs they must Insist upon
Every officer devoting all the. best that
there Is in him to fitting himself In the
duties of his profession. to caring FOR and
drilling and training those under him, so
that alike IN point OF personnel ana IN
Iclnt of material the army and navy OF
the United States may reach as nigh q
NnvN rs .
HE This is the work that only the lead
ers can do; and II they shtrk ID their
shame Is unspeakabie
Nevertheless 10 remains true that no lead-
or can accomplish very much unless he
has the right kind of men to lead IN
less the enlisted man has the right STUN IN
him 1t stands to reason that no omeer can
get II out OF him. because II Is NOT there
10 get out So In civil life. IL all cur lead
ers were Washingtons and Lincoins tney
could nevertheless, make no permanent I'M
anrovement In our citizenship unless the
average citizen had in him the capacity Tor
such Improvement. In the last analysis IL
IL the man behind the ballot who counts
most In civil life. just as IL Is the man pc
hind the gun who counts most IN mii''ars
life.
we cannot too highly honor the memory
OF the leaders In the civil war-of Grant
and Lee, OF Sherman and Johnston. OF
Stonewail Jackson and Sheridan, OF Farra-
gut and OF the captains who fought under
and against him
Honors for the Private.
But after all the man upon whom the
chief credit must rest was the plain man
Ia the ranks. the man In blue or In gray
who went In to see the war through. and
who did see II through.
He had the courage to stand without
ffinching the pickering Of the skirm!shes
and the hammering of the great fights: he
had the steadfast endurance to bear with
accomplishing resolution the hunger and
the heat and the cold the scorehing days
and the freezing nights. the grinding.
heartbresking fatigue OF the marches. the
wearisome monotony of the camps and the
slow suffering OF the field hospitals.
so in the army and the navy today. in
the last analysis We must depend upon
having the right stun In the enlisted man
thar. ttfNan having that QkufY MIR into