Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1906-06-06
THE PRESIDENT
At PORTSMOUTH
MEMORIAL DAY GRAFTON BE.
FORE MANY VETERANS.
VAL0R IN PEACE AND WAR
Courage and Honor in the Leaders
and the Man Behind the Ball Are
Necessary in Civil Life-People of
San Francisco Good Ex-
ample. E.

Portsmouth. Va. May 31-Presi.
dent Roosevelt was the memorial day
orator at the navy yard celebration in
Portsmouth yesterday. He paid warm
tribute TO heroism as displayed in
war, and then turned his attention to
the heroic work of the army in times
of peace, citing the courage, se!f-rel-
lance and self-command of the soldier
boys at the recent disaster in San
Francisco. incidentally the fortitude
of the unfortunate citizens of that
stricken section was given such com
mendation as brave man can pay.
He said:
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,
! Nc other men deserve so we'll of this
country as those to whom we owe it
that we now have a country. More.
over, the men to whose valor we owe
/ it that the union was preserved have
! left US a country reunited in fact as
wen as in name. They have left us
| the memory of the great deeds and
the self-devotion alike of the men who
wore the gray in the contest where
/ brother fought brother with equal
courage, with equal sincerity of con
viction, with equal fidelity to a high
ideal, as it was given to each to see
that ideal
Moreover, it is peculiar pleasure
to speak today under the auspices of
the Army and Navy Union. of the
union which is meant to include the
sficers and enlisted men of the regu-
| lar forces of the United States. Elk
actly as there is no other body of men
to whom in the past We have owed so
much as to the veterans of the civil
war, so there is no other body of men
! among all of our citizens of today who
as a whole deserve quite as well of
! the country as the officers and en-
| listed 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, has shown that he
/ possesses certain qualities which en-
title him in peculiar degree to the
respect of all his fellow citizens,
while every man who is now in the
service can not but feel himself up
lifted by the thought that in any time
of future crisis it may be that the
honor of the whole nation will depend
upon his bearing. There rests up
on each of you a tremendous burden
of responsibility, and therefore to you
belongs the proud privilege of bear
ing that load of responsibility well
This audience is composed largely
of veterans of the civil war, largely
of men who have served in or are
serving in the army and the navy of
the United States. They are concerned
not only with the duties of the soldier
and the sailor, but with the duties of
the civilian, with all matters affecting
the plain. everyday citizen as he does
t. his everyday duties. For we must
always remember that in our coun-
try our army and navy are an army
and navy made up Of volunteers; all
our forces are volunteers: our regul-
= ars afloat and ashore, are merely
our fellow citizens who of their own
free will have taken up this particu-
lar task. The task once through
they return to the body of our citizen
r ship; and exactly as the efficiency Of
our military service depends chiefly
upon the efficiency of the average en-
listed man, so the efficiency of the
nation as a whole DEPENDS chiefly
upon the was In which the average
man performs his plain, everyday
duties"
He declared that this does not mean
that the leader, whether in military
or civil life, can escape bearing a
peculiar burden of responsibility. To
him has been given much and from
him much will be demanded. It is
right and proper that the man in a
high position, whether his position
be that of a high civilian official in
I AtllAC Va iCeLG VI III a iiS IA 8t4GAA- al , VI
naval officer In time of war, SHOULD
receive a marked degree of credit if
he performs his difficult, delicate. and
responsible task well, and should, or
the other hand, be held to an especial
Ily sharp accountability for any short
Icomings. In any time of crisis the
man in high Office in civil life. the
man in high command in military or
naval life, can, If he be weak or in.
competent, paralyze the actions of a
M altitude OF brave and able men who
arg under him On the other hand,
IL in intellect, and above all in char
acter, he is able to rise level to the
d need Of the moment, he may so com
bine and direct the actions of the
many under him as 10 make their
joint effort irresistible The first duty
Of a leader, civil or military is to
lead; and ne must lead well. Exact
" as the people must demand the
highest grade Of integrity and ef-
/ fciency from their leaders In civil
affairs, so In military affairs they
.