The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-05-30
PRESIDENT DROPS
MONUMENT VEIL
Joins with People of Virginia in
Observing Memorial Day
Delivers Address. -.-

tribute to the nation s dead. Under the
auspices of the Army and Navy union, |
the organization of the officers and en-
listed men Of the United States army
Memorial day address here to an audi |
cnce numbering thousands. Immediate
ly after delivering the grafton of the |
day, President Roosevelt unveiled a
monument erected in the navy Gem
etery by the Army and Navy union to
the memory of it's dead comrades.
President Roosevelt, accompanied by
Carow, and two of his children, Ethel
and Quentin, made the trip from Wash
ington to Portsmouth on the cruiser
Mayfower.
At II clock the exercises were
opened with prayer by Bishop Van
RReyyyer of the Catholie diocese of
band Pegd AeF R %ussS II was ntro
duced by Colonel J. Edwin Brown, ma
tional commander of the Army and
Navy union The president g address
follows:
'This day is hallowed and sacred in
our history, for on this day thruout
the land we meet to pay homage to the
memory of the valiant dead who fell in
| the great civil war. No other men de-
serve so well Of this country as those
|
country. Moreover, the men to whose
valor we owe it that the union was pre-,
served have left us country reunited
in fact as we'll 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
AGE, with equal sincerity Of conviction,
With equal fidelity to a high ideal, as it
was given to each to see that ideal.
Tribute to Army and Navy.
"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 enlisted men of the regular forces
of the United States. Exactly 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, 50 there is no
other body of men among all Of our cit
liens of today who as a whole deserve
quite as we'll of the country as the OF,
ficers and enlisted men Of the army and
the navy of the United States. Every
man who has served well and faith.
fully, ahoat or ashore, in the service Of
the United States, has shown that he
possesses certain qualities which entitle
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 uplifted 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
4deh nP Of sae6 ct Xep
to you belongs the proud privilege OF
bearing that load Of responsibility well.
Duties of Citizenship.
HThis audience is composed largely
of veterans of the civil, war, largely
of men who have served in or are serV:
J ing in the army and navy Of the United
with the duties of the soldier and the
sailor, but with the duties of the 81
william, with all matters affecting the
! plain, everyday citizen as he does his
everyday duties. For we must always
\ remember that in our country our army
and navy are an army and navy MADE
up of volunteers; all our forces are
ashore, are merely our fellow-cltlzen
who, of their own free will, have take1
up this particular task. The task once
thru, they return to the body Of ou
citizenship; and exactly as the effcien
cv of our military service depends
chiefly upon the efficiency of the av
erage enlisted man, so the efficienc,
of the nation as whole depends chleh,
upon the way in which the averag
man performs his plain, everyday duties
Obligations of Leadership.
"This does not mean that the leader
whether in military or civil life, cal
a escape bearing peculiar burden O
! responsibility. To him has been givel
much and from him much will be de
manded. 1t is right and proper tina
b the man in high position, whether nj
position be that of high civilian Of
= fetal in time of peace or OF hlg
military or naval officer in time Of wal
should receive marked degree of cred
it if he performs his difficult, delicat
and responsible task well, and should
on the other hand, be. held to an espe
cially sharp accountability for an,
shortcomings. In any time of crisi
the in high office in civil life
the man in high command in militar
or naval life, can, if he be weak 0
incompetent, paralyze the actions of
multitude Of brave and able men VIII
are under him. On the other hand,
in intellect, and, above all, in cha
acter, he is able to rise level to tn
need of the moment, he may so con
bine and direct the actions of the man
under him as to make their joint efo1
irresistible. The first duty Of leade
civil or military, is to lead; and h
must lead we'll. Exactly as the poop
must demand the highest grade of il
tegrity and efficiency from their leat
ers in civil affairs, so in military a
. fairs they must insist upon every office
a devoting all the best that there is
u him to fitting himself in the duties
q his profession, to caring for and drill
y ing and training those under him, {
- that, alike in point of personnel ar
in point of material, the army and nav
of the United States may reach as hie
a point of perfection as is human
possible. This is the work that on
leaders can do; and if they shirk
their shame is unspeakable.
Virtue in the Ranks.
:" Nevertheless it remains true that r
leader can accomplish very much unle
he has the right kind of men to lea
Unless the enlisted man has the rigl
stuff in him it stands to reason that I
officer can get it out Of him, becau
it is not there to get out. So in civ
life, if all our leaders were Washin
tons and Lincolns they could neverth
less, make no permanent improveme1
in our citizenship unless the avera,
y citizen had in him the capacity for SUI
I the man behind the ballot who coun
most in civil life, just as it is the mi
behind the gun who counts most in mi
tary life.
memory of the leaders in the civil W
of Grant and Lee, of Sherman a.
Johnston, of Stonewal Jackson a.
II ~ L. H. l.