New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1907-06-11
PREPAREDNESS FOR WAR.

PREPAREDNESS FOR WAX.
In closing friends and fellow citizens Of
Georgia, let say word suggested by the
recent ceremonies in which you have just taken
part, in connection with your gift to the noble
battlesf@) named after your state. Our battle
ships and great armOred cruisers, our fighting
craft, named after the states Of Union,
and this symbolizes the fact that the navy is a
common possession of all Of US and that it's
honor and its triumphs s dear 10 the heart
Of a true American who dWellS anywhere inland
TO q true American who dWells anywhere on
the seacoast. The navy is our surest guarantee
for peace, and IL war should ever come 1t VIII
be the greatest safeguard for our honor and our
interest. AS is likewise true of our army, it is
manned by volunteer force for Il must never
be forgotten that all our soldiers and sailors
whether regular or not, are volunteers. Every
encoura cement should be given TO our navy, and
no public servant should be pardoned for failing
TO do everything in him to that have the
best type Of ships and Of guns and that the
officers and enlisted men are held to the strict
est accountability Tor so practising with the
ships and guns that no navy afioat shall. ship
Tor ship, squadron for squadron, be superior
If the officers and enlisted men do their duty
and am thankful to say that in our navy the
cases where they do not do their duty are rela-
lively few in numbeT-they put us all under
deep obligation 10 them, and We should give
them all the reward and encouragement in our
power. The higher man Is in the service, the
greater should be our insistence upon having
the best kind Of man. We should have a system
of promotion either by elimination or by selec-
ton, so that -Iediocre officers could not come to
the top The officers In responsible positions
captain Of a ship must do his duty Just as EN-
phatically as the enlisted men must do their
duty and the way they do their duty win largely
depend upon the way ne does his. He must keep
his officers ana men in good order, and he must
remember that ii is ordinarily his fault If thew
go down hill, If they deterorate in discipline or
become discontented. Modern wars are in re-
ality decided long before they are fought
earnestly hope that we shall never have another
war; but II We do. It's result will have been de-
termined in advance; for It's outcome viii mainly
depend upon the preparation which has been
made TO meet it in time of peace
This lesson of preparedness does not relate
merely 10 war; il is just as true of our ordinary
civic affairs Il is as true Of the nation as of the
individual. Each of does any given piece of
work well or i'll, largely according to how he
has previously trained himself TO do IT, Tho
nation, which is but the aggregate of the in
dividuals composing IL, will rise or fail to rise
in any great crisis according TO the ideals and
standards that 1t has kept in mind in ordinary
days, and according 10 the way in which it has
practically trained itself to realize these ideals
and come UP TO these standards. We must in
sist upon justice ana fair dealing az between
man and man. We must strive each of US to