New-York tribune., 1907-10-03
ON PRACTICE CRUISE.
Continued from first page.

ar proportion 10 the return. or which, though
feasible, not, relatively to other plans, OF an
Importance which warrant their adoption i
will not be easy to secure the assent OF a
fundamentally cautious people like our own 70
tho adoption Of such policy as that nope 10
see adopted; and even if we begin 10 tollo"
out such q policy Il certainly will not be per-
severed in il IL IS found to entail reckless eX-
travagance or TO be tainted with jobbery. The
interests of the nation as a whole must be al
ways the first consideration.
a NATIONAL MOVEMENT
This is properly a national movement be,
cause all interstate and foreign commerce. and
the improvement and methods of carrying IL
on are subjects for national action. Moreover,
Of the Mississippi River and its tributaries is
which especially concerns the great middle
portion Of our country, the region between the
Alleghenies and the Rockies. yet it is of con-
cern to the rest OF the country also, for 1t can
not too often be said that whatever IS really
beneficial TO one part of our country is ulti-
mateIy of benefit to the whole Exactly as it
is good thing for the interior Of our country
that the seaports on the Atlantic and the Pa
cifc and the Gulf should be safe and conlmo-
dious. il is to the interest of the dwellers ON
the coast that the interior should possess ample
Our interests are all closely interviewer and in
the long run il will be found that we go up or
go down together.
THE PANAMA CANAL
Take, for instance the Panama Canal. If the
mississippi Is restored 10 its former place OF
importance a highway of commerce. then the
building of the Panama Canal will be felt as
an immediate advantage TO the business Of
every city and country district In the Mississippi
VALLEY. | think that the building Of that canal
will be Of especial advantage to the states that
lie along the Pacific and the states that lie
along the Gulf, and yet, after all, feel that the
advantage will be shared in an only less degree
by the states of the interior and Of the Atlantic
Coast In other words. il is a thoroughly ma
tiOnal work, undertaken for and redounding 10
the advantage Of all Of us-to the advamage Of
the nation as a whole Therefore l am glad to
be able 10 report to You how well we are doing
with the canal. There is bound TO be Ger
tain amount Of experiment. certain amount
of feeling our way, in a task so gigantc-a task
greater than any OF its kind that has ever
hitherto been undertaken in the whole history
of mankind but the success so far has heen
astonishing, and have not met with single
one Of the accidents or drawbacks which I
freely confess l expected should from time
to time encounter. We. IN the first place. laid
the foundation for the work by securing the most
favorable possible conditions as regards the
health. comfort and safety of the men who We're
10 do it. and now the canal zone Is in point of
health better off than the average district of the
fsame size at home. Then we went al me prop
lem Of the actual digging and dam building For
fover a year past we have been engaged in max
ling the dirt fly in good earnest ana the output OF
tine giant steam shoNels has steadily Increased.
It is now the rainy season. when work is most
difficult on the lsthmus, yet IN the month OF
August last excayated over a million and
two hundred thousand cubic yards Of earth and
rock, a greater amount rhan in any previous
month. II are ple TO keep up substantially
the rate OF progress that now obtains shall
6ntsh the 3rr,la' digging within five or six
yea rs. though when to the great Gdtun
dam and locks while there Is no question as TO
the ork being feasible, there are several ele-
iments entering :Gtr the time problem which
make g unWise at present 10 hazard prophecy
: in reference thereto.
NEED oF = STRONG NAVY.
Nov. gentlemen. his leads me up TO another
irnatter tor national consideration, and that is
our navy. The navy is not primarily of i'm
lportance only to the coast regions. 1t is every
bit as much the concern Of the farmer who dwes
a thousand miles from sea water as of the
1zho nal les liz-n n
lfor II is the concern of every good American
who knows what the meaning OF the word pa
triotism is. This country is definitely COM
nlitted TO certain fundamental policies-to the
Monroe Doctrine, for instance. and to the duty
spolicing and defending the Panama Canal We
have definitely take our place among the great
world powers, and il would be sign OF ignople
weakness, having taken such place, TO shirk
its responsibilities Therefore, unless We are
willing 10 abandon this place. to abandon our
.nsistence upon the Monroe Doctrine to give up
the Panama Canal and to be content to
knowledge ourselves weak and timid nation,
we must steadily build I'D and maintain a great
fighting navy. Our navy Is already efficient
as to be a matter of just pride TO every Ameri-
can So long as our navy is no larger than at
present il must be considered elemen-
tary principle that the bulk of our battle feet
must always be kept together When the Pan
anna Canal IS built it be transferred with
out difficulty from one part OF our coast to the
other; hut even before that canal is built it
ought to be thus transferred 10 and fro from
time 10 time.
In ccupIe of months our fleet of great ar
rnored. ships starts for the Pacific. California,
Oregon and Washington have q coastne which
is our coastline Just as emphateally as the
cosstIins of New York and Maine, of Louisiana
and Texas Our feet is going to its home
waters in the Pacific, and after a stay there il
will return TO It's own home waters in the At
lante. The best place for naval officer to
learn his duties is al sea. by performing them,
end only by actually putting through voyage
of this nature, voyage longer than any ever
before undertaken By as large fleet of any
natcn, find out just exactly what is
necessary for Us to know as 70 our naval needs
and practise our officers and enlisted in
the highest duties Of their profession.
Among all citizens there is body of
equal size 20 whom owe quite as much to
the officers and enlisted men Of the army and
navy of the United States, and bespeak from
you the fullest and heartiest support in the
name Of our nation and of flag. for the
services TO which these men belong.
CONTROL OF CORPORATIONS.
In conclusion I wish to say word to this
hody, containing as IT does so many business
men. upon what is pre-erninently a business
proposition, and that is the proper national
supervision and control Of corporations. At the
meeting OF the American Bar Association in
this last August Judge Charles F. Amdon. of
North Dakota, read paper on the nation and
the Constitution admirable that ii is deserv-
ing ct very wide study; fer what he said was,
as all studies Of law in its highest form ought
10 be. a contribution to constructive jurispru-
dencc as IL should be understood not only by
Judges but by legislators. not only by those
who interpret and decide the law, but by those
who make il and who administer or execute it.
lie quoted from the late Justice Miller Of the
Supreme Court show that even in the inter
p-etstion OF the Constitution by this the highest
authority of the land, the courts successive de-
csions must be tested by the way they work
tn actual application TO the national life, the
court adding TO its thought and study the
suits Of experience and observation until the true
solution is evolved by process both of inclu-
sion and exclusion. Said Justice Miller: The
Constitution sought a