The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1907-10-04
ROOSEVELT TALKS TO TtlRONG At CAIRO
Deals With the Problems Of Government and Urges increase
in Size Of the Navy and Federal Control Of Corporations

United States when it is combined
with the refusal to take those meas
ures of preparation which can alone
secure us from aggression on the part
of others. The policy of peace with
insult is the very worst plicy upon
which it is possible to embark,
whether for nation or au individual.
To be rich, unarmed, and yet insolent
and aggressive, is to court Well-nigh
certain disaster. Ihe only safe anu
honorable rule Of foreign policy for
the United States is to show itself
courteous toward other nations, scrup-
sulous not to infringe upon their rights,
and vet able and ready to defend its
own This nation is now on terms OF
the most cordial good will with all
other nations. Let us make it prime
object Of our policy to preserve these
conditions. To do SO it is necessary
On the one hand to mete out a gener-
show them courtesy and respect; and
on the other hand, as we are yet a.
good way off from the millennium, to
keep ourselves in such shape as to
make it evident to all men that we de-
sire peace because we think it is just
and right and not from motives of
weakness or timidity. AS for the first
requisite, this means that not only
the government but the people as a
whole shall act in the seeeded spirit.
for otherwise the folly { q few in
dividuals may work lastl discredit
to the whole nation. 9 second.
requisite is more easily sAsured let
lis build up and maintain at the high
est point of efficiency the United
States navy. In any great war on land
we should have to rely in the future
as in the past chiefly upon volunteer
soldiers: and although III IL indispe Ems
able that our little army, an army
ludicrously small relatively to the
wealth and population Of this mighty
nation, should itself be trained to the
highest point and should be valued
and respected an is denaande dAspy the
worth Of the officers and enlisted men,
yet it is not necessary that this army
should be large as compared to the
armies of other great nations. But as
regards the navy all this is different
We have an enormous coast line,
and our coast line is on two great
oceans. To repel hostile attacks the
Notifications, and not the navy, must
be used;. but the best way to parry Is
to hit-no fight can ever be won ex-
cept by hitting-and We can only nit
by means of the navy. It is utterly
impossible to improvise even a make
shift navy under the conditions OF
modern warfare. Since the days OF
Napoleon no war between two great
powers has lasted as long as it would
take to build a battleship, let alone a
fleet of battleships;; and it takes just
as long to train the crew of a battle
ship as it does to build it; and as re-
cards the most important thing of all,
the training of the officers, it takes
much longer. The navy must be built
and all it's training given in time OF
peace. When once war has broken
out it is too late to do anything. We
now have a good navy, not yet large
enough for our needs, but OF excellent
material Where. a navy is as small
as ours, the cardinal rule must be that
the battleships shall not be separated.
This year I am happy to say that we
shall begin a course which ! hope
will be steadily followed hereafter,
that, namely, of keeping the battleship
fleet alternately in the Pacific and in
the Atlantic Early in December the
fleet will begin it's voyage to the Pa
cific, and it will number, friends,
among its formidable fighting craft
there great battle ships, named, re-
spectively, the Illinios, the Missouri,
and the Kentucky. 1t is national
fleet in every sense of the term, and
its welfare should be, and firmly
believe is, as much matter of pride
and concern for every man in the
farthest interior of our country as for
every man on the seacoast. A long
ocean voyage is mighty good training;
and not the least good it will do will
be to show just the points where our
naval program needs strengthening.
incidentally / think the voyage will
have one good effect, for, to judge by
their comments on the movement,
some excellent people in my own sec
tion of the country need to be remind
ed that the Pacific coast is exactly as
much a part OF this nation as the
| Atlantic coast.
So much for foreign affairs. Now
for matter of domestic policy. Here
lin this country we have founded a
great federal democratic republic. Il
| is government by and for the people
and therefore genuine democracy;
and the theory of our constitution Is
that each neigborhood shall be left te