Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-10-02
CAUTIOUS,
SAYS ROOSEVELT
CONTINUED from First Page.)

canal will be felt an immediate advan-
tage 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 l feel
that the advantage will be shared in an
only less degree by the states Of the in
terror and of the Atlantic coast. In other
words, it is a thoroughly national work,
undertaken for and redoundng to the ad-
vantage Of all of us-to the advantage OF
the nation as whole. Therefore l am
We doing with the canal. There is
bound to be a certain amount Of expert
ment certain amount of feeling our way.
in task so gigantic-a task greater than
any of Its kind that has ever hitherto been
undertaken In the whole history Of man.
kind; but the success SO far has been aston
ishing. and we have not met with single
one of the accidents or drawbacks which l
freely confess 1 expected we should from
time to time encounter. We, in the first
place. laid the foundation for the work by
ditions az regard the health, comfort and
safety Of the men who were to do 1t; and
now the canal zone Is in point Of health
better off than the average district Of the
problem of the actual digging and dam
building. For over year past we have
been engaged in making the dirt by in
good earnest. and the output OF the giant
Is now the rainy season, when work Is most
difficult on the isthmus. yet in the month
OF August last we excavated over million
and two hundred thousand cubic yards Of
earth and rock-a greater amount than in
any previous month. If we able to
keep up substantially the rate Of progress
that now obtains we shall finish the actual
digging within five or six years. though
when we come to the great Gatun dam
and locks, while there is question as to
the work being feasible. there are several
elements entering into the time problem
which make it unwise at present to hazard
a prophecy In reference thereto.
The Navy.
Now, gentlemen this leads me up to an
other matter for national consideration, and
that Is our navy. The navy Is not prima-
rily Of importance only to the coast regions
1t is every bit as much the concern of the
farmer who dwells thousand miles from
sea water as of the fisherman who makes
his living on the ocean, for 1t Is the con-
Germ of every good American who knows
what the meaning of the word patriotism Is
This country is definitely committed to GER
tain fundamental policies-to the Monroe
doctrine for instance, and to the duty not
only of building, but when 1t Is built, of po-
hcing and defending the Panama canal. We
have definitely taken our place among the
great world powers and 1t would be a sign
OF ignoble weakness, having taken such a
place, to shirk its responsibilities. There
fore, unless we are willing to abandon this
place, 10 ABANDON our 1nSlStenCe upon the
Monroe doctrine, to give up the Panama
canal. and to be content to acknowledge
ourselves a weak and timid nation, we
must steadily build up and maintain a great
fighting navy. Our navy is already SO ef-
fictent as to be matter of just pride to
every American. So long as our navy is no
larger than at present 1t must be consid-
cred as an elementary principle that the
bulk of our battle fleet must always be kept
together When the Panama canal is built
1t can be transferred without difficulty from
one part Of our coast to the other; but even
before that canal is built 1t ought to be
thus transferred to and fro from time to
time. In couple Of months our feet of
great armored ships starts for the Pacific |
California, Oregon and Washington have
coast line which is our coast line just as |
emphatically as the coast line Of New York |
and Maine, of Louisiana and Texas. Our |
fleet is going to it's own home waters in the |
to its own home waters in the Atlantic. |
The best place for a naval officer to learn |
his duties is at sea, by performing them |
and only by actually putting through a |
voyage OF this nature, a voyage longer than |
any ever before undertaken by as large a |
feet Of any nation, can we find out Just |
exactly what is necessary for US to know
to our naval needs and practice our
officers and enlisted men in the highest du-
ties of their profession. Among all our citi-
Zens there is no body of equal size to whom |
owe quite as much as to the officers and
enlisted men Of the army and navy of the |
United States, and 1 bespeak from you the |
fullest and heartiest support, in the name of |
our nation and of our flag for the services
to which these men belong.