Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1908-07-25

Newport, II. I.-President Roose-
velt's address to the naval war college
at the conference Wednesday follows:
There are only few things that 1
desire to say to the conference. and
what have to say really is said less
to the ofRcers present than to the
great bulk OF my fellow-countryGhen
outside. could not speak to you tech
nically. can speak to my fellow
countrymen, who are deeply interested
in the American navy, but who some
times tend to be misled as to the kind
of navy we should have and as to what
the navy can and ought to do.
"For instance, there are always
certain number Of well-meaning, amia-
BILE individuals, coupled with others
not quite 80 we'll meaning, who Like
to talk of having navy merely for
defence, who advocate coast defence
navy. Such advocacy illustrates hab-
1t of mind as old as human nature it.
self-the desire at the same time to do
something, and not to do it, than
which there is no surer way of combin.
ing the disadvantages of leaving 1t un-
done and of trying to do it. A purely
defensive navy, mere coast defence
navy, would be almost worthless. To
advocate a navy merely for coast de-
fence stands in point of rational intel
ligence about on par with advocating
the creation of school of prize fight,
ers in which nobody should do any
thing but parry.
"No fight was ever won yet except
by hitting and the one unforglveable
offence in any man is to hit soft.
Don't hit at all il 1t can possibly be
avoided, but if you do hit, hit as hard
as you know how. That applies to the
individual and it applies to the nation,
and those who advocate merely de-
fensive navy, mere coast defence
navy, are advocating that we shall
adopt as a national principle the prin-
ciple of hitting soft
II hope with all my heart that new
er will this nation of ours hit unless it
cannot possibly be helped. believe
that the nation should do everything
honorable at all times to avoid any
trouble, that 1t shoulu scrupulously re-
frain from wronging or insulting an
other nation, that 1t should put up
with good deal in the way of mis-
conduct on the part of Others before
going to war But when this nation
does have to go to war, such war will
only be excusabIe If the nation intends
to hammer its opponent until that op-
ponent quits fighting. You can't ham
mer an opponent If you keep your feet
along the coast waiting until the OPP
ponent takes the initiative and ham
mers you.
For the protection of our coast for
tifications we need to have these forti-
hcations not merely to protect the
salient points of our possessions, but
we need them so that the navy can be
footless. A-year ago, at the time 1t
was announced that the feet was to
go around the world, there was GER
tain number Of newspapers, especially
In my own city of New York, that
"aised clamorous protest against 1t.
Exactly how close the connection was
between this protest against the fleet
going around the world and dissatis-
faction with the economic policies of
the administration, lt is not necessary
at this moment to discuss, but the
protest was made,
'It took at one time the form of
a mistaken prophecy to the effect that
the feet would not be allowed to go
around the world, and one of the rea-
sons alleged was that to let 1t go
around the world would leave New
York defenceless In the event OF war.
The theory evidently was that the
fleet or a portion of 1t would be used
especially to protect New York and
other cities in the event of war, II
war comes at any time in the future
that administration under which 1t
comes will indeed be guilty of folly
II they use the feet to protect our
port. Let the port be protected by
the fortifications; the fleet must be
footless. to search out and destroy the
enemy's fleet; that is the only function
that can justify the fleets existence,
and that function cannot exist IN the
case of such a ridiculous feet as the
6eet would be IL 1t were only possible
to use 1t for coast defence purposes.