The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-03-04

cost or maintaining proper army. q proper navy and suitable Qualifications ! upon the mainland of the United States and in its dependencies.
 Tho Army and Navy.
 We should have an army 50 organ ! ized and so oficered as to be capable ! in time of emergency in cooperation with the national militia and under the provisions of proper national volunteer law rapidly to expand into
 force sufficient to resist all probable invasion from abroad and to furnish a
 respectab ble expeditionary force, if nec- essary, in the maintenance of our tra-
 ditional American policy which bears tine name of President Monroe.
 Our Notifications are yet in a state
 of only partial completeness. and the
 number of men to man them is fnsun1
 cient. In a few years. however, the
 usual annual appropriations for our
 coast defenses. both on the mainland
 and in the dependencies, will make
 them sufficient to resist all direct at-
 tack, and by that time we may hope
 that the men to man them will be pro-
 vided as a necessary adjunct. The
 distance of our shores from Europe and Asia, of course, reduces the ne cessity for maintaining under arms a
 great army. but it does not take away
 the requirement. of mere prudence, ciently large and so constituted as to form a nucleus out of which a suitable force can quickly grow.
 What has been said of the army may be affirmed in even a more em- phatic way of the navy. A modern navy cannot be improvised It must be built and in existence when the emergency arises which calls for its use and operation. My distinguished predecessor has in many speeches and messages set out with great force and striking language the necessity for maintaining 8 strong navy commensu- rate with the coast line. the govern mental resources and the foreign trade of our nation. and wish to reiterate all the reasons which he has presented in favor of the policy of maintaining a strong navy as the best conservator of our peace with other nations and the best means of securing respect for the assertion of our rights. the defense of our interests and the exercise of our influence in international matters.
 Must Arm as Other Nations Do.
 Our international policy is always to promote peace. We shall enter into any war with a full consciousness of the awful consequences that it always entails, whether successful or not, and we, of course, shall make every effort, consistent with national honor and the highest national interest, to avoid a resort to arms. We favor every instru- mentality, like that of The Hague tri- bunal and arbitration treaties made with a view to its use in all interna- tional controversies. in order to main tain peace and to avoid war. But we should be blind to existing conditions and should allow ourselves to become foolish idealists if we did not realize that, with all the nations of the world armed and prepared for war, we must be ourselves in a similar condition in order to prevent other nations from taking advantage of us and of our in- ability to defend our interests and as- sert our rights with strong hand. In the international controversies that are likely to arise in the orient, grow ing out of the question of the open door and other issues, the United States can maintain her inter- ests intact and can secure respect for her just demands. She will not be able to do so, however, if it Is under stood that she never intends to back up her assertion of right and her de- fense of her interest by anything but mere verbal protest and diplomatic note. For these reasons the expenses