The Sentinel=record., 1911-03-14

 SAYS F0R7IFY
WOULD BE CRIMINAL FOLLY TO FAIL TO FoRTIFY THE DITCH,
 HE SAYS.
Foreign Nations Expect it to be For tified and We Owe No Obligations to Any One Not to Do
 So, Says Teddy.

Dallas, Tex. March 13.-"Failure to fortify the Panama Canal would be an act of criminal folly,'' declared Theodore Roosevelt tonight address ing the banquet in his honor by the Dallas Chamber of Commerce.
 He said that only two treaties rela- tive to the canal existed, those with England and Panama, and any other nation would be at liberty to destroy it in case of war.
 Colonel Roosevelts utterance came late in the night at the conclusion of long dinner. He was the last speak CT on the program and was intro ,lnced by Colonel W. E. Sterrett. nf this city, who presented the former president as a man who believed in peace to the extent of fighting for it.
 When Colonel Roosevelt arose he related a humorous tale or two of the Texas idea of peace. Then he plunged into the subject of the fortification If the canal saying that during his trip through Europe he had found that only two things done in the past ten or twenty years by the United States had attracted more than passing at tention, the building of the canal and the voyage around the world of the battlesnip fleet.
 'sI found at every capital of Europe visited he said, that they were talking of the Panama canal and the voyage of the battleship fleet aroun,l the world.
 And am particularly pleased that we have decided to fortify the Pan anna canal because failure to do 30 would have been an act not merely uf of folly, but of criminal folly on our part and that not because I feel war, but because I want peace. People ask me now and then and say, Do you anticipate war, and if not why do you want to fortify the canal. to which I have always answered, I don't anti cipate that my house will burn down but have insured it.
 And I want to call your attention to this fact. Our treaties about the Panama canal were only with Eng land and Panama. In the treaty with Panama. we expressly reserved the right to fortify the canal. The treaty with England was made while I was president, l declined to submit it to the senate until I had seen the writ ten statements from the British min ister of foreign affairs and the Brit ish ambassador that recognized our right to fortify the canal.
 And now let me point out this fact: No other nation in the world has any treaty with us or is under any treaty obligations of any kind as regards the neutrality of the canal so that if ever we unfortunately became engaged in war vita any nation whatsoever, aside from Great Britain or Panama, that nation would have the absolute right, legal and moral, -o seize the Panama canal. No other nation is un- der any obligations at all to respect the neutrality of that canal.
 We have convenanted to make the neutrality respected. So that any na- ton would be obliged to respect 1t; but we have agreed that we will make it respected. When we appoint sheriff as police officer we appoint aim on the presumption that he will keep the peace and there have been communities. gentlemen, in which it was necessary for sheriff to carry a gun He didn't have to carry gun for the purpose of war. he carried the gun because he was peace off cer And when Uncle Sam spends his moneyto dig the canal. unless he is a fool. ne won't leave the canal to be taken by the first nation that is at war with him.
 ''Now, as to the voyage of that bat tleship fleet around the world. Again believe in peace and honesty in business. I held that the nation should scrupulously avoid any color of wrong doing toward any other nation, weak or strong, and I hold also that il should keep itself ready to prevent anything being done to it in return
 And 1 was especially interested by the comments made to me by thf statesmen of the great naval power;