The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1914-05-10
World Cruise Was Peace Measure.

Lake George, N. Y"
World Cruise Was Peace Measure.
In my own judgment the most important
service that l rendered to peace was the voyage
of the battle feet around the world l had be-
come convinced that for many reasons it was
essential that we should have it clearly under
stood, by our own people especially, but also by
other peoples, that the Pacific was as much our
home waters as the Atlantic, and that our feet
could and would at will pass from one to the
other of the two great oceans 1t seemed to me
evident that such voyage would greatly benef,
the navy itself; would arouse popular interest
in and enthusiasm for the navy; and would
make foreign nations accept as a matter OF
course that our feet should from time to time
be gathered in the Pacific, just as from time to
time it was gathered in the Atlantic, and that
its presence in one ocean was no more to be
accepted as a mark of hostility to any Asiatic
power than its presence in the Atlantic was to
be accepted as mark of hostility to any Euro
pean power. l determined on the move with
out consulting the Cabinet, precisely as l took
Panama without consulting the Cabinet
council of war never fights, and in crisis the
duty of leader is to lead and not to take
refuge behind the generally tirnid wisdom OF a
multitude OF councillors. At that time as |
happen to know, neither the English nor til:
German authorities believed it possible to take
a feet of great battleships around the world
They did not believe that their own fleets could
perform the feat and still less did they believe
that the American feet could. | made UP nv
mind that it was time to have show down in
the matter because if it were really true that our
fleet could not get from the Atlantic to the Pa
cifc, it was much better to know it and be able
TO shape our policy in view OF the knowledge.
Many persons publicly and privately protested
against the move on the ground that Japan
would accept it as threat. To this | answered
nothing in public. In private l said that did
not believe Japan would so regard it because
Japan knew my sincere friendship and admira-
ton for her and realized that we could not as a
nation have any intention of attacking her. and
that if there were any such feeling on the part
of Japan was alleged that very fact rendered
it imperative that that feet should go. When in
the spring of 1910 was in Europe l was inter
ested to find that high naval authorities in both
Germany and Italy had expected that war would
cen" al the time of the voyage. They asked me
ii ad rot been afraid of it, and if l had not
exp ted that hostilities would begin at least by
the time that the fleet reached the Straits OF
Magellan? answered that did not expect IT;
that believed that Japan would feel as friendly
in the matter as we did but that, if my expecta-
tons had proved mistaken, it would have been
proof positive that we were going to be attacked
anyhow, and that in such event it would have
been an enormous gain to have had the three
months preliminary preparation which enabled
the feet to start perfectly equipped. In PER
sonal interview before they left had explained
to the officers in command that believed the
trip would be one of absolute peace, but that
they were to take exactly the same precautions
against sudden attack of any kind as if we were
at war with all the nations of the earth, and
that no excuse of any kind would be accepted ii
there were sudden attack OF any kind and We
were taken unawares.
published by special arrangement with the out
editor through the Mcclure Newspaper Syndicate
(,onyripbt 1914 by Macmillan Company. All