The copper era and Morenci leader., 1915-07-23

Upon the ocasion of the launching
 of the U. S. S.f"Arizona,' at the Brook ayn Navy Yard on June 18th, Senator Henry F. Ashurst was one of the public speakers, who addressed that vast assemblage as follows:
 Hon. Secretary of the Navy,
 Ladies and Gentlemen:
 This is an ocasion which quickens the heart of every American who loves his country and her institutions. With our nation leading in commerce, wealth, enlightenment, and Christi anity; with our nation teaching the other powers of the earth lessons in true moral courage, justice, and mag nanimity, and with our country set ting the world an example in moder- atiOn, fCrbearance, and prudence, we today launch a mighty leviathan of the deep, whose mission it shall be ito engulf any hostile craft that dis turbs or threatens our American civi 1ization-
 If the man who gives his faimly over to the dangers and vicissitudes of his neglect and indolence is de serving of censure and scorn, how much greater should be the contempt and censure for the public servant who, sworn to protect and defend his country, neglects his duty, evades his obligations, and exposes not only his family, but his constituency-in- deed, his entire nation-to the dang CTS of conquest, defeat and degrada- tion? To neglect ones liberty is to lose it; to neglect ones country is to perish with it.
 On the surface of the earth are 1886 ,O00 square miles of land as compared with 145,O54,OOO square miles of water; hence it does not re- quire a diagram to see that in all probability a large part of the com merce of the world will always be carried on this vast water area, while the wonders and transformations that have been wrought within the past seventy years in science, mechanics, electricity, transportation, and the hurling of projectiles make it mani fest that the battles of the future will in large part take place on this water area.
 The 63d Congress, with it's unpara1- leled record of constructive legiSla- tion, acting under the leadership of the President of the United States and upon the report of the Secre- tary of the Navy, authorized the con- struction of additional dreadnoughts, destroyers, submarines, and other necessary craft; for, while it is easy and pleasing to indulge in self-decep- tion, and thus evade the unwelcome thought of national defeat or degra- dation, it is neither wise, judicious, nor statesmanlike to do so. 1t is wiser and safer to be on guard and preclude all possibility of danger than to hide our fears of danger in the secret recesses of our closets.
 The world seems out of joint just now, and it is better for us to be sure LI T. c I.1 cannot instantaneously convert sleepy, fat self-a ssurance into na- tional security. Men may be heroes, but unless they are drilled their hero ism will end only in unavailing martyr dom. Our caverns and mountains are filled with copper and iron ore, but these cannot instantly be metamor- phosed into battleships. Prepara- tion and vigilance only can work the necessary changes. Men do not ascend to eminence, strength, and power by a single leap or by growth overnight. It is only by steady tread that man moves up the rough and rugged path to success. Those who reach eminence and dis tinction are they who subject their lives to the fires of intellectual and physical endeavor. Success and eff l ciency come only after many years i of anxious striving and long-sustain- l ed effort. So it is with a nation. It | holds its place and preserves it's | liberty only by never becoming | careless and by never despising nor | undertaking an opponent. Ever since the days of the children of Noah men have sought to build them a tower which they might ascend and thus escape the harships of this world. But such cannot be; under Natures harsh yet profound laws we l. must meet and overcome dangers and perform duties; we cannot build a tower lofty enough to take us above 1, and beyond the trials and duties of h this life
 So, in consideration of these truths, Congress saw the need for our Navy, and we today launch one of the superdreadnoughts ordered by { the 63rd Congress. ' It is well that she should be named It the Arizona" The Secretary of 2 the Navy showed true appreciation ( of the history of that State when he Z named this ship the Arizona s In every walk of life, in war and ( in peace, Arizona's people have c proved themselves to be Ia Jealous, yet modest; innocent, [ tho free, Q Patient of toll. serene amidst t alarms, S Infexible in faith, invincible in z arms.'' b She is a land where, in the bracing il lir of toll and temperance, her peo- n 1Ie tirelessly labor for the public il good. Her people resOlutely see to D i that all the ends which they at a