Evening star., 1940-09-27
Navy Marks tooth Anniversary
OF Admiral Mohon's Birth
President Declares
u. S. Owes Gratitude
To Great Strotegist'
BY FRED H. MORHART, Jr.

President Roosevelt today joined
the Navy in paying tribute to the
late Rear Admiral Alfred Thayer
Mahan with a statement that the
Nation owed a lasting debt Of graf
itude to the great strategist and
statesman"
In a letter to the Secretary of
Navy on the Tooth anniversary of
Admiral Mahan's birth, Mr.. Roose-
velt declared that threats OF
aggression can best be met at a dis
tance from our shores rather than
on the SeacoaSt itself"
Declared Lesson for Today.
Admiral Mahans teachings, he
said, hold invaluable lessons for
those of us who are watching ma
tions involved in what apparently
is an attempt to dominate the world
through non-democratic processes
based on aggression"
Secretary of the Navy Knox is
sued statement to the naval serv-
ice in commemoration of the birth
OF a man whose advocacy of un-
surpassed sea power has left its
mark on the country's maritime his
tory.
Secretary Knox, in his statement,
declared the Mahan teachings "are
as fundamental today as they were
then"
Ceremonies were held at the
Naval War College, Newport, R. I.
Capt. John T. G. Stapler, acting
commandant of the Sd Naval Dis
trict, placed a wreath on Admiral
Mahan's grave at Quogue, Long
Island
Admiral Mahan was born within
the garrison limits of the West
Point Military Academy, the son of
a distinguished professor of civil
and military engineering at the
school. He was destined to rise to
the rank Of rear admiral and to
be leading proponent of American
maritime superiority.
Basic Views Still Hold.
Although the admiral had passed
from the scene before aircraft took
a role in wars drama, his basic
views still hold. naval officials say
Admiral Mahan presented his
original theory in Influence of Sea
Power upon History, l66O-1783,' his
first book The volume still has a
wide following among students of
naval affairs.
A big Navy alone was not enough,
he declared. The basic elements Of
sea power for the United States
should be production, shipping, COL
onies and markets abroad, he
believed.
His concept was not limited to the
most powerful fleet in THE world.
but rather covered a broad field
which during the last century this
country has come near to fulfill
ment.
1t was the belief of Admiral
Mahan that sea power came nat
urally to nations Of commerce. His
theme, espoused in 20 books and %
essays, as we'll as innumerable lee
lures, called for a maritime Nation
to take full advantage of its native
talents.
For the maintenance of sea power,
he declared, a nation should have
a favorable geographical position.
Within its boundaries should be a
territory sufficient to provide ade-
quate food, raw materials and great
industry. In addition, its shoreline
should provide numerous harbors.
The population should be strong
enough to defend itself and be sea
conscious.
For a quarter of a century until
his death here in 1914, he called on
the United States to take its place
in world life through the use of sea
power. 1t should be added that Ad-
miral Mafan at no time relied on
sea power, but maintained that it
should be backed by an adequate
land force
He was no swivel chair admiral.
For Is years after graduation from
the Naval Academy he followed the
sea. For the next 80 years he kept
busy writing analytical works on
naval strategy and tactics. Scat