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Show Mighty Appeal of the Navy League By JOHN TEMPLE GRAVES. I-f thoro is a bod' of men in tho country which is alert and indefatigable indefatig-able in its determination for an amplo American navy It is tho Navy league of tho United States, whose headquarters headquar-ters aro in Washington. Thoro are great names on tho roster of executive 4 officers of tho Navy leaguo. Admiral Goorgo Dowoy' is there. General Horaco Porter is there. Rear-Admiral Riohard Wainwright is thoro, and Colonel Robert M. Thompson, Thomp-son, and a long list of patriotic and famous fa-mous Americans, Tho Navy leaguo has submitted to tho houso of representatives a mighty petition signed by thousands of presidents presi-dents of universities, judges ol supremo su-premo and superior courts, and of notable no-table Americans pleading for an amplo am-plo navy, and giving unanswerable arguments ar-guments to back tho appoal. It Is carrying car-rying on a speaking campaign and Bending Bend-ing national speakers to commercial clubs, chambers of commorco, universities, universi-ties, schools and publio moetings in towns and country. Tho organization Ib vibrant with earnoBtnoss and powor. Colonol Robert M. Thompson, of New York nnd Washington, is tho present exocutivo head of tho league, and ho givos mo this ringing and eloquent talk: "Tho Democratic platform at Baltimore Balti-more contained a plank favoring adequate ade-quate appropriations for the navy. 'Adequate' means enough, nnd tho question Is enough for what? "For what purpose do wo havo a navy for aggrossion or defenso? Our present n&vy is ample to enable ub to coorco tho smaller countries on this continent. So if tho objoct of the navy be aggression wo can stop building now ships for somo timo to como; but if it bo for dofenso, for tho insuranco of ponce, thon wo must continue building and building moro ships each year than wo havo been doing. "From time to timo tho leaders of tho British Liberal party, in ordor to placato their followers, havo mado ovortures to Germany to call a halt In building. Theso suggestions havo always al-ways boon received rather contemptuously contempt-uously by Germany. It is porfectly plain that to stop building would leave Lngland hor supremacy 01 tho sea and this Germany is not willing to ' concede, con-cede, and -it becomes n question of endurance, en-durance, "Cn" Germany borrow moro money than England can raiso by taxation, nnd so finally outbuild her? If so England's dominion of tho sea is at on end. "When Winston Churchill a short time ago played this card for tho third time, tho Idea was taken up In our congress as If it woro something now and something startling,' and the gen-Women gen-Women thcro who are opposed to the navy under all circumstances raised a loud chorus m favor of a naval holiday. holi-day. "Tho petition of the Navy longuo Is this: Our country Is rich, With growing grow-ing business interests that aro becoming becom-ing moro or less inter-mixed, and in -y -T0S cnflctinsr with tho busi- timna f t,,0r OXIB. In times past disputes growing out of such conditions havo led to war In u spite. of a multitude of peace societies tnero is nothing in lato history to show that human nature has clmugcd. Nations Na-tions and individuals seem just aa rendy to tako advautago of tho weakness weak-ness and inisiortuncH of other nntious and individuals as over. Wo can all look forward to tho millenium, and all of us would ho very happy if it did come, but it has not. "iS'ow, we aro not a military nation. na-tion. Our army is littlo more than a poliou guard. Our oxnerience and the experience of all other nations shows that it will tako at least two years to turu .rocruita into soldiers. "Now, supposo that wo got into a disputo witli ono of tho military nations na-tions and wo havo strong military na-tiouB na-tiouB facing 'both our Atlantic and Pacific Pa-cific seacoasts. "If war should como to us aud our adversary is ablo to control the sea our coast and our cities are at thi? mercy of an invading foe, and Iho resulting re-sulting loss and suffering aro incalculable. incalcu-lable. Therefore, if wo wish to maintain main-tain a navy for defense, for tho insure unco of peace, wo must do not what we wish, but what tho other nations forco us to do in ordor that we may bo able to defend ourselves if war comes. "Tho thousands of miles of ocean which in tho old sailing ships' day constituted con-stituted a real frontier dofouso has been wiped out by modorn conditions. Tho enormous liners that cross tho ocean in fivo or six days can movo divisions di-visions at a timo. Without being ablo to chock my figuros, I havo tho impros-slon impros-slon that tho Imporator alono could in ono trip bring over 10,000 mon, and a 1 fioot of transports could bo readily assembled as-sembled In Gorman ports that would move an army of 250,000 men with all tho paraphernalia that is roquirod to mako up an arinv comploto in itself. "With full control of the sea thoy could select their own landing placo. and our great cities could be compelled to pay a ransom which would make all " expenditures that wo havo over made on tho navy eoem as nothing. For, rc-mombor rc-mombor that wo spend each year on our automobiles probably throe timos as much as wc do on our army and navy combined. "Wo spend in moving pictures moro than wo do on tho navy yes, moro than would be enough to give us a navy which would be a comploto insurance in-surance of peace, for a- navy which can hold the sea renders us absolutely immune im-mune from foreign attack. "In tho opinion of tho Navy leaguo tho countrj will bo pcrfoctly willing to Frovido and support such a navy, out or some reason congress shirks tho duty of providing it. To continue building one battleship a year means that in a fow years wo will "havo fallen into tho fifth placo in the list of modern naves. "Wo will then havo a navy ample for aggression as against our weaker neighbors, but utterly valueless as an insuranco of peace against tho stronger and moro vlrilo pooplo who front our Atlantic and Pacifio coasts." |