Show OUR COUNTRY'S STRENGTH That little speech made by Admiral Evans at atI atthe atthe I the Lotus club dinner on Saturday night had a world of significance It is being considered in London in n Paris in Berlin in Tokio and we can imagine 1 that a grim satisfaction swept the soul of old Ito lIto as he read that the Russians in the Japanese sea fight had no such guns and gunners In battle pra practice tice at five and a a. half miles distance a 30 by 30 r foot target shattered in two minutes and fifteen sec sec- fonds londs pierced b by four inch 12 shells nine inch 8 I shells sh shells and seventeen 7 inch 7 shells thirty eight thirty eight shells in all aH Then three torpedo boats attacking the fleet from fromI different directions were all destroyed in the first I f I minute minute A battleship is an unsteady platform to fire from but it seems that difficulty has been pretty well overcome The English believe their Dread- Dread naught is shell proof at long range but under such sucha a storm as was aimed at that target hurled at her would not those on board be kept rather bus busy Y And still our countr country has to employ foreign colliers colliers col col- liers hers to supply the fleet Is not that a reproach I 1 We claim to be a world power and still our flag is not known to half hall the people of the world and our warships warships warships war war- ships cannot go on a cruise without employing foreign foreign for for- foreign eign ships to supply them with coal Had our congress congress congress con con- gress used ordinary prudence such as Great Britain France and Germany have for years been setting an example of we would now have regular fleets of merchant ships running in the South American trade we ve would have the bulk of the ocean carrying trade with that continent we would have a merchant merchant merchant mer mer- chant fleet to recruit wars men s men from for the thena na navy and we would have our own colliers to supply the fleet And we might have some of our own as much superior to the famous ship of that name as were our Collins steamers superior to the in the fifties and might be s saving the annually which we now pay par to foreign In thirty years from nothing Germany has built up a magnificent fleet of merchant steamers steam steam- ers era a fleet that sails all the seas And Germany is not Snot BO SO great in area as Texas exas and her total wealth does not equal the accumulations of the United States for the past ten years I It t is a clear case casc that during the past ten years the men of the United States have haye done very little littleto to advance anc their trade beyond the borders of our republic and Mexico Mexican railroads connect with our own many thousands of Americans have I gone to the southern republic established business houses and industrial plants and secured large interests inter- inter in mines and lands and eats ests in the cultivation of products products products pro pro- ducts peculiar to the wanner warmer climate of that coun coun- try But they have not gone to lands where here when there an American has no connection with native tive J iland nd Ten e years yeats ago there here was a bill before congress congressI L subsidize s ste steam m h lines e to to the worlds world's important I I ports Had it passed the government go would have been out now flOW some SOnIC But what hat would it have had in in return 1 It would have saved saved probably probably probably ably that has since been heen paid to foreign for I for for- eign ships in ill passage and freight mone money and for carrying carrying car car- United States mails It certainly would have saved which would have been enough to have ha prevented the present depression By this thi time we should have secured a large portion of the trade of Brazil and Argentina and we believe that before this time there would have been American railroads under tinder construction there which would have opened a n great field for the young oung men of our country country coun coun- tr try who want some sonic worlds to conquer And all the time we should hould have had quite skilled workers work work- ers bus busy at generous wages in shipyards coal and andiron andiron andiron iron mines on transportation lines before coke find and smelting furnaces and it would have ha been possible for us now to build ships quite as quickly as an any foreign power When it comes to that from th the first American passenger ships have always been beci l e y ye e t more beautiful than any other power could build I And we would not have ha to charter foreign ships fo for colliers when our om warships take a cruise Beyond l all the prestige of our country amon among g the nations of the earth would have ha been advanced advance d be beyond ond estimation and the splendor of our fla flag g which it took on in Manila bay and off Santiago Santiag o would not not- have been dimmed j rather it would have hav e been a light and n a glory on all the seas and in al althe all l the chief ports of the world r l |