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Show I ROOSEVELT TALICS ON EXPANSION OF i; COUNTRY'S TRADE j SAN FRANCISCO. May 14. Last night at Mechanics pavilion the great assemblage hall of San Francisco, President Pres-ident Roosevelt made the most Important Import-ant speech he has delivered since he left St. Louis. His subject 'Expansion and Trade Development and Protection of the Country's Newly-acquired Possessions Posses-sions in the Paelflc" together with his advocacy of a greater navy, was one that made his discourse, of particular Interest to Callfornians. and he aroused his auditors to a high pitch of enthu-siam. enthu-siam. ' It was a mighty gathering that listened to the President. The doors of the pavilion were .thrown open to the Dubllc at an early hour, and thousands fot citizens thronged the building long before the time scheduled for the arrival arri-val of the Presidential party. M. H. De Young, president of the citizens' citi-zens' reception committee, opened the meeting and Mayor Schmltz formally Introduced the President to the people of San Francisco. It was some minutes before the cheering subsided and the President was able to make himself beard. He said: Roosevelt's Address. Before I saw the Pacific slope I was an expansionist, and after having seen it I fail to understand how any man confident of his country's greatness and glad that his country should challenge with proud confidence our mighty future fu-ture can be anything but an expansionist. expansion-ist. In the century Just opened the commerce and progress of the Pacific will be factors of incalculable moment in the history of the world, v Now In our day the greatest of all the Oceans, of all the seas, and the last to be used on a large scale by civilized man, bids fair to become in its turn the first in point of importance. Power of First Class. Our mighty Republic has stretched across the Pacific and now, in California, Califor-nia, Oregon and Washington, In Alaska Alas-ka and Hawaii and the Philippines, holds an extent of coast line which makes It of necessity a power of the first class on the Pacific. The extension in the area of our domain ha been immense, im-mense, the extension In the area of our influence even greater. America's geographical geo-graphical position on the Pacific is such asNto insure our peaceful domination of its waters in the future if only we grasp with sufficient resolution the advantages advan-tages of this position. We are taking long strides In this direction; witness the cables we are laying down and the great steamship lines we are starting-steamship starting-steamship lines some of whose vessels are larger than any freight carriers the world has yet seen. We have taken the first steps toward digging an Isthmian canal, to be under our control; a canal which will make our Atlantic and Pacific Pa-cific coast lines, to all Intents and pur-popes, pur-popes, continuous, and will add immensely im-mensely alike to our commercial and our military and naval strength. Control of Philippines. . The Inevitable march of events gave us the control of the Philippine islands at a time so opportune that It may without irreverence be called providential. provi-dential. Unless we show ourselves weak, unless we show ourselves degenerating de-generating sons of the sires from whose loins we sprang, we must go on with the work that we have begun. I earnestly earn-estly hope that this work will always be peaceful in character. We infinitely desire peace, and the surest way to obtain ob-tain it is to show that we are not afraid of war. We should deal In a spirit of fairness and Justice with all weaker patlons. and we should show to the strongest that we are able to maintain our rights. Such showing can not be made by bluster, for bluster merely invites in-vites contempt. Let us speak courteously, courteous-ly, deal fairly and keep ourselves armed and ready. If we do these things we can count on the peace that comes Only to the Just man armed, to the Just man who neither fears nor Inflicts wrong. We must keep on building and maintaining a thoroughly efficient navy with plenty of the best and most formidable ships, with an ample supply of officers and of men, and with these officers and men trained in the most thorough way to the best possible performance per-formance of their duty. Only thus can we assure our position In the world at large, and in particular our position I here on the Pacific. Our Place Among Nations. It behooves all men of lofty soul who are proud to belong to a mighty nation, na-tion, to pee to it that we fit ourselves to take and keep a ?reat position in the world, for our proier place is withthe expanding nations and the nations that dare to be great, that accept with .confidence a place of leadership in the world. All -our people should take this position, but especially you of California, Cali-fornia, for much of our expansion must go through the Golden Gate, and the States of the Pacific slope must Inevitably In-evitably be those which will be most benefited by and take the lead In the growth of American influence along the coasts and islands of that mighty ocean where east nnd west finally become one. My countrymen. I believe in you with all my heart, and I am proud that It has been granted me to be a citizen in a nation of such glorious opportunities opportuni-ties and with the wisdom, the hardihood hardi-hood and the courage to rise level to its opportunities. |
