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Show jl ROOSEVELT TALKS NAVY , Former President Makes a Plea For Adequate Ade-quate Naval Strength Scores Congressmen Who Oppose Two Battleships Bat-tleships a Year At Progressive Party Reunion Re-union Newport. R I., Julj 2 "Navy 'day" with which the Progressive three dny conference opened toda. brought thousands of visitors to Newport rcj hear Theodore Roosevelt speak twice, partake of a Rhode Islano clam Pake, listen to speeches bv several other Progressive leaders and witness a drill of the nn y apprentices at the naval training station. D. Leroy Dresser presided. The , navy was represented on the piatform by Rear Admiral Charles J Badger, I commander-in-chief of the Atlantic fr- i 'pr! rii hr r officers il Amonc prominent Progressives present pres-ent were former United Stales Senator A 1 Bevcridge Oscar Strauss, G'-ford G'-ford Plnchot. Herbert Knox Smith, former Governor Bass of Now Ham;;- shire, William Draper Lewis and Jo seph V. alker. Newport, R I. July 2 Theodore Roosevelt addressed a gathering of Rboae Island leaders of Hie National I Progressive party here today on pa- I tried ism and national honor, and made a plea for the maintenance of ade quate naval strength. Congressmen who vote against two battleships a year, he said, were "on a le.el with men who voted against fortiMng Hawaii and our stations in the West indies. These men are unfit to rep- ! v i si n: ili American people, and they by their actions invite national disaster dis-aster and humiliation " ; He characterized as wicked any ad- !j vocation of arbitration where national 1 honor and interests are concerned, and said that to enforce the Monroe doctrine, to retain Panama. Alaska and our Insular possessions, to determine deter-mine what aliens and on what terms they shall come to this countrv demanded de-manded tbe power to "back up our Words with deeds." I " After scoring those congressmen who opposed a two-battleshlp-a-yeai i policy, he continued: "Thorp is. however, a lower depth ' cr-n thin (hat plumbed by me men who seek by ihelr votes in congress1 to keep U6 impotent to protect our- I selves. This lower depth is reached by those who, while voting against. I every measure to provide us with means to protect our honor against an foreign foe. nevertheless, by fool-' fool-' Ishi brutal and insulting utterances concerning foreign powers, expose us tt the liability of a war which thev themselves by their own actions havej BtrlvejQ to render it Impossible for us' Successfully to undertake. 'There could be no worse type of j " public servant than those congressmen, congress-men, who first do all they can to preent The American people from being be-ing able to uphold their Interest and honor in the event of war, and then !j do all they can with wanton and ignorant ig-norant folly to plunge us into war. Remember always that in such case en ;-.' men would not themselves be the ones to suffer. They are very ! rarely senstitive to national honor, and still more rarely willing to expose ex-pose their persons In the event of I there being an appeal to the final nr- biter between natlone In such event 1 thvse men almost always themselves remain in safety, and let their mis conduct be atoned for by other men, by brave men who pay for it with their blood, by patriotic men who perforce have to pay for it with J shame." Here Colonel Roosevelt took up the situation in China, which Has suffered suf-fered partial dismemberment purelv because she has permitted herself to ' become impotent in war." If the I American people were to follow in Chinese footsteps, he pointed out. I doubtless 6ome decades would pass I before we would suffer to the extern of China, but long before that time had come we :-honld have had to abandon aban-don nil pretense of upholding the Monroe doctrine; we should have had to ;.bandon Panama and Alaska and every ln6ular possession, and we should have had to surrender nil right to say whal Immigrants shall and what Immigrants shall not be admit-trij admit-trij to om country, and the terms upon up-on which they shall come here and become citisena or hold land It is a matter of vital concern to all our people, but above all it is a matter of vital concern to our wageworkers and farmers and small business and pro-I pro-I lessionnl men, to have the undisputed light to decide every such question ' lor ourselves; and our claim so to de-! de-! aide these questions would be treated I with utter derision if we did not have-fir have-fir efficient navy and If we did not possess both the will and the power to hack up our words by our deeds Therefore. It seems to me incredi-jble incredi-jble tolly that any of our people should wlsll to put us In the position of I china and should believe that by having worthy persons put their names on scraps ol paper, or get together to-gether at banquets and pass resolu i lions, we would be able to substitute substi-tute some patent remedy like universal univer-sal international arbitration for ft navy. This is especially true when we remember that this country would not for one moment permit any oi Ihese vital questions of national hon-I hon-I or and interest to be submitted to ar- Kltitirtn Tr. orli-nrofa iinivurt;al ur- bltratton treaties, the arbitration of questions of national interest and lioncr, is folly so great as fairly to be wicked. It is even worse to advocate such treaties and at the same time show no intention of keeping treaties already made that can be kept, am no Intension In-tension of submitting to arbitration questions that can properly be arbitrated. arbi-trated. There is nothing more Important Im-portant to our international good rame than to have our people once for all wake up to the fact that It is unpardonable to show readiness in making promises that cannot he kept and equal readiness In breaklnc promises that can and ough to be kept. One or two very bad treaties have been made of recent ears, treaties which were meant to be taken as making promises which as a matter mat-ter of fact would not and could not be kept Other treaties have been passed pass-ed making promises which could be kept and which ought to be kept. and it Is unpardonable not to keep theee promises. Let us above all things else hae a coherent policy in these matters. Let it be understood that every man who votes to stop building up the navy or stop forti-tyine forti-tyine the canal is voting to put us in a i usltion where we cannot even resent re-sent insult let alone our selves insulting in-sulting others with impunity Let us remember that the policy of uniting the unbridled tongue and the unready bend is a policy of criminal folly, rhe nosi dangerous of all positions fori an nation is to be opulent, aggressive! and unarmed 7he only safe and honorable : course to follow is to combine abso- j lute COUllesj and justice toward other oth-er nations with that preparedness for war which is the only sure means of uvei ting war. ' V p have the right to insist on the Monroe doctrine we hae the right to insist that we, and w e alone, are to I decide as to what immigrants shall eomp to our shores and as to whether these immigrants shall become citizens citi-zens or own land; these and other similar rights are not merely rihiL-but rihiL-but duties, we should show the ut- most courtesy and i pnsiddration for the (oellnss of others in Insisting upon up-on ihem, ;ind we should also realize that it will in the long run be idle to insist upon them unle88 we are ready to back up our words with our deeds, and that to do this it Is nee-essary nee-essary to keep our navy of adequate size and at the highest ifltch of efficiency. ef-ficiency. ' rr |