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Show PRESIDENT FOR PREPAREDNESS New York, Nov. 4. President Wilson Wil-son opened the administration campaign cam-paign for its national defense program pro-gram in a comprehensive and carefully care-fully prepared address delivered here tonight at the Manhattan club banquet. ban-quet. He declared solemnly that the United States had no aggressive purposes, pur-poses, but must be prepared to defend de-fend Itself to assume "full llborty and self-development.'" Significantly, he said that "with ourserves in this great matter we associate all the peoples of our own hemisphere," adding that "we wish not only for the United States but for them the fullest freedom of independent growth of action." The president was received "with enthusiastic en-thusiastic applause as he entered the banquet hall and during his address The hall was decorated with American flags and filled even to the galleries by Democrats happy over their victory vic-tory of Tuesday in New York City When tho president arose to speak every one Jumped 'up and applauded until he was forced to signal for quiet. "Within a year," said the president "wo have witnessed what we did not think possible, a great European conflict, con-flict, involving many of the greatest nations of tho world. The influences of tho great war are everywhere in the air. All Europe is in battle. Force everywhere speaks out with a loud and imperilous voice in a tltantic struggle of government and from one end of our own dear country to the other men are asking one another whnt our own fbrce is, how far we aro prepared to maintain ourselves against any interference with our national na-tional action or development." The president called upon "men o all shades of political opinion" to rally to the support of the program. He said it represented "the best professional profes-sional and expert opinion of the country."' coun-try."' and gave warning that "if men differ with me in the vital matter, I shall ask them to make it clear how far and in what way they are interested inter-ested in making the permanent Interests Inter-ests of the country safe against disturbance." dis-turbance." There is no need for the country to 'feel panic-stricken, the president declared, de-clared, because it stands on friendly relations with those at war Outlining tho defense program, the president said it included an increase in the standing army, the training within the next three years of 400,000 citizen soldiers to be raised In annual lorce oi i.j,uuu ana ttic strengtnening of the national guard. He. laid particular par-ticular emphasis on the need of ample equipment The president declared that the navy already is a "very great and efficient force but that in order to bring it to a point of "extraordinary force and efficiency" a definite policy must be adopted and hastened, and an adequate ade-quate supply of men and equipment provided. In addition to speaking on national defense, the president attacked "men who love other countries better than America," and men who stir up religious re-ligious and sectarian antagonism. He declared that such men should be called to a reckoning. Just before the dinner the president shook hands with all the guests, including in-cluding Charles F. Murphy. |