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cate merely a coast defense navy. Such advocacy illustrates a habit of mind as old as human nature itselfi-- the desire at the same time to do something, and not to do it. "No fight was ever won yet except by hitting, and the one unforgivable offense in any man is to hit soft. That applies to the individual and it applies to the nation, and those who advocate a coast defense navy are ad- vocating that we shall adopt as a national principle the principle of hit- ting soft. I hope with all my heart that never will this nation of ours hit unless it cannot possibly be helped. "T believe that the nation should scrupulously refrain from wronging or insulting another nation, that it should put up with a good deal in the way of misconduct on the part of others before going to war. But when this nation does have to go to war, such war will only be excusable if the nation intends to hammer its opponent until that opponent quits fighting. NOT FOR COAST DEFENSE ALONE.* "For the protection of our coasts we need fortifications not merely to protect the salient points of our pos- sessions, but so that the navy can be footloose. "A year ago, at the time it was announced that the fleet was to go abroad, there was a certain number of newspapers, especially in my own city of New York, that raised a clam- orous protest against it. It took at one time the form of a mistaken prophecy to the effect that the fleet would not be allowed to go around the world, and one of the reasons al- leged was that to let it go around the world would leave New York de- fenseless in the event of war. The theory evidently was that the fleet, or a portion of it, would -be used especially to protect New York and other cities in the event of war. "If war comes at any time in the future, that administration under which it comes will indeed be guilty of folly if they use the fleet to pro- tect any port. Let the port be pro- tected by the fortifications; the fleet must be footloose to search out and destroy the enemy's fleet. That is the only function that can justify the fleet's existence, and that function cannot exist in the case of such a ridiculous fleet as the fleet would be if it were only possible to use it for coast defense purposes. "In any question of national policy, when statesmen, when the people be- hind the political leaders, embark on any given policy, they build up for THE Marine KEVIEW themselves a time of humiliation and disaster in the future if they do not prepare to make that policy effective. There is something to be said (from my standpoint not much, but still something) fon the theory that this nation shall never have any interests outside its own borders, and shall as- sume toward other nations an atti- tude of such meekness that no trou- ble can ever possibly come. "Tt is a defensible policy. But a wholly indefensible policy would be consistently to work for the assump- tion of responsibilities without mak- ing any provision for meeting the de- "mands necessarily entailed by those responsibilities. To 'be rich, aggres- sive, and unarmed, is to invite cer- tain disaster and humiliation. "We have taken the Philippines, but if we had not taken them not a par- ticle of difference would be made as regards the needs of our naval poli- Gies. .. dugre fas 'been. 4 division among this people as to taking the Philippines. There has been no di-. vision on the Monroe Doctrine, no division on building, maintaining, po- licing, and defending the Panama ca- nal, no division about Hawaii and Porto Rico, no division about keep- ing Alaska, which, though on the con- tinent, is just as much separated as if it were an island; no division about asserting our superior right to de- fend and protect Cuba. Not one of the courses of action thus outlined can be followed out excepting with a first class navy. "The Monroe Doctrine was in danger of falling not merely into disuse, but into contempt, until we Megan to build up our 'nayy. "The Monroe Doctrine won't be observed by foreign nations with -- sufficient strength to disregard it when once it becomes their interest to disregard it, unless we have a navy sufficient to make our assertion of the doctrine good. The Monroe Doctrine un- backed by a navy is an empty boast, and there exist but few more con- temptible characters, individual ox national, than the man or nation which boasts, and when the boast is challenged, fails to make good. "Tf we have a coast defense navy only, we had better at once turn Overithe Panama canal. to some stronger and braver nation which would not limit itself merely to?! a coast defense navy and could protect it. If we should limit ourselves mere- ly to a navy that would confine us to defensive war--war certain in the end to me unsuccessful--it would be well at once to give up Hawaii, to give up Porto Alaska, and to more interest in Cuba smallest outside powers. "Tf we intend to claim to bes great nation, then we must fit oyp. selves so that we may be ready a need to make good that claim. That can only be done by building up anq maintaining at the highest point 'of efficiency the United States nayy, -- "There is a curious corollary to what I am just saying. If we really make good the claim the chances are infinitesimal that it will ever be nec- essary to do so. The real chance of war for this nation comes only if we combine a policy which disregards the interests or feelings of others with a policy of helplessness to hold our own if our right to do so as we wish is challenged. If, on the other hand, we are ready in very fact to hold our own, the chance becomes infinitesimal that we will be called upon to do s0. : THE NAVY AND IMMIGRATION. "But, constituted as this people is, if we did not have a foreign posses- sion, if we abandoned the Monroe Doctrine, if we handed over to some other power the Panama canal, it would still 'be necessary for us to have a navy, and a strong, fighting navy. "We do not want any navy at all if it is not a first -class One. oa such a navy will be necessary for us just so long as we demand the right - to administer our national affairs as we think best. This country is as yet in its youth. In the process of building up many hundreds of thou- sands of immigrants are coming here from all parts of the world, repre- senting many different nationalities, many different strata of cultivation, of civilization. In consequence there are points of friction between this country and other countries, such as exist in no other nation, "Ultimately, and, | think, 264 a very far distant period, as this coun- try grows up, it becomes more and more important that we should keep on the highest possible level the plane of living of our workingman, d than for the chief end of a national pol icy in the country should be to keep on the highest level of prosper-ty the tiller of the soil and the wage worker, for the prosperity of all other classes will follow their prosperity; there fore, gentlemen, as it becomes more and more important to keep that prosperity on a high level, it is very possible that we shall have to exet- cise a continually greater supervision, a continually greater exercise of the