the Navy Yard, for instance, existed for the fleet, and not for a Congressman to get voters jobs in. And the endeavor was to have the highest military efficiency with the least possible expense.

"In order to get that efficiency we were having competition in the fleet. Competition in the first instance, which was organized before I entered, of the battleship practice. When we had our war with Spain, we fired a gun once in five minutes. After a few years of drilling and proper competition, they were firing the same gun every thirty seconds. "That organization was put in force six days before Congress met, so when Congress met it was an accomplished fact, and there was nothing for them to do except to accept it, with the exception that when I appeared before the first hearing that year I was put on the rack and cross-examined for a week. But I had been studying my course of sailing as though it was a post-graduate course, and with the assistance of the officers and by reading reports of the previous secretaries and their hearings, I was able to pass muster.

"In order to get into your mind the necessity of the occasion, we must realize that this Navy is a great military institution. But we cannot make little red schoolhouses out of battleships, because every hour of the day is taken up in practice and drill, which are absolutely necessary to fulfil the duties of the men and bring them to that perfection which is just as important with the crew of a gun, or working the engines, as it is for a football team to have their practice and to be selected and to get team work. There also is this fact, that the Navy as it has existed in the past is a great school education to the men, because it enables men to learn a great many trades which afterwards are assets to them, and to the industrial world. And further, they are able to learn all about engines, all about locomotives, and all about work in forging shops; and they have opportunities to learn bookkeeping, to do telegraphy, wireless as well as ordinary, to learn to keep supplies and to carry out all the duties of the ship and all the duties of mechanical work which a great big battleship represents.

"Therefore, I desire to take up now the subject which I stated to Mr. Winship I wanted to speak to you to-night upon, the needs of the American Navy, and I am going back to the early days to show what we had suffered, because Congress has not appropriated sufficient sums during our entire history.

"If we are to learn anything from the present war, we should profit from England's experience. Where would Great Britain stand to-day if she had listened to the counsels of the "Little Navy" men? Just as England at the present time has controlled the Atlantic, so must we in the future control the Pacific, and we must have a navy of sufficient size in strength and efficiency to always control the Pacific Ocean; also in order that we may safeguard the Panama Canal and prevent the seizure at any time of Hawaii or Alaska. 'We cannot stand more expense,' say the Congressmen, particularly those of the South and West. A navy certainly costs money, but it prevents a greater cost. Our weak navy policy in the past resulted in greatly prolonging our wars, and

greatly increasing the cost, loss of life, and the destruction of property. The cost of the Spanish War was a little over $500,000,000. Five per cent. of that amount would have furnished an additional division of four battleships, like the Oregon. With such an addition the Spaniards would have backed down, our naval strength would have been so overwhelming.

"A nation must show the same judgment in insuring against disaster as an individual does in insuring himself, his family and property, from loss by fire. A powerful and efficient navy will be an insurance by the nation against war. No country will ever land troops (much less could they be supported) until our fleet has been crushed and the command of the sea has been gained.

"The cost of our Navy up to the present time has been twenty-five per cent. less than the cost of pensions since the Revolution. Had the Northern States in 1861 had an adequate navy, we would not have had four years of costly cruel combat. A strong navy would have seized the Norfolk Navy Yard, blockaded the Mississippi and the intervening ports, and prevented the exporting of cotton and the importing of munitions of war from other countries.

"It would have saved our merchant marine from being destroyed by the Alabama and other vessels built in the English ports. The Southern States obtained almost all munitions of war from foreign ports. If her ports had been properly blockaded, the war would have continued for months instead of for years. It was the aid of the French fleet which won our freedom in the Revolution. Paul Jones and other commanders terrorized British commerce and brought about a state of mind which influenced England in acknowledging our independence. Immediately after the Revolution the 'Little Navy' policy started in, and the Navy was abolished, contrary to the advice of Washington. For eight years we had no navy. In 1796 the directorate in France issued a series of decrees against neutral commerce, and under that authority commenced to capture and condemn American vessels bound to and from English ports, and by June, 1797, over three hundred American ships and cargoes had been seized and condemned in French prize courts. This they were able to do on account of our defenseless condition, with no navy. Very tardily, in 1798, Congress authorized a navy, and six frigates were built. The defeat of one of the French frigates, again brought about peace, but not until France for two years had made destructive inroads into our commerce, due to the lack of foresight by Congress and no navy.

"After peace with France, Congress determined to return to the 'Little Navy' policy; cut down the appropriation; retained a few ships and sold the others. After paying tribute for some time to the pirates of Algiers, to the extent of a million dollars, again the navy was called upon, with the result that piracy was again put down. In September, 1807, Copenhagen, the capital of a neutral nation, was bombarded by an English fleet. Denmark had been given the choice of handing over

to the fleet or being bombarded. This should have served as a warning to the United States. In November of 1807 news arrived from the courts of England, forbidding all commerce between the United States and other countries unless the cargo was first landed in Great Britain and duty paid. Later, there was the right of impressment.

"Now Jefferson, having no navy and having no desire for war, persuaded Congress to pass an embargo act, which forbade our country to engage in foreign commerce. But that policy proved to be the greatest failure. Financially it emptied the treasury, bankrupted the mercantile and agricultural classes, and ground the poor beyond endurance. In 1811 conditions had reached such a state that we were rapidly moving toward war, totally unprepared. The continued capture and confiscation of American shipping by the French and British Government, and the latter's determination to maintain the orders in council, enraged our people. When war was declared in 1812 we had six frigates and eight sloops or brigs against England's hundreds of ships of war.

"It has been declared by a historian of the War of 1812 that the Navy by its victories saved the Nation from dishonor. The War of 1812 lasted three years. Over 500,000 men were called out, and a large pension list resulted. One hundred years after the war, that is, in 1912, there were still 200 widows drawing pensions as the consequence of that war. (Laughter.)

"It is necessary to take into account the pension list in order to realize the vast and final expense of war to this country, due to unprepared

The cost of pensions following the Civil War up to date has been about four thousand millions of dollars. The Pension Appropriation Bill last year as passed by Congress called for about $185,000,000, $50,000,000 more than was appropriated for the Navy that year. Since the United States was established the pensions have cost to the taxpayers and citizens of the United States $1,250,000,000, more than the Navy has cost during the same period.

"The saving in money and in lives which might have resulted from a continuous policy of a powerful navy, is almost staggering. It is an everwhelming proof of the necessity of a navy so strong that no nation will venture across either ocean to go to war with it. In other words, a powerful navy is an assurance against attack.

"As an example: In 1905 if Russia had assembled a sufficiently strong fleet at Port Arthur, Japan would never have dared put troops across the ocean until that fleet was destroyed, and if it had been sufficiently powerful Japan, in my judgment, would never have gone to war. Again, in the recent war between Italy and Turkey, Turkey was helpless on account of Italy's sea power and her ability to command the Mediterranean. Turkey with a large army could send no reinforcements to oppose the Italian invasion. And lately the possession of a fleet has enabled us to avoid active intervention in Mexico with its trend of death, suffering, destruction of property and vast expenditure of money. And yet our fleet never should have been sent there. We should have

had gun-boats and cruisers sufficient to do that duty because a fleet must be at sea. It must be practising, having gun-service, battleship-service, target-service, maneuvering, and now for nearly a year that fleet, with a few exceptions, has been becoming less efficient and less useful, the men have not been having the service and have been deteriorating because we have not the gun-boats and vessels of the character that should be doing that duty.

"It was my hope when I left the Navy Department that they would continue the system which we started in the middle of the Taft administration, by having mobilizations at the same time in New York and San Francisco. The object of those mobilizations was to popularize the Navy before the greatest number of people possible, and to demonstrate to ourselves the requirements and the deficiencies. That should be done each year.

"England, fortunately, was doing it at this time, and her fleet was prepared. We have been doing the opposite, and to-day England with a fleet superior in strength to that of Germany has completely paralyzed Germany's overseas trade, which last year amounted to between three and four billions of dollars. Already vessels and cargoes have been captured to the value of three hundred millions or more, and a close blockade of German forts makes it impossible for German vessels to leave or enter her ports. It places her enemy's sea commerce, both export and import, completely at its mercy. It is one of the most potent and effective means of bringing pressure to bear for the determination of hostilities, and may have more influence in bringing war to a close than several battles.

"England's navy to-day demonstrates that it is not only a protection to the coast, but it enables its commerce to be carried on uninterruptedly, the product of its mills and mines to be exported, and its raw materials and food supplies to be imported. The western coast of France is protected by the English fleet, and to-day the guns of her vessels safeguard the west flank of the allied army.

"Imagine the Southern States in this Union, if no cotton could be exported, and the Western States if grain, corn, and other things of that kind were all held back; all these manufactured articles which are sent out of this country to the value of two billions, had no outlet here. Better no navy whatever than a navy insufficient to our needs and which only deceives the inexperienced public as to the safety from attack and the circumstances which would result from paralyzing foreign commerce. It is impossible and unnecessary for this country to have a large standing army in competition with the armies across the seas, but it is possible and necessary for us to have a powerful and efficient navy, superior to that of any country with the exception of England. To bring that about we must have a definite and continuous building program of four battleships a year, until we have secured an ultimate battleship strength of forty-eight ships to the line, with the necessary auxiliary.

"We also need a merchant-marine as an adjunct to the Navy which in times of peace could carry the mails and our products to the foreign ports of the world. England's merchant-marine has been of incalculable value to her in her present crisis, but with us the transport of troops by water would probably be limited. It would require a large fleet, however, of merchant vessels, in which this country is very deficient, to transport in case of war merely the necessary quantities of coal, oil, naval supplies and ammunition.

"We should insist on a strong navy. Battleships are cheaper than invasions. Invasion of a country cannot be effected in the face of a superior fleet. The fleet is the navy. In war nothing fails like failure. In order to have success we must have efficiency, and to have the highest efficiency in the navy we must have a definite policy. To bring about a definite policy we must have cooperation between Congress and the Navy Department. To assure cooperation we must have an intelligent understanding of the subject throughout the country.

"A leading journal in this city lately referred to the present time as an ideal occasion for a naval holiday. He added, 'America is advocating peace. Let us be rather the first to follow our own advice. America should be the first to follow that advice and stop building warships.'

"One of our distinguished citizens has said, 'Our people should wake up to the fact that it is a poor thing to live in a fool's paradise. It is neither patriotic nor wise to urge the United States to make itself defenseless so as to invite aggression.' China has been defenseless for a long time, and they have suffered aggression. The fate of Belgium has shown that we must be not only willing but able to enforce our agreements and protect ourselves. The invasion of our country can never be effected in the face of a sufficiently strong fleet. A powerful navy is the cheapest insurance. We need a strong navy to defend, in case of need, our lands and our people, our commerce, and the principles of self-government on this side of the ocean, for the United States Government has the largest responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and justice in the Western Hemisphere. The Monroe Doctrine is no stronger than the Navy, and the corollary is that international law is only international law while backed up by a strong fleet. The terrible plight of a nation to-day unable to defend itself should arouse public interest to the things which go to make up this condition of security and safety. Congress has failed to consider the wellbalanced program presented by the General Board of the Navy, but has pursued a haphazard method of making appropriations. We are far behind every other nation in hydroplanes for scouting purposes. Our reserve ammunition is entirely insufficient to meet the requirements of a sudden war. We are so short of torpedoes that we should soon be embarrassed, and our transports are so insufficient that we should have to fall back on a merchant-marine which hardly exists. The Assistant Secretary of the Navy has lately stated that to provide a proper com