April i, 1909.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



249 



New England Rubber Club's "Naval Night." 



THE ninth annual dinner of the New England Rubber Club, 

 which was held at the Algonquin Club. Boston, on the 

 evening of March 22, adds one more to the list of success- 

 ful functions for which this association is notable. 



After a preliminary- half hour's social, members and guests 

 gathered at the beautifully decorated tables and discussed a 

 most excellent menu. 



President Stedman's Address. 



A preliminary to the first course was the standing toast "To 

 the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, President Taft." After 

 the last course cigars were lighted, and President Stcdman, 

 calling the meeting to order, spoke as follows : 



Gentlemen. Members of the New England Rubber Club, and Guests: 

 This, our ninth annual meeting, has been desiijnated by your committee, as 

 "Naval Night." While the so-called World Cruise of the American 

 Squadron is still fresh in the minds of the people, and the skill of Ameri- 

 can seamen is the latest wonder and admiration of all naval critics, we 

 have the honor to-night of entertaining destinguished representatives of that 

 navy, and participants in that memorable achievement which has become 

 an important part of our nation's history. 



Aside from our feelings of patriotism and our pride as Americans, we 

 of the rubber trade have a business interest in the navy. 



A modern battleship is quite dependent upon rubber; the pulsing of the 

 great engines is controlled by rubber valves and rubber packing. Without 

 its electrical equipment insulated with rubber, the fighting and operating 

 efficiency of a battleship would be reduced to such an extent that it would 

 be practically helpless. This latter item alone, I am told, represents a cost 

 in the most recent type of battleship, of nearly if not quite a quarter of a 

 million dollars. We, therefore, have not only a p'atriotic but a property 

 interest in that navy of which we are so justly proud. 



From its beginning our American navy has stood for the highest chivalry, 

 faultless diplomacy, the best in scientific attainment, the greatest fighting 

 efficiency and has displayed to the world the finest type of American 

 gentleman. 



I put chivalry first, because when John Paul Jones, in 1774. resented 

 the insult of an English officer to the 

 virtue of American women, by knock- 

 ing the offender down in the presence 

 of his shipmates, he conceived the idea 

 of an American navy in which he bore 

 ■o heroic a part. 



I put diplomacy next, because the 

 American navy has never been the first 

 to draw the sword. How many bud- 

 ding revolutions, infant insurrections, 

 and international misunderstandings 

 have -been averted by our deep sea dip- 

 lomats, only Washington knows. 



In scientific attainment it has always 

 led. In exploration, in the charting of 

 hitherto unknown coasts, on deep sea 

 soundings, in bulletins and monographs 

 on winds, currents, cyclones, and scores 

 of other subjects of great nautical im- 

 portance, the American naval officer has 

 been preeminent. 



In fighting efl^cioncy, man for man 

 and ship for ship, history tells where we 

 stand, and I have faith to believe that 

 the great American public will insist 

 that our navy, now the best, must soon 

 be made the biggest in the world. 



When our late President, Theodore 

 Roosevelt, with masterful determination 

 and foresight, projected the now his- 

 toric world cruise, one of the leading 

 and influential New York dailies said 

 editorially, and repeated it day after 

 day: "The entry of the fleet into the 

 Pacific means war with Japan." Now, 

 we all know that "If you see it in the 

 Sun. it's so." The fleet entered the 

 Pacific, it met and engaged the ships of 

 Japan in Yokohama harbor, the victory 

 was ours; a, victory of peace. Our 



Rear Admiral William Swift. U. S. N 

 [Commandant Cliarlestown Navy Yard.] 



ships have returned, bringing no battle scars excepting those caused by the 

 broadsides of good will. May I say in parenthesis, that this cruise is 

 acknowledged to be the most remarkable nautical feat the world has ever 

 witnessed. How successful, and how remarkable, I trust, our guests will 

 emphasize to us this evening. 



In 1844 rubber was first introduced' to the navy. On March 22, 1909 

 (which some of you may identify with this evening), the navy, by the 

 presence of some of its most distinguished officers, is introduced to the 

 rubber trade. We, of the New England Rubber Club, representing the 

 trade as a whole, welcome them most heartily to our mess room. 



During the late civil war, a soldier wandering through the grounds of 

 the White House, met a tall clerical appearing man who asked him why he 

 was not at the front. The soldier did not recognize the great Lincoln, and 

 taking umbrage at the question, criticized him for hiding behind his clerical 

 robes and thus escaping military service. The great man replied that service 

 at the front was not always the service that tried men the most. There 

 were mothers, wives, and childreij, and in too many cases, widows and 

 orphans who sorely needed the spiritual advice and comfort of the nian of 

 God, and it perhaps took quite as much manhood to resist the calls of 

 country and remain to comfort the deserted ones. So, too, in war and 

 world cruises, there are things to be done at home. There are fortifications 

 and harbors to be defended, there are ships to be made ready and repaired. 

 The man who remains behind to protect the base of supplies, is equally as 

 important as he who goes afar. Naval bases and navy yards are vital to the 

 existence of the ships of war. Tust as the man behind the Kun determines 

 its efficiency, so the man behind the navy yard determines the efficiency of 

 the ships that carry the guns. 



I have the pleasure of introducing our neighbor. Rear Admiral William 

 Swift, commandant at Charlestown navy yard. 



Rear .Admiral Swift's Addrf.ss. 

 Rear Admiral Swift was received with great enthusiasm, and 

 in a fifteen-minute speech had the undivided attention of all 

 present. He said in part, that he had read in the April number 

 of a magazine the writings of a New York cotton broker who 

 seemed to be under the misapprehension that all the navy did 

 was to protect the merchant fleet. 



"The purpose of the navy," the 

 speaker went on, "is the defense 

 of the country it represents ; the 

 protection of commerce is simply 

 incidental. In time of war it is 

 little in comparison with the navy's 

 njain objective." 



He said that during the Spanish 

 war people with summer homes 

 along the Atlantic coast seemed to 

 think that the navy should pro- 

 tect their silverware. This 

 showed a necessity for educating 

 the people to the knowledge that 

 the navy is for national defense 

 and not private affairs along the 

 coast. If the ships guarded the 

 coast in such an event, they would 

 be wasting time and losing ad- 

 vantages. 



The fifteen-months' cruise haci 

 developed a wonderful state of ef- 

 ficiency and had made clear that 

 the navy was equal to all the de- 

 mands put upon it. Some people 

 thought that in times of war this 

 country could improvise military 

 and naval forces, but the cruise 

 showed clearly how well it was to 

 keep up the training. 



"It is the influence in times of 

 peace," continued the rear admiral, 

 "that does so much to prevent war. 



