38 Presidential Addresses 



tion remains true in deed as well as in word to the 

 ideals of the past ; to remember that we can no more 

 afford to show weakness than we can afford to do 

 wrong. Where wrong has been done by any one 

 the wrong-doer shall be punished; but we shall not 

 halt in our great work because some man has hap 

 pened to do wrong. Honor to the statesmen of the 

 past, and may the statesmen of the present strive to 

 live up to the example they set ! Honor to the army 

 and navy of the past! And honor to those gallant 

 Americans wearing the uniform of the American 

 Republic who in the army and the navy of the pres 

 ent day uphold gloriously the most glorious tradi 

 tions of the past ! 



Another thing, compatriots of the Society of the 

 Sons of the American Revolution : We are Amer 

 icans, and that means that we treat Americanism 

 primarily as a matter of spirit and purpose, and 

 in the broadest sense we regard every man as 

 a good American, whatever his creed, whatever 

 his birthplace, if he is true to the ideals of this 

 Republic. 



To-day I have been down to Annapolis to see the 

 graduating class of the Naval Academy; and it 

 would have done your hearts good to have seen those 

 fine, manly, upstanding young fellows who looked 

 every man straight in the face without flinching. 

 We may be sure that the honor of the Republic is 

 safe in their hands. 



I was glad to meet those young fellows to-day. 

 I am glad to meet representatives of the navy like 



