And State Papers 463 



ON BOARD THE KEARSARGE, DURING THE 

 REVIEW OF THE FLEET, AUGUST 17, 1903 



Officers and Enlisted Men: 



I wish to say a word of thanks to you on behalf 

 of the people of the United States. There are many 

 public servants whom I hold in high esteem, but 

 there are no others whom as a class I hold in quite 

 the esteem I do the officers and enlisted men of the 

 navy and the army of the United States. 



In doing your work here it should all be done with 

 an eye toward the day when upon every man, from 

 the admiral to the lowest in rank, may rest the re- 

 sponsibility as to whether or not a new page of 

 honor in American history shall be turned. As I 

 passed the Olympia I remembered' her victory of 

 May I, 1898, which made her name forever one of 

 renown in our history. But all aboard her had been 

 equipped for the work by days and months, usually 

 by years, of what must have often been irksome 

 duty. In speaking to all of you I want a chance to 

 say a word of special recognition to the gun pointers. 

 The shots that hit are the shots that tell. They are 

 what make the navy prove itself equal to any need. 

 I am happy to say that the American seamen have 

 never been found deficient in the fighting edge the 

 first requisite of the fighting man. I do not praise 

 you for being brave ; that is expected. The coward 



