BANQUET. 309 



Now, gentlemen, there were two things that brought about the success of our soldiers 

 abroad. The first was the spirit of the men wlio went over, and the second was the backing 

 they got at home. The spirit of the men who went over did not come all from the men them- 

 selves entirely. Its foundation lay far deeper. It lay all over this country in every home, for 

 you know how enthusiastic was that natural spirit, and you know that, whether you were in 

 the highways or the byways, or in the country or the city, that spirit prevailed everywhere. 



I wonder if you have ever thought what made that spirit — why was it we had such a 

 fine national spirit. There was one thing more than all others combined that gave it to us 

 — the draft law. As long as our enlistments were voluntary, as long as we had a haphazard 

 man from this point, or that point, or another point, the interest lagged, but when the draft 

 law came along and put every man eligible for military service into that service, the interest 

 of every family became acute, and that is the foundation for our national spirit, and how fine 

 it was ! Let us not forget that it was because every man was called on to do his duty, and 

 should the time ever come again when we need men again, let us not forget that it was the 

 draft law this time, and it will be the draft law the next time, that will put upon every man, 

 under every circumstance, the requirement of doing his duty. (Applause.) 



Just one word more about the port and its organization, and I am through. It was a 

 sort of threefold arrangement we had. The Navy ran the transports, officered the ships, 

 convoyed them, and looked to their safety. The Army brought the troops into the port, put 

 them into the camps, saw that they were supplied with all the supplies and clothing that were 

 necessary, and put them aboard the ships. There was another organization of which we hear 

 far too Httle, headed by that great and fine administrator, Mr. Franklin, with a civilian com- 

 mittee, whose duty it was to load the ships and look after the swift turn around. Now these 

 three departments that were interlocked in a system of coordination had to work smoothly, 

 or things would have gone to smash immediately. To me, in all the years that I shall live 

 hereafter, the thing that I shall remember with most pleasure is not the number of troops 

 that went over, it was not the amount of business that was done, but the thought which will 

 forever give me the most pleasure is the fact that these three departments at this port worked 

 smoothly and harmoniously throughout, and there was never a time when we could not ad- 

 just things ourselves; there never was a time when it was necessary to go to Washington 

 to smooth out any wrinkles. Admiral Gleaves and Mr. Franklin were such fine men, you 

 had only to say to them it was thus and so and they would say, "All right, that is satisfactory 

 to us." That, to me, will always be the pleasant recollection — I mean the harmony and co- 

 ordination and fine spirit that existed throughout between these three departments of the 

 work at the Port of New York. I thank you. (Applause.) 



The President : — Obviously the Army and its representatives are fully equal to the 

 occasion. Our next toast is "The Navy." Until last evening the name printed under this 

 toast was correctly placed. Unfortunately, I received notice from Washington, late yester- 

 day, that the Secretary of the Navy was compelled at the last moment to deny himself the 

 pleasure of being with you. He sent a letter this afternoon, however, by one of our col- 



