David Starr Jordan

“ We glory in the past deeds and achievements of our military and naval heroes, and we know full well that American valor and daring, skill and genius still exist. We have given to fame a Jones, a Lawrence, a Perry, a Decatur, and a Farragut, and we have startled the world with the brave and invincible Dewey. ”

“ Our manifest national policy has been foreshadowed by the conditions that have been created. Averse to wars of conquest, and free from disturbing visions of imperial power and grandeur, the nation has become great beyond the dreams of its founders. A new era is upon it—a condition and not a theory confronts it. Its traditions must be partially shattered and its policy revised and shaped with reference to the exigencies of the times. ”

“ A Frenchman visiting the United States in 1886, noticing how eager our boys and girls were to attend school remarked: "It is not so in France; they have to be driven to school with a stick." Such was the case previous to the Franco- Prussian war.
That war, which caused the downfall of Napoleon III, also brought about a great awakening in France. The great men of that nation realized that Germany's superiority lay in the education of her humblest citizens. "The school-teachers of Germany have beaten us," was the common saying, and France set to work in earnest to popularize education. ”

“ In the light of past events, in the face of present deeds, we welcome the new era, and shall hail with pride and joy the inauguration of a more vigorous naval and military policy.
In the broader conditions of our national life, in our extensive foreign relations, in our expanding commerce, and in our extended governmental policies, we must recognize correspondingly increased duties and responsibilities. The hour is come for the United States to shake off the apparent lethargy of the last three decades and prepare to meet successfully any crisis that may occur. ”

“ When a herd of sealions are driven into the sea, they will rise out of the surf at once and all together, roaring in chorus. Such a wonderful chorus can be heard nowhere else on earth, and it is no wonder that the lion of the sea made a great impression on Steller. The sealions live in families on the rocks, where the males fight for supremacy, often overturning huge boulders in their struggles. ”

“ Nobody cared for the ship. It drifted on to the west with the gentle wind beating against a little sail at its foremast, but the ship with neither helmsman nor commander.
Soon another island loomed up before them, a shore of great flat-topped mountains, ending in huge black vertical cliffs at the sea. In a clear night they came to anchor in a little bay to the north of a black promoncory now called Tolstoi Mys, the thick cape. In the great surf "the ship was tossed like a ball," the cable of their anchor snapped, and the vessel came near being crushed on the jagged rocks of the shore. ”

“ This country in its resources is sufficient unto itself, but every consideration of public policy demands the ability to act immediately when danger threatens. American conditions do not call for an armed imperialism, but do require an easily available military reserve force and a naval strength commensurate with our national dignity. Against possible foreign attack and invasion our harbors and coast cities should be rendered invulnerable, and wherever American commerce and interests extend there should float our flag over ships and fleets of war. ”

“ They found none, for Bering's men were the first who ever set foot on the twin Storm islands. The little bay was surrounded by high craggy steeps, without trees, overgrown by dense moss, and cut by swift brooks. The sailors, under Steller's direction, built a house in the sand, and covered it with driftwood and turf, and made its walls of the carcasses of the foxes they had killed for their skins. Everywhere swarmed the little foxes, blue foxes and white foxes, Eichkao and all his hungry family, and those of the sailors who died were devoured almost before they could be buried. ”

“ Again, naval as well as commercial interests demand that our Eastern and Western states be more closely joined, and to that end the United States should at once construct the Nicaragua canal to furnish short and speedy passageway for all our ships. Every citizen is proud of our present navy, and will eagerly hail its steady increase until our flag shall float on every sea and American men and ships and guns shall everywhere and always be ready to maintain against any foe the rights of the humblest citizen, and to protect our interests whatsoever they may be. ”

“ The history of the United States during the century has been one of unparalleled progress, and the great republic stands forth at the threshold of the 20th cen- tury a mighty power pre-eminent in all the elements that make a nation great. With more than 70,000,000 of people, with marvelous strength and resources, with wide-extended trade and commerce, she presents a splendid contrast to the feeble republic of 100 years ago. ”

“ We front two oceans, and our trade relations extend to Orient and Occident, from northern ice-bound coasts to distant lands upon which shines the southern cross. Here and there our war vessels should be seen, and as, in naval warfare of today, coal is king, strong and fortified strategic stations and outposts should be maintained. ”

“ Our extended trade and commerce, and the economic considerations for the further expansion thereof, our hegemony in this hemisphere and the firmly established doctrines it has entailed, and our intricate and complex relations with the world at large have greatly extended the horizon of our governmental and national duties and responsibilities, and are likely to constantly bring us face to face with critical questions, and often, perhaps, to the verge of conflict. ”

“ The Monroe doctrine, based in part upon the principle of self-preserva- tion and self-interest and in part upon the sentiment of altruism, has become an inseparable part of our governmental policy — a doctrine that our liberty-loving people are resolved to maintain and per- petuate. Whatever may be the destiny in store for the republics of the Americas, the United States has once and for all firmly decided that never again shall any one of them pass under Old World dom- ination; that these continents are and of right ought to be dedicated forever to the holy cause of freedom. ”

“ The young are cinnamon-colored, and when they are born they look much like female fur seals, and are almost as large. And when the old males are fighting they toddle away, else
they will be crushed under the rocks, or trampled on by huge, flappy feet.
But most interesting of all the great beasts of the sea was the one Steller called the sea bear, "Ursus Marinus," or, as men now call it, the "fur seal." These creatures came on shore by the thousands on the west coast of Bering island, when the ice left the island in the spring. ”

“ The great current of American life has been sweeping through the century towards "liberty, equality and fraternity."
The dominion of the republic has been extended, in magnificent continuity, from the rock-bound shore of the Atlantic to the golden sands of the Pacific, and the flag of the Union, enriched and glorified by 32 additional stars, floats in triumph over a land of almost limitless re- sources. The tide of population, swell- ing with the passing years, has swept Westward, bearing on its bosom the blessings and glories of the new civiliza- tion. ”

“ We can no longer trust to chance, and to maintain peace and security we must be able to resort to and exercise force whenever necessary. The surest guarantee of peace is preparedness for war, and upon this truism we should base and shape our future course. ”

“ We are not eager for colonization in and of itself, but we are desirous of trade relations throughout the world, and the exigencies of the times point to the holding of certain strategic points beyond our shores. ”

“ It is a quiet and restful spot in spite of its solemn grandeur, and one grows into closer kinship with Nature there. In those days travelers did not often come that way, for there was no road, only a narrow trail winding in and out among the hills and along the brow of the beetling cliff. The nearest human habitation was a good 10 miles away to the south. ”

“ The constitution has grown, with each dec- ade, in the affections of the people, and our institutions have been jealously cherished and guarded as sacred monuments of constitutional liberty and freedom. ”

“ Our aims, though conservative, are determined and certain of accomplishment, and having reaped the fruits thereof we must be prepared to preserve and protect them. Our future foreign policy must be marked with vigor, albeit leavened with conservatism, and foreign aggression and interference be less brooked than heretofore. ”

“ There were many obstacles to be overcome, not the least of which was the economy of the peasantry. After the schools were built and equipped, they re- fused to take their children from work to send them to school. So, for the good of the children who were growing up in ignorance, the government obtained from parliament in 1882 a school law which embodied two good provisions, viz., free tuition and compulsory education, from the age of 6 to 14. ”

“ But whether or not this mighty race shall hereafter act in unison and jointly guarantee the continuance and extension of popular rule, America must be prepared not only to defend and maintain her own national honor and prestige, but also to prevent aggression and interference in the affairs of her less-favored sisters to the south. ”

“ There were 77 men all told on board the St. Peter, and one of them was George Wilhelm Steller, the German naturalist, clear-headed, warm-hearted and imperative, who has told the story of the voyage.
First they sailed for Gamaland, a great island, which, on the Russian maps of that day, lay in the ocean to the southeast of Kamchatka. But when the St. Peter came to where Gamaland was, they said: "Only sea and sky; a few wandering birds, and no land at all." There never was any Gamaland, but Bering did not know this, so he was surprised to find no land nearer than the bottom of the sea. ”

“ We can imagine the great groups of snug kotiks that clustered about the warring beach-masters, while along the shores wandered and played the hosts of young bachelors eager to keep near the homes, but afraid to enter them till their wigs and tusks had grown. ”

“ The events of the times are pointing in that direction, and should mutual interests be superadded to common tongue and law and faith and an Anglo-American co-operation or alliance result, the conjoined forces of the Anglo-Saxon race would insure the most magnificent safeguard of free government. ”

“ The government accepts no amount under one franc, or about 20 cents in American money. Now, for a boy to carry 20 cents in his pocket is a little rash. If he does not lose his money he will surely spend it. To save him from either unfortunate predicament the school teacher sells him as many penny stamps as he has pennies to purchase them with. ”

“ Many men have blamed him for going away so soon. Whether Bering did right it is not for us to say. We know Steller's opinion, but Bering's we have not heard. Steller said: "The only rea- son for leaving was stupid obstinacy, fear of a handful of natives, and pusilanimous homesickness. For 10 years Bering had equipped himself for this great enterprise; the explorations lasted 10 hours." "We have gone over to the New World," he said, "simply to bring American water to Asia." ”

“ The youth, if he be the eldest, is early impressed with his future responsibility as head of the family. His conscious au- thority asserts itself in many childish comedies. As heir apparent and protector of the honor of his house and the women, he indulges in precocious fancies. ”

“ This comes when men eat too much salt without fruit or vegetables, and it shows itself in loosened teeth which fall out of the shrunken gums. Affairs grew worse and worse, Bering and more than half his men were sick, and when they came to the 13 ragged, barren islands that rise above the surf in the thick mist, they landed there and carried the sick ones ashore. One of the sailors, named Shumagin, died here, and so the islands are called Shumagin to this day.
While the men searched for fresh water Steller looked everywhere for roots and berries with which to heal the men sick with scurvy. ”

“ The purpose of the organization was to assist the military board in providing material comforts for the Second regiment, Oregon volunteers, and to soften the transition from civil to army life for the raw recruit. And the society was composed of women from every walk of life, who hastened to enroll as members and offer their services in the name of patriotism. ”

“ In addition to looking after the welfare of the Oregon volunteers, the corps re- ceived and fed all troops passing through Portland on the way to the front, and whenever called upon fitted out recruits from its own and other states, and sent fever bandages, caps and cordials to San Francisco. There has never at any time been a lack of funds when funds were needed, and every call upon the corps has been promptly met. ”

“ Sunday, May 8, a sacred and patriotic concert was given at Camp McKinley The presence of over 10,000 people wag an evidence of the zeal and interest felt by the public. The programme was fur- nished by the First Regiment band, Miss Rose Bloch and Madame Norelli.
It was a scene never to be forgotten by that audience, when, at the close ot the evening drill, the Stars and Stripes were slowly lowered at the booming of the sunset gun, and the long lines of volunteers listened to the strains of the "Star-Spangled Banner," floating out upon the evening air. ”

“ The law has worked well, and today there are fewer opponents to its enforcement than there were 15 years ago. Very few children are now illiter- ate; it is no longer necessary to drive them to school; they go of their own ac- cord, and are as eager, almost, for an ed- ucation as are American boys. ”