lans that had
already been formulated. Much had been done when the President boarded
the flag-ship of the Atlantic Fleet that early summer afternoon. Some of
our destroyers were already at work in foreign waters, but the bulk of
our fighting force was at home, preparing for conflict. And it was this
time that the President chose to meet those upon whom the nation relied
to check the submarine and to protect our shores against the evil
devices of the enemy.

"He went," wrote a narrator of this historic function, "directly to the
business in hand. And the business in hand was telling the officers of
the navy of the United States that the submarine had to be beaten and
that they had to do it. He talked--well, it must still remain a secret,
but if you have ever heard a football coach talk to his team between the
halves; if you ever heard a captain tell his men what he expected of
them as they stripped for action; if you ever knew what the fighting
spirit of Woodrow Wilson really is when it is on fire--then you can
visualize the whole scene. He wanted not merely as good a record from
our navy as other navies had, he wanted a better record. He wanted
action, not merely from the gold-braided admirals, but from the ensigns,
too; and he wanted every mind turned to the solution of the submarine
question, and regardless of rank and distinction he wanted all to work
and fight for the common object--victory.

"Somebody suggested to the President later that the speech be published.
He declined. Most of it wasn't said to be published. It was a direct
talk from the Commander-in-chief of the navy to his men. It was
inspiration itself. The officers cheered and went away across the seas.
And there they have been in action ever since, giving an account of
themselves that has already won the admiration of their allies and the
involuntary respect of their foes."

It was under such auspices as these that the United States Navy went
forth to war. No one ever doubted the spirit of our fighters of the sea.
Through all the years, from the time when John Paul Jones bearded enemy
ships in their own waters, when _Old Ironsides_ belched forth her
well-directed broadsides in many a victorious encounter; when Decatur
showed the pirates of Tripoli that they had a new power with which to
deal; when Farragut damned the torpedoes in Mobile Bay, and Dewey did
likewise in Manila Bay; when Sampson and Schley triumphed at Santiago,
and Hobson accepted the s