d have an army sufficiently large and so
constituted as to form a nucleus out of which a suitable force can
quickly grow.

What has been said of the army may be affirmed in even a more emphatic
way of the navy. A modern navy can not be improvised. It must be built
and in existence when the emergency arises which calls for its use and
operation. My distinguished predecessor has in many speeches and
messages set out with great force and striking language the necessity
for maintaining a strong navy commensurate with the coast line, the
governmental resources, and the foreign trade of our Nation; and I wish
to reiterate all the reasons which he has presented in favor of the
policy of maintaining a strong navy as the best conservator of our peace
with other nations, and the best means of securing respect for the
assertion of our rights, the defense of our interests, and the exercise
of our influence in international matters.

Our international policy is always to promote peace. We shall enter into
any war with a full consciousness of the awful consequences that it
always entails, whether successful or not, and we, of course, shall make
every effort consistent with national honor and the highest national
interest to avoid a resort to arms. We favor every instrumentality, like
that of the Hague Tribunal and arbitration treaties made with a view to
its use in all international controversies, in order to maintain peace
and to avoid war. But we should be blind to existing conditions and
should allow ourselves to become foolish idealists if we did not realize
that, with all the nations of the world armed and prepared for war, we
must be ourselves in a similar condition, in order to prevent other
nations from taking advantage of us and of our inability to defend our
interests and assert our rights with a strong hand.

In the international controversies that are likely to arise in the
Orient growing out of the question of the open door and other issues the
United States can maintain her interests intact and can secure respect
for her just demands. She will not be able to do so, however, if it is
understood that she never intends to back up her assertion of right and
her defense of her interest by anything but mere verbal protest and
diplomatic note. For these reasons the expenses of the army and navy and
of coast defenses should always be considered as something which the
Government must pay for, and they should not be cut off thr