Well, all this is just as true of a nation as of an individual, and in dealing with other nations we should act as we expect a man who is both game and decent to act in private life. There are few things cheaper and more objectionable, whether on the part of the public man or of the private man, on the part of a writer or of a speaker, an individual or a group of individuals, than a course of conduct which is insulting or hurtful, whether in speech or act, to individuals of another nation or to the representatives of another nation or to another nation itself. But the policy becomes infamous from the standpoint of the interests of the United States when it is combined with the refusal to take those measures of preparation which can alone secure us from aggression on the part of others. The policy of “peace with insult” is the very worst policy upon which it is possible to embark, whether for a nation or an individual. To be rich, unarmed, and yet insolent and aggressive, is to court well-nigh certain disaster. The only safe and honorable rule of foreign policy for the United States is to show itself courteous toward other nations, scrupulous not to infringe upon their rights, and yet able and ready to defend its own. This nation is now on terms of the most cordial good will with all other nations. Let us make it a prime object of our policy to preserve these conditions. To do so it is necessary on the one hand to mete out a generous justice to all other peoples and show them courtesy and respect; and on the other hand, as we are yet a good way off from the millenium, to keep ourselves in such shape as to make it evident to all men that we desire peace because we think it is just and right and not from motives of weakness or timidity. As for the first requisite, this means that not only the Government but the people as a whole shall act in the needed spirit; for otherwise the folly of a few individuals may work lasting discredit to the whole nation. The second requisite is more easily secured――let us build up and maintain at the highest point of efficiency the United States Navy. In any great war on land we should have to rely in the future as we have relied in the past chiefly upon volunteer soldiers; and although it is indispensable that our little army, an army ludicrously small relatively to the wealth and population of this mighty nation, should itself be trained to the highest point and should be valued and respected as is demanded by the worth of the officers and enlisted men, yet it is not necessary that this army should be large as compared to the armies of other great nations. But as regards the Navy all this is different. We have an enormous coast line, and our coast line is on two great oceans. To repel hostile attacks the fortifications, and not the Navy, must be used; but the best way to parry is to hit――no fight can ever be won except by hitting――and we can only hit by means of the Navy. It