“The little torpedo flotilla went with you around South America,
through the Straits of Magellan, to our own Pacific Coast. The armored
cruiser squadron met you, and left you again, when you were half-way
round the world. In all your long cruise not an accident worthy of
mention has happened to a single battleship, nor yet to the cruisers
or torpedo boats. You left this coast in a high state of efficiency
and you return with your efficiency increased; better prepared than
when you left, not only in personnel, but even in material. During your
world cruise you have taken your regular gunnery practice, and skilled
though you were before with the guns, you have grown more skilful
still; and through practice you have improved in battle tactics, though
here there is more room for improvement than in your gunnery.
Incidentally, I suppose I need hardly say that one measure of your
fitness must be your clear recognition of the need always steadily to
strive to render yourselves more fit; if you ever grow to think that
you are fit enough, you can make up your minds that from that moment
you will begin to go backward.
“As a war machine the fleet comes back in better shape than it went
out. In addition, you, the officers and men of this formidable fighting
force, have shown yourselves the best of all possible ambassadors and
heralds of peace. Wherever you have landed you have borne yourselves so
as to make us at home proud of being your countrymen. You have shown
that the best type of fighting man of the sea knows how to appear to
the utmost possible advantage when his business is to behave himself on
shore, and to make a good impression in a foreign land. We are proud of
all the ships and all the men in this whole fleet, and we welcome you
home to the country whose good repute among nations has been raised by
what you have done.”