Statement on Navy Day.

I TAKE THE occasion of Navy Day to remind the Nation that the national defense is the first and most solemn obligation placed upon the Federal Government by the Constitution. Our people have ever been lovers of peace, and they have consistently pursued a policy designed to preserve national rights by peaceful negotiation wherever possible, rather than by resort to arms.

This administration has spared no reasonable effort to bring about an agreement of all nations upon a reduction of arms, upon the ratios agreed upon at the London Naval Conference. Our patience in these negotiations has never for a moment jeopardized the safety of the United States. These efforts are making progress. If these efforts finally fail, we shall be compelled, by reason of the disturbed conditions prevailing throughout the world and the necessity of protecting American commerce, to build our navy to the full strength provided in the London agreement, equal to that of the most powerful in the world. I need scarcely suggest the vast expenditures that would be involved by that necessity, or the blow that it would deal to one of the most cherished aspirations of our people.