In his speech before the Sons of the Revolution, yesterday, President Roosevelt dwelt particularly upon increasing the powers of the Navy. He said: “We rank as one of the great naval powers of the earth, and we rank as a power for peace. The Navy is the arm of all others upon which this nation must depend to defend it against all foreign aggressors. I want to increase our battleships because they are preventative of war with other nations.” The President’s words concerning the Navy and its power for carrying into effect the sentiments of the people of this country were received with tremendous applause from his auditors.

50 Years Ago, 1955

Maine maple groves should start their sap runs this week end if cold weather stays away, says Warren Voter of the Maine Maple syrup Producers Assn. Voter says Maine’s normal maple syrup production runs to 60,000 gallons but mean weather has cut the crop of the last two years to 27,000 gallons. Grade A Maine maple syrup is expected to bring around $6 a gallon this year.

Preliminary planning for anti-polio inoculation of nine million U.S. children – 40,000 in Maine – is under way, the Maine Health and Welfare commission said today.

25 Years Ago, 1980

As Lewiston continues in its efforts to beautify the downtown and attract shoppers to the area, downtown merchants are studying the possibility of revitalizing a little used park-and-shop program in an effort to attract more shoppers with the prospect of free parking. Under the present system, downtown shoppers can go to one of the few businesses now participating in the program and receive a token. The token can be used in street parking meters to obtain free parking time. In recent years, however, less and less advertising has been done for the program and fewer business and shoppers have participated. There are now less then 10 businesses using the program, according to officials.