Crawfordsville Weekly Journal, Crawfordsville, Montgomery County, 6 December 1901 — Page 12
12
PRESIDENT'S _MESSAGE.
(Continued from Ninth Paqe
Chtneie Uxcloaion.
With the sole exception of the farming Interest, no one matter Is of such vital moment to our whole people a3 the welfare of the wageworkers. If the farmer and the wagcworkcr are well off, it is absolutely certain that all others will be well off too. It is therefore a matter for hearty congratulation that on the whole wages are higher today in the United States than ever before in our history and far higher th»n in any other country. The standard of living is also higher than ever before. Every effort of legislator and administrator should be bent to secure the permanency of this condition of things and Its improvement wherever possible. Not only must our labor be protected by the tariff, but it should also bo protected so far as it is possible from the presence in this country of any laborers brought over by contract or of those who, coming freely, yet represent a standard of living so depressed that they can undersell our men in the labor market and drag them to a lower level. I regard it as necessary, with this end in view, to reenact immediately the law excluding Chinese laborers and to strengthen wherever necessary in order to make its enforcement entirely effective.
The national government should demand the highest quality of service from its employees and in return it should be good employer. If possible, legislation should be passed in connection with the interstate commerce law which will render effective the efforts of different states to do away with the competition of convict contract labor In the open labor market. So far as practicable under the conditions of government work provision should be made to render the enforcement of the eight hour law easy and certain. In all Industries carried on directly or Indirectly for the United States government women and children should be protected from excessive hours of labor, from night work and from work under unsanitary conditions. The government should provide in its contracts that all work should be done under "fair" conditions and, in addition to setting a high standard, shouh' uphold it by proper inspection, extending if necessary to the subcontractors. The government should forbid all night work for women and children as well as excessive overtime. For the District of Columbia a good factory law should be passed, and, as a powerful indirect aid to such laws, provision should be made to turn the inhabited alleys, the existence of which is a reproach to our Capital City, into minor streets, where -the inhabitants can live under conditions favorable to health and morals.
American wageworkers work with their heads as well as their hands. Moreover, they take a keen pride in what they are doing, so that, independent of the reward, thev wish to turn out a perfect Job. This Is the great secret of our success in competition with the labor of foreign countries.
Labor.
The most vital problem with which this country, and for that matter the whole civilized world, ha* to deal is the problem which has for one side the betterment of social conditions, moral and physical, in large cities and for another side the effort to deal with that tangle of farreachlng questions which we group together when we speak of "labor." The chief factor in the success of each man—wageworker, farmer and capitalist alike—must ever be tlie sum total of his own individual qualities and abilities. Second only to this comes the power of acting in combination or association with others. Very great good has been and will be accomplished by associations or unions of wageworkers when managed with forethought and when they combine insistence upon their own rights with law abiding respect for the rights of others. The display of these qualities in such bodies is a duty to the nation no less than to the associations themselves. Finally there must also In many cases be action by the government in order to safeguard the rights and Interests of all. Under our constitution there is much more scope for such action by the state and the municipality than by the nation. But on points such as those touched on above the national government can act.
When all is said and done, the rule of brotherhood remains as the indispensable prerequisite to success in the kind of national life for which we strive. Each man must work for himself, and unless he so works no outside help cart avail him. But each man must remember also that he is Indeed his brother's keeper, and that while no man who refuses to walk can be carried with advantage to himself or any one els§, yet that each at times stumbles or halts, that each at times needs to have the helping hand outstretched to him. To be permanently effective aid must always take the form of helping a man to help himself, and we can all best help ourselves by joining together in the work that is of common interest to all.
Immigration,
Our present immigration laws are unsatisfactory. Wo need every honest and efficient immigrant litted to become an American citizen, every immigrant who comes here to stay, who brings here a strong body, a stout heart, a good head and a resolute purpose to do his duty well In every way and to bring up his children as lav.- abiding and God fearing members of the community. But there should be a comprehensive law unacted with the object of working a threefold improvement over our present system. First wo should aim to exclude absolutely not only all persons who are known to be believers in anarchistic principles or members of anarchistic societies, but also all persons who are of a low moral tendency or of unsavory reputation. This means that we should require a more thorough system of Inspection abroad and a more rigid system of examination at our immigration ports, the former being especially necessary.
The second object of a proper immigration law ought to be to secure by a careful and not merely perfunctory educational test some Intelligent capacity to appreciate American institutions and act sanely as American citizens. This would not keep out all anarchists, for many of them belong to the Intelligent criminal class, but it would do what is also in point—that is, tend to decrease the sum of ignorance so potent in producing the envy, suspicion, malignant passion and hatred of order out of which anarchistic sentiment inevitably springs. Finally all persona should be excluded who are below a certain standard of economic fitness to enter our industrial field as competitors with American labor. There should bo proper proof of personal capacity to earn an American living and enough money to insure a decent start under American conditions. This would stop the influx of cheap labor and the resulting competition which fives rise to so much of bitterness in American industrial life, and it would dry up the springs of the pestilential social conditions in our great cities where anarchistic organizations have their greatest possibility of growth.
Both the educational and economic testa In a wise immigration law should be designed to protect and elevate the general body, politic and social. A very close su pcrvision should be exercised over the steamship companies which tnalnly bring over the immigrants, and they should bo held to a strict accountability for any infraction of the law.
The Tariff.
There la general acquiescence In our
M3«gywMiwiii Wif{!!i^|p|fe!
preient tariu system as jiuuuulu po.K-y. The first requisite to our prosperity is the continuity and stability of this economic policy. Nothing could be more unwise than to disturb the business Interests of the country by any general tariff change at this time. Doubt, apprehension, uncertainty, are exactly what we most wish to avoid in tho interest of our commercial and material well being. Our experience in the past has shown that sweeping revisions of the tariff are apt to produce conditions closely approaching, panic in business world, xet rt is not only possible, but eminently desirable, to combine with the stability of oxlT economic system a supplementary system of reciprocal benefit and obligation with other nation.Such reciprocity is an incident and result of the Arm establishment and preservation of our present economic policy. It was specially provided for In the present tariff law.
Reciprocity must be treated as the handmaiden of protection. Our first duty is to see that the protection granted by the tariff in every case where it is needed is maintained and that reciprocity be sought for so far as it can safely be done without Injury to our home industries. Just how far this is must be determined according to the individual case, remembering always that every application of our tariff policy to meet our shifting national needs must be conditioned upon the cardinal fact that the duties must never be reduced below the point that will cover the difference between the labor cost here and abroad. The well being of the wageworker is a prime consideration of our entire policy of economic legislation.
Subject to this proviso of the proper protection necessary to our Industrial well being at home the principle of reciprocity must command our hearty support. The phenomenal growth of our export trade emphasizes the urgency of tho need for wider markets and for a liberal policy In dealing with foreign nations. Whatever is merely petty and vexatious in the way of trade restrictions should be avoided. The customers to whom we dispose of our surplus products in the long run directly or Indirectly purchase those surplus products by giving us something in return. Their ability to purchase our products should as far as possible be secured by so arranging our tar Iff as to enable us to take from them those products which we can use without harm to our own industries and labor or the use of which will be of marked benefit to us.
It is most important that we should maintain the high level of our present prosperity. We have now reached the point In the development of our Interests where we are not only able to supply our own markets, but to produce a constantly growing surplus for which we must find markets abroad. To secure these markets we can utilize existing duties in any case where they are no longer needed for the purpose of protection, or in any casi where the article is not produced here and the duty is no longer necessary fMrevenue, as giving us something to
offer
ln exchange for what we ask. The cordial relations with other nations which are so desirable will naturally be promoted by the coufse thus required by our own interests.
The natural line of development for a policy of reciprocity will be. in connection with those of our productions which no longer require all of the support once needed to establish them upon a sounj basis, and with those others where either because of natural or of economic causes we are beyond the reach of successful competition. 1 ask the attention of the senate to the rec!pro""y treaties laid before it by my predecessor.
Merchant Marine.
The condition of the American merchan! marine is such as to call for immediate remedial action by the congress. It Is discreditable to us as a nation that our merchant marine should bo utterly insignificant in comparison with that of other nations which we overtop in other forms of business. We should not longer submit to conditions under which only a trilling portion of our great commerce is carried in our own ships. To remedy tills state of things would not merely serve to build up our shipping interests, but it would also result in benefit to all who are interested in the permanent establishment of wider market for American products and would provide an auxiliary force for the navy. Ships work for their own countries Just as railroads work for their terminal points. Shipping lines, if established to the principal countries with which we have dealings, would be of political as well as commercial benefit. From every standpoint it is- unwise for the United States to continue to rely upon the ships of competing nations for the distribution of our goods. It should be made advantageous to carry .American goods in American built ships.
At present American shipping Is under certain great disadvantages when put in competition with the shipping of foreign countries. Many of the fast foreign steamships, at a speed of fourteen knots or above, are subsidized, and all our ships, sailing vessels and steamers alike, cargo carriers of slow speed and mall carriers of high speed, have to meet the fact that the original cost of building American ships is greater than is the case abroad, that tho wages paid American officers and seamen are very much higher than those paid the officers and seamen of foreign competing countries and that the standard of living on our ships is far superior to the standard of living on the Bhlps of our commercial rivals.
Our government should take such action as will remedy these inequalities. The American merchant marine Bhould be restored to the ocean.
Financial.
The act of March 14, 1900, intended unequivocally to establish gold as tho standard money and to maintain at a parity therewith all rorms of money medium in use with us, has been shown to be timely and judicious. The price of our government bonds in the world's market when compared with the price of similar obligations Issued by other nations is a flattering tribute to our public credit. This condition it Is evidently desirable to maintain.
In many resppets the national banking law furnishes sufficient liberty for the proper exercise of the banking function, but there seems to be need of better safeguards against the deranging influence oi commercial crises and financial panics. Moreover, the currency of the country should be made responsive to the demands of our domestic trade and commerce.
The collections from duties on imports and internal taxes continue to exceed tha ordinary expenditures of tho government, thanks mainly to the reduced army expenditures. The utmost care should be taken not to reduce tho revenues so that there will be any possibility of a deficit, but after providing against any such contingency means should be adopted whlcli will bring the revenues more nearly within the limit of our actual needs. In his report to the congress the secretary of the treasury considers all these questions at length, and I ask your attention to the report and recommendations.
I call special attention to the need of strict economy In expenditures. The fact that our national needs forbid us to be niggardly in providing whatever ia actually necessary to our well being should make us doubly careful to husband our national resources as each of us husbands his private resources by scrupulous avoidance of anything liko wasteful or reckless expenditure. Only by avoidance of spending money on what Is needless or unjust!fiablo can we legitimately keep our income to the point required to meet oui noeds that are genuine-.
The Interstate Commerce Law. In 1887 a measure was enacted for the regulation of Interstate railways, com-
rr.oiy i.nowu as uiu uiLursiuie commerce act. The cardinal provisions of that act were that railway rates should be Just and reasonable and that all shippers, localities and commodities should be accorded equal treatment. A commission was created and endowed with what were supposed to be the necessary powers to execute the provisions of this act.
That law was largely an experiment. Experience has shown the wisdom of 111 purposes, but has also shown pocslbiy that some of its requirements are wrong, certainly that the means devised for the enforcement of its provisions are defective. Those v.'ho complain of the management of tho railways allege that established rates are not maintained, that rebates and similar devices are habitually resorted to, that these preferences are usually in favor of the large shipper, that they drive out of business the smaller competitor, that while many rates are tor low many others are excessive and thai gross preferences are made affecting both localities and commodities. Upon the other hand, the railways assert that the law by its very terms tends to produce many of these illegal practices by depriving carriers of that right of concerted action which they claim is necessary to establish and maintain nondiscriminating rates.
The act should be amended. The railway Is a public servant. Its rates shoule' ba just to and open, to all shippers alike. The government should see to it that within its jurisdiction this is so ami Bhould provide a speedy, Inexpensive and effective remedy to that end. At the same time It must not bo forgotten that our railways are the arteries through which the commercial llfeblood of this nation flows. Nothing could be more foolish than the enactment of legislation which would unnecessarily interfere with tho development and operation of these commercial agencies. The subject is one of grnat importance and calls for the earnest attention of the congress.
A&rlcnlture.
The department of agriculture during the past fifteen years has steadily broadened its work on economic lines and has accomplished results of real value in upbuilding domestic and foreign trade?. It lias gone into new fields until it i3 now in touch with all sections of our country and with two of the island groups thai have lately come under our jurisdiction, whose people must look to agriculture as a livelihood. It Is searching the world for grains, grasses, fruits and vegetables specially fitted for introduction into localities in the several states and territories where they may add materially to our resources. By scientific attention to soil survey and possible now crops, to breeding of new varieties' of plants, to experimental shipments, to animal industry anrl applied chemistry, very practical aid has been given our farming and stock growing interests. The proeiucts of the farm have taken an unprecedented place in our export trade during the year that has just closed.
Protection of Forest Reserves. Public, opinion throughout the United States has moved steadily toward a just appreciation of the value of forests, whether planted or of natural growth. The crcat part played by thei" atlon and maintenance of the national wealth is now more fully realized than ever before.
Wise forest protection does not mean tho withdrawal of forest resources, whether of wood, water er grass, from contributing their full share to the welfare of the people, but, on the contrary, gives the assurance of larger and more certain supplies. The. fundamental idea of forestry is the perpetuation of forests by use. Forest protection Is not an end of itself it is a means to increase and sustain the resources of our country and the industries which depend upon them. The preservation of our forests is an imperative business necessity. Wo Lave come to see clearly that whatever destroys the forest cxccpt to make way for agriculture threatens our well being.
The practical usefulness of the national forest reserves to the mining, grazing, irrigation and other interests of the regions in which the reserves lie has led to a widespread demand by the people of the west for their protection and extension. The forest reserves will Inevitably be of still greater use in the future than in the past. Additions should be made to them whenever practicable, and their usefulness should be increased by a thoroughly businesslike management.
At present the protection of the forest reserves rests with the general land office, the mapping and description of thfjir timber with tho United States geological survey and the preparation of plans for their conservative use with the burteau of forestry, which Is also charged with the general advancement of practical forestry in the United States. These various functions should be united in the bureau of forestry, to which they properly belong. The present diffusion of responsibility is bad from every standpoint. It prevents that effective co-operation between the government and the men who utilize the resources of the reserves without which the interests of both must suffer. The scientific bureaus generally should be put under the department of agriculture. The president should have by law the power of transferring lands for use as forest reserves to the department of agriculture. He already has such power in the case of lands needed by the departments of war and the navy.
THE CBAWFOEDSVTLLE WEEKLY JOURNAL.
fViSV-*'' ".V-"•
Irrigation.
The wise administration of the forest reserves will be not less helpful to the interests which depend on water than to those which depend on wood and grass. The water supply itself depends upon the forest. In the arid region It is water, not land, which measures production. The western half of the United States would sustain a population greater than that of our whole country today if tho waters that now run to waste were saved and used for irrigation. The forest and water problems are perhaps the most vital internal questions of the United States.
Certain of the forest reserves should also be made preserves for the wild forest creatures. All of the reserves should be better protected from fires. Many of them need special protection because of the great injury done by live stock, above all by sheep. The increase In deer, elk and other animals in the Yellowstone park shows what may be expected when other mountain forests are properly protected by law and properly guarded. Some of these areas have been so denuded of surface vegetation by overgrazing that the ground breeding birds, including grouse and quail, and many mammals. Including deer, have been exterminated or driven away. At the same time the water storing capacity of the surface has been decreased or destroyed, thus promoting floods in times of rain and diminishing the flow of streams between rains.
In cases where natural conditions have been restored for a few years vegetation has again carpeted the ground, birds and deer are coming back, and hundreds of persons, especially from the Immediate neighborhood, come each summer to enJoy the privilege of camping. Some at least of the forest reserves should afford perpetual protection to the native fauna and flora, safe havens of refuge to our rapidly diminishing wild animals of the larger kinds and free camping grounds for the ever Increasing numbers of men and women who have learned to find test, health and recreation In the splendid forests and flower clad meadows of our mountains. The forest reserves should be set apart forever for the use and benefit of our people as a whole and not sacrificed to the shortsighted greed of a few.
The forests are natural reservoirs. By restraining the streams In flood and replenishing them in drought they make possible the use of waters otherwise wasted. They prevent the soil from washing and so protect the storage reservoirs frojnJUllng up with silt. Forest conserva
tion ia therefore an essential conditioa of water conservation. Storage 'Works Necessary.
The forests alone cannot, however, fully regulate and conserve the waters of the arid region. Great storage works are necessary to equalize tho flow of streams and to save the flood waters. Their construction has been conclusively shown to be an undertaking too vast for private effort. Nor can it be best accomplished by tho individual states acting alone. Farreachlng Interstate problems are Involved, and the resources of single states would often be inadequate. It is properly a national function, at least in some of its features. It is as right for the national government to make the streams and rivers of the arid region useful by engineering works for water storage as to make useful the rivers and harbors of the humid region by engineering works of another kind. The storing of the floods in reservoirs at the headwaters of our rivers is but an enlargement of our present policy of river control under which levees are built on the lower reaches of the same streams.
The government should construct and maintain these reservoirs as It does other public works. Where their purpose is to regulate the flow of streams the water should be turned freely into the channels in the ?lry season to take the same course under the same laws as the natural flow.
The reclamation of the unsettled arid public lands presents a different problem. Here it is not enough to regulate the flow of streams. The object of the government Is to dispose of the land to settlers who will build homes upon it. To accomplish this object water must be brought within their reach.
The pioneer settlers on the arid public domain chose their homes along streams from which they could themselves divert the water to reclaim their holdings. Such opportunities are practically gone. There remain, however, vast areas of public land which can be made available for homestead settlement, but only by reservoirs and main line canals Impracticable for private enteiprise. These irrigation works should be built by the national government. The lands reclaimed by them should be reserved by the government for actual settlers, and the cost of construction should so" far as possible be repaid by the land reclaimed. The distribution of the water, the division of the streams among irrigators, should bo left to the settlers themselves in conformity with state laws and without interference with those laws or with vested rights. 'The policy of the national government should be to aid Irrigation in the several states and territories in such manner as will enable the people in the local communities to help themselves and as will stimulate needed reforms in the state laws and regulations governing irrigation
Will F.nricli the Whole Country. The reclamation and settlement of the arid lands will enrich every portlyi of our country, just as t*e settlement of the Ohio and Mississippi valleys brought prosperity to the Atlantic states. The increased demand for manufactured articles will stimulate industrial production, while wider home markets and the tradeof Asia will consume the larger food supplies and effectually prevent western competition with eastern agriculture, incteea the products of irrigation will be consumed chiefly in upbuilding local centers of mining and other industries which would otherwise not come into existence at all. Our people as a whole will profit, for successful homomaking is but another name for the upbuilding of the nation.
The necessary foundation has alreadbeen laid for the inauguration of the poll cy just described. It would be unwise to begin by doing too much, for a great deal will doubtless be learned, both as to what can and what cannot be safely attempted, by the early efforts, which must of necessity be partly experimental in character. At the very beginning the government should make clear, beyond shadow of doubt, its intention to pursue this policy on lines of the broadest public interest. No reservoir or canal should ever be bull! to satisfy selfish personal or local Interests, but only in accordance with the advice of trained experts after long investigation has shown the locality where all the conditions combine to make the work most needed and fraught with the greatest usefulness to the community as a whole. There should be no extravagance, and the believers in the need of irrigation will most benefit their cause by seeing to It that It is free from the least taint of excessive or reckless expenditure of the public moneys.
Irrigation Lairs.
Whatever the nation does for the extension of irrigation should harmonize with and tend to Improve the condition of those now living on Irrigated land. We are not at the starting point of this development. Over two hundred millions of private capital, has already been expended In the construction of irrigation works and many million acres of arid land reclaimed. A high degree of enterprise and ability has been shown in the work itself, but as much cannot be said in reference to tho laws relating thereto. The security and value of tho homes created depend largely on the stability of titles to water, but the majority of these rest on the uncertain foundation of court decisions rendered in ordinary suits at law. With a few creditable exceptions, the arid states have failed to provide for the certain and Just division of streams in times of scarcity. Lax and uncertain laws have made it possible to establish rights to water in excess of actual uses or necessities, and many streams have already passed into private ownership or a control equivalent to ownership.
Whoever controls a stream practically controls the land it renders productive, and the doctrine of private ownership of water apart from land cannot prevail without causing enduring wrong. The recognition of such ownership, which has beon permitted to grow up in the arid regions, should give way to a more enlightened and larger recognition of the rights of the public in the control and disposal of the public water supplies. Laws founded upon conditions obtaining In humid regions, where water Is too abundant to justify hoarding It, have no proper application in a dry country.
The Only Right to Water. In the arid states tho only right to water which should be recognized is that of use. In irrigation this right should attach to the land reclaimed and be inseparable therefrom. Granting perpetual water rights to others than users without compensation to the public is open to all the objections which apply to giving away perpetual franchises to the public utilities of cities. A few of the western states have already recognized this and have Incorporated in their constitutions the doctrine of perpetual state ownership of water.
The benefits which have followed the unaided development of the past justify the nation's aid and co-operation In the more difficult and Important work yet to be accomplished. Laws so vitally affecting homes as those which control the water supply will only be effective when they have the sanction of the Irrigators: reforms can only be final and satisfactory when they come through the enlightenment of the people most concerned. The larger development which national aid Insures should, however, awaken In every arid state the determination to make Its irrigation system equal In justice and effectiveness that of any country in the civilized world. Nothing could be more unwise than for Isolated communities to continue to learn everything experimentally instead of profiting by what Is already known elsewhere. We are dealing with a new and momentous question in the pregnant years while institutions are forming, and what we do will affect not only the present but future generations.
Our aim should be not Bimply to reclaim the largest area of land and provide homes for the largest number of people, but to create for this new Industry the
best possible social and industrial conditions, and this requires that we not only understand the existing situation, but avail ourselves of the best experience of the time in the solution of Its problems. A careful study should be made both by the nation and the states of the irrigation laws and conditions here and abroad Ultimately it will probably be necessary for the nation to co-operate with the several arid states in proportion as these states by their legislation and administration show themselves fit to receive it
Hawaii and Porto Rico. In Hawaii our aim must be to develop the territory on tho traditional American lines. We do not wish a region of large estates tilled by cheap labor. We wish a healthy American community of men who themselves till the farms thoy own. All our legislation for the islands should be shaped with this end in view. The well being of the average homemaker must afford tho true test of the healthy development of the islands. The land policy should as nearly as possible be modeled on our homestead system.
It is a pleasure to say that it is hardly more necessary to report as to Porto Rico than as to any state or territory within our continental limits. The island is thriving as never before, and it is being administered efficiently and honestly. Its people are now enjoying liberty and order under the protection of the United States, and upon this fact we congratulate them and ourselves. Their material welfare must be as carefully and jealously considered as the welfare of any other portion of our country. We have given them the great gift of free access for their products to the markets of the United States. I ask the attention of the congress to the need of legislation concerning the public lands of Porto Rico.
Cuba and the Philippines. In Cuba such progress has been made toward putting the independent government of the island upon a firm footing that before the present session of the congress closes this will be an accomplished fact.' j2ubn.,will then start as her own mistress, ','anS. 'to the beautiful Queen of the Antilles as she unfolds this new page of her destiny we extend our heartiest greetings 'and good wishes. Elsewhere 1 have discussed the question of reciprocity. In the .case of Cuba, however, there are weighty .reasons of morality and of national interest why tho policy should be held tp'hayea peculiar application, and 1 most earnestly ask your attention to the wisdom, indeed to the vital need, of providing for. a substantial reduction in the tariff duties on Cuban imports into the United States. Cuba has in iter constitution afiirnj.ed, what we ^desired, that she should stajyJ in international mattei-a in closer anci more friendly relations with us than with any other power, and we are bound by every consideration of honor and
expediency
to pass commercial meas
ures in the Interest of her material well being. In the Philippines our problem is larger. They are very rich tropical islands, inhabited" by many varying Tribes, representlns widely different stages of progress toward civilization. Our earnest effort is tr helD these Deople upward alone the ston-v and difficult path that leads to selt government. We hope to make our administration of the islands honorable to our nation by making it of the highest benefit to the Filipinos themselves, and as an earnest of what we intend to do we point to what we have done. Already a greater measure of material prosperity and of governmental honesty and efficiency has been attained In the Philippines than ever before in their history.
Treatment of Filipinos.
It is no light task for a nation to achieve the temperamental qualities without which the institutions of free government are but empty mockery. Our people are now successfully governing themselves because for more than a tfiousand years they have been slowly fitting themselves, sometimes consciously, sometime? unconsciously, toward this end. What has taken us thirty generations to achieve we cannot expect to see another race accomplish out of hand, especially when large portions of that race start very far behind the point which our ancestors had reached even thirty generations ago. In dealing with the Philippine people we must show both patience and strength, forbearance and steadfast resolution. Our aim Is high. We do not desire to do for the islandors merely what has elsewhere been done for tropic peoples by even the best foreign governments. We hope to do for them what has nev«r before been done for any people of the tropics—to make them fit for self government after the fashion of the really free nations.
History may safely be challenged to show a single instance in which a masterful race such as ours, having been forced by the exigencies of war to take possession of an alien land, has behaved to its inhabitants with the disinterested zeal for their progress that our people have shown In the Philippines. To leave the islands at this time would mean that they would fall Into a welter of murderous anarchy. Such a desertion of duty on our part would be a crime against humanity. The character of Governor Taft and of his as sociates and subordinates is a proof, if such be needed, of the sincerity of our effort to give the islanders a constantly Increasing measure of self government exactly as fast as th.ey^show themselves fit to exefccISe it. Since the civil government was established not an appointment has been Rjadg, in the Islands with any reference to Considerations of political in fluence or td aught else save the fitness of the infill.. the needs of the service.
Policy of Local Self Government. In our anxiety for the welfare ana progress of the Philippines it may be that here and there wa have gone too rapidly in giving .them local self government. It Is on this side -that our error, if any, has been feommltted. No competent observer isincerely desirous of finding out the facts and influenced only' by a desire far She ^welfare of the natives can assert that! we have not gone far enough. We have gone to the very verge of safety in hastening the process. To have taken a single step farther or faster In advance would have been folly and weakness and might well have been crime. We are extremely anxious that the natives shall show the power of governing themselves. We are anxious first for their sakes and next because it relieves us of a great burden. There need not be the slightest fear of our not continuing to give them all tho liberty for which they are fit.
The only fear is lest In our overanxlety wo give them a degree of independence for which they are unfit, thereby inviting reaction and disaster. As fast as there Is any reasonable hope that In a given district the people can govern themselves self government has been given in that district. There Is not a locality fitted for self government which has not received it. But It may well be that in certain cases It will have to be withdrawn because the inhabitants show themselves unfit to exercise it. Such Instances have already occurred. In other words, there is not the slightest chance of our failing to show a sufficiently humanitarian spirit. The danger comes In the opposite direction.
There are still troubles ahead in the islands. The insurrection has become an affair of local banditti and marauders, who deserve no higher regard than the brigands of portions of the old world. Encouragement, direct or indirect, to these lnsurrectos stands on the same footing as encouragement to hostile Indians in the days when we still had Indian wars. Exactly as our aim is to give to the Indian who remains peaceful the fullest and amplest consideration, but to have it understood that we will show no weakness if he goes on the warpath, so we must make it evident, unless we are false to our own traditions and to the demands of civilization and humanity, that while, we, will do everything in_our power
s,* v.'or
for the Filipino who is peaceful we wl" take the sternest measures with the Filipino who follows the path of the insurrecto and the ladrone.
Tha heartiest praise Is due to largo numbers of the natives of the islands for their steadfast loyalty. The Macabcbes have been conspicuous for their couragc and devotion to the flag. I recommend that the secretary of war bo empowered to take some systematic action in tho way of aiding those these men who are crippled in the service and tho families of those who are killed.
Philippine Legislation.
The time has come when there should be additional legislation for the Philippines. Nothing better can be done for the Islands than to introduce industrial enterprises. Nothing would benefit them so much as throwing them open to industrial development. The connection between idleness and mischief is proverbial, and the opportunity to do remunerative work is one of the surest preventives of war. Of course no business man will go into the Philippines unless it is to his interest to do so, and it is immensely to the Interest of the islands that he should go in. It Is therefore necessary that the congress should pass laws by which tho resources of tho islands can be developed, so that franchises (for limited terms of. years) can be granted to companies doing business In them and every encouragement be given to the Incoming of business men of every kind.
Not to permit this is to do a wrong to the Philippines. The franchises must be granted and the business permitted only under regulations which will guarantee the Islands against any kind of improper exploitation. But the vast natural wealth of the islands must be developed, and the capital willing to develop it must be given the opportunity. The field must be thrown open to individual enterprise, which lias been the real factor in the development of every region over which our flag has flown. It is urgently necessary to enact suitable laws dealing with general transportation, mining, banking, currency, homesteads and the use and ownership of the lands and timber. These laws will glvo free play to Industrial enterprise, and the commercial development which will surely follow will afford to the people of #the islands the best proofs of the sincerity of our desire to aid them.
I call your attention most earnestly to the crying need of a cable to Hawaii and the Philippines, to be continued from the Philippines to points in Asia. We should not defer a day longer than necessary the construction of such a cable. It is demanded not merely for commercial but for political and military considerations.
Either the congress should immediatelj provide for the construction of a government cable or else an arrangement should be made by which like advantages to those accruing from a government cable may be secured to the government by contract with a private cable company.
The Isthmian Canal.
No single great material work which remains to be undertaken on this continent is of such consequence to the American people as the building of a canal across the Isthmus connecting North and South ^menrr. na importance to tne nation is by no means limited merely to its material effects upon our business prosperity, and yet with a view to these effects alone it would be to the last degree important for us Immediately to begin it. While its beneficial effects would perhaps be most marked upon the Pacific coast and the gulf and south Atlantic states, it would also greatly benefit other sections. It is emphatically a work which it is for the interest of the entire country to begin and complete as soon as possible it is one of those great works which only a great nation can undertake with prospects of success and which when done are not only permanent assets In the nation's material interests, but standing monuments to its constructive abilltv. "I am glad to"be able to announce to you that our negotiations on this subject with Great Britain, conducted on both sides in a spirit of friendliness and mutual good will and respect, have resulted in my being able to lay before the senate a treaty which if ratified will enable us to begin preparations for a»i isthmian canal at any time and which guarantees to this nation every right that it has ever asked in connection with the canal. In this treaty the old Clayton-Bulwer treaty, so long recognized as inadequate to supply the base for the construction and maintenance of a necessarily American ship calnal, is abrogated. It specifically provides that the United States alone shall do the work of building and assume the responslbllity of safeguarding the canal and shall regulate its neutral use by all nations on terms of equality without the guarantee or interference of any outside nation from any quarter. The signed treaty will at once be laid before the senate, and if approved the congress can then proceed to give effect to the advantages it. secures us by providing for the building of the canal.
The true end of every great and freo people should be self respecting peace, and this nation most earnestly desires Blncere and cordial friendship with all others. Over the entire world of recent years wars between the great civilized powers have become (ess and less frequent. Wars with barbarous or semibarbarous peoples come in an entirely different category, being merely a most regrettable but necessary International police duty which must be performed for the cake of the welfare of mankind. Peace can only be kept with certainty where both sides wish to keep it, but more and more the civilized peoples are realizing the wicked folly of war and are attaining that condition of just and Intelligent regard for the rights of others which will in the end, as we hope and believe, make worldwide peace possible. The peace conference at The Hague gave definite expression to this hope and belief and marked a stride toward their attainment.
The Monroe Doctrine.
This same peace conference acquiesced In our statement of the Monro* doctrine as compatible with the purposes and alma of the conference.
The Monroo doctrine should be the cardinal feature of the foreign policy of all the nations of the two Americas as It Is of the United States. Just seventy-eight years have passed since President Monroe in his annual message announced that "th« American continents are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European power." In other words, the Monroe doctrine is a declaration that there must be no territorial aggrandizement by any non-American power at the expense of any American power on American soil. It is in nowise. Intended as hostile to any nation In the old world. Still less is it intended to give cover to any aggression by one new world power at the expense of any other. It Is simply a step, and a long step, toward assuring the universal peace of the world by securing the possibility of permanent peace on this hemisphere.
During the past century other influence* have established the permanence and Independence of the smaller states of Europe. Through the Monroe doctrine w* hope to be able to safeguard like independence and secure like permanence for' the lesser among the new world nations.
This doctrine has nothing to do with the commercial relations of any American, power save that It In truth allows each of them to form-such as it desires. In other* words, it is really a guarantee of the commercial independence of 'the Amerlcaa. We do not ask under this doctrine for any exclusive commercial dealings with any other American state. We do not guarantee any stato against punishment if it misconducts Itself provided that punishment does not take the form of the acquisition of territory by any non-American, power.
Our attitude in Cuba tji 4 sufficient guar-