Rensselaer Republican, Volume 22, Number 14, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 December 1889 — PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE. [ARTICLE]

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE.

There is a city of 30,000 inhabit Hants not one of whom cares a cent for la dollar, but it is because coins are unknown in the part of India where • the city is located. Vitiated air shows its effects in the constitutions and progeny of those who are obliged constantly to breathe the B&me. A healthy, sound race of people cannot be reared amid such surroundings. _____ The man or woman who can not give an entertainment without the aid pf a professional assistant should go put of the business. Formality is an empty show and kills all heartiness land good will. The king of Spain went to the theater a short time ago, for the first time in his life. Pretty soon he will be big enough to attend bull-fights and to roll jhis own cigarettes. His majesty, however, will not have attained the kindergarten age for some time yet ; The man who gives his time and money in trying to connect with the wheel of the Louisiana lottery is likely to come to the conclusion that life is not worth living. And indeed it is so for him. The .wheel of fortuno knows its proprietor. After the agony is all over, tho men who sat up nights declining tho honor and those others who nearly ran their legs off after it will appreciate the wisdom of the man with his hat lull of buzzing bees, who simply., saw)ed wood and said nothing. * ■ - . ■ - | English is making its way. In the public schools of Japan the, English language is required to be taught by law. The brightest and most ambitious *of the young men in the open ports and commercial cities of China are all eager to learn Euglish has a passport to wealth, position and employment. | ; At the Pari3 Hippodrome the chief attraction for the season was the spectacle of a lion taking equestrian exercise—the auimal really mounted on the back of a horse and being carried sev,eral times around an enclosure. The receipts accruing from this novel performance are stated to amount to more than half a million dollars. ____________________________ - T —4 ! Laughing is catching and it also may be attended with pain and mortification. Miss Taggart of Plainfield, N. J., laughed so hard at one of her escort’s jokes that sho dislocated her law. Fo» two hours, before a doctor jcould be found, sho suffered terrible agony. It eventually took two physicians forty minutes to get the jaw back , to its socket ; When a Chinaman is arrested in California he does not give the correct “celestial” name, but puts up an ‘America combination, This is often 'amusing. For instance, when Hop Lee was brought in before a San Fran- j .cisco justice-he gave his name as; iCabbage Cow. John is imitative and soon "*falls into American wavs—especially the evil ways. Archdeacon Farrar’s son, now at 1 Lehigh University, is quite a wit. j While he was in Philadelphia he was lionized a good deal. One evening at dinner a rather fresh young lady . Jtuened to him and said: “Your father is one of the big guns of England, is he not, Mr. Farrar?” “He was at one time,” replied the young man, politely. “He was a canon, you know.” Thf, French republic is stronger today in the affections of tho French people than ever before. For the first time since its establishment after the fall of the commune the world can see no formidable dangers threatening itq security. The monarchy is a ghost o 5 the past, which rises no more from the bloody grave where it was laid a bun-. . dred years ago and where at last if rests in peace. Whatever progress has been mado in the improvement of society has been secured by the exposure of its evils and the attack upon injustice, dishonesty and wrong wherever it exists. There is plenty of room for improvement; and the critics of evil in the present day are furnishing the influence which, if effective, will make the next generation better than this, as tills is better than its predecessor.

It was hardly a month after tha Emperor of Germany tried to put down the excessive love of dancing among his subjects, until a kind of counterblast raised by the Bortin Academy of German Dances, which offered a prize for the best “new German square dance,” But the edict from the throne evidently frightened competitors, for the results were not very satisfactory.

Shakespeare had the richest vocabulary and the longest lingual string to his literary kite of any Englishman, and a Buffalo school teachor has figured out that he employed only 16,000 words. Milton could take his pick out of 8,000 words, but the average college graduate rarely har, a vocabulary pf more than 3,000 or 4,000 words and generally half that number is all hie or the cards to struggle with.

To the Senate and House of Representatives. There are few transactions in the administration of the Government that are even temporarily held in jmnfidenco oT those charged with the conduct of the public business. Every step taken is under the observation of an intelligent and watchful people. The state of the Union is known from day to day, and suggestions as to needed legislation find an earlier voice than that which speaks in these annual | communications of the President to Con- ! gross. Good will and cordiality have characterized our relations and correspondence with other Governments, and the year Just closed leaves few international questions of importance remaining unadjusted. No obstacle is believed to exist that can long postpone the consideration and adjustment of the still pending questions upon satisfactory and honorable terms. The dealings of this Government with other States have been* and should always be, marked by frankness and sincerity, our purposes avowed and our methods free from intrigue. This course has borne rich fruit in the past, and it is our duty as a nation to preserve the heritage of good repute which a century of right i dealing with foreign governments has scj cured to us. It is a matter of high significance„and no less of congratulation, that the first year of the second century of our constitutional existence finds, as honored guests within our borders, the representatives of all the independent States of North and South America met together in earnest conference touching the best methods of perpetuating and expanding the relations of mutual interest and friendUners j existing among them. That the opportuI nity thus afforded for promoting closer international relations and the increased prosperity of the States represented wlll " be used for the mutual good of all, I can not permit myself to doubt. Our people will await with interest and confidence the results to flow from so auspicious a meeting of allied, and, in large part, identical interests. {The President then reviews Our relations with foreign nations.] — the surplus. Within our own borders a general condition of prosperity prevails. The harvests of the • last < summer were exceptionally abundant, and the trade conditions now prevailing seem to promise a successful season to the merchant and the manufacturer, and general employment to our .working people. The report of the Secre tary of the Treasury for the fiscal year ending June 30,1889;has been prepared,and will be presented to Congress. It presents with clearness the fiscal operations of the Government, and I avail myself of it to obtain some facts for use here. The aggregate receipts from all sources for the year were $387,050,058.84, derived as follows: From customs, $333,832,741.69; from internal revenue, $130,881,513.93; from miscellaneous sources, $32,335,803.23. The ordinary expenditures for the same period were $281,996,615, and the total expenditures, including the sinking fund, were $229,579,928.25. The excess of receipts over expenditures was, after providing for the sinking fund, $57,470,129.59. For the current fiscal year the total revenues, actual and estimated, are $385,000,000, and the ordinary expenditures, actual and estimated, are $398,000,000, making, -with the Binking fund, a.total expenditure of $341,831,116.99, leaving an estimated surplus of $43,678,883.01. During the fiscal year there was applied to the purchase of bonds, in addition to those for the sinking fund, $90,450;172.35, and during the first quarter of the current year the sum of $37,838,937.77, all of wnich was credited to the sinking fund. The revenues of the fiscal year, ending June 30,1891, are estimated by the Treasury Department at $385,000,000, and the expenditures for the same period, including the sinking fund, at $311,430,477.70. This shows an estimated surplus for that year of $43,509,522.30, which is more likely to be increased than reduced when the actual transactions are written up. The existence of so large an actual and anticipa- . ted surplus should have the immediate attention of Congress with a view to reduc Ing the receipts of the Treasury to the needs ts the Government as closely as may be. The collection of moneys not needed for public uses imposes an unnecessary burlen upon our people, and the presence of io large a surplus in the public vaults is a iisturbing element in the conduct of prirate business. It has called into use expedients for putting it into circulation of rery questionable propriety. We should uot collect revenno for tho purpose of antij cipating our bonds, beyond the requirements of the sinking fund, but any unappropriated surplus in the Treasury should ; be so used as there is no other lawful way of returning the money to circulation, and the profit realizeu by the Government offers a substantial advantage. The'loaning of public funds to the banks without interest, upon the security of Government j bpfid|p>l regard as an unauthorized and I dangerous expedient. It results in a temporary aEd unnatural increase of the bank Ing capital of favored localities, and compels a cautious and gradual recall of the deposits to avoid injury to the commercial interests. It is not to be expected that the banks having these deposits will sell their bonds to the Treasury so long as the present highly beneficial arrangement is continued. They now practically get interest botAupon the bonds ana their pro ceeds. No further use should be made of this method of getting the surplus into circulation, and the deposits now outstanding ihould be gradually withdrawn and applied to the purchase of bonds. It is fortunate that such a use can be made of the existing surplus, and for some time to come of EDy casual surplus that may exist after Congress has taken the necessary steps for a reduction of the revenue. Such legislalation should bo promptly but very considerately enacted. I recommend a revision of our tariff law, both in its administrative features and in the schedules. The need of the former is generally conceded, and an agreement upon the evils and inconveniences to be remedied and the best methods for their correction will not be difficult. Uniformity of valuation at all our ports is essentia], and effective measures should be taken to secure it. It is equally desirable that questions affecting rates and classifications should be promptly decided. The preparations of anew schedule of customs duties is a matter of great delicacy because of its direct effect upon the business of the country, and of great difficulty by reason of the wide divergence of opinion as to the objects that may properly be prompted by such legislation. Some disturbances of business may, perhaps, result from the consideration or this subject by Congress, but this temporary ill-effect will be re duced to the minimum by prompt action, and by the assurance which the country already enjoys that any necessary changes will be so made as not to impair the just and reasonable protection of our homo industries, The inequalities of the law should be adjusted, but the protective principle should be maintained and fairly applied to the products of our farms as

well as of our shops. These duties necessarily have relations tp other things besides M«e public revenues. ""We can not limit their effects by fixing our eyes on the public treasury alone. They have a direct relation to home production, to work, to waves, and to the commercial Independence of our country, and the wise and patriotic legislation snould enlarge the field of his vision to include all of these. The necessary reduction in our public revenuescan, I am sure, be made without making the smaller burden more onerous than the larger by reason of the disabili ties and limitations which the process of reduction puts upon both capital and labor. The free list can very safely fee ex tended by placing thereon articles that do not offer Injurious competition to such domestic products as our home labor can supply. The removal of the Internal tax upon tobaooe would relieve an important agricultural product from a burden which

j wa~ Imposed only Wwcanse mVf revenue j from customs duties was insufficient for! the public needs. If safe provision against j fraud can be devised; the removal of the tax upon spirits used in the arts and in manufacturer would also offer an unobjectionable method of reducing the surplus.. The President considers at length the subjects of Coast defenses and silver and gold. Of the silver question he says; • I have always been an advocate of the use of silvier in our currency. We are large producers of that metal, mid should not dilcredit it. To the plan which will bq' presented by the Secretary of the Treasury for issuance of notes or certificates upon the deposit of silver bullion at its market value, I have been able to give only a hasty examination, owing to the press of other matters, and to the fact that it has been so recently formulated. The details of such a law require careful 1 consideration, but the general plan suggested by him seems to satisfy the pur pose—to continue the use of silver in connection with our currency, and at the same time to obvi ate the danger of which I have spoken. At a later day I may communicate further with Congress upon- this subject.

TRUSTS AND COMBINATIONS, Earnest attention should be given by Congress to a consideration of the question how far the restraint of those combinations of capital commonly called “Trusts’l is matter of federal jurisdiction. When organized, as they often are to crush out all healthy competition and to monopolize or sale of an article of commerce and general necessity, they are dangerous conspiracies against the public good, and should be made the subject ofprohibitory and even penal legislation. The subject of au internatl onal copyright has been frequently commended to the attention of Congress by my predecessors. The enactment of such a .aw would be wise and just. Our naturalization laws should bes§QE revised as to make the inquiry into the moral character and Jgood disposition toward, opr Government of the persons applying for citizenship mqge thorough. This can only be done by taking fuller control of the examination by fixing the times for hearing such applications, and by requiring the presence of some one who shall represent the Government in the inquiry. Those who are avowed enemies of social order, or who come to our shores to swell the injurious influence and to extend the evil practices of any association that defies our laws, should not only be denied citizenship, but a domicile. The enactment of a national bank superintendent la vof a character to be a permanent part of our general legislation is desirable; It should be simple in its methods and inexpensive in its administration.

PENSION MATTERS. The law now provides a pension for every soldier and sailor who was mustered into the service Of the United States during the civil war and is now suffering from wounds or disease having an origin in the service and in the line of duty. Two of the necessary facts, viz. r muster and disability,are usually susceptible of easy proof, but the third, origin in the service,is often difficult, and in many deserving cases impossible to establish. That very many of those who endured the hardships of our most bloody and arduous campaigns are now disabled frqm diseases that had a real but not a traceable origin in the service, I do not doubt. Besides these there is an-<-ther class composed of men, many of whom served an enlistment of three full years, and of re-enlisted veterans who added a fourth year of service, who escaped the casualties of battle and the assaults of disease, who were always ready for any detail, who were in every battleline of their command, and were mustered out In sound health, and have since the close of the war, while fighting with the same indomitable spirit the contests of civil life, been overcome by disease or casualty. I am not unaware that the pension roll already involves a very large annual expenditure, neither am I deterred by that fact from recommending that Congress -grant a pension to such honorably discharged soldiers and sailors of the rivil war as (having rendered substantial service during the war) are now dependent upon their own labor for maintai nance, and by disease or casualty are incapacitated from earning it. Many of the men who would be included in this form of relief are now dependent upon public aid, and it does not, in my judgment, consist with'the national honor that they shall continue to subsist upon tho local relief given indiscriminately to paupers instead of uponthe speeial and generous provision of the nation they served so gallantly and unselfishly. Our people will, lam sure, very gen eraiiy approve such legislation. And lam equally sure that the survivors of the Union army and navy will feel a grateful sense of relief when this worthy and suffering class of th6ir comrades is fairly cared for. There are some manifest inequalities iri the existing law that should be remedied. To some of them the Secretary of the Interior has called attention. It is gratifying to be able to state that by the adoption of new and better methods in the War Department the calls of the Pension Office for information as to the military and hospital records of pension claimants are now promptly answered, and the injurious and vexatious delays that have heretofore occurred are generally avoided. This will greatly facilitate the adjustment of all pending claims. The advent of four new States—South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana and Washington—into the Union under the Constitution, in the same month, and the admission of their duly chosen representatives to our national Congress at the same session, is an event as unexampled as it is interesting. The certification of the votes cast, and of the Constitutions adopted in each cf the States was filed with me, as required by the eighth section of the act of February 22, 1889, by the Governors of said Territories, respectively. Having, after a careful examination, found that the several constitutions and Governments were Republican in form and not repugnant to the Constitution of the United States; that all the provisions of tho act of Congress had been complied with, and that a majority of the votes cast in each of said proposed States was in favor of the adoption of the constitution submitted "therein, I did so declare by a separate proclamation to each; as to North Dakota and South Dakota, on Saturday, November 2; as to Montana, on Friday, November 8, ar.d as to Washington, on Friday, November 21. Each of these States has within its resources tho development of which will employ the energies of, and yield a comfortable subsistence to, a great population. The smallest of these new States, Washington, stands twelfth, and the largest, Montana, third, among the forty-two in area. The people of these States are already well trained, intelligent and patriotic American citizens, having common interests and sympathies with those of older States, and a common purpose to defend the integrity and uphold the honor of the Nation.

CIVIL SERVICE. On the4th of March last the Civil Service commission had a single member. The vacancies were filled on the 7th day of May, and since then Ue commissioners have been industriously, though with an inadequate force, engaged in executing the law. They were assured by me that a cordial support would be given them in the faithful and impartial enforcement of the statute and rules and regulations adopted In aid of it. Heretofore the book of oligibles have been closed to everycne, exeept as certifications were made upon tne requisition of the appointing officers. This secrecy was the source of much suspicion aud of many vharges of favoritism in the administration of the law. What is secret is always suspected; what is op ened con be judged. The commission with the full approval of all its members, has now opened its list of eligiblos to the publii. The eligible lists for the class!

•*3k ' . {Tied postomees and custom nous£s,are now i public posted in the respective offices, as j are also the certificatiffis for appointments. The purpose of the eivil service law was absolutely to exclude any other consideration in connection with appointments under it than that .of merit as tested by the examinations. -y The business proceeds uponthe theory that both the examining boards and the appointing officers are absolutely ignorant as to the political- views and associations of all persons on the civil service lists. It is not too much to say, however, that some recent Congressional investigations have somewhat shaken confidence in the impartiality of the selections or appointments. The reform of the civil service will make nosafe and satisfactory advance until the present law and its administration are established in the hearts of the "people. It will be iny pleasure, as it is my duty to see that the law is executed with firmness and impartiality. If some of its provisions have been fraudulently evaded by appointing officers, our resentment should not suggest the repeal of the law, but reform in its administration. We should have one view of the matter, and hold it with a sincerity that is not affeeted by the consideration that the party to which we belong is for the time in power.

OTHER MATTERS. , The report of the Postmaster General not only exhibits the operations for the last fiscal year, but contains many valua ble suggestions for the improvement and extention of the service which are commended to your attention. No other branch of of the Government has so close a contact with thedaily life of tho peoplo. Almost everyone uses the service it offers, and every hour gained in the transmission of the great commercial mails has an ac tual and possible value that only those engaged in trade can understand. The saving of one day in the transmission of mails between New York and San Frantisco, which has recently been accomplished, is an incident worthy as mention. The plan suggested by a supervision of the postofflees in separate districts that shall involve instruction and suggestion and a rating of the efficiency to the postmasters would, I have no doubt, greatly improve the service.

In general, satisfactory progress has been made in the construction of the new shipn of war authorized by Congress. The first vessel of the new navy, the Dolphin, was subjected to very severe trial tests and to very adverse criticisms. But it is gratifying to'be able to state that a cruise around the world, from which she hasarecently returned, has demonstrated thqt she is a first-class vessel of her rate. The report of the Secretary shows that while the effective force of the navy is rapidly ihereasing by reason of the improved build and armament of the new ships, the number oiTour ships fit for sea duty grows very slowly. We had on the 4th of March last, thirty-seven serviceable ships, and though feur have since been added to the list the total has not been increased, because in the meantime four have been lost ok condemned Twenty six additional vessels have been authorized and appropriated for, but it is probable that when they are completed our list will only be increased to forty-two again. The old wooden ships are disappearing almost as fast as the new vessels are added. These facts carry their own argument. One.of the new ships may. in fighting strength, be equal to two of the" old, but it can not do the cruising duty of two. It is important, therefore, that wo should have a more rapid increase in the number of serviceable ships. We have fortunately not extended to Alaska the mistaken policy of establishing reservations for the Indians tribes, and ! can deal with them from the beginning as individuals with, I am sure, better results. But any disposition of tho public lands and any regulations relating to any timber and the fisheries should have a kindly regard to their interests. Havingmo power ■ to levy taxes, the people of Alaska are wholly dependent upon the general Government, to whose revenues the seal fish- 1 eries make a large annual contribution. 1 An appropriation for education should neither be overlooked or stinted. The smallness of the population and the great distance between the settlements offer serious obstacles to the establishment of tbe usual territorial .form of government. Perhaps the organization of several subdistricts, with a small municipal council of limited powers for each, would be safe and useful. Attention is called in this connection to the suggestions of the Secretary, of the Treasury relating to the es , tabiishment of another port of entry in i Alaska, and of other needed customs facilities and regulations. In tho administration of the land laws the policy of facilitating in every proper way the adjustment of the honest claim of individual settlers of the public lands has been pursued. The number of pending cases had, during the preceding administration, been greatly increased under the operation of orders for a time suspending final action in a large part of the <>“;es in the West and Northwest, and by the subsequent use of unusual method s_of examination. Only those who are familiar with the conditions under which our agricultural lands'"have 'Been settled can ap-, predate the serious and often fatal consequences to the settler of a policy that puts his title under suspicion, or delays the is- i suance of his patent. While care ib taken to punish and expose fraud, it should not, be imputed without reason. The manifest purpose of the homestead and preemption laws was to promote the settlement of the public domain by persons having a bona fide intent to make a home upon the tract of land. Where this intent is well established and the requirements of the law have b*en substantially complied with, the claimant is en titled to a prompt and friendly consid j eration oi his case. But where there is reason to believe that tho claimant is the mere agent of another who is seeking to evade a law intended to promote small holdings, and to secure by fraudulent methods large tracts of timber or other lands, both principal and agentshould not only be thwarted in their fraudulent purpose, but should be made to feel the full penalties of our criminal statutes. The law should be so administered as not to confound these two classes, and to visit penalties only upon the latter. The unsettled state of the titles to lr>rge bodies of land in the Territories of New Mexico and Arizona has greatly retarded the development of those territories. Provision should be made oy law for the prompt trial and finai adjustment before a judicial tritunal, or commission, of all claims based upoD Mexican grants. It is not just to an intelligent and enterprising people that their peace should be disturbed and their property retarded by these old contentious. I express the hope that differences of opinion as to methods may yield to the urgency of the case.

The questions whicti have arisen during the past few years between Great Britain aud the United States are in abeyance or in course of amicable adjuotment. On the partof the Government of the Dominion of Canada, an effort has been apparent during the season just ended to administer the laws andregulations applicable to the fisheries with as little occasion for friction as was possible, and tho temperate representatives of this Government in respect of cases of undue hardship or of harsh interpretations have been in most cases with a measure of transitory relief. It is trusted that the attainment of our just rights under existing treaties and in virtues of the concurrent legislation of the two contiguous countries will not be long deferred, and that all existing causes of difference may be equitably adjusted. 1 recommend that provision be made by an international agreement for visibly marking the water boundary between the United States and Canada in the narrow channels which Join the Great Lakes. The conventional line therein traced by the North western Boundry Survey, years ago. is not in all cases readily ascertainable for the settlement of jurisdictions! questions The cattle syndicate now occupying the

iamn ror grazing purposes an crearey (v-r of the agencies responsible for the obstr i tion of our negotiations with the Cher kees. The large body of agricultural laa- f constituting what is known as the"“Cher. kee Outlet” ought to be, and indeed cat not long bejbelu rpr grazing, and for the advantage of a few against the public in-; terest and the best advantage of the In- i dians themselves. The United States n-m : now under the treaties certain rights ju j these lands. These will not be used op- ■ pressively, but it can not be allowed tbat those, who, by sufferance occupy there lands, shall interpose to defeat vhe wise and benefieient purposes of the Govern- 1 ment. I can not but believe that the ad-1 vantageous character of the offer made by the United States to the Cherokee nation, for a full release of these lands, as compared with other suggestions now mare to them, will yet obtain for it a favorable consideration. The interest of the general Government in the'education of the people iound an early expression not only in the thoughtful and sometimes warning utterances of our ablest statesmen, but in liberal appropriation from the common resouice for the support of education in tho new States. Noone will deny that it is of the gravest national concern that those who hold the ultimate control of ail public affairs should have the necessary intelligence wisely to direct and determine them. National aid to education has berefore taken the form of land-grants, and in that form the den- ! stitutional power of Congress to promote i the education of the people is not seriously questioned. Ido not think it can be successfully questioned when the form is changed to that of direct grant of money from "the public treasury. Such aid should be, as it always has been, suggested by some exceptional conditions. The sudden emancipation of the slaves of the South, the oestowal of the suffrage which soon followed, and the impairment of the ability of the States where these new citizens were chiefly found to adequately provide educational facilities, presented not only exceptional but unexampled conditions. That the situation has been much ameliorated there is no doubt. The ability and interest of the States have happily increased. But a great work remains to be done, and I think the general Government should lend its aid. As the suggestion of a na tionai grant in aid of education grows chiefly out of the condition and needs of the emancipated slave and his descendants; the relief should as far as possible, while necessarily proceeding upon some general lines, be applied to the need that suggested it. It is essential, if much good i to be accomplished, that the sympathy and active interest of the people of the State should be enlisted, and that the method adopted should be such as to _stimuiata and not supplant local taxation for school purposes. As one Congress cannot bind a succeeding one in such a case, and as the effort must in sotno degree be experimental, I recommend that any appropriation made for this purpose be so limited- rin amount and as to time over which it is to extend that it will, on the one hand give the local school authorities opportunity to make the best use of the first year’s allowance, and on the other, deliver them from the temptation to unduly postpone tho assumption of the whole burden themselves.

learuestly evoke the attention of Congress to the consideration of such measures within its well defined constitutional powers as <vill secure to all our people a free exercise of the right of suffrage and every other civil right under the constitution and laws of tiie United States. No evil, however deplorable, can justify the assumption either on the part of the Executive or of Congress of powers uot granted, but both will be highly blamable if all the powers granted are not wisely but firmly used to correct theseevils. The power to take the whole direction and control of the election of the members of the House of Representatives is clearly given to the general Government. A partial and qualified supervision of these elections is now provided for bv law, and in my opinion this law maybe so strengthened and extended as to secure on tiie wholo better results than can be attained by a law taking all the processes of such election into federal control. The colored man should be protected in all his relations to tho federal government whether a litigant, juror or witness in our courts, as an elector for members of Congress or as a peaceful traveler on our interstate railways. a

1 recommend that such appropriations be made for ocean mail service, in Americau steamships, between our ports and those of Central and South America, China, Japan, and the other islands in both of the great oceans, as will be liberally renumeratiVe for the service rendered, and as will ihcohrage the establishment, and in somo fair degree equalize the chance of American steamship lines in the competition which they must meet. That the American States lying south of us will cordially co-operate in establishing and maintaining such linesuf steamships to their principal ports, I do not doubt. We should also make provision for a naval reserve, to consist of such merchant ships of American construction and of a specified tonnage and speed as the owners will consent to place at the use of the Government, in case of need, as armed cruisers. England has ' adopted this policy, and as a result ui now upon necessity, at once place upon j her naval list some of the fastest steamships in the world. A proper supervision of the consti'uction of such vessefs would make their conversion into effective ships of war very easy. I am an advocate of economy in our national expenditures, but it is a misuse of terms to make this word describe a policy that withholds an expenditure for the purpose of extending our ■ loreign commerce. The enlargement and improvement of our merchant marine, tho development of a sufficient body of trained American seamen, the promotion of rapid and regular mail commur ication between the ports of other countries and our own, and the adoption of large and swift American merchant steamshipsto naval use in time of war are public purposes of the highest concern. The enlarged participation of our people in the carrying trade, the new and increased markets that will be opened for the products of our farms, factories and the fuller and better employment of our mechanics, which will result from a liberal promotion of our foreign commerce, insure the widest possible diffusion of benefits to ail the Slates and to all our people. Everything is most propitious for the present inauguration of a liberal and progressive policy upon this subject.

The proclamation required by section 3 of the act of March 2, 1889, relating to the killing of seals cud Other fur-bearing unimals. as issued by me on the 21st day of March, and a revenue vessel was dispatched to enforce the laws and protect the interests of the United States. The establishment of a refuge station at Point Barrow as directed by Congress, was suo cessfulty accomplished. Judged by modern standards, we are practically without coast defenses. Many of the structures we have would enhance rather than dt minish the perils of their garrisons if subjected to the fire of Unproved guiis; and very few are so located as to give full effect to the greater range of such guns as we are now making for coast-defense uses. This general subject has had consideration in Congress for some years/ and the appropriation for’the construction of large rifled guns, made one year ago, was, I am sure, thej expression of a purpose to provide suitable works, in which these guns might be mouuted. An approtion now fiiade for that purpose would not avdance the completion of the works beyond our ability to supply them with fairly effective guns. The security of our coast citi'-s uuaiuxt foreign attack should not rest a..o»other in the friendly disposition of other nations. There should be a second line virholly within our own keeping. I urgently recommend an appropriation at this session for the construction of such works In our moat exposed harbors.