Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 36, Number 136, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 December 1904 — THE PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE TO CONGRESS. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

THE PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE TO CONGRESS.

To the Senate and House of Representatives: j Tbp nation eontinues to enjoy noteworthy prosperity. Such prosperity is of course primarily due to the high individual average of our citizenship, taken together with •••■■out’""' great iiatora l re-, sou revs| hut an Important faet-Oi* then'in & the working W out* lonK-rbntkrUfeii governmental poli<*ies. The enlargeinent of scope of the functions of the national government repaired l»y our development as a nation involves, of course*. increase of expenses; and the period ot prosperity through which the country B passing justifies expenditures for permanent improvements far greater than would he wise iit hard times. Battleships ami forts, puhlie buildings and improved waterways are investments which should be made when \ve have the 1 money; lint abundant revenues and a large surplus always invite extravagance, and constant care should bt* taken to guard against unnecessary increase ot the ordinal> »*\ ponses ot' government. Capital and Labor. In the vast and complicated mechanism of our modern civilized lile.the doini nant liote is tin* note of inductrialisiu. and the relations of capital and labor and especially of organizer!..capital and organized label*, to eaeh other and to tin public at large conn* second in importance only to the i:itiinat<* . question-'. °t family life. < >ur peculiar form of government. with its sharp division of authority—bet ween tin* nation and the several - States. lr.-rs been on the whole far more advantageous to our development thaU*ff |n < >rO strongly cent ra hzerl imvcniment. Rut it is undoubtedly responsibb for much of the ditlicnlty of meeting with adequate legislation tin* new problems presented h> 11 1 •* toial oliange in industrial conditions on this continent duii.ng the last half-eentury. In actual practice it has proved ex-eecdiiqrly ditlicult. ami ill many ea si's iiiijn<ssi 1 ile, ty *' t usiii n itn* ity of wise- action among' t"lit* various States on these sulijects. Front the very nature «.f the case this is especially true of the laws affect in it the employment ol capital in Input' masses. As Infig as tin States retain the. primary control of the police power the citytimsranet's must he altogether extreme which require interfercucc bv tin* federal authorities, w hother in the Way of safeguarding the rights of labor t r in the way of seeing that wrong is not thine hy unruly persons who nhieltl themselves behind the tiaine of labor. ~Ti "there- is resistance to the federal courts, interference with the mails, or interstate commerce, or molestation of federal property, or if tin' State autlioiities in sonic crisis which they ate unable to face call for help thou the federal government may interfere- but the interference iis-ell simply takes tin 1 form of restoring order without rejiartl to tin' questions which have caused the breach of order. 1 believe that under modern industrial conditions it is often necessary. and even where not necessary it is yet often wise, that -there should he or-ganizu-t-ioit- -of, labor in order better to secure the rights id' the individual wage worker. All encouragement should be given to any such organization, so long as it is conducted.with a due and decent regard for the rights id others. lint when any labor union seeks improper ends, or seeks to achieve proper ends by improper means, all good citizens and more especially all honorable public servants must oppose thi' wrongdoing as resolutely as they would oppose the wrongdoing of any great corporation. Of course any violence, brutality or carryption should imt for one moment be tolerated. Wage-workers have an entire right to organize and by all peaceful and honorable means to endeavor to persuade their fellows to join with them in organizations. They have a legal right, which, according to circumstances, may or may not he a moral right, to refuse to work in company with nicy who decline to join their organizations. They have under no circumstances the right to commit violence upon those, whether capitalists or wage-workers, who irefuse to support their organizations, or who sido with those with whom they are at odds; for mob rule is intolerable, in any form. Prevention of Railroad Accidents. The ever-increasing casualty list upon our railroads is a matter of grave public concern, and urgently calls for action by the Congress, Many of our leading roads have been foremost in the adoption of the most approved safeguards for the protection of travelers and employes." yet the list of clearly avoidable accidents continues unduly large. 1 would point out to the Congress the urgent need of legislation in the interest of the public safety limiting the hours of labor for railroad enfliloyes in train service upon fajlroads engagoil in interstate.commerce, anil providing fliaf only trained and experienced persons be eliiployed in positions of responsibility connected with the operation of trains. Of course nothing can ever prevent accidents caused by human weakness or misconduct: and there should lit' drastic punishment for any railroad employe,'whether officer or mail, who by issuance of wrong orders or by disobedience of orders causes disilM.T ; : __

The Ihireau of Lulior. Muelt can lie (lone by tlie government in labor matters merely by giving publicity to certain conditions. Tin 1 Rtircatt of Labor lias done excellent work of this kind in many different directions. I shall shortly lay before yon in a special message the full report of the investigation of the Huronti <u Labor into the Colorado mining strike, as this is a strike in which certain very evil forces, which* ■re more or less at work everywhere under the conditions of modern industrialism. became startlingly prominent. Dealing with Corporations. \\ hen we colne to deal with great corporations the need for the government to act directly is far greater than in the case of labor, because great corporations can become such only by engaging in interstate commerce, and interstate commerce is peealblPly the field of the gen-, eral government. It is an absurdity to expect to eliminate the a liases in great corporations by State action. The national government alone can deal adequately with these great corporations. The American people need to continue to show the very qualities that they have chowii —that is. moderation, good sense, the earnest desire to avoid doing any damage, and yet the quiet determination to proceed, step by step, without halt and without hurry, in eliminating or at least in minimizing whatever of mischief or of evil there is to interstate commerce in the conduct flf great corporations. They are acting in no spirit of hostility to wealth, either individual or corporate. They are not against the rich man any more than against the poor man. On the contrary, they are friendly alike toward neb man and toward poor iiuin. provided only that each acts in n spirit of justice anil decency toward his fellows. Great corporations are necessary, and only men of great and singular mental jpwer can manage such corporations suc-

cessfully. aild such men must have great rewards. Hut these corporations should be managed with due regard to the interest of tbo public as a whole. Where this can be done under the present laws it must be done. Where those laws come •short others should be enacted to supplemeut them. Bureau of Corporations. The Bureau of Corporations lias made careful preliminary investigation of many important corporations. It will make a special report on the beef industry. The policy of the bureau is to accomplish the purposes of its creation by co-opera-tion. not antagonism; by making constructive legislation, not destructive prosecution, the immediate object of its inquiries; by conservative investigation of law and fact, and by refusal to issue incomplete ami hence necessarily inaccurate reports. Its policy being thus one of open inquiry into, and not attack upon, business, the bureau has been able to gain nut only tlie eontidencc. but. better still, the co-operation of men engaged in legitimate business.

The Department of Agriculture. tile Department of Agriculture lias grown into an educational institution with a faculty of two thousand specialists making resj'irth into all the sciences of production. Tire Congress appropriates, directly , and indirectly, millions of dollars anminliy to e;my mi this work. It reaches every Hiate and Territory in the Union and the islands of the sea lately come tinder our (lag. Cooperation is had witli tho State experiment station's."" a lid,--with many other Institutions anil individuals. The world is searched for new varieties of .grains, fruits, grasses, vegetables, trees, and shrubs, suitable to various localities in our country; and marked benefit to our producers has resulted. Tile activities of our age in lines of research have reached "The tiHers of the sol] and inspired them with ambition to know moro of the principles that govern the forces of nature with which they have to ileal. Nearly half of tile people of this country devote their energies to growing t hings from the soil. Until a recent date little has been done to prepare these millions for their life work. In most lines of human activity collegI rained men are the leaders. The farmer had no opportunity for special training until the Congress inaile provision for it forty years ago. During these years progress lias liven made anil teachers have been prepared Over five thousand students are in attendance at our State Agricultural Colleges. The Department of Agriculture has given facilities for post-graduate work to live hundred young men during the last seven years, preparing them for advanced tines of work in Hie-Department and in tin- State institutions. —The facts conoernIng meteorology and its relntlonsuto plant and animal life are being systematically inquired into. 'The seasons of the cyclones of the Caribbean Sea and their paths are being forecasted with increasing accuracy. The cold winds that come from the north are 'anticipated and their times and intensity told to farmers, gardeners, and mtilerers M-n ail southern localities. We sell two hundred and fifty million dollars’ worth of animals and animal products toforeign countries every year, in addition to supplying our own people more cheaply and abundantly than any other nation is able to provide for its people. The Department of Agriculture, by careful inspection -of meats, guards the health of our people and gives clean bills of health to deserving exports; it is prepared to ileal promptly with imported diseases of animals, and maintain i In- excellence of our fiocks and herds in this respect. Strenuous efforts are being made to import from foreign countries such grains as are suitable to our varying localities. Seven years ago we bought threefoiirths of our rice; we helped the rice growers on the Gulf i-oast and they now supply home demand and export to the islands of the -Caribbean Sea and to other rite growing countries. Wheat atyj other grains have been imported from light-rain-fall countries to our lands in the West and Southwest that have not grown crops befca’tise of light precipitation, resulting in an extensive addition to our cropping area and our home-making territory that can not jie Irrigated. Ten million jMpthcls of first-class imuaroui wheat were grown from these experimental importations last year. Fruits suitable to our soils and climates are being imported from all the countries of the Old World. The soils of the country are getting attention from the farmer's standpoint. and interesting results are following. The rei htimitioli of alkali lands is progressing. to give object lessons to our people in methods by which worthless lands may be made productive. The insect friends and enemies of the farmer are getting attention. Careful preliminary work is being done towards producing our own silk. The crop-reporting system of the Department of Agriculture is being brought closer to accuracy every year.

Irrigation of Arid Uanile. liming the two and a half years that have elapsed since the passage of the reclamation act rapid progress lias been made i:i the surveys and examinations of the opportunities for riilaniatioii iu the thirteen States and three Territories of the arid West".' Construction lias already been begin, mi the largest and most important of the irrigation works, and plans are being completed for works which will utilize the funds now available. The larger problems have been solved and it now remains to execute with calc, economy, and thoroughness the work which has been laid out. Knell piojeet is taken up on the ground by competent men and viewed from the stand l point of the creation of prosperous homes, and of promptly refunding to the Treasury the cost of construction.

Our Forest Reserves. It is the cardinal principle of the for-est-reserve i obey" of this Administration that tlie reserves arc for use. Whatever interferes with TllP Use of fill’ll* resources is to lie avoided by every possible means. Hut these resources must he used in sueli a way as to make them permanent. The forest policy of the government is just now a subject of vivid public Interest throughout tile West and to* the people of the i'nifed States in general. The forest reserves themselves are of extreme value to the present as well as to the future welfare of all the western public-land States. They powerfully affect’the use and disposal (if the public lands. They are of special importance because, they preserve .the water supply and the supply of timber for domestic purposes. and so promote settlement umli r tlie reclamation m,t. Indeed, they are essential to the welfare of every one of the great interests of the West. Pensions. The veterans of tile Civil War have n claim upon the Nation such as no other lody of our citizens ppssess. The Pension iiurciyi has never In its history been managed In a more satisfactory manner than is now the ease. .■ < Progress of the Indians. The progress of the Indians toward civilization. tlloflgh not rapid, is peril apa all that could be hoped for in view of the circumstances.' Within the past year many t lilies have shown, in a degree greater than ( vet- before, an appreeiatloll of the necessity of work. This changed attitude Is in part due to the policy recently pursued of reducing the amount of subsistence to the Indians, and thus forcing them, through sheer necessity, to work for a livelihood. The policy, though severe, is a useful one, but It Is to be exercised only with judgment and with a full understanding of the citildllbns which exist in each community far'which it Is intended. The Postal Service. In, tlie Pnstofliec Department the service has Increased in elHclenoy, and conditions as to revenue and expenditure continue satisfactory. The increase of revenue (luring tin* year was $!h338,181.10, or (i.l* per cent, the total receipts amounting to $143,382,624.34. The expenditures were $152,362,118.70, an Increase of about 0 per cent over the previous year, lielug thus $8,070,492.36 In excess of the current revenue. Included in

these expenditures was a total appropriation of $12,056,037.35 for tlie continuation and extension of the rural free-delivory service, which was an increase of $4,002.237.35 over the amount expended for this purpose iu tlie preceding fiscal year. Large as this expenditure has been the beneficent results attained in extending the free distribution of mails to the residents of rural districts have justified the wisdom of the outlav. Statistics brought down to the Ist of October, 1004. show that on that date there were 27.138 rural routes established, serving approximately 12,000,0dd of people in rural districts remote from postoliiees, and that there were pending at that time 3,850 petitions for the establishment of new rural routes. Unquestionably sonic part of the general increase lit receipts Is due to the increased postal facilities 1 which -the rural service has afforded. The revenues have also been aided greatly by amendments in the classification of mail matter, and the curtailment of abuses of the sec-ond-class mailing privilege. A National Quarantine Law. It is desirable to enact a proper National quarantine law. It is most undesirable that a Slate should on its own Initiative enforce quarantine regulations which are 111 effect a restriction upon Interstate and international commerce. The question should propei ly be assumed by the governnn ut alone. The Currency Question. The uttentUm of the Congress should lie especially given to the currency question, atul that the standing committees on the mi) tier iu the two Houses charged with the duty, take up the matter of our ourreney and see whether it Is not possible lo secure an agreement in the business world for bettering the system: the committees should consider the question of the retirement of the greenbacks and the problem of securing In our currency sueli elasticity as Is consistent with safety. Kvery stiver dollar should be made by law redeemable in gold at the option of the holder. Oriental Markets. The importance of securing proper Information and data with a view to the enlargement of our trade with Asia is undluiluishcd. Our consular representatives In China have strongly urged a place for permanent display of American products In some prominent trade center of that empire, under government control and management, us an effective means of advancing our export trade therein. I call the attention of the Congress to the desirability of carrying out these suggestions. Immigration and Naturalization. In dcnling with the questions of Immigration anil naturalization it is Indispensable to keep certain fucks eyer before the minds of those who share In enacting the

laws. First and foremost, let us remember that' the question of being a good American has nothing whatever to do with a man's birthplace any more than it lias to do with his creed. In every generation from the time litis government was founded men of foreign birth have stood in the very foremost rank of good citizenship, and that not merely in one but in every Held of American activity. There is no danger of having too many Immigrants of the right kind. lint the citizenship of tills country should not lie debased. It is vital that we should keep high tile standard of well-being among our wage-workers, and therefore we should not admit masses of itteti whose standards of living and whose personal customs and haldfir-are such that they tend to lower the level of the American wage-worker; and above all we should not admit any man of an unworthy type, any man concerning whom we can say that he will himself be a bad citizen, or that his children and grandchildren will detract from Instead of adding to the sum of the good citizenship of the country. Similarly we should take the greatest care about naturalization. Fraudulent naturalization, (lie naturalization of improper persons, is it curse to our government; anil it is tlie affair of every honest voter, wherever born, to see that no fraudulent voting Is allowed, tlint no fraud In connection with naturalization is permitted. Not only are the laws relating to naturalization now defective, but those relating to citizenship of Hie Fnlted States ought also to be made the subject of scientific inquiry with a view to probable further legislation. The Territory of Alaska. Alaska, like till our Territorial acquisitions, has proved resourceful beyond the expectations of those who made the purchase. It has become the home of many hardy, industrious, and'thrifty American citizens. Towns of a permanent character have been built. The extent of Its wealth In minerals, timber, fisheries and agriculture, while great, is probably not dbniprchctnlcd yet in any Just measure by our people. We do know, however, that from a very small beginning, Its products have grown until they are a steady and material contribution to Hie wealth of the nation. Owing to the immensity of Alaska and its location In the far north. It Is a difficult matter to provide many tilings essential to its growth anil to the happiness and comfort of Its people by private enterprise alone. It should, therefore, receive reusonable aid from the government. The government hus already done excellent work for Alnska in lnylug cables arid building telegraph line*. The Alaskan natives should lie given the right to acquire, hold, and dispose of property upon the same conditions ns given other Inhabitants; and the privilege of citizenship should be given

to such as may he able to meet certain definite requirements. Our Foreign Policy. In treating of our foreign policy and of the attitude tha’t this (P'eat Nation should assume in the world at large. It Is absolutely necessary to consider the Army and the Navy 1 , and the Congress, through which the thought of the Nation finds Its expression, should keep ever vividly iu miml the fundamental fact that It is impossible to" treat our foreign policy, whether this policy takes shape in the effort to secure justice for others nr justice for ourselves, save as conditioned upon the attitude we are willing to take toward our Army, and especially toward our Navy. It is not merely unwise, it is contemptible, for a nation, as for an individual, to use high-sounding language to proclaim its purposes, or to take positions which are ridiculous If unsupported by potential force, and then to refuse to provide this force. If there is no intention of providing and of keeping the force necessary to back up a strong attitude, then it is far better not to assume such an attitude. The steady aim of this Nation, as of all enlightened nations, should lie to strive to bring ever nearer the day when there shall prevail throughout the world the peace of Justice. There are kinds of pence which are highly undesirable, which are in the long run as destructive as any war. Tyrants and oppressors have many times inaile a wilderness and called it peace. Many times peoples whir were slothful or timid or shortsighted. who had been enervated by case or by luxury, nr misled by false teachings, have shrunk in unmanly fashion from doing duty that was stern and that needed -self-sacrifice, and have sought to hide from their own minds their shortcomings, their ignoble motives, by calling them love of peace. The peace of tyrannous terror, the peace of craven weakness, the peace of injustice, all these should be skuituCd as we shun unrighteous war. Tho goal to set before us as a nation, the goal which should lie set before all mankind, is the attainment of the peace of justice, of the peace which comes when each nation is not merely safeguarded ill its own rights. Imt scrupulously recognizes and performs its duty toward others. Generally peace tells fur righteousness; but if there is conflict between the two, tin'll our fealty is due first to t.lie cause of righteousness. Unrighteous wars are common, and unrighteous peace Is rare; but both should be shunned. Ik is our duty to remember that a nation lias no more right to do injustice to another nation, strong or weak, thSn ail Individual has to do injustice to another indtv+dual; that the same moral law applies in one case as in the other. But we must also remember that it is as much the duty of the Nation to guard its own rights anil Its own interests as it is the duty of the individual so to do. Within the Nation the individual lias now delegated this right to the State, that is, to the representative of all the individuals, mid it is a maxim of the law that for every wrong there is a remedy. But iu international law wo have not advanced by any means ns far ns we have advanced In municipal law. There Is ns yet no judicial way of enforcing a right in international law. When one nation wrongs another or wrongs many others, there is no tribunal before which the wrongdoer can be brought. Hither It Is necessary supinely to acquiesce in the wrong, and thus put a premium upon brutality and aggression, or else it is necessary for the aggrieved nation valiantly to stand up for its rights. Until some method is devised by which there shall be a degree of international control over offending nations, it would lie a wicked thing for the most civilized powers, for those with most sense of international obligations and with keenest and most generous appreciation of the difference between right and wrong, to disarm. If the great civilized nations of the present day should completely disarm, the result would mean an immediately recrudescence of barbarism in one form or another. Under any circumstances a sufficient armament would have to lie kept up to serve the purposes of international police; and until International cohesion and the sense of international duties and rights are far more advanced than at present, if nation desirous both of securing respect for itself and of doing good to others must have a force adequate for the work which it feels is allotted to it as its part of the general world duty. A great free people owes it to itself and to all mankind not to sink into helplessness before the powers of evil.

Second Hague Conference. We are in every way endeavoring to help on, with cordial good will, every movement which will tend to bring us into more friendly relations with the rest of mankind. In pursuance of this policy I shall shortly lay before the Senate treaties of arbitration with nil powers which are willing to enter Into these treaties with us. Furthermore, at the request of the Interparliamentary Union, an eminent body composed of practical statesmen from all countries, I have asked the Powers to join with this government in a second Hague con-; ference, at which it Is hoped that the work already so "happily begun at The Hague may lie carried some steps further toward completion.

Policy Toward Other Nations of Western Hemisphere. It is not true that the United States feels any land hunger or entertains any projects as regards the other nations of the Western hemisphere save Such as are for their welfare. All that this country desires is to see the neighboring countries stable, orderly.and prosperous. If a nation shows that it lalows how to act with reasonable efficiency and decency in social and political matters, if it keeps order and pays its obligations, it need fear no interference from the United States. Chronic wrong-doing, or an impotence which results in a general loosening of the ties of civilized society, may in America, us elsewhere, ultimately require intervention by some civilized nation, and in the Western hemisphere the adherence of tlie United States to the Monroe - doctrine may force the United States, however reluctantly, in flagrant cases of such wrongdoing or impoioure, to the exercise of an international police power. In asserting the Monroe doctrine, in taking such steps us we have taken in regard to Cuba, Venezuela and Panama, and in endeavoring to circumscribe tiie theater of Avar in the Par Hast, and to secure the open door in China, we have acted in outown Interest as well as in the Interest of humanity at large. There are, however, cases in which, while our own interests uro not greatly involved, strong appeal is made to out sympathies. Ordinarily it is very much wiser and more useful for us to concern ourselves with striving for our own moral and material betterment here at home than to concern ourselves with trying to better the condition of tilings In other nations. We have plenty of sins of our own to war against, and under ordinary circumstances we can do more for the general uplifting of humanity by striving with heart and soul to put a stop to civic corruption, to brutal lawlessness and violent race prejudices here at home than by passing resolutions about wrongdoing elsewhere. Nevertheless there are occasional crimes committed on so vust a scule and of such peculiar horror as to make us doubt whether It Is not our manifest duty to emlenvor at least to show our disapproval of tin- deed and our sympathy with those who have suffered by It. The cases must he extreme In which such a course Is justifiable. The cases In which we could interfere by force of arms as we Interfered to put a stop to Intolerable conditions In Cuba are necessarily very few. It is Inevitable that a people like ours, which In spite of certain very obvious shortcomings, nevertheless as a whole show's by Its consistent practice Its belief In the principles of civil and religious liberty and of orderly freedom, should desire cngerly to give expression to its horror on an occasion like that of the massacre of the Jews In Kisheuef. or when It .witnesses such systematic und long-extended cruelty and oppression ns the cruelty and oppression of which the Armenians have been the victims, and which have won for them the Indiguant pity of the civilized world. The Navy. The atroog arm of the government In

enforcing respect for its Just rights in ,n----ternational matters is the Navy of ths United States. I most earnestly recommend that there be no halt In the work of upbuilding the American Navy. We have Undertaken to build the Isthmian Canal, we have undertaken to secure for ourrvitmi ou U UB i Khare i n the trade of the < ilent. lie have undertaken to protect VYLt , improper treatment in foreign lands. We continue steadily to insist on the application of the Monroe doctrine to the Western hemisphere. Unless our attitude iu these and ail similar matters is to he a mere boastful sham we cannot afford to abandon, our naval program Our voice is now potent for peace, and is so potent because we are not afraid of war. i w filch now unfortunately rages * n jhe far Hast has emphasized In striking fashion the new possibilities of naval warrare The lessons taught are both strategic and taetieai, and are political as well as military, ihe experiences of the war have shown in conclusive fashion that while, sea-going and sea-keeping torpedo destroyers are indispensable, and fast lightly armeil and armored cruisers very useful, yet that the main reliance, the main standby, in any navy worthy the name must be the great battle ships, heavily armored and heavily gunned. There will always be a huge field of usefulness for cruisers, esne--0 ally pf the more formidable type, but most of all we need to continue building our fleet of battle ships, or ships so powerfully armed that they can inflict the maximum of damage upon our opponents, and so well protected lliat they can suffer a severe hammering in return without fatal impairment of their ability to fight nnd S2IW- A ?V, )l0 'neons must be provided for enabling flie personnel of the >e l) !Y usllt B>e highest point of efficiency. Our great fighting ships nnd torpedo boats must be ceaselessly trained nuil maneuvered in squadrons.

The Army, Within the last three years the United wlnu-e if S „ SQt example In disarmament ulieie disarmament was proper. Bv law humDed'ti S nt n "laxinium of one hundredi thousand and a minimum of slxtv ir" !"' 11 there was lusurreinrthlYii 1 '“"'fPjnes we kept the Army at the maximum, l’enoe cuiue*in the FlUln.yrt now.our Army has been rchie il, tho n'tninium at which it is possiDll to keep it with due regard to its efficiency. i lie guns now mounted require Kht tllo “ 8 anil men, if the coast rot t mentions are to be adequately manned. Me need more officers; there are not enough to perform the regular at my work. It Is Y,?; hiiportnnt that the officers of the Ai my should be accustomed to handle their The" win 188 w- M Y ,s also important that the National Guard of the several States should he accustomed to actual field mam euvering, especially in connection with the regulars. 'For this reason we are to be congratulated upon the success of the field maneuvers at Manassas last fall, malic, “era 1? f?, I,u ' Kor "nmber of Regulars and Nntiom" Guard took part than was ever before assembled together i« time of peace No other civilized nation has, relatively to its population, such a diminutive Army as the 4 rmy is 80 Bmaii "■« ‘ ra "Y t 0 be excused if we fall to keep ‘A* 4 ,? very high grade of proficiency. We should be able, in the event of some miililen emergency, to put into the field one first-class army corps, which should be. ns a whole, at least the equaTTif any body of tioops of like number belonging to anv other nation. -

The Philippine Islands. In the Philippine Islands- there has been dining the pust year a continuation of the steady progress which has obtained ever since our troops definitely got the upper band of the insurgents. The Philipduo people at present are utterly Incapable of »c S ,n g » “t m nt 11)1 ov ot building up a ehlllzatiou of their own. 1 firntlv believe that we can help them to rise higher and higher iu the scale of civilization nnd of eapueity for self government, and. r nfffst earnestly hope that in the end they will be able to stand, if not entirely alone yet in some such relation to the" United Mates as Cuba now stands. This end is not yet in sight, and it may be indefinitely postponed if our people are foolish enough to turn the attention of the Filipinos away from the problems of achieving moral anil material prosperity, of working for a stable, orderly, anil just government, and toward foolish and dangerous Intrigues for a complete independence for which they are as yet totally unfit.

. n , the other hand, our people must keep steadily before their minds the fact that the justification for our stay in the I'hliippines must ultimately rest chiefly upon the good we are able to do in the Islands. I do not overlook the fact that in the development of our Interests in the Pacific Ocean and along its coasts, the Philippines have played and will play au Important part, and that our interests have been served In more than one way by the possession of the islands. Ilut our chief reason for continuing to hold them must lie that we ought in good faith to try to do our share of the world's work, and this particular piece of work has been Imposed upon i:s by the results of the war with Spain. We are endeavoring to develop the natives themselves so that take au everincreasing share in their own government, and as far as is prudent we are already admitting tlielr representatives to a governmental equality with our own. There aro commissioners, judges. and governors in the islands who are Filipinos and who have exactly the same share in the government of tiie islands ns have their colleagues who are Americans, while in the lower ranks, of course, the great majority of tin- public servants are Filipinos. Within two yearff" we shall lie trying the experiment of ait elective lower house In the Philippine Legislature. It may be that the Filipinos will misuse tills Legislature, and they certainly will misuse it If they are misled by foolish persons here at home Into starting an agitation for their own Independence or into auy factious or improper action, lint If they act with wisdom and self-restraint, If they show that they arc capable of electing a legislature which in its turn is capable of taking a sane and efficient part in Ilia actual work of government, they can rest assured that a full and increasing measure of recognition will lie given them. Above all they should remember-that their prime needs are moral and industrial, not political. It is a good thing to tr.V tin- experiment of giving them a legislature: lint it Is a far better tiling to give them schools, good roads, railroads which will enable them to get their products to market, honest courts, an honest and efficient constabulary, and all that tends to produce order, peace, fair dealing as lie tween man and man. and habits of intelligent industry and thrift.

Mennwhlle our own people should remember tiiat there Is need for the highest standard of conduct among the Americans sent to the Philippine Islands, not only among the public servants lint among tin- private Individuals who go to them. It Is because I feel tills so deeply that In tile administration of these Islands I have positively refused to permit any discrimination whatsoever for political reasons and have Insisted that in choosing tiie public servants consideration should be paid solely to the worth of the men chosen and to tin* needs of the Islands. There is no higher body of men in our public service than we have In tiie Philippine Islands under Governor Wright and his associates. So far as possible these men should lie given a tree hand, and their suggestions should receive the hearty backing both of the Kxecuttve anil of the Uougress. Hvery measure' taken concerning the Islands should be taken primarily with a view to their advantage. We should certainly give them lower tariff rates on their exports to the United States: If this is not done It will he a wrong to extend our shipping laws to them. I earnestly hope for the Immediate enactment Into law of ilia leglsiatlou now pending to encourage American capital to seek Investment In the Islands in railroads. In factories, la plantations, and in lumbering and mining.

PRESIDENT ROOSEVELTS las, message to the Fifty-eighth Congress is a document of over 1.j.n00 words. As a whole it is largely historical and suggestive. The President urges upon Congress the necessity of continuing plans for a strong' naval force begun under Cleveland and continued in all successive administrations. A Significant feature of his argument is that he asks for a great navy for the purpose of preventing war and not with the idea of making war. In this way he hacks up his plea for a hig navy and shows that while he believes the United States should he able to force respect all over the world, it is none the less committed to the actual policy of the peaceful settlement of ail international difficulties. The President devotes considerable space to a discussion of the principle of international arbitration as a method of settling disputes between nations. He also discusses the need pf another meeting at The Hague for the perfection of arbitration. The President treats the trust problem in the message in somewhat the same manner that it was treated in his letter of acceptance. lie says, however, that there should, he no impetuous prosecutions, no grand stand plays and no sensational demonstration of any sort. One recommendation is that the laws relating to the information collected hy the Bureau of Corporations of the Department of Commerce and Labor be changed so that the information obtained will he for the benefit of the public. He does not wish to make public facts which will unnecessarily injure the business of the great corporations, yet lie feels there are certain details of the business of which the public is entitled to he apprised. The President has a theory that publicity is a great safeguard; that a knowledge that their transactions will lie officially advertised to till the world will have a wholesome restraint upon the managers and manipulators of corporations. The message comprehensively reviews our relations with foreign countries, the condition of the treasury, the Postal Department, the Department of Agriculture and various other departments; the relations between capital and labor, the public lands, our insular possessions and all important matters of governmental concern. As to the Philippines the President declares that it is the purpose of tho government to redeem the islands and uplift tite people and bring them as near to the standard of our own population as possible. lie is determined, he says, before the close of his administration to give the Philippine Islands abundant transportation facilities and markets, and capital to transform their natural wealth into marketable merchandise. The general subject of tho tariff, the President says, lias been reserved for another message to the present or an extra session of Congress, hut lie asks a revision of the schedules favoring (lie products of the Philippines imported to this country. On the whole, the President says the nation eontinues to enjoy noteworthy prosperity, which prosperity lie declares is primarily clue to the high individual average of our citizenship, taken together with our great natural resources, hut an important factor therein, according to tho message, is the working of our long-continued governmental policies.