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About Oregon City courier=herald. (Oregon City, Or.) 1898-1902 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 6, 1901)
OREGON CITY COURIER-HERALD, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6, 1901. In the arid states the only right to wa ter which should be recognized Is that of use. In Irrigation this right should at tach to. the land reclaimed and be Insep arable therefrom. Granting perpetual wa ter 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. Nation's Aid Justified. 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 affect ing homes as those which control the wa ter 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 enlighten ment of the people most concerned. The larger development, which National aid in sures should, however, awaken in every arid state the determination to make its Irrigation system equal In Justice and ef fectiveness that of any country In the civilized world. " Nothing could be more unwise than for isolated communities to continue to learn everything experimen tally, instead of profiting by what is al ready 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. INSULAR MATTERS. What Must Be Done to Develop Hawaii. In Hawaii our aim must be to develop the territory on the traditional Ameri can 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 tHcy own. All our legislation for the islands should be shaped with this end in view; the well-being of the average home-maker must afford the true test of the healthy deveiopment of the islands. The land policy should as nearly as possible be modeled on our homestead system. Porto Rico. 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 isl and is thriving as never before, and it is being administered efficiently and honest ly. Its people are now enjoying liberty and order under the protection of the United States, find upon this fact we con gratulate them and ourselves. Their ma terial 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, In Cuba such progress has been made toward putting the independent govern ment of the Island, upon a firm footing that before the present session of the Con gress closes this will be an accomplished fact. Cuba will then start as her own tnlstress; and 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 I have discussed the question of reciprocity. In the case of Cuba, however, there are weighty reasons of piorality and of Na tional Interest why the policy should be held to have a peculiar application, and I most earnestly ask your attention to the wisdom, indeed to the vital need, of pro viding for a substantial reduction in the tariff duties on Cuban imports into the United States. Cuba has in her constitu tion affirmed what we desired, that she should stand, In International matters, in closer and more friendly relations with us than with any other power; and we are bound by every consideration of honor and expediency to pass commercial mea sures in the interest of her material well being. The Philippine. In the Philippines our problem Is larg er. They are very rich tropical islands, inhabited by many varying tribes, repre senting widely different stages of pro gress toward civilization. Our earnest effort is to help these people upward along the stony and difficult path that leads to self-government. We hope to make our administration of the islands honorable to our Nation by making it of the highest benefit to the Filipinos them selves; and as an earnest of what we In tend to do,' we point to what we have done. Already a greater measure of ma terial prosperity and of governmental honesty and efficiency has been attained In the Philippines than ever before in their history. It Is no light task for a Nation to achieve the temperamental qualities with out which the institutions of free govern ment are but an empty mockery. Our people are now successfully governing themselves, because for more than a thou sand years they have been slowly fitting themselves, sometimes consciously, some times unconsciously, toward this end. What has taken us 30 generations to achieve we cannot expect to see another tace accomplish out of hand, especially when large portions of that race start very far behind the point which our an cestors had reached even 30 generation? ago, In dealing with the Philippine peo ple we must show both patience and strength, forbearance and steadfast reso lution. Our aim is high. We do not de sire to do for the islanders merely what has elsewhere been done for tropic peoples by even the beet foreign governments. We hope to do for them what has never before been done for any people of the tropics to make them fit for self-government after the fashion of the really free nations. Local Self-Government. In our anxiety for the welfare and prog ress of the Philippines, it may that here and there we have gone too rapidly in giving them local self-government. It Is on this side that our error, if any, has been committed. No competent observer, sincerely desirous of finding out the facts and influenced only by a desire for the welfare of the natives, can assert that we have not gone far enough. We have gone to the very verge of safety in hasten ing the process. To have taken a single step farther or faster in advance would bave 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 sakee, 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 the liberty for which they are fit. Troubles Still Ahead. 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 came footing as encouragement to hostile Indians in the days when we still had Indian wars. Ex actly as our aim Is to give to the Indian who remains peaceful the fullest and amplest consideration, but to have It un derstood that we 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 civiliza tion and humanity, that while we will do everything in our power for the Filipino who la peaceful, we will take the sternest measures with the Filipino who follows the path of the lnsurrocto and the ladrone. The heartiest praise is due to large turn- fees of the natives of the islands for their teadfast loyalty. The Macabebes have been conspicuous for their courage and devotion to the flag. I recommend that the Secretary of War be empowered to take some systematic action in the way of aiding those of these men who are crippled in the service and the families of those who are killed. Additional Legislation Needed. The time has come when there should be additional legislation for the Philip pines. Nothing better can be lone for the islands than to Introduce Industrial enter prises. 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 in terest of the Islands that he should go in. It is, therefore, necessary that the Con gress should pass laws by which the re sources of the islands can be developed; so that franchises (for limited terms of years) can be granted to companies doing business in them, and every encourage ment be given to the incoming of business men of every kind. Pacific Cable. 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 de manded not merely for commercial, but for political and military considerations. Either the Congress should immediately provide for the construction of a Govern ment 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. NICARAGUA CANAL. Work of the Greatest Importance to the American People. No single great material work which remains to be undertaken on this conti nent is of such consequence to the Amer ican people as the building of a canal across the isthmus connecting North and South America. Its importance to the Nation is by no means limited merely to its material effects upon our business prosperity; and yet with view to these effects alone it would be to the last de gree important for us immediately to be gin 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 wmch it is for the interest of the entire country to begin and complete as soon as possi ble; 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 stand ing monuments to its constructive ability. 1 am glad to be able to announce tt you that our negotiations on this subjea with Great Britain, conducted on botn sides in a spirit of friendliness and mu tual 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 an Isthmian can al 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 Ameri can ship canal, is abrogated. It specific ally provides that the United States alone shall do 'the work of building and assume the responsibility of safeguarding the can al and shall regulate its neutral use by all nations on terms of equality without the guaranty or Interference of any out side nation from any quarter. The signed treaty will at once be laid before tfie Senate, and if approved the Congress can then proceed to give effect to the advan tages it secures us by providing for the building of the canal. , Monroe Doctrine, This same peace conference acquiesced In our statement of the Monroe Doctrine as compatible with the purposes and aims of the conference. The Monroe Doctrine should be the car dinal feature of the foreign policy of all the nations of the two Americas, as it Is of the United States. Just 78 years have passed since President Monroe in his annual message announced that "the 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 ,terrl torlal aggrandizement by any non-American power at the expense of any Ameri can power on American soil. It is in no wise intended as hostile to any nation in the Old World. Still less la it Intended to give cover to any aggression by one New World power at the ex pense of any other. It is simply a step, and a long step, toward assuring the uni versal peace of the world by securing the possibility of permanent peace on this hemisphere. NAVY DEPARTMENT. Work ot Upbuilding It Must Be Steadily Continued. The work of upbuilding the Navy must be steadily continued. No one point of our policy, foreign or domestic, is more im portant than this to the honor and ma terial welfare, and above all to the peace, of our Nation in the future. Whether ive desire it or not, we must hencefortn recognize that we have International du ties no less than international rights. Even If our flag were hauled down in the Philippines and Porto Rico, even If we decided not to build the Isthmian canal, we should need a thoroughly trained Navy of adequate size, or else be prepared defin itely and for all time to abandon the idea that our Nation is among those whose sons go down to the sea in ships. Unless our commerce is always to be carried in foreign bottoms, we must have war craft to protect it. Inasmuch, however, as the American people have no thought of abandoning the path upon which they have entered, and especially in view of the fact that the building of the Isthmian canal Is fast becoming one of the matters wh-'ch the whole people are united in demanding, it is Imperative that our Navy should be put and kept in the hlghtest state of efficiency, and should be made to answer to our growing needs. So far from be ing in any way a provocation to war, an adequate and highly trained navy is the best guaranty against war, the cheapest and most effective peace Insurance. The cost of building and maintaining such a navy represents the very lightest pre mium for insuring peace which this Na tion can possibly pay. Respect for Our Rights. Probably no other great nation In the world is so anxious for peace as we are. There is not a single civilized power which has anything whatever to fear from aggressiveness on our part. All we want Is peace; and toward this end we wish to be able to secure the same re spect for our rights from others which we are eager and anxious (o extend to their rights in return, to Insure fair treatment to us commercially, and to guarantee the safety of the American people. Our people intend to abide by the Mon roe Doctrine and to Insist upon It as the one sure means of securing the peace of the Western Hemisphere. The Navy ' of fers us the only means of making our Insistence upon that Monroe Doctrine anything but a subject of derision to whatever nation chooses to disregard It. We desire the peace which comes as of right to the Just man armed; not the peace granted on terms of Ignominy to the craven ana ine weaiuing. Our Modern Navy. Our present Navy was begun In 1882. At that period our Navy consisted of a collection of antiquated wooden ships, already almost as out of place against modern war vessels as the galleys of Alciblades and Hamilear certainly as the ships of Tromp and Blake. Nor at that time did we have men fit to handle modern man-of-war. Under the wise legislation of the Congress and the suc cessful administration of a succession of patriotic Secretaries of the Navy, be longing to both political parties, the work of upbuilding the Navy went on, and ships equal to any in the world of their kind were continually added; and what was even more Important, these ships were exercised at sea singly and in squadrons until the men aboard them were able to get the best possible service out of them. The result was seen in the short war with Spain, which was de cided with such rapidity because of the in finitely greater preparedness of our Navy than of the Spanish Navy. Should Be No Cessation. There should be no cessation in the work of completing our Navy. So far ingenuity has been wholly unable to de vise ;i substitute for tne great war craft whose hammering guns beat out the mastery of the high seas. It is unsafe and unwise not to provide this year for several additional battle-ships and heavy armored cruisers, with auxiliary and lighter craft in proportion; for the exact numbers and character I refer you to the report of the Secretary of the Navy. But there is something we need even more than additional ships, and this is addi tional officers and men. To provide battle-ships and cruisers and then lay them up, with ihe expectation of leaving them unmanned until they are needed in actual war, would be worse than folly; it would be a crime against the Nation. Practice. and Drill. Every detail ashore which can be per- rormed by a civilian should be so Der- formed, the officer being kept for his special duty in the sea service. Above all, gunnery practice should be unceasing. It is Important to have our Navy of ade quate size, but It is even more important that ship for ship it should equal in efficiency any navy in the world. This is possible only with highly drilled crews and officers, and this in turn imperatively demands continuous and progressive in struction in target practice, ship hand ling, squadron tactics, and general dis cipline. Our ships must be assembled in squadrons actively cruising away from harbors and never long at anchor. The resulting wear upon engines and hulls must be endured; a battle-ship worn out in long training of officers and men is wall paid for by the results, while, on the other hand, no matter in how excellent condition, it Is useless If the crew be not expert. We now have 17 battle-ships appropriat ed for, of which nine are completed and have been commissioned for actual service. The remaining eight will be ready in from two to four years, but it will take at least that time to recruit and train the men to fight them. It is of vast concern that we have trained crews ready for the ves sels by the time they are commissioned Good ships and good guns are simply good weapons, and the best weapons are use less save in the hands of men who know how to fight with them. The men must be trained and drilled under a thorough and well-planned ' system of progressive instruction, while the recruiting must be carried on with still greater vigor. Every effort must be made to exalt the main function of the officer the command of men. The leading graduates of the Naval Academy should be assigned to the com batant branches, the line and marines. Many of the essentials of success are already recognized by the general board, which, as the central office of a growing staff, is moving steadily toward a proper war efficiency and a proper efficiency of the whole Navy, under the Secretary. This general board, by fostering the creation of a general staff, Is providing for the of ficial and then the general recognition of our altered conditions as a Nation and of the true meaning of a great war fleet, which meaning is, first, the best men, and, second, the best ships, The Naval Militia. The naval militia forces are state organ izations, and are trained for coast service, and, in event of war, they will constitute the inner line of defense. They should re ceive hearty encouragement from the General Government. But in addition we should at once pro vide for a National naval reserve, organ ized and trained under the direction of the Navy Department, and subject to the call of the Chief Executive whenever war becomes Imminent. It should be a real auxiliary to the naval seagoing peace es tablishment, and offer material to be drawn on at once for manning our ships in time of war. It should be composed of graduates of the Naval Academy, grad uates of the naval militia, officers and crews of coast-line steamers, longshore schooners, fishing vessels and steam yachts, together with the coast population about suph centers as life-saving stations and lighthouses. The American, people must either build and maintain an adequate navy or else make up their minds definitely to accept a secondary position in International af fairs, not merely in political, but In com mercial, matters. It has been well said that there is no surer way of courting National disastet than to be "opulent, ag gressive and unarmed." WAR DEPARTMENT. Army Is Large Enough at the Pres. ent Time. It Is not necessary to Increase our Army beyond its present size at this time. But it Is necessary to keep It at the highest point of efficiency. The Individual units who as officers and enlisted men compose this Army, are, we have good reason to believe, at least as efficient as those of any other army in the entire world. It is our duty to see that their training is of a kind to Insure the hlghe-t possible expression of power to these units when acting in combination. The conditions of modern war are such as to make an infinitely heavier demand than ever before upon the Individual char acter and capacity of the officer and the enlisted man, and to make It far more difficult for men to act together with ef fect. At present the fighting must be done in extended order, whlch-means that each man must act for himself and at the same time act In combination with others with whom he is no longer In the old-fashioned elbow-to-elbow touch. Under such con ditions a few men of the highest excel lence are worth more than many men without the special skill which is only found as the result of special training ap plied to men of exceptional physique and morale. But nowadays the most valuable fighting man and the most difficult to per fect is the rifleman who is also a skillful and daring rider. The proportion of our cavalry regiments has wisely been Increased. The American cavalryman, trained to maneuver and fight with equal facility on foot and, one horseback, la the best type of soldier for general purposes now to be found in the world. The Ideal cavalryman of the pres ent day Is a man who can fight on foot as effectively as the bett infantryman, and who Is in addition unsurpassed In the care and management of his horse and In his ability to fight on horseback. General Staff. A general staff should be created. As for the present staff and supply depart ments, they should be filled by details from the line, the men so detailed return ing after a while to their line duties. It is very undesirable to have the, senior grades of the Army composed of men who have come to fill the positions by the mere fact of seniority. A system should oe adopted by which there shall be an elimination, grade by grade, of those who seem unfit to render the best service in the next grade. ' Justice to the veterans of the Civil War who are still In the Army would seem to require that In the matter of retirements they be given by law the same privileges accorded to their comrades in the Navy. Every effort should be made to bring the Army to a constantly Increasing state of efficiency. When on actual service no work save that directly in the line of such service should be required. The paper work in the Army, as in the Navy, should be greatly reduced. What Is needed is proved power of command and casacity to work well in the field. Constant care Is necessary to prevent dry rot in the transportation and commissary depart ments. Field Exercises. , Our Army is so small and so much scat tered that it is very difficult to give the higher officers (as well as the lower officers and the enlisted men) a chance to practice maneuvers irf mass and on a compara tively large scale. In time of need no amount of Individual 'excellence would avail against the paralysis which would follow inability to work as a coherent whole, under skillful and daring leader ship. The Congress should provide means whereby it will be possible to have field exercises by at least a division of regu lars, and, if possible, also a division of National Guardsmen once a year. These exercises might take the form of field maneuvers; or, if on the Gulf Coast or the Pacific or Atlantic seaboard, or in the region of the Great Lakes, the Army corps when assembled should be marched from some Inland point to some point on the water, there embarked, disembarked after a couple of days' journey at some other point, and again marched Inland. Only by actual handling and providing for men in masses while they are marching, camp ing, embarking and disembarking, will it be possible to train the higher officers to perform their duties well and smoothly. A great debt is owing from the public to the men of the Army and Navy. They should be so treated as to enable them to reach the highest point of efficiency, so that they may be able to respond in stantly to any demand made upon them to sustain the Interests of the Nation and the honor of the flag. The individual American enlisted man is probably on the whole a more formidable fighting man than the regular of any other army. Every consideration should be shown him, and in. return the highest standard ot usefulness shall be exacted from him. it is well worth while tor the ConsTeM to consider whether the pay of enlisted men upon second and subsequent enlist ments should not be Increased to corre spond with the Increased value of the veteran soldier. Reorganizing the Army. Much good has already come from the act reorganizing the Army, passed early in the present year. The three prime re forms, all of them of literally inestimable value, are, first, the substitution of four year details from the line for permanent appointments in the so-called staff divi sions; second, the establishment of a corps of artillery with a chief at the head; third, the establishment of a max imum and minimum limit for the Army. It woulu be difficult to overestimate the improvement in the efficiency of our Army which these three reforms are making, and have in part already effected. The reorganization provided for by the act has been substantially accomplished. The improved conditions in the Philip pines have enabled the War Department materially to reduce the military charge upon our revenue and to arrange the number of soldiers so as to bring this number much nearer to the minimum than to the maximum limit established by law. There is, however, need of supplementary legislation. Thor ough military education must be pro vided, and in addition to the regulars the advantages of this education should be given to the officers of the National Guard and others In civil life who desire Intel ligently to fit themselves for possible mil itary duty. The officers should be given the chance to perfect themselves by study in the higher branches of this art. At West Point the education should be or the kind most apt to turn out men who are good In actual field service; too much stress should not be laid on mathematics, nor should proficiency therein be held to establish the right of entry to a corps' d'ellte. The typical American officer ot the best kind need not be a good mathe matician; but he must be able to master himself, to control others, and to show boldness and fertility of resource in every emergency. Volunteer Forces. Action should be taken in reference to the militia and to the raising of volunteer forces. Our militia law Is obsolete and worthless. The organization and arma ment of the National Guard of the several states, which are treated as militia In the appropriations by the Congress, should be made Identical with those provided for tne regular forces. The obligations and duties of trie guard in time of war should be carefully defined, and a system estab lished by law under which the method of procedure of raising volunteer forces should be prescribed In advance, it Is ut terly impossible In the excitement and hasie of impending war to do this sat isfactorily If the arrangements have not been made long beforehand. Provision should be made for utilizing In the first volunteer organizations called out the training of those citizens who have al ready had experience under arms, and especially for the selection In advance of the officers of any force which may be raised for careful selection of the kind necissary Is impossible after the outbreak of war. OTHER MATTERS. Debt Due to the Veterans Who Saved the Union. No other citizens deserve so well of the Republic as the veterans, the sur vivors of those who saved the Union. They did tne one deed which, if left undone, would have meant that all else in our history went for nothing. But for their steadfast prowess In the greatest crisis ot our history, all our annals would be mean ingless, and our great experiment In pop ular freedom and self-government a gloomy failure. Moreover, they not only left us a united Nation, but they left us also as a heritage the memory of the mighty deeds by which the Nation was kept united. We are now, Indeed, one Nation, one in fact as well as In name; we are united In our devotion to the flag which is the symbol of national greatness and unity; and the very completeness of our Union enables us all, In every part of the country, to glory In the valor shown alike by the sons of the North and the sons of the South in the times that tried men's souls. Civil Service. The merit system of making appoint ments is In Its essence as democratic and American as the common school system Itself. It' simply means that In clerical and other positions where the duties are entirely non-political, all applicants gnould have a fair field and no favor, each stand ing on his merits as he Is able to show them by practical test. Written competi tive examinations offer the only available means In many cases for applying this system. In other cases, as where laborers are employed, a system of registration undoubtedly can be widely extended. There are, of course, places where the written competitive examination cannot be applied, and others where It offers by no means an Ideal solution, but where under existing political conditions It Is. though an Imperfect means, yet the best present means of getting satisfactory re I recommend the passage of a law which will extend the classified service to the District of Columbia, or will at least enable the President thus to extend it. In my Judgment all laws providing for the temporary employment of clerks ' should hereafter contain provision that they be selected under the civil service law. It Is Important to have this system obtain at home, but it is even more Im portant to have It applied rigidly in our insular possessions. Not an office should be filled in the Philippines or Porto Rico with any regard to the man's partisan affiliations or services, with any regard to the political, social or personal influence which he may have at his command; In short, heed should be paid to absolutely nothing save the man's own character and capacity and the needs of the serv ice. The administration of these islands should be as wholly free from the sus picion of partisan polities as the adminis-' tration of the Army and Navy. All that we ask from the public servant In the Philippines or Porto Rico is that he re flect honor on his country by the way in which he makes that country's rule a benefit to the peoples who have come under it. This is all that we should ask, and we cannot afford to be content with less. . The merit system Is simply one method of securing honest and efficient adminis tration of the Government; and in the long run the sole Justification of any type of government lies in Its proving Itself ootn nonesi ana erncient. Consular Service. The consular service is now organized under the provisions of a law passed in 1856, which Is entirely inadequate to ex isting conditions. The interest shown by so many commercial bodies throughout the country in the reorganization of the service is heartily commended to your at tention. Several bills providing for a new consular service have in recent years been submitted to Congress. They are based upon the Just principle that ap pointments to the service should be made only after a practical test of the appli cant's fitness, that promotions shoulcFbe governed by trustwonhvness, adaptabil ity ana zeal in tne pertormance or duty, and that the tenure of office should be unaffected by partisan considerations. Treatment of Indians. In my Judgment the time has arrived when we should definitely make up our minds to recognize the Indian as an indi vidual and not as a member of a tribe, The general allotment act is a mighty pulverizing engine to break up the tribal mass, it acts directly upon the family and the Individual. Under Its provisions some 60,000 Indians have already become citizens of the United States. We should now break up tho tribal funds, doing for them what allotment does for the tribal lands that is, they should be divided into Individual holdings. There will be a tran sition period during which the funds will in many cases have to be held In trust. This is the case, also, with the lands. A stop should be put upon the indiscrim inate permission of Indians to lease their allotments. The effort should be stead ily to make the Indian work like any oth er man on his own ground. The mar riage laws of the Indians should be made the same as those of the whites. In the schools the education should be elementary and largely Industrial. The need of higher education among the In dians is very, very limited. On the reser vations care should be taken to try to suit the teaching to the needs of the par ticular Indian. There is no use In at tempting to Induce agriculture in a coun try suited only for cattle-raising, where the Indian should be made a stockgrow er. The ration system, which Is merely the corral and the reservation system, Is highly detrimental to the Indians. It promotes beggary, perpetuates pauperism and stifles industry. It is an effectual barrier to progress. It must continue to a greater or less degree as long as tribes are herded on reservations and have ev erything In common. The Indian should be treated as an individual like the white man. During the change of treatment inevitable hardships will occur, every ef fort should be made to minimize the hardships: but we should not because of them, hesitate to make the change. There should be continuous reduction in the number of agencies. In dealing with the aboriginal races few things are more Important than to pre serve them from the terrible physical and moral degradation resulting from the li quor traffic. We are doing all we can to save our own Indian tribes from this evil. Wherever In International agreement this same end can be attained as resards races where we do not possess exclusive control, every effort should be made, to bring It about. St, Lonls Exposition. I bespeak the most cordial sup port from the Congress and the people for the St. Louis Exposi tion to commemorate' the 108th an niversary of the Louisiana Purchase. This purchase was the greatest Instance of ex pansion in our history. It definitely de cided that we were to become a great continental Republic, by far the foremost power in the Western Hemisphere. It Is one of three or four great landmarks In our history the great turning-points in our development. It is eminently fitting that all our people should join with heart iest good-will In commemorating It, and the citizens of St. Louis, of Missouri, of all the adjacent region, are entitled to every aid in making the celebration a noteworthy event In our annals. We earnestly hope that foreign nations will appreciate the deep interest our country takes in this exposition, and our view of Its Importance from every standpoint, and that they will participate In securing Its success. The National Government shculd be represented by a full and com plete set of exhibits. Charleston Exposition. The people of Charleston, with great energy and civic spirit, are carrying on an exposition which will continue throughout the most of the present ses sion of Congress. I .heartily commend this exposition to the good-will of the people. It deserves all the encouragement that can be given It. The managers of the Charleston Exposition have requested the Cabinet officers to place thereat the Government exhibits which have been at Buffalo, promising to pay the necessary expenses. I have taken the responsibility of directing that this be done, for I feel that It Is due to Charleston to help her in her nralseworthy effort. In my opin ion tne management Bnould not be re quired to pay all these expenses. I earn estly recommended that the Congress ap propriate at once the small sum necessary tor mis purpose. Pan-American Exposition. The Pan-American Exposition at But falo has Just closed. Both from the in dustrlal and the artistic standpoint this exposition has been In a high degree creditable and useful, not merely to Buf falo, but to the United States. The ter rlble trugedy of the President's assassin atlon Interfered materially with Its being a financial success. The exposition was peculiarly in harmony with the trend of our public policy, because It represented an effort to bring Into closer touch all the peoples of the Western Hemisphere, and give them an Increasing sense of uni ty. Such an effort was a genuine service to the entire American public. Library of Congress, Perhaps the most characteristic educa tional movement of the past 60 years is that which has created ttie modern pub lic library and developed it into broad and active service. There are now over 6000 public libraries In the United States, the product of this period. In addition to ac cumulating material, they are also striv. Ing by organization, by Improvement In method, and by co-operation, to give greater efficiency to the material they hold, to make It mora widely useful, and by avoidance of unnecessary duplication In process to reduce the cost ot Us ad ministration. In these efforts they naturally look for assistance to the Federal l'brary, which, though still the Library of Congress, and so entitled, is the one National library of the United States. Already the largest single collection of books on the Western Hemisphere, and certain to increase more rapidly than any other through purchase, exchange, and the operation of the copy, right law, this library has a unique op portunity to render to the libraries of this country to American scholarship service of tho highest Importance. It Is housed in a. Duuuing wmen is tne largest ana most magnificent yet erected for library uses. Resources are now being provided which will develop the collection properly, equip It with the apparatus and service necessary to its effective use, render its bibliographic work widely available, and enable it to become, not merely a center of research, but tne cniei iactor in great co-operative efforts for the diffusion of knowledge and the advancement of learn ing. Permanent Census Bureau. For the sake of good administration, sound economy and the advancement of science, the Census Office, as now consti tuted, should be made a permanent Gov ernment bureau. This would insure bet ter, cheaper and more satisfactory work, in the interest not only of our business. but of statistic, economic and social sci ence. The Postal Service. The remarkable growth of the postal service is shown in the fact that Its reve nues have doubled and its expenditures have nearly doubled within 12 years. Its progressive development compels con stantly increasing outlay, but in this pe riod of business energy and prosperity its receipts grow so much faster than Its ex penses that the annual deficit has been steadily reduced from $11,411,779 in 1897 to $3,923,727 in 1901. Among recent postal ad vances the success of rural free delivery wherever established has been so marked, and actual experience has made Its bene fits so plain, that the demand for its ex tension is general and urgent. It is just that the great agricultural population should share in the Improve ment of the service. The number of rural routes now in operation is 6009, practically all established within three years, and there are 0000 applications awaiting action. It is expected that the number in opera tion at the close of the current fiscal year will reach 8600. The mail will then be dally carried to the doprs of 5,700,000 of our people who have heretofore been depend ent upon distant offices, and one-third of all that portion of the country whicn is adapted to it will be covered by this kind of service. Chinese Situation. Owing to the rapid growth of our power and our interests on the Pacific, whatever happens in China must be of the keenest National concern to us. The general terms of the settlement of the questions growing out of the anti foreign uprisings in China of 1900, having been formulated In a joint note addressed to China by the representatives of the injured powers in December last, were promptly accepted by the Chinese Gov ernment. After protracted conferences the plenipotentiaries of the several powers were able to sign a final protocol witn the Chinese plenipotentiaries on the ith of last September, setting forth the meas ures taken by China In compliance witn, the demands of the joint note, and ex pressing their satisfaction therewith. It will be laid before the Congress, with a report of the plenipotentiary on behalf of the United States, Mr. William WoodvMe Rockhill, to whom high praise is due for the tact good Judgment and energy he has displayed In performing an exception ally difficult and delicate task. The agreement reaohed disposes in a manner satisfactory to the powers of the various grounds of complaint, and will contribute materially to better future re lations between China and the powers. Reparation has been made by China for the murder of foreigners during the up rising, and punishment has been inflicted on the officials, however high In rank, recognized as responsible for or having participated in the outbreak. Official ex aminations have been forbidden for a period of five years in all cities in which foreigners have been, murdered or cruelly treated, and edicts have been Issued, mak ing all officials directly responsible for the future safety of foreigners and for the suppression of violence against them. Provisions have been made for Insur ing the future safety of the foreign rep resentatives in Pekin by setting aside for their exclusive use a quarter of the city which the powers can make defensi ble and In which they can, If necessary, ir.alntain permanent military guards; by 6.imir,i.iln8 the military works between the capital and the sea; and by allowing the temporary maintenance of foreign millltary posts along this line. An edict has been Issued by the Emperor of China prohibiting for two years the importa tion of arms and ammunition into China. China has agreed to pay adequate In demnities to the states, societies and in dividuals for the losses sustained by them and for the expenses of the military ex peditions sent by the various powers to protect life and restore order. New Treaties of Commerce. Under the provisions of the Joint note of December, J900, China has agreed to revise the treaties of commerce and navi gation and to take such other steps for the purpose of facilitating foreign trade as the foreign powers may decide to ba . needed. The Chinese Government has agreed to participate financially in the work of bet tering the water approaches to Shanghai . and to Tien Tsln, the centers of foreign trade in Central and Northern China, and an International conservancy board,. In which the Chinese Government is largely represented, has been provided tor the Improvement of the Shanghai River and the control of its navigation. In the same line of commercial advantages a revision of the present tariff on Imports has been assented to for the purpose of substituting specific for ad valorem du ties, and an expert has been sent abroad on the part of the United States to as sist in this work. A list of articles to re main free of duty. Including flour, cereals and rice, gold and silver coin and bul lion, has also been agreed upon In the settlement. Pan-American Congress. We view with lively Interest and keen hopes of beneficial results the proceed ings of the Pan-American Congress, con voked at the Invitation of Mexico, and now sitting at the Mexican capital. Tha delegates of the United States are under the most liberal Instructions to co-operate with their colleagues In all matters prom ising advantage to the great family of American commonwealths, as well in their relations among themselves as In their domestic advancement and In thef Intercourse with the wortd at large, I tun I. A Vlit.i.la an.l The death of Queen Victoria caused the people of the United States deep and heartfelt sorrow, to which the Govern ment gave full expression. When Presi dent McKlnley died, our Nation In turn received from every quarter of the Brit ish Empire expressions of grief and sym pathy no less sincere, The death of the ' Empress Dowager Frederick of Germany also aroused the genuine sympathy of the American people; and this sympathy was cordially reciprocated by Germany when the President was assassinated. In deed, from every quarter of the civilized world we received, at the time of the President's death, assurances of such grief and regard as to touch the hearts -of our people. In the midst of our afflic tion we reverently thank the Almighty that we are at peace with the nations of mankind; and we firmly Intend that our policy shall be such as to continue unbroken these International relations of mutual respect and good will. THEODORE ROOSEVELT. Whit House, December I, 19QL