PRESIDEfirS
JESSAGE
Hales Annnal Recommen
dations (o Congress,
ATTACKS ANTI-TRUST LAW
WiriMH AH hsul Amensee U
Permit Combination Whleh Are In
the Interest ef the Public, I ix the
Prlsit Urges Legllatien to
Safeguard lha Wagtwsrliere Owalla
en Nd f Protection far Psreste.
Vltwi ait the Army and (ha Navy.
Washington, Pec. S.-In hi ucaasg
to congress, read to tha two bouse,
tbe prealdeut Mid:
The Unsocial standing of tba nation
at tba preseut tlne la excellent and
tba flnaurlal management of tba Da
tioo'a Interest by tba government dur
ing tba laat aeven yesr baa abowa tba
Boat aaUa factor reaulu. But our
eurrrucy astem la Imperfect, and It
la earnestly to ba hoped tbat tba cur
rency cotnmiselnn will ba able to pro
pose thoroughly good aatem wblcb
will do away wltb tba existing defects.
Ihiring tba period from Jul 1, 1801,
to Bept- 80. 11KM, tbera baa been a net
urplua of oaarl oua hundred million
of receipts over expenditure, a reduc
tion of tha Interest bearing debt b
ninety million, In aplta of tba extraor
dinary expense of tba Panama canal
nd saving of nearly nlna nillliou
on tba annual Interest charge. Tbla la
o exceedingly satisfactory showing.
There baa ben a reduction of Uxa
Hon.
J Corporation.
Am regard tbe great corporation! en
gaged In Interstate business, and ed pe
el 11 y tba railroad, 1 can only repeat
wbnt I bare already again aud again
aid In uiy message to tbe congress.
I believe tbat under tbe Interstate
clause of tbe constitution tbe Lulled
State hn complete and paramount
right to control all agencies of lnter
atate commerce, and I believe tbat tbe
national government nlono can exer
cise this right wltb wisdom and ef
fectiveness ao aa both to secure Justice
from and to do justice to tbe great
corporations which are tbe most lna
port ant factors lu modern business. 1
believe that It Is worse than folly to
attempt to prohibit all combinations,
a Is done by the Sherman anti-trust
Jaw, because siRli a law can be en
forced only Imperfectly aud unequal
ly, and Its enforcement works almost
much hardship as good. I strongly
advocate that Instead of an unwise
effort to prohibit all combinations there
ball bo substituted a law which shall
xpresslv permit combinations which
In Ui4 interest of the public, but
hall at tbe samo time give to soffit
jagency of tbe national government full
power of control and supervision over
them. One of tbe chief features of
thl control should be securing entire
publicity In all matters which tbe pub
lic ha a right to know and. further
more, the power, not by judicial, but
ty executive, action to prevent or put
stop to every form of Improper fa-
orltbim or other wrongdoing.
The railways of the country should
a put completely under the Interstate
commerce commission and removed
from the domain of the anti trust law.
Tbe power of tbe commission should
be made thoroughgoing, so tbat It
coold exercise complete supervision
and control over the Issue of securities
well as over the raising and lower
ing of rates. As regards rates, at least
this power should be summary, row
er to make combinations and traffic
agreements should be explicitly con
ferred upon the railroads, tbe permis
sion of tbe commission being first
gained and the combination or agree
jnent being published In all Its de
tails. The interests of the sharehold
ers, of tbe employees and of the ship-
fters should all be guarded as against
one another. To give any one of them
undue and Improper consideration Is
to do Injustice to the others. Rates
must be made as low as Is compatible
avith giving proper returns to all tha
employees of the railroad, from the
tilghest to the lowest, and proper re
turns to tbe shareholders, but they
anust not, for Instance, be reduced In
orach fashion as to necessitate a cnt
In the wages of the employees or the
abolition of tbe proper and legitimate
profits of honest shareholders.
Telegraph and telephone companies
(engaged In interstate business should
lie put under the Jurisdiction of the In
terstate commerce commission.
Ample Reward For Intelligence.
! It Is to the interest of all of us that
there should be a premium put upon
Individual Initiative and individual ca
Ipacity and an ample reword for the
jap-eat directing intelligences alone com
ipetont to manage the great business
operations of today. It is well to keep
5n mind that exactly as the anarchist
jla the worst enemy of liberty and the
eactionary the worst enemy of order
jaw the men who defend the rights of
(property have most to fear from the
Srongdoers of great weaitn, ana me
en who are championing popular
'rights have most to fear from the
Idemagogues who in the name of popu
9ar rights would do wrong to and op
press honest business men, honest men
tof wealth, for the success of either
type of wrongdoer necessarily invites
a violent reaction against the cause
tbe wrongdoer nominally uphold,
f Tbe opposition to government con
jtrol of these great corporation make
effective effort t tbe i Keelded tact tba rtgM M fairy aa
f aa si to tba old docirtae ef
tat rtafcu.
Tba ervpueaj I make tba aatloaaJ
foeerament supreme over, and there
for to give It complete eoslrul over,
tba railroad a ad ether lustre meat of
Interstate commerce 1 merely a pro
posal to carry vat lo tba letter aaa at
Iba prima purpose. If act tba prime
purpose, for which tb ronstltutioa
wa found. It do not r-prnt
ecutrelliaUoa.
! twtleva that tha mora fsralgbtsd
eorportilooe ara tbemselvea coming to
reroanilt tl uawtadmu of tba viol rot
hostility the bva dlfplayml durlna;
tba lat fw yera to rrgnUtluo aod
control by tba natiuiial government of
combUutiooa nggd la Utoratata bul-
neaa.
There ara many matter affecting la
bor and tba atatua of tba wageworkar
to wblcb I abould Ilka to draw your
attention. A far aa poealbla I hope
to era a frank recognition of tba ad-
vintage conferred by machinery, or-
(saltation and dlvlaloo of labor, ao-
rompanled by an effort to bring about
larger abare In tba ownerahlp by
wageworker of railway, mill and fac
tory. In farming thl almply mean
tbat wa wlh to ae tba farmer own bl
own laud. Wa do not wUh to aea tba
fartna ao large tbat they become tba
property of abaentee landlord wbo
farm them by tenant nor yet ao small
that tba fanner become Ilka a Euro
pean peasant.
Tba depoaltora In oar tiring bank
now number over one-tenth of our en
Or population. Tbeaa are all capital-
let wbo through tba taring banks
loan tbelr money to tbe worker tbat
U, In mtny rate to tbemaelTea to
carry on their various Indoatrte.
Postal aavlnga bank will make It easy
for tbe poorest to keep tbelr a ring
In abeolute safety. Tba regulation of
tbe national highway mutt be auch
tbat they ihall serve all people with
equal Justice. Corporate finance mutt
be supervised o a to make It far
aafer than at present for tbe man of
mall mean to Invest bla money In
stock. There must be prohibition of
child labor, diminution of woman la
bor, shortening of hour of all me
chanical labor. Stock watering abould
be prohibited, and stock gambling, so
far a Is possible, discouraged. There
should be a progressive Inheritance
tax on large fortunes. Industrial edu
cation should be encouraged.
Protection For Wagtworkera.
There is one matter with which the
congress should deal at this session.
There should no longer be any palter
ing wltb tho question of taking care
of the wageworkcrs who, under our
present Industrial system, become kill
ed, crippled or worn out as part of tho
regular Incidents of a given business.
Tho object sought for could be achiev
ed to a measurable degree, as far as
those killed or crippled aro concerned,
by proper employers' liability laws.
As far as concerns those who bave
been worn out, I call your attention to
the fact that definite steps toward pro
viding old age pensions bave been
taken in many of our private Industries.
Pending a thoroughgoing Investiga
tion and action there is certain legis
lation which should be enacted at
once. Tbe law passed at tbe last ses
sion of the congress granting com
pensation to certain classes of em
ployees of the government should be
extended to include all employees of
the government and should be made
more liberal in its terms. In this re
spect the generosity of the United
States toward Its employees compares
most unfavorably with that of every
country In Europe even the poorest.
The terms of tbe act are also
hardship in prohibiting payment In
cases where the accident is in any
way due to the negligence of the em
ployee. It Is inevitable that daily fa
miliarity with danger will lead men to
take chances that can be construed
Into negligence.
I renew my recommendation made
in a previous message that half holi
days be granted during the summer to
all wageworkera in government employ.
I also renew my recommendation
tbat the principle of the eight hour
day should as rapidly and as far as
practicable be extended to the entire
work being carried on by the govern
ment
The Court.
I most earnestly urge upon the con
gress the duty of increasing the totally
Inadequate salaries now given to our
judges. On the whole, there is no
body of public servants who do as
valuable work nor whose moneyed
reward is so Inadequate compared to
their work. Beginning with the su
preme court, the Judges should have
their salaries doubled.
It is earnestly to be desired that
some method should be devised for do
ing away with the long delays which
now obtain in the administration of
Justice and which operate with pecul
iar severity against persons of small
means and favor only the very crimi
nals whom it is most desirable to pun
ish.
At the last election certain leaders
of organized labor made a violent and
sweeping attack upon the entire Ju
diciary of the country, an attack
couched in such terms as to include
the most upright, honest and broad
minded judges no less than those of
narrower mind and more restricted
outlook. Last year before the house
committee on the judiciary these same
labor leaders formulated their de
mands, specifying the bill that con
tained them, refusing all compromise,
stating they wished the principle of
that bill or nothing. They insisted on
a provision that in a labor dispute no
Injunction should issue except to pro
tect a property right and specifically
basin afeoeid ao be eeaatraed aa
property rtgkt. aod la a aeeoad pa
tuioe tbelr UU euada Ugal la a UU
dtepota ta act or tf rmut by a
btwa two or Rtura peranna tba
a-ouid net aav ba unlawful If doe
bf a alagie faroa. la 4hr word.
iak bill legalised btartltattng aod boy
rotting la every form. Tba demand
wa made tbat there thoold ba trial
by Jury la contempt raeea, thereby
Btoat eertoualy Impairing lb (albert!
pf the reurta. All tbla represented
roura ef policy wblcb. If carried eat,
would mean tba enthronement ef ciaa
privilege la It crudeat and tnoet
brutal form and tba destruction of
one ef tba moat etitll function ef
tba Judiciary la all elvlJIaed land.
Tbe wageworkera, tba worktngiaen,
tba laboring men of tbe country, by tba
way lo wblcb tbey repudiated tbe ef
fort to get tbvm to rat tbelr votea In
reapotia to an appeal to data hatred
have emphaalted tbelr eound patriotism
nd Americanism.
Court Imperiled by Judge.
But tbe extreme reactionaries, tba
person wbo blind tbemaelve to tba
wrong now nd then committed by
tha court on 'laboring men. abould
lao think aerl cutty to what auch a
movement tbla portend. Tba
court are jeoparded primarily by tba
action of tbeae federal and tta
Judge wbo abow Inability or unwlJl-
lngnn to put a stop to tba wrong
doing of very rich men under modem
Industrial condition.
There are certain decision by va
rioua court wblcb bar been exceed
I. ,tkieaIa
wbh-l be ta ta any wa a meat bla art to protect crtutUtel la ear Waac at
pabtle eptaloa and tba ertloe ef tfU I tbe potwie errlre, tod etacOjr M we
feilow Judaea. It la (he laat which la
atuet Immediately effective and to
wblcb wa aboold look for tbe reform
ef aboaea,
Fereet.
If tiusj La aity im duly wl.U-b awe
Ibao another e owe It to ear cblldrea
and our children's children to perform
at one It U to aav tba foreet of
tbla country, for tbey rooatltute tba
Ort and moat Important element la
the cvtwerraitoa ef tbe natural re-
ourrea of tba country.
rnontignfea persona, or tieraotta
blinded lo tba future by deelre to
uiaka money In every way cut ef tha
pnwent. aoruettinee ipeak aa If no
great damage would be done by tba
reck lee deal ruction ef our forenta. It
1 difficult to btve patience wltb tba
argument ef tbeae persona Thank
to our own reckle!) In tbe dm ef
our splendid foreeta, aa bar already
crossed the verge of a timber famine
In tbla country, and no me sure tbat
we aow lake can, at lean for many
years, undo the miarhlrf tbat ba al
ready been done. But we ran prevent
further mischief being done, and It
would be In tba blgbeat degree re r re-
hen a II, I to let any consideration of
temporary convenience or temporary
coat Interfere wltb auch action, espe
cially a regard tba national forest.
wblcb tba nation can now at tbla very
moment control
ITbe president here cite In support
of hi contention tba great de trac
tion wrought In China by tba denuda-
aave agate and again daring tbe aaat
eves year proserqted aod roevtrtad
such criminals wbo ware ta tbe aaaee-
Ua braacb ef tbe government so la
my teller wa abould be gtvsa mpi
, a .JT . , . Tu - 17 000 ' area.
Ingly detriment! to tbe right .
wageworker. Tbla 1 true of all tba
decision tbat decide tbat men and
women are by tba constitution "guar
What baa tbua happened In northern
China, what ba happened In central
Aata, In I'alestlne, In north Africa, In
anteed tbelr liberty" to contract to par?f of tU M"rraneaii countrlea
enter a dangerou occupation, or to " - """'7 u.pi-u ia our
work an undesirable or Improper nam- c"nt7 l w do nf exercise tbat
tw.r f hour. ..p i work in tinh..ith forethought wblcb should be one
urrntinrtW. mnA th.-r.fnr rsnnnt r. cniei niHras or any people Call-
cover damage when maimed in that ,n UjMf" civilized. Nothing ahould be
occUDation aud cannot be forbidden i"Uiea n ma way or tne
to work what tbe legislature decide la
an excessive number of hour, or to
carry on tbe work under condition
which tbe legislature decide to be un
healthy.
There It also, I think, ground for
tbe belief tbat substantial injustice ia
often suffered by employees in conse
quence of the custom of courts Issu-
preservatlon of the forest, and It 1
criminal to permit Individual to pur
chase a little gain for themselves
through the destruction of forest
when thla destruction It fatal to the
well being of tbe whole country In tbe
future.
Inland Waterways.
Action should be begun forthwith.
lng temporary Injunctions without no- during the present session of congress.
tlce to them and punishing them for
contempt of court in Instance where.
a a matter of fact, tbey bave no
knowledge of any proceedings. Tro
rlslon should be made that no injunc
tion or temporary restraining order
issue otherwise than on notice, except
where irreparable injury would other
wise result, and in such case a bear
ing on the merits of the order should
be had within a short fixed period.
and If not then continued after hear
ing it should forthwith lapse. Dec!
slons should be rendered Immediately
and the chance of delay minimized In
every way
The courts are to be highly com
mended and stancbly upheld when
they set tbelr faces against wrong
doing or tyranny by a majority, but
tbey are to bo blamed when they
fall to recognize under a government
for the Improvement of our inland wa
terways action wblcb will result In
giving us not only navigable but
navigated rivers. We bnve spent
hundreds of millions of dollars upon
these waterways, yet the traffic on
nearly all of them Is steadily declin
ing. This condition is tbe direct re
sult of the absence of any compre
hensive and farseelng plan of water
way Improvement Obviously we can
not continue thus to expend the rev
enues of the government without re
turn. It is poor business to spend
money for inland navigation unless
we get It
Such shortsighted, vacillating and
futile methods are accompanied by de
creasing water borne commerce and
Increasing traffic congestion on land,
by increasing floods and by the waste
of public money. Tbe remedy lies In
like ours tho deliberate Judgment of abandoning the methods which bave
tbe majority as to a matter of legiti
mate policy when duly expressed by
the legislature. The people ahould
not be permitted to pardon evil and
slipshod legislation on the theory that
the court will set it right They should
be taught that the right way to get rid
of a bad law is to have the legislature
so signally failed and adopting new
ones in keeping with the needs and
demands of our people.
In a report on a measure introduced
at tbe first sesslou of the present con
gress the secretary of war said, 'The
chief defect hi the methods hitherto
pursued lies in the absence of execu-
benslve plans covering the country or
natural divisions thereof." In this
opinion I heartily concur.
Until the work of river improvement
Is undertaken in a modern way it can
not bave results that will meet the
needs of this modern nation. These
needs should be met without further
dilly-dallying or delay. The plan which
promises the best and quickest results
Is that of a permanent commission au
thorized to co-ordinate the work of all
the government departments relating
to waterways and to frame and super
vise the execution of a comprehensive
plan. The time for playing with our
waterways is past The country de
mands results.
National Park.
I urge that all our national parks ad
jacent to national forests be placed
completely under the control of the
forest service of the agricultural de
partment, instead of leaving them, as
repeal it and not to have the courts by tlve authority for oritrinatlne comore-
mgemons nair splitting nullify it
People Tbemaelve to Blame.
For many of the shortcomings of
Justice In our country our people as
whole are themselves to blame, and the
Judges and Juries merely bear their
share together with the public as a
whole. It Is discreditable to as as a
people that there should be difficulty
In convicting murderers or in bringing
to Justice men who as public servants
bave been guilty of corruption or who
have profited by the corruption of pub
lic servants.
Tbe huge wealth that has been ac
cumulated by a few Individuals of re
cent years, in what has amounted to
a social and industrial revolution, has
been as regards some of these individ
uals made possible only by the improp
er use of the modern corporation. Cor
porations are necessary Instruments of
modern business. They have been per
mitted to become a menace largely be
cause the governmental representatives
of the people have worked slowly In
providing for adequate control over
them.
Real damage has been done by the
manifold and conflicting interpreta
tions of the interstate commerce law.
Control over the great corporations do
ing interstate business can be effective
only if it is vested with full power to
an administrative department a branch
of the federal executive, carrying out
federal law. It can never be ef
fective if a divided responsibility is
left in both the states and the nation.
It can never be effective if left in the
bands of the courts to be decided by
lawsuits.
The courts hold a place of peculiar
and deserved sanctity under our form
of government. Respect for the law is
essential to the permanence of our in
stitutions, and respect for the law is
largely conditioned upon respect for
the courts. But we must face the fact
that there are wise and unwise Judges,
Just as there are wise and unwise ex
ecutives and legislators. . When a
president or governor behaves improp
erly or unwisely the remedy is easy,
for his term is short The same Is
true with the legislator, although not
to the same degree. With a Judge
who, being human, Is also likely to
err, but whose tenure is for life, there
is no similar way of holding him to
responsibility. Under ordinary condi
tions tbe only forms of pressure to
tba kgUlaUva branch. Out If tbla
eat rooaldared k-s!rU a aperlal ex
reptkta could be made ta tbe law pra-
hlblUng the ose of tbe aecret arrhw
force In tovesttgattng member ef tba
cotigTesa. It would be far better ta do
tbla than to do wbat actual! wa done
nd atrfre to prevent or at least to
hamper effective action agalnat crim
inal by tbe executive be orb of tbe
government
Portal levlng Banks.
I gtn renew my reronimendatioa
for postal aavinga banka, for deposit
lng savings wltb tbe aerurlty ef tbe
government behind them. The object
Is to encourage thrift aod economy In
tbe wage earner and person of mod
erate means It la believed tbat In tba
aggregate vaat sum of money would
be brought Into circulation through
tbe liiatrumenttlity of tbe postal tv
Inga banka Postal saving banka are
now In operation la practically all tbe
great ctvillaed countrlea wltb tbe ex
ceptlon of tha United State.
Parcel Peat.
In my last tnnual aieasag I com
mended tbe postmaster general' rec
ommendation for en extension of tbe
parcel post on tbe rural route. The
establishment of a local parcel post
on rural route would be to tba tnu
tual benefit of tbe farmer and the
country storekeeper, and It ia desirable
that tba routes, serving mora than 15,
000.000 people, should be utilized to tbe
fullest practicable extent
Education.
Tbe share that tbe national govern
ment should take In tba broad work of
education baa not received tbe atten
tion and tbe care It rightly deserve.
I earnestly recommend tbat thla un
fortunate state of affair regard
tbe national educational office be rem
edied by adequate appropriation.
Census.
I strongly urge tbat tbe request of
tbe director of the censua In connec
tion with tbe decennial work to soon
to be begun be compiled wltb and that
the appointment to the censu force
be placed under tbe civil service law,
waiving tbe geographical requirements
as requested by the director of the
census. Tbe supervisors and enumer
ators should not be appointed nnder
the civil service law for the reasons
given by the director.
Publio Health.
The dangers to public health from
food adulteration and from many oth
er sources, such as the menace to the
physical, mental and moral develop
ment of children from child labor,
should be met and overcome. This na
tion cannot afford to lag behind in tbe
worldwide battle now being waged
by all civilized people with the micro
scopic foes of mankind. Tbe first leg
islative step to be taken Is that for tbe
concentration of the proper bureaus
into one of the existing departments.
Statehood.
I advocate the immediate admission
of New Mexico and Arizona as states.
This should be done at the present ses
sion of tbe congress. Tbe people of
tbe two territories have made It evi
dent by their votes that they will not
come in as one state. The only alter
native is to admit them as two, and I
trust tbat this will be done without
delay.
Foreign Affairs.
This nation's foreign policy is based
on the theory that right must be done
between nations precisely as between
individuals, and in our actions for the
last ten years we bave In this matter
proved our faith by our deeds. We
have behaved and are behaving to
ward other nations as In private life an
honorable man would behave toward
his fellows.
' Latin American Republics.
The commercial and material prog
ress of the twenty Latin American re
publics is worthy of the careful atten
tion of the congress. No other section
of the world has shown a greater pro
portionate development of its foreign
trade during the last ten years, and
none other has more special claims on
the interest of the United States.
Panama Canal.
The work on tbe Panama canal is be-
they are now, under the interior de- lng done with a speed, efficiency and
partment and policed by the army.
Pure Food.
The pure food legislation has already
worked a ltenefit difficult to overesti
mate.
Secret Service.
Last year an amendment was incor
porated in the measure providing for
the secret service which provided that
there should be no detail from the se
cret service and no transfer therefrom.
It Is not too much to say that this
amendment has' been of benefit only.
and could be of benefit only, to the
criminal classes. The amendment in
question was of benefit to no one ex
cepting to criminals, and it seriously
hampers the government in the detec
tion of crime and the securing of Jus
tice. It prevents the promotion of em
ployees in the secret service, and this
further discourages good effort In its
present form the restriction operates
only to the advantage of the criminal,
of the wrongdoer.
The chief argument in favor of the
provision was that the congressmen
did not themselves wish to be Investi
gated by secret service men. Very lit
tle of such investigation has been done
In the past, ut it is true that the work
of the secret service agents was partly
responsible for the indictment and con
viction of a senator and a congressman
for land frauds In Oregon. I do not
believe that it is in the public Interest
entire devotion to duty which make it
a model for all work of the kind. No
task of such magnitude has ever before
been undertaken by any nation, and no
task of the kind has ever been better
performed. The men on the isthmus,
from Colonel Goethals and his fellow
commissioners through the entire list
of employees who are faithfully doing
their duty, have won their right to the
ungrudging respect and gratitude of
the American people.
Ocean Mail Lines.
I again recommend the extension of
tbe ocean mall act of 1S91 so tbat sat
isfactory American ocean mail lines to
South America, Asia, the Philippines
and Australasia may be established.
The creation of such steamship lines
should be the natural corollary of the
voyage of the battle fleet It should
precede the opening of the Panama
canal.
The Philippine.
Real progress toward self govern
ment is being made in the Philippine
Islands. The gathering of a Philippine
legislative body and Philippine assem
bly marks a process absolutely new in
Asia, not only as regards Asiatic colo
nies of European powers, but as re
gards Asiatic possessions of other Asi
atic powers, and Indeed, always ex
cepting the striking and wonderful ex
ample afforded by the great empire of
arteee wtoe tewpered wt aatfete
whir a fcaa bppe4 aaaon Asia tie
power w hick are tbetr ewa BMstera,
W bare gtvea tbe TUiplaua ruaeUta
tlooal geveroweet. foveraattet baaed
opoq justice, and wa bava aaowa tbal
bave gevrA4 tbnt for lbtr good
i s3 3t tor cur aa&UMSM&l
At tbe preeeat lime, a durtag tbe
past tea years, tba Inexorable togte ef
fart abow tbat tfaie govern axutt
must be auppltd by as and not by
tbeta. We must be wise sud geoer
oua We mast betp Iba Filipino ta
master tbe difficult art ef aeif coo.
trui, which ta almply another nam for
aeif government Hut we cannot glva
tbeui self government ssva lo tbe
sense of governing them so that grad
ually they may. If tbey are able, team
lo govvrn tbemeelvea. No uo can
prophesy tbe eiact date when It will
be wise to consider Independence aa
a fixed aod definite polh'y.
Perte Rise.
I again recommend tbat American
citizen Ulp be conferred upon tbe peo
ple ef Porto I Uco.
Cuba.
lo Cuba our occupancy will cease la
bout two months time. Tbe Cuban
bava la orderly manner elected tbelr
own governmental authorities, and tba
Island will ba turned over to them,
Our occupation ou this occasion baa
lasted a Utile over two year, and
Cuba ba thriven and prospered under
It Our earnest hope and one desire
hi that tbe people of tbe Island shall
Dow govern tbemaelve wltb Justice.
ao tbat peace and order may be ae-cure.
The Fleet'e Fteeeelen.
I take tbla opportunity publicly to
tat my appreciation of tha way In
wblcb in Japan, In Australia, In New
Zealand and la all tba atatee of South)
America tha battle fleet ba been re
ceived on It practice voyage around
tbe world. Tba American government
cannot too strongly express lu appro
elation of tbe abounding and generous
hospitality abown our ablpa in every
port they visited.
The Army.
As regard the army, I call attention
to tbe fact that while our junior offi
cer and enlisted men atand very high.
the present system of promotion by
seniority result in bringing into the
higher grade many men of mediocre
capacity wbo bave buc abort time to
serve. No man should regard it
hi vested right to rise to tbe highest
rank In tbe army any more than Id
any other profession.
Tbe scope of retiring boards should
be extended to tbat tbey could con
sider general unfitness to command
for any cause in order to secure a far
more rigid enforcement than at pres
ent in the elimination of officers for
mental, physical or temperamental
disabilities. But this plan is recom
mended only if tbe congress dos not
see fit to provide what In my Judg
ment is far better that is, for selec
tion lu promotion and for elimination
for age.
Now that the organized militia, the
national guard, has been incorporated
with tbe army as a part of the national
forces It behooves the government to
do every reasonable thing in its pow
er to perfect its efficiency.
A bill is now pending before the
congress creating a number of extra
officers in the army, which, if passed,
as it ought to be, will enable more of
ficers to be trained as Instructors of
national guard and assigned to that
duty.
There should be legislation to pro
vide a complete plan for organiz
ing the great body of volunteers be
hind the regular army and national
guard when war has come. i While
teams representing the United State
won the rifle and revolver champion
ships of the world against all comers
In England this year, it is unfortunate
ly true that the great body of our citi
zens shoot less and less as time goes
on.
To meet this we should encourage
rifle practice among schoolboys and
indeed among all classes, as well as
in the military services, by every
means in our power.
The Navy.
I approve the recommendations of
the general board for the Increase of
the navy, calling especial attention to
the need of additional destroyers and
coliiers and, above all, of the four bat
tleships. It is desirable to complete
as soon as possible a squadron of eight
battleships of the best existing type
The North Dakota, Delaware, Florida
and Utah will form the first division
of this squadron.
I most earnestly recommend that the
general board be by law turned Into
a genera staff. The is literally no
excuse whatever for continuing the
present bureau organization of the
navy. . The navy should be treated as
a purely military organization, and
everything should be subordinated to
the one object of securing military
efficiency. A system of promotion by:
merit, either by selection or by ex
clusion or by both processes, should be
introduced.
Nothing better for tn navy from
every standpoint has ever occurred
than the cruise of the battle fleet
around the world. The improvement
of the ships in every way has been ex
traordinary, and they have gained far
more experience in battle tactics than
they would have gained if they ha3
stayed in the Atlantic waters. I do
not believe that there is any other
service in the world in which the
average of character and efficiency in
the enlisted men is as high as is now
the case In our own. I believe that the
same statement can be made as to our
officers, taken as a whole, but there
must be a reservation made in regard
to those in the highest ranks and in
regard to those who bave just entered
the service, because we do not now
get full benefit from our excellent
Japan,' it opens an entirely new de-' naval school at Annapolis.