The daily Gate City. [volume], December 08, 1908, Image 6

About The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916

Image provided by: State Historical Society of Iowa

                
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PAGE SIX
Until the work of river Improvement
Is undertaken in a modern way it can
not have results that Will meet the
needs of this modern nation. These
needs should be met without fur!her
dilly-dallyiug or delay. The plan which
is that of
il
to
the military engineers acting with
a sufficient number of civilians to con
tinue the work in time ol war. or it
might
IK?
divided between the reclama­
tion service and the corps of engineers.
Funds should be provided from cur
rent revenues if It is deemed wise,
otherwise from the sale of bonds. The
essential thing is that the work should
COOCIIINU VUIUFE 10
first class civilian scouts or rangers I
and further n!:,™ tit.
and, further, place the road construc
tion under the superintendent instead
of leaving it with the war department
Such a change in park management
would result iu economy and avoid the
difficulties of administration which
now arise from having the responsi
bility of care aud protection divided
between different departments. The
purposes. The law of June 6. 1906.
and its amendment of March 2, 1907,
accomplished what was desired in that
respect, aud the use of denatured al-
gree
ther encouragement and support from
tUe congress.
Pure Food.
xnate.
securing
permanent commission au­
thorized to co-ordinate the work of all
the government departments relating
to waterways and to frame and super
vise the executiou of a comprehensive
plan. Lnder such a commission the
actual work of construction might In
Intrusted to the reclamation service or
liiui iuv "Wta oauuiu
a a a a
worked a benefit difficult to overesti-
OUR INDIAN WARDS.
Stead? PrnpTpc* Tnwaril
such survivals, was decaving slowlv
there should be no detail from tbe se- I
cret service :ind no transfer therefrom
tices that had been
outrageous frauds in connection w.th fuse
the theft of government land nnd
government timber by great corpora
tions and by individuals. These prac
tices have enabled us to get some of
the evidence indispensable in order to
secure the conviction of the wealthiest
and most formidable criminals with
whom tiie government lias to deal,
both those operating in violation of
Tae anti-trust law and others. The
tiuiendment in question was of benefit
promises the best and quickest results the requirements of the public service. eflt of all our people.
with our waterways is past. The coun- branch of the public service, and ex
actly as we have again and again dur
ing the past seven years prosecuted
and convicted such criminals who
were in the executive branch of the
government so in my belief wa should
be given ample means to prosecute
them if found in the legislative branch.
T»
try demands 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
they are now, under the interior de
partment and policed by the army.
The congress should provide for sn
perintendents with adequate corps of
Yoseniite, is a great wonderland and ment Behind Them.
should be kept as a national play- I again renew my recommendation
ground. In both ail wild things should for postal savings banks, for deposit
te protected and the scenery kept ing savings with the security of the
wholly unmarred. government behind them. The object
I am happy to say that I have been
May 4, 1906, to urge the passage of
some law putting alcohoi used in the
1
able to set aside in various parts of the wage earner and person of mod
toe country small, well chosen tracts erate means. In fourteen states the
of ground to serve as sanctuaries 8nd deposits in savings banks as reported
nurseries for wild creatures. to the comptroller of the currency
arts, industries and manufactures upon 'homing conclusively that there are
the free list-that is. to provide for the
.withdrawal free of tax of alcohol!
which is to be denatured for those S1™
It forbids bun from preventing frauds
upou the customs service, from inves
tigating irrogu Ian ties in branch miuts
and assav oilices. aud has seriously
crippled him. it prevents the prouio-
tion operates ouly to the advantage of
the criminal, ol the wrongdoer.
The chief argument in favor of the
provision was thai the congressmen
did not themselves wish to be investi
gated by secret service men. Very
little of such investigation has been
done in the past, but it is true that the
work of the secret service agents was
gressman for land frauds in Oregon.
I do not believe that it is in the public
Interest to protect criminals in any
But if this Is not considered desirable
many
,0^a»ties
where
8aTlng8-
18
kePl
Ir Is
of progress and is entitled to fur- instrumentality of the postal sav-
1
^tofficw*
of
It has been my purpose from the be- establishaieDt of a local parcel post
1
eighteen agencies were left on the routes In not to exceed four counties
rosier. With two exceptions, where in the United States for packages of
some lejrnl questions seemed to srand fourth clas* matter originating on a
temporarily in the wny. these have rural route or at the distributing post
been changed to superintendencies and office for delivery by rural carriers. It
their heads brought into the classified would seem only proper that such an
civil service. experiment should be tried in order to
Secret Service.
I.ast year au amendment was Incor-
1
porated in the measure providing 'or *er S^neral estimates that the revenue
Tlie secret service which provided that'
derlved
8ysle™
It Is not too much to say that this Education.
amendment has been of benefit only,! The share that the national govern-
1 I M. 1 I
and could be of benefit only, to the I ment should take in the broad work of
criminal classes. If deliberately ln- education hns not received the atten
troduced for the purpose of diminish- tlon and the care it rightly deserves.
Ing the effectiveness of war agai-t The immediate responsibility for the
crime It could not have been better de- support and improvement of our edu
vised to this end. It forbade the prac- catlonal systems and Institutions rests
een ft,.lowed to a aud should always rest with the people
promoter^ "CeTe 'pra^ice/'have'! wa^estabiiT',
cnu development a mi 10 assiuiilntcnnd to no oat' e.\itv..u..: u* iti.v-so i-riuiiu.ita. educukiuuai list' nation. tlie fisheries in ilie interstate waters.
use tlie cent ml fuels about
HtrcaiDH.
a special exception could be made ln I the congress upon this subject.
the law prohibiting the use of the
secre,t wr\lct?
force ln
^^Sfting
t&T betteI" t0 th,S thaD t0 what
actually was done aud strive to pre
vent or at least to hamper effective ac
tion against criminals by the executive
branch of the government.'
THE PEOPLE'S SAVINGS.
6»«nt.
is to encourage thrift and economy in
Denatured Alcohol. amount to $3,590,245,402, or 98.4 per
I had occasion in my message of
ceDt of the entire
tbe
are
on'J"
deposits, while in
remaining thirty-two states there
S70.30S.543. or 1.6 per cent,
in the United States
t0 the
bei^red that ln the aggregate •.*
Tast snms of
cohol as intended is making a fair de- brought into circulation through the
^hich
are
are now in operation in practically all
the great civilized countries with the
exception of the United States.
P*rcel Port.
In my last annual message I com
mended
the postmaster general's rec-
ommendation for an extension of the
i-
Service From Politics. parcel post on the rural routes.
stronghold of politics in that service fullest practicable extent. An amend- lives of hogs and of cattle than
was the agency system, which had ment was proposed in the senate at human beings. The first legisla
seen its best days and was gradually the last session at the suggestion of
falling to pieces from natural or pure- the postmaster general providing that concentration of the proper bureaus
ly evolutionary causes, but, like all f°r the purpose of ascertaining the
for larger constructive work on behalf and directed to experiment and report Government Printing Office.
of the Indians preparatory to their in- to the congress the result of such ex- I recommend that legislation be en
ductlon into tbe full measure of re- periment by establishing a special local acted placing under the jurisdiction of
sponsible citizenship. On Nov. only parcel post system on rural delivery the department of commerce and la-
proposition, especially as tbe poetmas-
from the operation of such a
on all the rural routes would
Bmo'ant
to many million dollars.
iucb
,u
cause of
country."
wori-
r«n w'th
our and seriously hampers the govern- through its broader field of activities. on the great lakes ve are now. under
ment iu the detection of crime and the irs wiccr opportunity for obtaining in- very wise treaty of April 11 01
tion of employees in the secret service, the educational growth of the country,
go forward under the best possible I Partly responsible for the indictment work authorized, and it is unfair to taken complete charge of them by in
plan and with the least possible delay, and conviction of a senator and a con- the great educational interests of the tervening between Oregon aud Wash
,We should have a new type of work
and a new organization for planning
and directing it: The time for playing
(J
8
bUrCaU
^UCatl°n
of justice. Moreover, it not formation from nil the states aud from this year, endeavoring to come to an
only affects departments outride of foreign countries. is able 10 do that international agreement for the preser
the treasury, but it lends to hamper
tlie secretary of the treasury himself
in the effort to utilize the employees
of his department so as to best meet
and this further discourages goad ef- The appropriations for the geuera! tection to the fisheries on the one hand
fort. In its present form the restric- work of the bureau, outside education
in Alaska. for the year 1W9 are but
SS7."i00. an amount less than they
were ten years ago. aud some of tli?
amount which is so inadequate as to
country to deprive them of the value
of the results which can be obtained
by proper appropriations.
1
Census.
what can
people to deposit their
The re8U,t 13 that
In
hiding and unemployed,
savings banks reporting to the comp- food
troller, there are more than 61.000 other sources, such as the menace to Vtoved our faith by our deeds. Wo
money the physical, mental and moral devel-'
cb[Idre?
wulch not rveu the richest states can vatiou and satisfactory use of the flsb
uo and with the distinct additional ad- erics of these waters which cannot
vantage that the information thus ob otherwise be achieved, l.ake Erie, for
tained is used for the immediate ben- example, has the richest fresh water
With the limited means hitherto pro- controlled by the statutes of two ntt'
vided the hiiieau of education has reu- tjons. four states and one province, and
derod efficient service, but the con jn j^is province by different ordinances
gross has neglected to adequately sup ia
nation.il educational office be remedied tlon of any kind adequate in degree
accomplished with a bet-
efficient opportunity is not tw organization than at present exists, aa^^tion of he Uaskan fu- se,i
money! CHIRRING RIIR HFAITU
uu"
money, would be Dangers From Food Adulteration!
I
411(1
banks. While there are only 1.453 The
1
known to be preventable which are
nevertheless not prevented. The re
cent International congress on tuber-
c°'osis
bas made us
tbe
lnadequacy
—.<p></p>The
I hpfllth 1oriall inn Th^o nnfriysvt /inn
health
no* a^ord
demonstrate the practicability of the I ployees in this office and the expendl-
Soldien' Homes.
All soldiers' homes should be placed
under tbe complete Jurisdiction and
conlro! of
ne
war department,
Independent Bureaus and Commissions
Economy and sound business policy
require that all existing independent!
bureaus and commissions should be!
priate executive departments. It is
information "as shall a of New Mexico and Arizona as states.
people of the United States ln the This should be done at the present ses
ablishment and maintenance of effl- slon of tbe congress. The people of
ent school systems and otherwise pro-i the two territories have made It evi-
tue
and hence^lH'6
education through- dent by their votes that they will not
This purpose ln no »-ome In as one state. Tbe only alter-
the educational native is to admit them as two. and I
'P. hut may i„. made 1 irust that this will he done without
«"»te8
by
fUl,0st'
aeuy.
niost
arcurate Interstate Fisheries.
Mnn nnH CM",,,*Inforuin- I I call tbe attention of the congress
feb Ion rogarding the to the Importance of the problem of
The Daily Gate City
fisheries in the world, but it is now
different
ply 'he bureau wish means to rneei jcaj divisions work at cross purposes,
aDj
jn
have
from chiId
should be met and overcome. There £°n®r?,ble
are numerous diseases which are now
his
legislation. This nation can-
to lag behind in the world-
BteP
practicability of establishing a special therefore urgently recommend the
lu its later stages. It seems clear that local parcel post system oa the rural P»««ge of a bill which shall author- conferee than any other gronp of
Its extinction had better be made final routes throughout the United States
to be taken is that for the
one
a
now. so that the ground can be cleared the postmaster general be authorized which shall best accomplish this end. j"
'he existing departments.
redistribution of the bureaus
bor the government printing office. At
present this office is under the com
bined control, supervision and admin
istrative direction of the president
and of the joint committee on printing
of the two houses of the congress. The
advantage of having the 4,069 em-
ture of tbe $5,701,377.57 appropriated
therefor supervised by an executive
department is obvious Instead of the
present combined supervision.
I
1
mlDi8tCr-
Statehood.
ti •«, a uu un- I advocate tbe immediate admission! should be the natural corol-
1
KlwraSat,Wikt
counties. All these polit-
no
an(j
important Items in these appropria- interstate waters of the United
tions are less than they were thirty
0j
make it Jui|ossible properly to do the the United States government had
I earnestly recommend that this un-. get. and the two legislatures have
fortunate state of affairs as regards the never been able to agree on joint ac-
case can they achieve pro-
justice to the localities and lndl-
vidvmls on the other. The case is
similar in Puget sound.
But the problem is quite as pressing
States.
years ago. It is an inexcusable waste Columbia river are now but a fraction
of public mouey to appropriate an
The salmon fisheries of the
what they were twenty-five years
Rg0
ncj what thev would be now if
iuv
I'MLHTL IHUVUI
by adequate appropriations. This rec- for the promotion of the fisheries. At as of
ommendation is urged by the repre- the moment the fishing on the Oregon
HLHLIIli
imvi
sentatives of our common schools and side is practicallv closed, while there
great state universities and the leading Is no limit on the Washington side of ""J ^""foreign'Seizure
educators, who all unite in requesting any kind, and no one can tell what nL h^rn^
hr^hiD nnnctrt«rnti«n nr,rt ht» .u
favorable consideration and action by the courts will decide as to the very
•'I
I strongly urge that the request of salmon reach the spawning grounds,
the director of the census in connection probably four years hcnco the
with the decennial work so soon to be fisheries will amount to nothing, and
begun bp complied with and that the
appointments to the census force be *^e associated or gill net fishermen
placed under the civil service law.
waiving tbe geographical requirements
as requested by the director of the cen
sus. The supervisors and enumerators
should not be appointed under the civil
service law for the reasons given by
the director. I commend to the con
gress the careful consideration of the
admirable report of the director of the
census, and 1 trust that his recom
mendations will be ndopted and imme
diate action thereon taken.
Redistribution of Bureau*.
It is highly advisable that there
should be Intel.igent action on the
part of the nation on the question of
preserving the health of the couutrv.
statutes under which this action and
nonaction result. Meanwhile very few
this
ington. During thes^ tweny-flve
years the fishermen of each state bave
naturally tried to take all they could ^{jin the shortest possible time make
comes from a struggle between
on tbe one hand and tbe
Through the practical extermination
in San Francisco of disease bearing I enough for"tbe congress^to control'
rodents our country has thus far es
caped the bubonic plague. This is but
one of the many achievements of
American health officers, and it shows
service should be vested in the bureau
of fisheries.
^ved and are behaving to-
fellows.
SOUTHERN NEIGHBORS.
painfully aware ..
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. It
offers today probably larger opportunl
TrflfiP nilPlnc rhn loaf*
es or
The work on the Panama canal Is
task of 9,1011
J"5*"' I*L°f
placed under the jurisdiction of appro-1 their rieht to fhe nn^rnf/ in'0*6 W!^ -#if^61
and re-1 ®nd S™™1"10
the pure-j
en- catioual work which'must not be "lost executive bodies under the control the ocean mail act of 1891 so that sat-
abled us to drive great lotteries out of and a duty which should no loneer Be of the president, and each such execu-1 ^factory American ocean mail lines Philippines have achieved what may
business aud secure a quarter of a neglected.
gUpervUi°"
of a cabinet
1
llshed. The creation of such steam-
T*
need of improving their condition and
developing their resources is urgent.
In recent years induLtrial conditions
upon the islands hc radically chang
ed. The importation of cooly labor
lias practically ceased, and there is
now developing such a diversity in
agricultural products as to make possi
ble a chauge iu the land conditions of
the territory so lliat an opportunity
may be given to the small landowner
similar to that on the mainland. To
aid these changes the national govern
ment must provide the necessary har
bor improvements on each island so
that the agricultural products can be
carried to the markets of the world.
The coastwise shipping laws should be
amended to meet the special needs of
the islands, and the alien contract la
bor law should be so modified in its
application to Hawaii as to enable
American and European labor to be
brought thither.
We have begun to improve Pearl
harbor for a naval base and to pro
vide the necessary military fortifica
tions for the protection of the islands,
but I cannot too strongly emphasize
tlie need of appropriations for these
purposes of such an amount as will
those is)amis
cond|tions'of
stralll
j^bor, *p wrongdoing and disorder. The Filipl-
raan would ,jehnve
tow«d
2:i
of American public Cordial Relations With Latin Amer* decide for themselves whether they
ica Much to Be Desired.
A»I
mnMt nn1
a
(. A™
U«S
SS
I
*he legitimate expansion of our
countries.
These countries will want
sr£^V,y
greased quan-
6
J.
tin.. „~.i Filipino people adrift we should bave
titles, and we shall correspondingly
!i JT* °l'r
We
VOyage of the 1,att,e
congress
practi-aliv impregnable,
It is useieag t0
Onoth,„i
owners of the
fishing wheels up the river. The fish
eries of the Mississippi, the Ohio and
the Potomac are also in a bad way.
For this there is no remedy except for
the United States to control and legis
late for the interstate fisheries as part
of the business of interstate com
merce. In this case the machinery
for scientific investigation and for con
trol already exists in the United
Staes bureau of fisheries. In this as
In similar problems the obvious and
simple rule should be followed of hav
ing those matters which no particular
state can manage taken in hand by the
United States, problems which, in the
seesaw of conflicting state legislatures
are absolutely unsolvable, are easy
'Fisheries and Fur Seal*.
The federal statute regulating inter
state traffic in game should be extend
ed to include fish. New federal fish
hatcheries should be established. The
fu'
F°reign
Other sources Preventable. between nations precisely as between
sea!
Affair*.
u»tlon'9
ion
the
foreign policy is based
theory that right must be done
1 1 S S 1
dangers to public health from A I body of individuals can escape tlie ne
adulreration and from many ten years we have In this matter
develop the industrial
islands and estab
supply for our na­
the
1
val and merchant fleets unless we in
sure. as far as human ingenuity can,
thing to be remembered wil
»ust
who aro
of
flcet'
later will be inevitable.
Hawaii.
I call particular attention to the
territory of Hawaii. The Importance
already shows that action sooner ov
nf la anrta A* «in«)
ith all
our fortifications is that It is almost
useless to make them impregnable
from the sea if they are left open to
land attack. Tills Is true even of our
own coast, but it is doubly true of our
Insular possessions. In Hawaii, for
Instance, it is worse than useless to
establish a naval station unless we
establish it behind fortifications so
strong that no landing force can take
them save by egular and long con
tinued siege operations.
THE PHILIPPINES.
straint and has seemed in practical
fashion to realize the eternal truth
that there must always be government
and that the only way iu which any
Making Progress, but Not Yet Fit
ted For Self Government.
Iteal progress toward 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-1 Zealand and in all the states of South
ample afforded by the great empire of America the battle fleet has been re
Japan, it opens an entirely new de- ceived on Its practice vovage around
parture when compared with anything
1 I \\Uy IU litUU Ull
ce8sltT of b(?ln„ covprned
,by
)v ollt*„lpr8
is to show that they are able to re-
no p^ople.'through their officials, are
desire to be an independent nation.
But It is well for them, and well also
that seif KOvernment
being done with a speed, efficiency must help the Filipinos to master the I sldcr general unfitness to command for
and entire devotion to duty which difficult art of self control, which is
1
1
make it a model for all work of the, simply another name for self govern- more rigid enforcement than at nres-
th?,charncter whI
again recommend the extension of Per c°nstitutl°iif 111 In any wise werve
a
tlve body should lie under the Immedl- to South America. Asia, the Fhllip-! legitimately be called a marvelous sue- at present, and one-third of the other
cesslty of being governed outsiders Executive's Views on the Army, the
Navy and the National Guard.
As regards the army, I call attention
themselves to keen down
therefore making real steps In the dl- I
rection of self government. I hope I
..... ...y.uvl, uciame
must depend upon the Filipinos them
selves. All we can do is to give them
the opportunity to develop the capaci
ty for self government. If we had fol
lowed the advice of the foolish doc
trinaires who wished us at any time
during the last ten years to turn tbe
shirke(1
e™ftlo"a
,ho
PUF
have to exchange for their goods. It
Is an international Institution support
ed by al! the governments of the two
Americas.
Panama Canal.
to
th*
the
I and believe I hat these steps mark the seniority results in bringing into the
beginning of course which will con
tlnue till the Filipinos became fit to
u.
plnInesL posslblo dutv nn(]
W
dependence us a fixed and definite
policy, it would be worse than folly
to try to set down such a date ln ad
vance, for it must depend upon the
way ln which the Philippine people
themselves develop the power of Bell
mastery.
Porto Rico.
1 again recommend that American
citizenship be conferred upon tbe peo
ple of Porto Rico.
Cuba.
ln Cuba our occupancy will cease in
about two months' time. The Cubans
have ln orderly manner elected their
own governmental authorities, and the
Island will be turned over to them.
Our occupation on this occasion has
lasted a little over two years, aud Cuba
has thriven and prospered under it.
Our earnest hope and one desire is
that the people of the Island shall now
govern themselves with Justice, so that
peace and order may be secure. We
will gladly help them to this end, but
I would solemnly warn them to re
member the great truth that the only
way a people can permanently avoid
being governed from without is to
show that they both can and will gor
ern themselves from within.
Japanese Exposition.
The Japanese government has post
poned until 1917 the date of the great
international exposition, the action be
ing taken so as to insure ample time
in which to prepare to make the ex
position all that It should be made.
The American commissioners have
visited Japan, and the postponement
will merely give ampler opportunity
for America to be represented at the
exposition. Not since the first inter
national exposition has there been one
of greater importance than this will
be, marking as it docs tbe fiftieth an
niversary of the ascension to the
throne of the emperor of Japan. Tbe
extraordinary leap to a foremost place
among the nations of the world made
by Japan during this half century is
something unparalleled in all previous
history. This exposition will fitly
commemorate and signalize tbe giant
progress that has been achieved. It
is tbe first exposition of its kind that
has ever been held in Asia. The Unit
ed States because of the ancient
friendship between tbe two peoples,
because each of us fronts on the Pa
cific and because of the growing com
mercial relations between this country
and Asia, takes a peculiar interest in
seeing the exposition made a success
in every way.
I take this opportunity publicly to
state ray appreciation of the way In
which in Japan, ln Australia, ln New
the world The
which has happened among Asiatic cannot too strongly express Its appre
powers which are their own masters.
ciatlon
Hitherto this Philippine legislature hospitality shown our ships in every
has acted with moderation and self re-,
tjjey
American* government
of the abounding and generous
visited.*'
MILITARY AFFAIRS.?
$1*
fact that, while our junior offl
cers and
enlisted men stand very high,
present system of promotion by
higher grades mauy meu of mediocre
capacity who have but a short, time to
rerve. No man should regard it as bis
vested right to rise to the highest rank
In the army any more than in any oth-
depends and I standpoint of the service aud the na-
..
nreau have inflicted a lasting wrong upon .• iu™™ mining uu iuc grouuu tnar
American republics is doing a the Filipino people. We bave acted in they were the oldest people In its em
*1,7 making these nations exactly the opposite spirit. We have P'oyment. Vet this is the course advo
resources better known to given the Filipinos constitutional gov- cated as regards the army and re-
ll8!.£ in acquainting them not only i! emment. a government based upon quired by law for all grades except
poses toward theiu. but with what We have governed them for their good and of fact, all of the best officers In the
not for our aggrandizement. highest ranks of the army are those
At the present time, as during the who have attained their present posl
past ten years, tbe inexorable logic of tlon wholly or ln part by a process of
facts shows that this government must I selection.
be supplied by us and not by them. The scope of retiring boards should
Justice, and we have shown that we those of general officer. As a matter
tlon of refusing to promote respectable
elderly incompetents. The higher
places should be given to the most de
serving men without regard to senior
ity. At least seniority should be treat
ed as only one consideration. In the
stress of modern industrial competi
tion no business firm could succeed If
those responsible for Its management
be wise and generous. We be extended so that they could con-
I
magnitude has ment. But we ennnot give them self ent in the elimination of officers for
ever before been undertaken by any government save iu the sense of gov- mental, physical or temperamental
nation, and no task of the kind has erning them so that gradually they disabilities. But this plan Is recom
ever been better performed. The men may, if they arc able, learn to govern mended only If the congress does not
on the 1st.itnus, from Colonel Goethals themselves. Under the preseat system I see fit to provide what ln my Judg
and his fellow commissioners through of just laws and sympathetic admin- ment is far better-that Is, for selec-
ftrat °n reason to be- tlon In promotion and for elimination
Krnduallr
substitute. Our people In the
if, 1 Pr°m°!lons
It should precede the opening of the sary purpose to serve tliein disinter- posed for each vacancy bv a board of
Panama canal. Even under favorable estedly nnd iu good faith. 1 trust that officers from the arm of the nervw
conditions several years must elapse
before snch lines can be put Into oper- rive when the Philippines can decide made. A bill Is now before the
•tlon. Accordingly I urge that the themselves whether It Is well for gress having for Its obiect to «ec,.r«
ress act promptly where foresight •hem
t0
!Inne u,Klcr
Jnd
1fr'Sln'f^S
any cause in order to secure a far
n!?e.
"t'Hilrlng 'or
the American people, self government and for which, If it be retired. For Instance, If a man
have any I Ocean Mail Line*. be lacking, no system of laws, no pa- should not attain field rank by the
8ho"Id
which marks on the part of those in tlon. the selection to be made by the
authority both the necessnry under- president or the secretarv of war from
standing of the people and the ncces-' a list of at least two candidates pro-
within a generation the time will ar- from which the nromotinn to kI
become independent or to con- the promotion of offl™™
the protection of a strong grndL treason a 1 n^«
disinterested power, able to guar process of se^t J1
protection
?r(*er
at
hon,°
protectlon from foreign Invasion. But ment with percentage
..
TUESDAY, DEC. 8, 19Q8.
that should be done, is a inn
the right direction,
OCICL-
Officers who fall to attain a
lies at the basis of certain rank by a certain age should
time he" Is forty-five he should of
course be placed on the retired list.
General officers should be selected as
"e made by selec-
V,lr,°'18a
reasonable ages through
cers. of the least efflcien"*"-
least efficient for retlre-
percentage of their pay
jn
length of service
to consider In- bin. aithongh not accomplish!^ all
•""P S.}*
aild
step
recommend Its passage or tha^111
more completely effective weal*
CaValry arm
sary that the field officers ,i
be old. The cavalry ?d
riiin,.,u ..
Especial attention" should be^paiSl
development of the machine
generai service corps should be estak
llshed. AR thinoo
A bill Is now pending before the
congress creating a number of extra
officers in tbe army, which, if pawed
as it ought to be, will enable more of
ficers to be trained as Instructors ol
national guard and assigned to that
duty. In ense of war it will he of the
utmost importance to have a large
number of trained officers to use for
turning raw levies Into good troops.
There should be legislation to pro
vide a complete plan for organiz
ing the great body of volunteers be- I
hind tbe regular army and national
guard when war has come. Congres-'
sional assistance should be given those
who are endeavoring to promote rifle
practice, so that our men. lu the serv
ices or out of them, may know how to
use the rifle. While teams represent
ing the United States won the rifle
and revolver championships of the
world against all comers in England
this year, It Is unfortunately tnie
that the great body of our citizens
shoot less and less as time goes on
To meet this we should encourage
rifle xractlce among schoolboys and
indeed among all classes, ss well as
ln the military services, by every
means ln our power. Thus, and
not otherwise, may we be able to as
sist ln preserving the peace of the
world. Fit to hold our own against
the strong nations of the earth, our
voice for peace will carry to the ends
of the earth. Unprepared and there
fore unfit, we must sit dumb and help
less to defend ourselves, protect oth
ers or preserve pence. The first step
in the direction of preparation to
avert war if possible and to be fit for
war if it should come—is to teach onr
men to shoot.
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
colliers 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 squndron. The four vessels
proposed will form the second divi
sion. It will be an improvement on
the first, the ships being of the heavy,
single caliber, all big gun type. All
the vessels should have the same tac
tical qualities—that is. speed aud turn
ing circle and as near as possible
these tactical qualities should be the
same as is in the four vessels before
named now being built.
I most earnestly recommend that the
general board be by law turned into
a general staff. There is literally uo
excusc whatever for continuing the
present bureau organization of the
navy. The naTy should be treated a'
a purely military organization, and
everything should be subordinated to
the one object of securing military
efficiency. Such military efficiency can
only be guaranteed In time of war If
there is the most thorough previous
preparation ln time of peace—a prepa
ration, I may add, which will In all
probability prevent any need of war.
The secretary must be supreme, and
he should have ns his official ad
visors a body of line officers who
should themselves have the power to
I pass upon and co-ordinate all th®
work and all tbe proposals of the ser
I eral bureaus. A system of promotion
by merit, either by selection or by
exclusion or by both processes, should
be Introduced. It Is out of the ques
tion, if the present principle of promo
tion by mere seniority Is kept, to ex
pect to get the best results from the
higher officers. Our meu come too
old and stay far too short a time lo
the high command positions.
Two hospital ships should be pro
vided. The actunl experience of the
hospital ship with the fleet in the F«
clflc has shown the Invaluable
I which such a ship does and has also
proved that it Is well to have It kept
under the command of a medical offi
cer. As was to be expected, all of tbs
anticipations of trouble from such a
command have proved completely base
less. It is absurd to put a hospital
ship under a line officer as It would b«
to put a hospital on shore under
[failure t«
King
should
arm in which
ry 18
both in efflciencv nnH i„ ~tr^,lmois'
hurry,
artiller
both in efficiency and In strZ^T
it cannot be made in a hun^' !'l
present both infantry and artniL
too few In number for our
bett
standpot
be
ttot'n
ixed upon modern lines
ruL
it is peculiar
11
^dlnery.
experieuc
would ha
,ln,
much
»ot
I
difficult to form than infantrv"
flihmilri ha flUd [jI
should be kept up to tin
ltl
*ed
thc,
E»rlcan I)e01
cratifi^1
pent eond
k*n
by this
jflprovcroc
im this alrer
believe
dee in
e8wb-
llshed. As things are now
thV..
age soldier has far too much labol
a nonmilltary character to perform
National Guard.
Now that the organized mllltl.
national guard, has been IncorporaS
with the army as a part of the nation
al forces it behooves the governmen,
to do every reasonable thing in
power to perfect its efflcicucv
should be assisted in its instructlot
and otherwise aided more liberal"
than heretofore. The continuous sen,
Ices of many well trained regular of
fleers will be essential in this conaw
tion. Such officers must be specially
trained at service schools best to quail
fy them as instructors of the national
guard. But the detailing of officer
for training at the service school*
and for duty with the national guard
entails detaching them from their reit
iments which are already greatly dl
pleted by detachment of officers for
assignment to duties prescribed bj
acts of the congress.
tU
trage
of oh!
enlisted
case in out
stfltcmor
cra
tiike"
st
be a res
those i'1
jcli I have
ltd to tbos
service,
full beni
rj]
school
Is absurd
men as ei
years in
as at pr
jiocntnl
the acadcr
should
•e as pelt
llty to (Us
ool'd be a
the line,
lading sho
indlng nt
jtnrs shot!
nml eac
jred to gi
only fro
formed 1
least
•d to be
UBS Is c~
Till
White
SUCB(
a command. This ought to bave^iiee#