; t i t ;. y
; 1. lis.: r it i i t' i-
ve 1 n l. ,::.
. '. ; s tr la peace
rui c:k'cnt!y the duties ur-
r.;rril upon t'.io breaking out
;.r.
"1 he melical corps should be much
1 ::;:.t than the needs of onr regular
tmy In war. let at present It is
smaller than the needs of the service
.demand even in peace. The Spanish
w ar occurred less than ten years ago.
The chief loss we suffered in It was
by disease among the regiments which
never left the country. At the' mo
ment the nation seemed deeply Impress
ed by this fact, yet seemingly it has
already been forgotten, for not1 the
slightest effortbas been made to pre-
I pare a medical corps of sufficient size
to prevent the repetition of the same
disaster on a much larger scale if we
should ever be engaged in a serious
conflict The trouble in tbe Spanish
war was not with the then existing
officials of tbe war department; it was
with the representatives of the people
as a whole who for the preceding thir
ty years bad declined to . make the
necessary provision for the army.' Un-
. less ample provision is now made by
congress . to - put the I medical corps
where It should be put disaster In the
' next war Is inevitable, and the respon
aibility will not lie with those then In
charge of the war department, but
with those who now decline to make
the necessary provision, A well or-J
ganlzed , medical , corps, thoroughly
trained before the advent of war la
v all tbe Important administrative duties
, of a' military sanitary corps, Is essen
tial to the efficiency of any large army,
"and especially of a large volunteer
army. Such knowledge of medicine
and surgery as la possessed by the
, medical profession generally will not
alone suffice to make an efficient mill
' tary surgeon. He must have, in addi
tion, knowledge of the administration
and sanitation of large field hospitals
: end camps In order to safeguard tbe
I.L 1 M a . . . . J
; jieauu uu iive w men intrusieq ta
great numbers to bis care. A bill bas
long been pending before the congress
I or ine reorganization or The medical
corps. Its passage Is urgently needed.
- But the medical department la not
. the only department for which Increas
ed provision should be. made. The rate
of pay for the officers should bey great
ly Increased. There Is no higher type
- of citizen than th American remilnr
--v
officer, and he should have a fair re
ward for his admirable work. There
should be a relatively even greater ln-
crease In tbe pay for the enlisted men.
i In especial provision should be made
for establishing . grades equivalent to
those of wan-ant officers in the navy
, which should be open to the enlisted
men who serve sufficiently long nnd
who do their work well. Inducements
should be offered sufficient to encour
age really good men to make tbe army
1 It life occupation. The prime need of
our present army is to secure and re
tain competent noncommissioned offl-
. cers. This difficulty rests fundamcntal-
ij:vu me !ueniiuu ui jbj. me un-
commissioned officer does not corre
spond with na unskilled laborer. Ho
, corresporffls to the best type of skilled
workman or to the subordinate official
In civil Institutions. Wages hare grent-
' As Increased In outside occupations In
the Inst forty years, and the pay of tbe
soldier, like the pay of the officers,
should be proportfonately Incrensed.
The first sergeant of a company. If a
good man, must lie ono of such execu
tive nnd administrative ability and
such knowledge of his trade as to bo
worth far more than we at present pay
hfon. The same Is true of the regimen
tal sergeant major. These men should
I men who had fully resolved to
make the army a life occupation, and
they fhould be able to look forward to
ample reward, while only men proper
ly Qualified should be given a chance
- to secure these final rewards. The In
crease over the present pay need not
be great In the lower grades for the
first one or two enlistments, but the
increase should I marked for the non
commissioned officers of the tipper
grades who serve long enough to make
It evident that they Intend to stay per-
' maneutly In the army, while additional
pay shonld be given for high quallflt a-
tions in target practice. The position
of warrant officer should be establlsh-
" ed, and there should be not only au In
crease of pay, but an increase of prlrl-
. leges and allowances and dignity, so
as to make the grade open to noncom
missioned officers capable of filling
them desirably from every standpoint.
The rate of desertion In our army now
la time of peace is alarming. The de
, serter should be treated by public opin
ion as a man guilty of tbe greatest ;
crime, while, ou the other hand, the 1
man who serves steadily In the army j
' should be treated as what he Is that '
Is, as pre-eminently one of the best cit
izens of this republic. After twelve
years service In tbe army my own be
; lief is1 that the man should be given a
, preference according to his ability for
certain types of office over all civilian
.. nijfinauta ttiuivui cAfliuiuauuu, xuia
should also apply, of coume, to the
men who have served twelve' years in
the navy. A sjtccial corps should be
provided to do the manual labor now
. necessarily demanded of the privates
themselves.
. PROMOTION IN ARKY.
Above tbe Rank of .Major it Should Be
.' " , t ; by Selection.
Among tbe officers there should be
' severe examinations to weed out the
unfit up to the grado of major. , From,
that position on appointments should
v be solely by selection, and it should be
understood that a man of merely aver-
, age capacity could never get beyond
the position of major, while every man
bo serves In any grade a certain
length of llrae prior to promotlou.to
the next grade without getting tbe pro
.' motion to the next grade should be
forthwith retired. The practice marches
and field maneuvers of the last two or
three years have been Invaluable to the
army. They should be continued and
extended. A rigid and not a perfunc
t rv eramlniMnn of physical capacity
1 i
1 i-'v v-.lforXe !!ib-x.i'is
( v. ;! v.-: v, ; ... I
t r 1 , i a - ', l; '. , e. i-alr:-
he . l : ....! l.;.r," :.:,, r: ' v. '.! ::: !
walk fairly, I;e Is not fit f.r nny por
tion even cfter he has become a colo
nel. .Before he bas become a colonel
the need for physical 'iitness In the of
ficer Is almost as great as lu the en
listed man. I ljpe speedily to see In
troduced Into the army a far more rigid
and thoroughgoing test Of horseman
ship for all field officers than at pres
ent There should be a chief of cav
alry Just as there is a chief of artillery.
Perhaps the most Important of all
legislatlou needed for the benefit of the
army la a law to equalize and Increase
the pay of officers and enlisted men of
the army, navy, marine corps and reve
nue cutter service; . Such a bill has
been prepared, whleh It is hoped will J
meet with your favorable considera
tion! The next most essential measure
Is to authorize a number' of extra of
ficers as mentioned above." 'To make
the army ; iaiore attractive to enlisted
men It Is absolutely essential to create
a service corps, such as exists In near
ly every modern army In the world, to
do the skilled ahd unskilled labor In
separably connected with military ad
ministration, which ; is now exacted
without Just compensation, of enlisted
men who voluntarily entered the army
to do service of an altogether different
kind There , are a number ; of "mother
laws necessary to so organize, the army
as to promote Its' efficiency and facili
tate Its rapid expansion in ' time of
war, but the above are tha most Im
portant. ;
URGER NAY? NEEDED.
Appropriation For four New Battleships
Strongly Recommended. V
It was hoped The Hague conference
might deal with the question , of tbe
limitation of armaments, bat even be
fore It bad assembled Informal In
quiries bad developed that as regards
naval armaments, the only bues ill
which this country had any Interest. It
was hopeless to try to devise any plan 1
for which there was the' slightest pos
sibility of securing the assent of the
nations gathered at The Hague. No
plan was even proposed which would
have had the assent of more than one
first class power outside of the United
States. The only plan that seemed at
all feasible, that of limiting tbe size
of battleships, met with no favor at
all. It is evident, therefore, that it Is
folly for this nation to base any hope j
of securing peace on any international
agreement as to the limitation of nrmn- j
meuts. Such being the fact, it would
be most unwise for us to stop the up
building of our navy. To build ono
battleship of the best and most ad-
vanced type a year would barely keep
our fleet up to Its present force. This t be fit to be captains and but three or
is not enough. In ray judgment, we ! four to be admirals. Those who ob
should this year provide for four bat- j ject to promotion otherwise than by
tleshlpH. Hut it is Idle to build battle-
ships unless lnaddltlon to providing
the men and tho means for thorough
training we provide the auxiliaries for
tnem, unless we provide docks, mo
coaling statlous, the colliers and supply
ships that they need. We nro extreme-
ly deficient in coaling stations and
docks on the Ff clfic. and this deficien
cy should not loiiger be permitted to
exist, rienty of torpedo boats and de
stroyers should be built, lloth on tbe
Atlantic and Pacific coasts fortifica
tions of the best type should be 'pro
vided for all ouV greatest harbors.
We need always to remember that
In time of war the navy Is not to be
used to defend harbors and Beacoast
cities. We should porfeet our system j message and In a special messnga to
of coast fortifications. Tho only eftl-j the last congress the necessity for leg
clent use for the navy Is for ofTenHe. ltiatton that will cause officers of the
The only way in which It can efficient-1 Hue of the navy to reach the grades
ly protect our own coast ngnliist the j of captain and rear admiral at less ad
possible action of a foreign unvy is by I vanced ages and which will cause them
destroying that foreign unvy. For de- j to have more sea 'training and ex
fense against a hostile fleet which nc-; perlence in the highly responsible du
tually attacks them the const cities j ties of those grades, so that they may
must depend upon their forts, mines, j become thoroughly skillful In handling
torpedoes, submarines nnd torpedo; battleships, divisions, squadrons nnd
boats and destroyers. All of these to-i fleets In action, has been fully explaln
gother are efficient for defensive pur-! pA Hud .urgently recommended. Upon
poses, but they in no way supply the; this subject the secretary of the navy
place of a thoroughly efficient' navy! hns submitted detailed nnd definite
capable of acting on the offensive, for ' recommendations which have received
parrying never yet won a tight. It can my approval and which if enacted In
only bo won by hard hitting, and an to law will accomplish what Is lmme
aggresRive seagoing navy alone can do : dintely necessary and will, as couipnr
thls hard hitting of the offensive -type. ! i with existing law, make a saving
But the forts and the like are neees-: of more than $5,000,000 during the next
sary, so that the navy may be foot, seven years. The navy persouncl net
We. In time of war there is sure to ; 0f im has accomplished all that was
be demand under pressure of fright for expected of It In providing satisfactory
the ships to be scattered so as to de-, periods or servlee In the several sub
fend all kind of ports. Under penalty 1 ordinate grades, from the grado of en
of terrible disaster this demand must 1 K j0 the grade of lieutenant coin
be refused. The ships must le kept j mander. but tho law Is inadequate In
together and their objective mnde the the upper grades nnd will continue to
enemy's fleet. If fortifications are auf- i t,e adequate ou account of the ex
flclently. strong no modern nnvy will! panslon of the personnel since Its en
venture to attack tbem So long ns the ctnient. Your attontlou is Invited to
foe has in existence a hostile navy of; tne following quotations from the re
anything like the same slzo or efflclen-, of thc personucl board of 1900, of
cy. x But unless there exists such a ; Which the assistant secretary of the
navy then the fortifications are power.) DaVy was president:
less by themselves to secure the vie- j "Congress hag authorized a consldcr
tory, forjjf course the mere deficiency a,,e nr,aso In the number of mld
means that any renoluto enemy can Uhlpmen at the Naval academy, and
at his leisure corabino all bis forces tbeK, midshipmen upon graduation are
upon one pomi wun tne certainty mat ;
be can take it.
Until our buttle fleet Is much larger
than at present It should never be split
Into detachments so far apart that they
could not In event of emergency be
speedily united. Our coast line is on
the Pacific Just ns much ns on the At
lantic. The interests of California,
Oregon and Washington nro as em
phatically the interests of the whole
Union as those of Maine and New
York, of Louisiana and Texas. The
battle fleet should now and thert be
moved to tbe Pacific, Just ns at other
times It should be kept In the Atlantic.
When the Isthmian canal Is built the
transit of the battle fleet from one
ocean to the other will be comparative.
Iy,caay, v Until tt is built I earnestly
hope that the battle fleet will be thus
shifted between the two oceans every
year or two. The marksmanship ou
all our ships has Improved phenoroe
nally flaring tbe last five years Until
within the Jat two or three years It
ot twaajbli'-tw train ft battle fleet
fa squadron maneuver under service
condition end it hj only during these
last two or three years that the train.
Ing tmder thew conditions has beeome
1. T I ' ; ; ; . r t : i i.'--
r..: It !' ' : ;t f ::au t i
visit the Fad:"..: i t. f;st..-a lat
tlcshlps are g'.'ixtg m; lor ili cotumand
of Hear Admiral Uvaus, - while eight
armore-i cruisers and two other battle
ships will meet him tit Fan Frnncteco,
A hither certain torpedo destroyers nro
also going. No fleet of such size bas
ever made such a voyage, and It will
be of very great educational use to
all engaged In it. The only way by
which to teach officers and men how
to handle the fleet so as to meet every
possible strain and emergency in time
of war Is to have them practice under
similar conditions In time of peace.
Moreover, the only way to find out our
actual needs is to perform! In time of
peace whatever maneuvers might be
necessary In time of war. After war
is declared It la too late to find out the
needs. That means to Invito disaster.
This trip, to the Pacific will show what
some of bur needs are and will enable
us to provide for tbem. The proper
place for an officer to learn his duty la
at sea, snd the only way in which a
navy can ever, be made efficient Is by
practice at sea under all the. conditions
which would nave to be . met , If war
existed. - . ,
NAVAL PERSONNEL
Promotion ol Officers by Strict Seniority
Not a Good Principle.
, f bespeak the most liberal treatment
for the officers and enlisted men of
the navy, it is true of them, as like
wise of the officers and enlisted men
of the army, that they , form a body
whose Interests should be close to the
heart of f every good American. 0 In
return' the most rigid performance of
duty should be exacted from them.
The reward should be ample when
they do their best and nothing less
than their best should be tolerated. It
is idle to hoie for the best results
when the men In the senior grades
come to those grades late in, life ana
serve too short a time In them. Up to
the rank of lieutenant commander pro
motion in-the navy should be now5
by seniority, subject, however, Jo such
rigid tests as would eliminate the un
fit After the grade of lieutenant com
mander thut is, when we come to the
grade of command raukthe unfit
should be eliminated In such manner
that only . the conspicuously fit would
remain, and sea service should be a
principal test of fitness. Those who
are passed by should after a certain
length of service in their respective
grades be retired. Of a given number
of men It may well be that almost all
would make good lieutenants and
most of them good lieutenant com-
I mauders, while only a minority will
j mere seniority should reflect upon the
elementary fact that no business in
; private life could be successfully man
j-pged if those who enter at the lowest
rungs or tne ladder snouid eacn m
turn if be lived become the head of
j the firm, its active director, and retire
'after he had held tho position a few
months. On its face such a scheme is
an nbsurdlty. Chances for Improper
favoritism can be minimized by a
properly formed board, such as the
board of last June vAhleh did such con-
scleiitlous and excellent work In elim
ination.
If all that ought to be done cannot
now be done, at least let a beginning
be made. In my . last three annual
promoted to ensign and lieutenant (Jun-
lor grade). But no provision has been
made for a corresponding Increase In
the upper grades, the result being that
the lower grades will become so con
gested that a midshipman now. In one
of thc lowest classes at Annapolis may
possibly not be promoted to lieutenant
until be Is between forty-five and fffty
years of age, ' So It will continue un
der tbe present law, congesting at the
top and congesting at the bottom. The
couutry falls to get from the officers
of the servlc lhtf bes that is In lhcm
by not providing opportunity for their
normal development and training. The
board believes that this work n seri
ous detriment to ftje efficiency of the
navy and Is a real menace to the pub
lic safety.', - .
A Hated in my special message to
tbe last congress,. "I am firmly of the
opinion that unless the present condi
tion of the higher commissioned pe
sound is rectified by Judicious legisla
tion the future of our navy lll be
gravely compromised." It is fltao ur
gently necessary to Increase the effi
ciency of the medical , corps of the
navy, flpeclal legislation to this cm!
has already Jeen proposed, atid I trust
r .; t ; . ? .. ' . .1 V. . -'.
'l'L y d.. i..,t lf;-t tLe 1 . '1 cf f ;
roq-ii:.l:o to tnllJ a a- 1 it
tcl;es lonjr-T to traia t'-o tZ v .1
men to 'do well on' a battle: Lip than it
takes to build it. Nothing elective
can be done for the navy once war has
begun, and the result of the waf, If the
combatants are otherwise equally
matched, will depend upon which pow
er has prepared best In time of peace.
The United States navy is the best
guaranty the nation has that Its honor
and Interest , will not be neglected, and
In addition It offers by far the best
Insurance for peace that can by human
ingenuity be devised. 1 V ; ; - " ;
I call attention to the report of the
official board of visitors to the Naval
academy at Annapolis, which has been
forwarded to the congress. . The report
contains this paragraph; : - '
"Such revision should be made of tbe
Courses of study and methods of con
ducting and niarkfrg examinations as
wllFdeveJpp and bring out the average
faiiround7ab11itjr of the midshipman
rather than to give him prominence in
any one particular study. ..-vTheVfaot
should be kept In mind that the .Naval
academy is not a university, but a
school, the prlmarjr object of whtcfc Is
to educate boys to be efficient naval of
ficers. Changes In curriculum there4
fore, should be in tbe direction of mak
ing the course of Instruction less theo
retical and more practical. No portion
of any future class should be gradu
ated In advance of the full four years'
course, and under no circumstances
should the standard of Instruction be
lowered. The academy In almost all
of Its departments fcv now magnificent
ly equipped, and It would be very un
wise to make the course of instruction
less exacting than it is today."
Acting npon this suggestion, I desig
nated three seagoing officers, Captain
Kicbard ,Wainwrlght, Commander Rob
ert S. Griffin and Lieutenant Com
mander Albert L. Key,-all graduates
of the academy, to' investigate condi
tions and to recommend to me . the
best method of carrying Into effect
this general recommendation. . These
officers1 performed the duty promptly
nnd intelligently, and under the per
sonal direction of Captain Charles J.
Badger, superintendent of the acad
emy, such of the proposei changes as)
were deemed to be at present advis
able were put into effect at the begin
ning of tho academic jar, Oct 1 last
The results, I am confident, will be
most beneficial to the academy, to the
midshipmen and to tbe navy.
f Foreign Affairs.
In foreign aff alrf this ; country's
steady policy la to behave toward oth;
er nations as a strong and self respect
ing man should behave toward vthe
ether men with whom he is brought
Into contact. In other words, our aim
is disinterestedly to help other na
tlons where such help can be wisely
given without the appearance of med
dling with what does not concern us
to be careful to act as a good neigh
bor and at the same time In good na
tured fashion to make it evident that
we do not intend to be imposed upon.
THE HAOCE
What the Second International Peace
Conference Accomplished.
The second international peace con
ference was convened at The Hague
en the loth of June last and remained
in session until the 18th of October.
For the flrstr time the representatives
of practically all the civilized coun
tries of the Avorld united In a temper
ate and kindly discussion of the meth
ods by which the causes of war might
be narrowed and its injurious effects
reduced.
Although the agreements reached in
the conference did not in any direction
go to the length hoped for by the more
sanguine, yet In many directions Im
portant steps were taken, and upon
every subject on th programme there
was such full and considerate discus
sion as to justify the belief that sub
stantial progress ' has been made to
ward further agreements In the future.
Thirteen conventions were Agreed
upon,' embodying the definite conclu
sions which bad been reached, and res
olutions were adopted marking the
progress made In matters upon which
agreement was not yet ufflclently
complete to make conventions practi
cable,'. '
The delegates of the United . States
wero Instructed to favor an agreement
for obligatory arbitration, the estab
lishment of a permanent court of arbi
tration to ' proceed Judicially la the
hearing and decision of International
causes, the prohibition of force for tM
collection of contract debts alleged to
be due from governments to citizens of
other coun tries until after arbitration
as to the justice and amount of, the
debt and tbe time and manner of pay
ment, tbe Immunity of private proper
ty at sea, tho better definition, of, the
rights of ; neutrals; and. In case any
measure to that end should be lntfo
duced; the limitation of armaments.
In tbe field of peaceful disposal of In
ternational differences several Impor
tant advances were made. First as to
obligatory arbitration. Although tbe
conference; failed to secure a unani
mous agreement upon tbe details of a
convention for obligatory arbitration,
it did resolve as follows: .
"It Is ' unanimous (1) W accepting
the principle for obligatory arbitra
tion; (2) In declaring that certain dif
ferences, and notably those relating to
the . Interpretation aud .application of
International conventional stipulations,
are susceptible, of being submitted to
obligatory arbitration without Mf-.n-8trtet'6n.M
. , . : S-VHfe-':-;
Io view of tbe fact that as lt
of the discussion the Vote upon the
definite . treaty ;of obligatory arbitra
tion which was proposed stood 82 In
favor to 0 against the adoption of the
treaty there can be little doubt that
the great majority of the countries of
the world have reached a point where
they are now ready to apply practically
tha pi'ladplas thuj. unaulmuifty . greed,
tPnJthjjMjnerenco - v -. ,.
lt' ' j . ; 1 . . t , r -
j t i.i 1 r 1 . t r r - ' . 1..
i... I t t:.oi: . !u'.;-ja of t'.e t':..lAi::..-r-U'ua
conferenoa at F.io in the sa:a::wr
of 10C3. Tbo convention upon VZs
sutject adopted by the conference bud
Btantlally as proposed ty the American
delegates Is as follows: , .
"la order to avoid-between nations
armed conflicts of a purely pecuniary
origin arising from contractual debts
claimed of the government of one coun
try by the government of another coun
try to be due to Its nationals the sig
natory powers agree not to have re
course to armed force for the collec
tion ot such contractual debts. : '
"However, this stipulation shall not
be applicable when the debtor state
refuses or leaves unanswered an offer
to arbitrate or. In case of acceptance,
makes it impossible to formulate the
terms of submission or after arbitra
tion falls to comply with the award
rendered.,'. ,. vs v. - - . -
."It 1a further agreed that arbitration
here contemplated : shall be. In con
formity as to procedure with chapter
8 of the convention ; for the pacific
settlement :of t international disputes
adopted at The Hague and that it shall
determine in so far as there shall be no
agreement between the parties the jus
tice and tbe" amount of the debt, the
time and mode of payment thereof."
Such a provision would have prevent
ed much Injustice and extortion In the
past, and I cannot doubt that its effect
in the future will be most salutary, .
A third advance bas "been 'made' In
amending and perfecting the conven
tion of 1899 for the Voluntary aettle
ment of international disputes and par
ticularly tthe extension of those parts
of ; that convention which " relate to
commissions of Inquiry.' The existence
of those provisions enabled the govern
ments of Great Britain and Bussla to
avoid war notwithstanding great pub
lic excitement at the time of the Dog
ger bank-incident and the new conven
tion ' agreed upon . by the. conference
gives practical effect to thr experience
gained In that inquiry.
Substantial progress was also made
toward the creation of . a permanent
Judicial tribunal for the determination
of international causes. There was
very full discussion of the proposal for
such a court,1 and a general agreement
was finally reached In favor of its
creation. The conference recommend
ed to the signatory powers the adop
tion of a draft upon, which it agreed
for the organization of the, court, leav.
ing to be determined only the metMod
by which the judges should be select
ed. This remaining unsettled question
is plainly one which time and good
temper will solve., ' ''
A further agreement of tbe first im
portance was that for the creation of
an internationaT prlxe court The con
stitution, organization and ' procedure
of such a tribunal were provided for
In detail. Any one who recalls the in
justices under which this country suf
fered as a neutral power during the
early part of the last century cannot
fall to see In -this provision for an in
ternational prize court the great ad
vance which the world is waking to
ward the substitution of the rule of
reason and Justice in place of simple
force. Not only will the International
prize court be the means of 'projecting
the Interests of neutrals, but it is In
itself a step toward the creation of tho
more general court for the hearing of
International! controversies to which
reference has Just been made. The or
ganization -and action of such a prize
court cannot fail to accustom the. dif
ferent countries to the submission of
internatlonal questions to the decision anions existing in the other and act
of an International tribunal, and we lng upon the imitation of the German
ilia I.VUUUCUU JOVV hVBU.vi
such submission to bring about a gen
eral agreement upon tbe enlargement
of the practice. :
Numerous provisions were adopted
for reducing the' evil effects of war
and for defining the rights and duties
of neutrals. , .
. The., conference also provided fori
the holding of a third conference with
in a period similar to that which
elapsed between the first and second
conferences! V v-.
The delegates of the United States
worthily represented tbe spirit of the
American people and maintained with
fidelity and ability the policy of our
government upon all the great ques
tions discussed in the conference. -
The report of tho delegation, togeth
er with authenticated copies of the
conventions slgned,,when received will
be laid before the senate for ,Ua con'sld.'
eration. ;;r,;ft zX'i' (v; ,';T,:V ':v'; -'.;':'-'-
1 When we remember how difficult It
is tor one or our own legislative Doaies
composed of citizens of the same coun
try, speaking the ssme uinguage, llv
lng under the same laws and having
the same customs, to reach an agree
ment or even to secure, a majority up-J
on any difficult and important subject
which is proposed lor legislation It
becomes plain that the representatives
of forty-five different countries, Speak
ing many, different - languages, - accus
tomed to different; methods of proce
dure, with widely j diverse Interests,
who discussed so many different aub
Jects and reached agreements npon so
many, are entitled to grateful apprecia
tion for the wisdom, patience and mod
eratlon with which they hate discharg
ed their duty, yrhe example of this
temperate discussion , and the agree
ments and the efforts to agree among
representatives of all tne-natlons of
the earth, acting with universal recog
nition of tho supremo obligation to
promote pence, cannot fall to ' be a
powerful Influence for good in future
International relations. (
Cuba. '
-A year ago In consequence b'f a revo
lutionary movement In Cuba, which
threatened the Immediate ; return to
cbioi ot the island the United States
Intervened,' sending down an army and
establishing a provisional government
under Governor . Mflgoon. Absolute
quiet and prosperity have returned to
the Island because of this action. Wo
are now taking steps to provide for
elections In, the Island, and our.
pectatlua kUWMbe jpomlng yea.r .to
fee ablt?. turn tbojalaa.4 qveragaln
t:.:;t v-3 t. A i f . C : ;
t :.. lo j : ; , f :t t:
t":e:nr-tivc3 60 &i to Lrirj c-
der and rrosress to tl.uir IA;
t;.o
Queen of the, Antilles, and our only
interference lias been nnd will l,e to
help them achieve these results.
TOKYO ExrosmoN.
An Opportunity to. Display Oar TrlcrJ
ship For Japan. '
An invitation has been extended by
Japan to the government and people of
the United States to participate in a
great national exposition to be held at
Tokyo from April 1 to Oct 31, 1012,
and lu which the .principal , countries
of, the world are to be invited to take
part This la an occasion of special In-
terest to all the nations of the world
and peculiarly so to us,, for it is the ,
first Instance in which such a great na
tional exposition has been held by a
great power dwelling; on the Pacific,
and all the nations - ot Europe . and
America" will, I trust,, join In helping
to Success 1 this first great exposition
ever held by a great nation of Asia.
Tbe . geographical relations of Japan
and the United States as the possessors
of such large portions of the coasts of
the Pacific, the intimate trade relations
already existing between the two coun
tries, the warm friendship which has
been maintained between them with
out break since the opening .of Japan to
intercourse with the, western nations
and her increasing wealth and produc
tion, ; which we regard .with ; hearty .
good will and wish to make the occa
sion of mutually beneficial commerce,
all unite in making it eminently desir
able that this invitation should be ac
cepted. E I. heartily recommend , such
legislation as will provide ltt generous
fashion for the representation ot this
government and Its people in tho pro
posed, exposition. Action should be
taken now." We are apt to underesti
mate the time jnecessary for prepara
tion In such cases. The invitation to
the French exposition ot 1900' was
brought to the attention of the con
gress by President Cleveland in De
cember, 1895, and so many are the de
lays necessary to such proceedings that
the period of fouc years and a. half
which then Intervened before the ex
position proved none too long for the
proper preparation of the exhibits.
German Tariff Agreement. t
The adoption of a new tariff by Ger
many, accompanied by Conventions for
reciprocal tariff , concessions between
that country and most of the other,
countries of continental Europe, led
the German government to give the
notice necessary to terminate tbe re
ciprocal commercial agreement with
this country proclaimed July 13. 1900.
Tbe notice was to take effect on the
1st of March, 1906, and in .default of
some other arrangements this would
have left thexexports from the United
States to Germany subject to the gen
eral German tariff duties, from 25 to
50 per cent higher than the conven
tional duties imposed upojt; the goods
of most of our competitors for German
'trade.:''.- ; .--'. "f v-V;V '-'-v
Under a special agreement made be
tween the two-governments In Febra
ary, 1900, the German government
postponed the operation of their notice
until the 30th of June, 1907. In the
meantime, deeming It to be my duty to'
make every possible effort to prevent
a tariff war between the United States
and Germany arising from misunder
standing by either country of the con-
government, I sent to Berlicf a com-
mlsBlon composed of competent ex
perts in the operation and admlnistra-.
tlon of tbe customs tariff from the de
partments of the treasury and com
merce and labor. This commission was
engaged for several months In confer
ence with a similar commission ap
pointed by the -German government
under instructions so far as practica
ble to reach a, common understanding
as to all the facts regarding the tariffs
of the United States and Germany ma
terial and relevant to the trade rela
tions between the two .countries." The
commission reported, and npon the ba
sis of the report a further temporary
commercial agreement was entered in
to by the two countries, pursuant to
which In tbe exercise of the authority
conferred, upon the president , by the
third section of the tariff act of July
24, 1897, I extended the reduced tjarlff
rates provided for In that section to
champagne and ail other sparkling
wines and pursuant to which the Ger
man conventional or minimum , tariff
rates were extended to about 9C per1
cent of all the exports from the Unit,
ed States to Germany. This agree
ment Is to remain. In force until the
30th of June, 1908, and until six
months after notice by either party, to
terminate it -;'; y. :':"z 'C"h;z
The agreement and the report of the
commission on which it IS based will
be laid before the congress" f of Its in'
formation. v; Z Xz'X'Zv
i This careful examination into the tar
Iff relations between the United States
and Germany Involved an Inquiry Into
certain of pur methods of admlnistra
tlon which had been tbe cause of much
complaint on the part of German ex.
porters'. In this Inquiry I .became sat
isfied that certain vicious and unjusti
fiable practices had grown up In our
customs administration, notably the
practice of determining values of Im
ports upon detective reports never dis
tlosed to tbe .persons, whose Interests
Were affected. The use ot detectlvesv,
though often necessary, tends toward
abuse and should be carefully guard
ed.: Under our practice as 1 found it
to exist In the case the abuse had be
come 'gross and discreditable. Under
it Instead of seeking Information as to
tho market value of merchandise from
the well known and respected mem
bers of the commercial community lu
tbe country of its production secret
statements were obtained from inform
era and discharged empioyeesand busi
ness rivals, and upon this kmd of se
cruilcvldence " the yalueV of Jhinwl;!
l t l J l ( 1 l 1 1 1 ! 1
I t I cuuu ie It O I ' a ! ' 4 1 cf
law to exact more duties than t..a Uvr
provides,' Just as it is a violation to ik.
mit goods cpon the payment of less
than the t;il rate of duty. This prac
tice was repugnant to the spirit of
American law nnd to American eenre
of justice. : In the judgment of the
most competent experts of the treas
ury department and the department tV
commerce and labor it was wholly -.unnecessary
for the due collection of tho
customs revenues, and the attempt to ;
defend it merely illustrates the demor
alization which, naturally, follows from
a long ntinued course of reliance
upon, such methods, v J accordingly
caused the, regulations governing this
branch ' of the' custom service to be
modified so that values are determined
npon a hearing in which all, tbe par
ties interested have an opportunity to j
be heard and. to know.lhe evidence
against them. Moreoverour treasury.
agents , are accredited to . tne govern
ment, of the country in which' theyr
seek information, and In Germany re-'
ceive the assistance of the quasi offi-.
clal chambers of . commerce In deter
mining the ' actual' market value of
goods in accordance with what I am
advised to be the true construction of
thelaw. '? " "'''' ." v ""''
ROOTS VISIT TO, MEXICO.
.. ; - v ,.-,. ' '- . '- . . ... .' .: , ...
,":: PZ-A'jt:Z:!--h?v. ' , " l'iZ'- fi'is.
Evidences bf Our Cordial Relations With
1 r Our Southern. Neighbors.
On the .courteous Invitation of the
president of Mexico, the secretary of '
ber and October and was received ev
erywhere with the "greatest kindness'
and hospitality. 10 : z-CiS:zJz';
- Fie carried from th' ipOTernment of
the United' States to our southern
neighbor a message of respect and '
good will and of desire for better ac
qualntance and increasing' friendship.
The rMnnnM from th rnvmmont and
the people of Mexico was hearty and
sincere. No pains ; were ,spared to
manifest the most friendly attitude and
feeling toward tbe United 8tates.
In view of the close neighborhood of
the two countries the relations which
exist between Mexico1 and the United
States are Just cause for gratification. -We
nave a common boundary of over
1,500 miles from the gulf of Mexico to
the Pacific, ' Much of it Is marked'only
by , the shifting waters of the Jtlo
Grande- Many thousands of Mexicans
are residing upon our side of the Hue,
and it Is estimated that over 40,000
Americans are resident In Mexican ter
ritory and that American Investments
In Mexico amount to over $"00,000,000,
The extraordinary Industrial and com-"
merclal prosperity or Mexico has beeu
greatly promoted by American enter;
prise, and Americans , are sharing
largely;. In. its results. ,iTbe.ltrelfiu
trade of the republic already exceeds
$240,000,000 per -annum, and of this
two-thirds both of exports and Imports
m t f s t
are exchanged, with the United States.
Under these circumstances numerous
questions necessarily arise between tbe
two countries. These questions ore al
ways approached and disposed of In a
spirit of mutual courtesy and fair deal
ing. , Americans carrying on business
In Mexico testify uniformly to the
kindness and consideration with which
they are treated and their sense of tho
security of their property and enter
prises under the wise administration
of the great statesman who has so
long held the office of chief magistrate
of that republic. ' , -
The two governments have been unit
ing their efforts for a considerable time
past , to aid Central America in attain
ing the degree of peace and order
which, have njadeTSossible the pros
perity of the northern parts of the con
tinent After the peace between Guate
mala, Honduras and Salvador, celebrat
ed under the clrcum8tances'"described
in niy last message, a new war broke
out between the republics of Nicara.
gua, Honduras and Salvador; C The ef
fort to compose this new difficulty bas
resulted In the acceptance of the joint
suggestion of the presidents of Mexico
and of the United States for a general
peace conference between all the cpun.
tries of Central America. ( On the 1TW
day of September las a 'protocol was .
sighed between the representatives, of
five Central American countries ac
credited to this government agreeing
upon a conference , to be held, in tbe
city of Washington ,"ln order to devise
the ineane of preserving the good re
lations ". among tsald ; republics and
bringing' .about permanent peace In
those countries.' The protocol -" In
cludes the expression ' of a wish that
the presidents of the United States and
Mexico should appoint '"representatives
hi tcuu uiKu; kouu auu (uiiaiiwi uujlch
in a purely rriendly way toward the
realisation of the objects of the con
ference." The conference la now In
session and will have our best wishes
and where It is practicable our friend
ly 'assistance. fci'?f,-:irs&?
; ; Bureau pf American Republics. , ' "
v One of the results. f tbe pan-Amer-'
lean; conference at Rio Janeiro In the ;
summer of 1906 has been a great In
crease In the activity and usefuluess ..
of the International ; bureau of . Amer
ican republics. ' That institution, which
Includes all the American republics In
Its membership and brings all their
representatives 'together, ; Is doing a
really valuable work ln'lnforming the
people of the United States about the
other republics and In, making tho
United States known to them.' Its ac
tion Is now limited l)y appropriations
jt...i t 1. i . l
iiflu-i iiiiiiii n 11.11 il .inn uiiiriir 1 wr.i'v
on a much smaller scale and rendering'
much less valuable service. 1 J recom
mend that the contribution of this gov-,
ernment to the expenses of the bureau
be made ( commensurate with. Its in
creased work. 1 " ,
r THEODORE RpOSEVELT. f
The White House, Dec, 3, 1907. ,
1