Newspapers / The Montgomery Herald and … / Dec. 10, 1908, edition 1 / Page 1
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i - . i i i i i an i 4-" i Mr. Roosevelt Makes Recommendations Concerning Needed Cegblatlon S THE NATIOM PROSPEROUS teooaamindAiioiu CoTertnj T71de , Bange of Babjectf Tiaaiees, Oom .blnattona, TracrtiAion, Natural . Ileaourcta ' and -CfhcV Xattreating Topics Broujbt to ths Aiteatlca of Our Lawjcakinj Eoi7. r " ." li.. L'." wssb6 oi -resident i.coscyen T. . lo- the second. aession of tho Sixtieth TK M. Tk n i Y il Congress was read in bqth' houses, and wa in substance as follows j -To the Senate and Ilouae of Bcprca- entatives: ... , ' rinaaces. ' Tbe financial atandins of the nation at the present time is excellent, and the financial management of the na tion's interests by tho Government during tho last sevvA years has shown tht. most satisfactory results. But our currency system is imperfect, and it is earnestly to be toped that the Currency Commission will be able to propose a thoroughly good System which will do away with, the existing aerects. ? During the period from July 1, 1901, to September 30, 19M, theTe -. was an increase in the -amount . of money in circulation of $902,99199. ' . The increase in the per capita during this period was $7.00.- Within this v ; time there were several occasions .when it was necessary for the Treas nry Department to come to the. relief of the money "market by purchases of ; rtdemptiens of United States bonds"; i by increasing deposits in national "banks; by stimulating additional is J "sues of national bank notes, and by ' facilititating importations , from abroad of gold. Our imperfect eur ; rency system has made these proceed . Ings necessary, and they were effec tive until the monetary disturbance in the fall of 1907 immensely inereas- ed the difficulty of ordinary methods of relief. By the middle of Novem ber the available working -balance in - the Treasury had been reduced to ap . - proximately t $5,000,000. Gearing ' bouso associations throughout the ;," country bad been obliged to resort to t the expedient of issuing elearinf bouse certificates, to be usedl'ftji , . jnoney. In this emergency it wis do . . termined to invite subscriptions fof $50,000,000 Panama Canal bonds, .and $100,000,000 3 per cent certificates of indebtedness authorized by the act of June 13, 1903. It was proposed to re deposit in the national banks the dpo ree1s of. these issnes, and to permit ' - their nso as a basis for additional cir ,' eulating notes of national banks.' The moral effect of this procedure Was so great that it was necessary to issue - only J24.631.B30 of the Panama Caail .bonds and $15,436,500 of the eert! cates of indebtedness.' v During tho aeven years and "threa . months there baa been a net surplus . i ; ' of nearly one hundred millions of re :" eeipts over expenditures, a reduction V of the interest-bearing debt by ftioety ; - millions, in spite of the extraordinary expense of the Panama Canal, and a , r saving of neatly nine millions on the .annuel interest charge. This -.is an '. exceedingly satisfactory showing, es - pccially in view of the faet that dor . - Jng this period the Nation haainever . ; ;!- nesitated to undertake any expend! "' ' : ture that it regarded aa necessary. ". There have been no new taxes and no "V inoreaae of taxes; on. the - contrary ; aome taxes have been taken off; there Aas been a reduction of taxation. '. W - J i CorPOfttlOM, ' ' ; .As, regards the great corporations " :' engaged in interstate business. And "; r-; -.especially the railroads,- I can only ; . repeat what I have already again and - again said in ay message to the Con. . ; ': greas..- I believe that under the inter v ,itate elauae of the. Constitution - the ' '" . v united States has eoirplete and para , mount right to control all agencies of 1-' i . interestate temmewe 4nd I believe that the National Government alone v. -..can exercise this tisrht with wisdom ' : aod-effectiveness so "as "both to secure , , ". justiee from, and to do justice to, the 1 rreat corporations which are tbe most . . important-factors in modern business. T it.. " ? - . . a uci.evo u( ii is worsx man zouy , ' , to attempt .to prohibit all combine : ; - titfns as is done by the Sherman anti ' trust law. because such a law can be enforced, only imperfectly and un s. . equally;- and ita enforcement works ' , .: almost as much hardship as good. - strongly advocate Jhat instead of an - unwise effort to prohibit all comoina- . tiona there shall be substituted a law 'which shall expressly permit eombina lions which are in the interest of the public, but shall at the same ; time five to some agency of the National Government full power of control and snpervition over them. One of tbe rhief .features of. ihia control should t securiag entire publicity in all V - ratters which tbe publie bas a right - , know, and furthermore, the power, fc " by judicial but by executive ' r "5i. to tnvtst'er put a step-to 1 t::zx ef i-r?rc;tr favoriilja er -! I r-'l 2.vi cf t. : :r!ry i'-jsH r-t c. - ,:.c:y c:.t tbt i.-.t;? C ? C-- - '"if 1 T- 1 L EMS securities as well as ever the raising and, lowerlnj of rates, Aa Tegards rates, at least, this power should be summary, " The power to investigate tbe financial operations and aeoounta of the railways bas been one of the most valuable features in recent legis lation. Power to make combination! and trafflo agreements should be ex plicitly conferred upon the railroads, the permission" of the Commission be in? first gained and the combination or agreement being published in all ita details. In tbe interest of the pub lie the-representatives of the public abonid nave complete power, to : see that the railroads do their duty, by the public, and. as a matter of course this power should also be exercised so aa to see that no injustice is done to the railroads. The share-holders, the employees and the shippers all have interests that must be guarded. It is to the interest of all of them that no swindling stock speculation should he allowed, and that there should be no improper issuance of securities. The guiding intelligences necessary for the successful building and successful management of railroads should re ceive ample remuneration ; but - no man should be allowed to make money in connection with railroads out of fraudulent over-capitalizations and kindred stock-gambling performan- ces; there must be no defrauding of investors, oppression of the farmers and business men who ship freight, or eallous disregard of the rights and needs of the employees. . In addition to this the interests of the share holders, of the employees, and of the shippers should all be guarded as against one another. To give any one of them undue and improper consid eration is to do injustice to the others. Bates must be made as low as is com patible with giving proper returns to all the employees of the railroad, from the highest to the lowest, and proper returns to the shareholders; but they must not, for instance, be re duced in such fashion as to necessi tate a cut in the wages of the employ ees or the abolition of the proper and legitimate profits of honest sharehold ers. Telegraph and telephone companies engaged in interstate business should oe put unaer tbe jurisdiction oi tne Interstate Commerce Commission. Labor. There are many matters affecting abor and the status of the wage- worker to which I should like to draw jour attention, but an exhaustive dis cussion of the problem in all its as pects is not now necessary. This ad ministration is nearing its end; and, moreover, under our form of govern, mcnt the solution of tho problem do pends upon tbe action of the States as much as upon the action of the Nation, Nevertheless, there are eer. tain considerations which I wish to set before you, because I hope that our people will more and more keep then in mind. , A blind and ignorant resistance to every effort for the re form of abases and for the readjust ment of ;society to modern industrial conditions represents not true conser vatism but an incitement to tbe wild est radicalism j for wise radicalism and wise conservatism go band in hand, one bent on progress, the other bent on feeing that no change is made unless in the right direction. I be lieve in a steady effort, or perhaps it would be. more accurate to say in steady- efforts' in many different direc tions, to bring about a condition of affairs under, which the men who work wun nana or oraln. the laborers, tbe superintendents, the men who nro- duee for, the market and the men who find A market for the articles produced, shall own a fir greater share than at present of the wealth they produce, and be enabled to in. vest it in tbe tools and instruments by wnien au work ia earned on. As far aa possible I hope to see a frank res. ognition of the advantages conferred by machinery. . organization. . and di vision of' iabor accompanied by an effort to bring about a larger share in the ownership by wage-workers of railway, mill, and factory. In farm ing,' this simply mean that .we wish to see the farmer own his own land; we do not wish to see the farms so large that they become the property of absentee, landlords who farm' them by tenants, nor yet so small that theJ farmer becomes like a European peas ant. . Again,, the depositors . in c ' our saving- banks now number over one tenth of our entire population. These are all capitalists, who through the savings banks loan their money to Ihe workers that is, ia many eases to themselves-to earry on their var ious industries. The more, we increase their number, the more we introduce the principles of cooperation into bur industry." Every increase in. the num ber of small stockholders in corpora, tions is good -thing,' for the same reasons t arid where the employees axe the stockholders the result is particu larly geod. very much of this mov tttnt iCTtst be outside of anything that ean be aerszr llahei by legislation! but lj'.clitloa can do :-good J deal. Pcsttl ii-1 --I . will - naie It :?y z:t ; i r":::;t to.Eito th eir Mf.tr. Tb rtr- t: ;.wa-s r-u;.: J.. II -1 , . I the mdi'pf imaUneam to invest bis j money in stocks. There mast be pro. hibiticn vl child labpr diminution of woman labor, shortening of honre of all mechanical labort stock 'watering should be' prohibited, and ptpok gambs ling sp far as is, ppBgibfe discouraged. There shoujd be a progressive Jnheri? tance tax- on largo fortunes,'. Indusr trial education should be encouraged. As far as possible we should lighten the burden of taxation on the email man. We should put a premium, upon thrift, hard work, and business ener gy i but these qualities eease to be the main factors in accumulating a for tune long before that fortune reaches a point where it would be seriously affected by any inheritance tax such aa I propose.-. It is eminently right that the Nation should fix the terms upon whieh the great fortunes, are in herited. . They rarely - do ..good i'and they often do harm t6 those who in herit them in their entirety. The above is the . merest sketch. hardly even a sketch in outline of the reforms for j which , we . should work. But there is one matter with which the Congress should deal at this session. There should no longer be any paltering with the question of taking care of thewage-workera who, under our present industrial system, become killed, crippled,- cr worn out as part of the regular incidents of a given business. The majority of wage- workers must have their rignts se cure1, for them by State action ; but the National Government should leg islate in thoroughgoing and far-reach ing fashion not only for all employees of the National Government, but for all persons engaged in interestate commerce." The object sought for cuold be achieved to a measurable de gree, as far as those killed or crippled are concerned, by proper employers' liability laws. As far as conecrns those who have been worn out, I eall your attention to the fact that definite steps toward piwdmg old-age pen sions have been taken in many of our private industries These may be in definitely extended through voluntary association and contributory schemes, or through the agency . of sayings banks, as under the recent Massachu setts plan. To strengthen these prac tical measures should bo our imme diate duty ; it is not at present neces sary to consider the larger and more general governmental schemes that most -Europena government : have found themselves obliged to adopt. I renew my recommendation made in a previous message that half-holidays be granted during summer to all wage-workers in Government emplwy. I also renew my recommendation that 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 present law should be amended to embrace contracts on those public works which the presept wording of tbe act seems to exclude. Tho Courts. I most earnestly urge upon the Con gress the duty of increasing the to tally 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 re ward is so inadequate compared to their work. Beginning with the Su preme Court the Judgee should have their salaries doubled. It is not be: fitting the dignity of the Nation that its most honored publie servants should be paid sums so small compar ed to what they, would earn in private life that the performance of publie service by them implies, an exceeding ly heavy pecuniary sacrifice. It is earnest lv to be desired that some method should be devised for doing away with the long delays which now obtain in the administra tion cf justice, and which operate with peculiar severitv against persons of email means, and favor only the very criminals whom it is most de sirable to punish. These long delays in the final decisions of eases make in the aggregate a crying evil : and a remedy should be devised. Much of this intolerable delay ir duo to im proper regard paid to . technicalities which are a mere hindrance to justice. In some noted "recent eases this over regard for technicalities has resulted In a striking denial of justice, and flagrant wrong to the body politic. -. - .""Tr- Torestav - -": ;-' If there ia any one duty which more than another we owe it to our children and our children 'a children : to- per. form at once, it is to save the forest of this country, for they constitute the first and most important element in the conservation of .the natural re sources of our eountry. There are of- course two kinds of natural resources. One is the kind which can only be used, as parttof a process of exhaus tion" ; this is true , of . mines, natural oil and gas wells, apd the like. . .The orher, and of "course ultimately by far the 'most important,- includes, the re eources which can be improved in the process of Trise use; the soil, the riv ers, and the forests come under this head. ' Any really civilized nation will, so use" all bf these three" great national assets that the nation will have their benefit in the future. Just us a farmer, after all his life making bis living from his farm, will, if he is. .n expert farmer, leave it as an asset of increased value to his son; so we should leave our national domain to oar children, inereasd in value and not worn out.. There are small sec tions" ef our own country in the East and m the West, la the Adirondack the VT bite '.Mountains, - and the Appa- laehiaaj, and iatae Xcoekv liouztaics. where wa can- aimd its for tmml vfitia denr-t ia tb9 i' ? c per r:--t i- ;ry to f:3 t:.l tll-fr r.vr'f ' if ' ' " "i T" 1 l. ....II,. .1 .nil. flreJht'ineHu1)ljoIleVacS"fcfc less cutting of timber, or to wckltas anTmcontrolled ., grating, f especially' by be -"great mlsratprybaidjl of whichover th -eouatry aene-e. sttuction "of-foresta rnd '"dteaster to the small home makert, Jhp aettlers of limited Deaaa.;'': . ' f. , "i:y lBlan4 Wuarirayi: Action shoidd W Uua fsrlhwUh, during the present sesaiojt. ef .-the Coiieresa. for tbe tmpro vmenfr of mr inland waterways- action iwbiohwiJl result la giving ua not. only in avi. gable but navigated rivera.j 'We have spent bnndreda of milUou of.tdoUat npen these" "waterway? -Tt iaf Iraflid on nearly all of them ia sftftdily de elining." This condition i'.tbditet result of the abeenee 'of any ibnrore nensive and xar-seemg plan 'Of water way improvement. 0biouywisa5 not continue thus to expend the rv- enues of the Government without re turn. V: it . poo wsineas' vt Jipend money vOjf . inland, navigatki .unless we get it.-.: -", . Denatured AlcoheL- I.had occasion in my inessage oft May. 4, 1906 to urge" the;p1iis8age' of some law putting alcohol, rsed in ; the arts, indnstries, ' and : maitfaatuTes, npon the free list; that ii, to provide for the withorawai; free of tax of alcohol which is'to'be denatured-for those puipofcs.;- Ths law of June' .7, 1906, and its amendment of March 2. 1907, accomplished what waa idesired in that respect, and the;.nse of de natured alcohol, as intended,. is mak ing a fair degree of progress and is entitled to further encouragement and support from the Congress.' Pnro Food; The pure food legislation has-al ready worked a benefit difficult to overestimate. I : . ..r ' . ' , - Indian ' Affaire, .: '. r- " It has been, my purpose : from vbn beginning of my administration to take t the Indian Service jmpletely out of the atmosphere tit . political activity, and there has been . steady progress toward that 'end. 'The last remaining stronghold of politics, in that service was the a srencv system which had. seen its beet days and was gradually falling to pieces from nat ural orpurcly Qvolutionary causes. out, like all such survivals, was de caying slowly in it! later stages.' It seems clear that its extineitipn had better be made final now, so tpat the -ground can be cleared for tarsrer con structive work on behalf off the Ia-J dians, preparatory to their induction into the full measures of responsible citizenship. On November 1 -only eighteen agencies were left on tho roster, wiin two exceptions, iwaere some legal questions, seemed, j, stand temporarily in the way, these; have been changed tpS supennteudencies and their heads Drought into the classified civil 'service. Secret Service. The law enacted by the last session of Congress to provide: that : there should be no detail from the Secret Service and no transference there from seems to have, ben only the interest of the criminal classes, both large and small, and as . a mat ter of common interest should be re pealed and the old system re-enact ed, Corporations are heeessary instru ments of modern business. They have been permitted to become a menace largely because the govermental rep resentatives of the people have work ed Slowly in providing adequate con troi over thent Control over the great corporation! doing interstate businese can be ef fective only when sueii control vested in the executive department of the government. . Postal Sayings Banks. I again renew my recommendation for postal savings banks, for deposit ing savings with the' security of " the Government behind them.' The object is tp encourage thrift and .ecdnomv in - the wage-earner - and - person moderate means. In. fourteen States the deposits in savings - banks as re ported to . the Comptroller- of '- the Currency amount to $390.24502. or 13SA per cent of the entire deBoaita wnua in tne remaining 39 Btatea inere are onlv $7008.543. or-1.6 tier aent 1 mm. r . showing -" eoncluaively - that there- arc many loeaktiea in the United' states whera anffteient opportunity : lav sot given to the people to deposit- their savings. 3 The result la that ttoney Is kept in ' hiding and nnemployed It ta-believed that in the aggregate vast sums of money would be brought -in to circulation through the instrumen tality of the postal' sangs; banks., While -there -are only 1,453. savinga i 1 1 1 a it a. " " 1 DBiuu reporting o tne comptroller there are more than 61,000 post-offices 46,000 of whieKare money "order, of- nccs,- Postal savings banks, re now in operation ia; practically caB 't the" great civilized counrieswith -the exi ception of the TJnited' Stateav.'f',-?' -,;;'"':;-v;rTPajel PVi?ri;?iiSiM-- In my last: annual message T com mended - the ; Postmaster-General re commendation for an extension of tbe jtarcei'post onj the; rural "routes The esiaoiisnment ; 01 a y loeai parcel post on-mral routes would be to' the mu tuar: benefit of Jiheraraief i and - the country - storekeeper, and v it la' L de-r sirable thai the routes, aervinavniore than. 13,000,000 people,"- ahovld ' vbe ctiliaed to the. fullest praoticable-exr tent '. An amendment wa; proposed in the Eenata at the- last session? -at the au?jestion-.ef th.Postmaster GeBeral, providity that, for the pur., pose of ascertiisirz tha rraetka'-ility cf -riiatllibir j a jreelil ,1661: ircer iha TVTslUTevttt tlx: 3 cz'.l:ri2?l r-i livry '.rontes :in not to exeeed: four eoontief ln the "tinitedi Statea : for packages "of fourthlass, matter orig inating oa rural route jor atr tne .dis tributing post .office , for delivery by rtiFal 'carriers, v It would seem only proper ; mat -- aan ; an -r experiment should be tried - in order to demon strate the practicability, of s the propr -ositipn, especially as the Ppstmasteiv Genet; estimates that .the revenue derive from the opeation of auch a ystem on -all the rural routes wbnld amount to many mUiioa. douara.- The ehara. that the National Gov eminent abonid. take in the . broad work of education has not received the attention and the eara it rightly deserves. The immediate responsi bility; for the anpport and improve ment of -onr educational systems and institutions rests and should always rest. -with -1 the- people" jof-the several States acting through their state and loeal eovernments, but the; Nation has an opportunity in education work which must not.be lost and a duty which should no longer be neglected; , With the lmited means hitherto provided, the ..Bureau of . Education has tendered efficient service, but the Congress has neglected -to adequately supply the bureau with means to meet the -educational growth of the coun try The appropriations for the gen eral work-of the bureau, out side edu cation in Alaska, for the year 19t)0 are-but $300 an amount less than they 'were ten years ago, and some of the important items in these appro priations are .,less " than they were thirty years ago. It is an inexcusable waste of pubue money to appropri ate an ' amount whieh is so inade quate, as to make.it impossible prop erly, to do the .work authorized, and it is unfair to the great educational interests .of the country to deprive them of tbe value of the results which can be obtained by proper appropri ations. . . Census, il strongly urge- that the request of the Director of the Census in connec tion with the' -decennial work so soon to be begun, be complied with and that the. appointments to the census foree be - placed ' under the civil ser vice law,-waiving the geographical requirements as requested by the Di rector of the Census. The supervisee and enumerators, should not be ap pointed under" the civil service law," for the reasons giveu by the Director. I commend to the Congress the care ful consideration cf the admirable re port of the Director of the Census, and I trust that his recommedations will bo adopted and immediate action thereon taken. . t- Soldiers' Home. All Soldiers' Homes should be plac ed under the complete jurisdiction find control of the War Department. Independent Bureaus- ana Conunu- sions. Economy and sound business policy require that all existing independent bureaus . and commissions should . Be placed under the jundiction of "ap propriate executive "departments. ' Jl is unwise from every standpoint, and results only in mischief, to have any executive work done save by rthe purely executive bodies Under the ccntrrl of the President: and each such executive body should be under the immediate supervision of a Cabi net Minister. . - , - Statehood. : I advocate the immediate atlaut sion of. New Mexico and Arizona; as States. This should be done at the present session of the Congress. The people of . the two Territories have made it evident by their votes that they will not c"rme in as one State. The onlv. alternative is to admit thara two,-.and I trust that. this willbe dene-without' delay. - :t - , ' Interatfa Tlsherles. J' I call' the attention of the Con gress to the Importance of the prob-. lem of the fisheries in the interstate waters. :.On the Great Lakes we are now. under the very wise' treatyf April .11th, of this year; "endeavoring to " come to- lab - international agree ment for the preservation arid satis factory tue-oftte fisheries oi these waters can not: otherwise be achieved. Lake Erie, for example, has the rich est fresh .water fisheries in the world 1 bntrit i - now . .controlled , by- the atatntea of -two -Nationa. four States, and one Province, -and in this Prov 'nee bv different ; ordinances in dif ferent5 conntiea.STAa these poliueai divisf cca work: at cross purpoaes, and in- no- (fise they: achieve protection to the-'flshcriesoB: the one liand, and jnBtrc."ti:,tb. localitiea and individ- nala -n-.th:,other. : The case .is aimi- Wrtjn rngefc-Sound.' Y '' f . 4 'Flaterlea and Tnr Seals.; it-The federal statute ' regulating in- terstater trame id game should be Ex tended to include fish. 'New- federal fi"sKVhatci4ries- should -' be " estbalished,,' The., adnunistralion of the Alaskan fur-seal rviee:' should be vested inl the Jureau. 01 U'ishenes. w;.? foreign Affaira.5.;J ""This "Nation -foreign - poliey is basei on- the: theory.-tlatiriaW-must be- done between .nations precisely aa petween anaiviauais, ana . n , our. - ac tions for the last ten years we have in '.this matter proven5 our . faith-by our-. deeds.y-.We'Jiave behaved and are behaving, towards other nations, aa-in private, life an,- bonorabl maiuwonld behava towardaTiia fellowe.-WilTu-v i,v':jr; L&tiaAffiarlcaa;- lUUeavfAl': : .Th commercial and material pro mes . of tbe -twenty Latin-American Piepttbliear ia - worthy 7 of .rtke "rtm M iifxt:oJi 'ol-tfcs "Cor f So t 'ir sactlca tit . tie -world" '.aliowa;:?a rri 1 1 :r prtcr,oE'ta is rcTeptaestr'of "'-3 r-1 rr - . 'fill '"-! mate extcnsiA cf our crmiaerte th;n - 1 mi i . . mmm - any otncTLgreup ci couariies. xaese ccnu tries will ;want- our pioducta 'in greatly; .rnere.ased quantities, and cwo shall - eermpondinply-: act-d - theirs. The Intoraational Bureau, of the Am crieaq Bepohjves is doing ; ji usef u wotk,. in 'making thess nations and theijr resourece.' better known to us, and in.&equaiing them not only with ua aa aipcopl-j .and willi our purposes - towards them, . but with wbat'wa haai to exchange for their goods.; It'a an International insti. tntieiiyiupjNbrted b all the govern menta;of fhc two Americas. r ' -1,- :Paaania "CanaL The. yk on the Panama .-Canal ia beiag done with a spaed, efficiency and enure devotion to duty, w&icn make -it i model for all work of the kind. i No task of such magnitude has ever, .before been - undertaken by any natlop; and no task of the kjd has ever been better performed. The men cn, the Isthmus, from- Colonel Goe thalsJ and his fellow comm'ssToncrs through tbe; entire list of emp'.oyees who are faObfullv doin? the!r duty. have won their right to the ungrudg- MDg respect nd gratitude of the Am erican people. -; Ocean Kafl I4res. Ij tagain recemmerid the extension ofj the. ocean mail act cf 1S91 so that satisfactory American ocean lines to South America, Asia, the Ph:l;pines, and-Australia may be established. The creation of such steamship lines should be tbe jnatnral corollary of the voyage of the battle fleet. It should precede the opening of the Panama CanaL Even nnder favorable con ditions several years must elapse be fore such lines can be put into opera tion."? Accordingly I urge that the Congress act prompt lv where fore sight already, shows that action soon er or later will be inovitable. The Army. As regards the Armv I call atten- :on Jo the fact that while our junior officers and cnl'sted men stand very high, tho present systrm cf promo tion by seniority results in bringing into- the higher grades many men of medjocre r-pacity who have but a short time to serve. No man should regard it ps liis vested right to rise to the highest rank in the Army any more than in auv other profession. It is a curious and by no means cred itable fact that there should be so often a failure on the part of the publ'e and its representatives to un derstand" tho sreat need, from the standpoint cf the service and the Na tion, of refusing to promote respect able, eideily incompetents. Ihe higher places, should be sriven to the most deserving men without regard to . seniority 'M least seniority should bo treated as onlv one consideration. In the stress of modern industritl competition uo business firm could succeed if those' responsible for its management were chosen simply on the ground that they were the oldest people in its employment; yet this is the course advocated as regards the army, and required by law for all grades-except those of rneral officer. As a matter; of faet, all. of the best officers in the highest ranks of the army are those who havn attained their present position wholly or in part by a process of selection. ..TneRav7. I approve; the recommendations of the GeneralBoard for the increase of the Navy, calling especial attention to the need of additional destroyers afid collieys, and above all, of the four battleships. It is desirable to complete s son as possible a squad ron of eight battleships of the best existing rtype. 'The North Dakota, Dclewarel Florida. and Utah w!ll form the firstfof th's sqnadron. Ths four r esse Is proposed will form tbe second division. 1c will be an improvement on 'the flrsL the : ships being of the heavy," 'single caliber, all big gun type. AIT the vessels should have the f same taetical qualities, that is, speed and turning circle, and as near as possible ; these .tactical : qualities should be the same as is in the four vessels before named now hems! btfilr. ' r -: ..v . "'. " ' he American . peopla Have cause fof profound irratifUation. both in view Cf the excellent condition of the fietft as shown by this cruise .and in I vlew'fbf the .improvement the cruise ha worked in this already high con dition. I do not believe that there is any other servlea is the world in which; the average 'of character and efficiency in, the enl'atod ' men ia aa high aa ia qow the. case in our own, L believe that the same statement can bejnade asto our officers,; taken as a Whole ; but bere - must be a reserva tion made m regard to those in the highest ranks -as to which I have al ready spoken -and in regard to those who have; just; entered t service j because we do not- now get fall bene fit, from .'our : excellent naval - school at. Annapcls. ; It is absurd; not to graduate the midshipmen as ensigns; to ;keep them for two years in' sndr an . anomalous position aa ; at present the ; law Tequires" is detrimental to tiiem and to the- service In- Jhe aea demy itself every- first ; classman should be Required in turn to serve a. petty .cplcer-and; ctacer ;: his abi ity : to sdischarge, M duties as such, should be a, prerequisite to bis goiitg lnt the .line, and,'his:-auccesa-,in ';oow manding ahbnld. largely determine- his atanding '! graduation The '-oard f Visitora- should be : appointed', tn Jannaryi aai eacii Jeamber should be required , to,; give? atw4ast: tix days serviee n!y i 'xtn one to threo daya' to: be pstTcrmed " 'cunsy J una wecx, whlf b ia the UatV d::lrtb!a tbia t:t the hoard to ba at Af:Ii ? tzi et-t;-:!:"r.;ti:i fc-.vy ty ttcir cb t:ryt '.! It ' '---,-'-'i y coi Sessloji of the Sx:?Ui Congress Begins tis'Wciii ' glM MEMOIRS SWORN" V tta.- Eepitlicaa fpeaiera Retain Present. Vlewa Ikert Witt Be ?erj UttU Eire Deaa- by h Consreai ' Except . Approprista -Money J?ci" Varfow aad Hitjitc. ' Washington",; fipocial If Republic can leaders retain their present view the legislation of the session of Cop' grcs9 whieh began Monday will in- chide very little, except the appro priation bills. Thcsb bills will carry ' in the aggregate albut . $1,000,000,000, and tho general minion is that in the K time that will be allowed, the two nouses will find they ean best, serve the country by giving proper atten tion to these appropriations. There will be a general effort to hcl(j tho appropriations down to the ; lowest possible limit.. It. is. generally und.-rstccd. that, there, will be a bill for tho improvement of rivers and harbors, to carry ;not less than $25. 4 000,000 or $30,000,000. Provision must be made this year for the cen aus of 1910, and this will require not less than $10,000,000. There will be other exceptional demands, so that as it looks now Congress" will dp well if it succeeds in holding the appro- . priations for the second session of . tho Sixitieth Congress to the dimen sions of those.. of the first session.'. Tho House eommittee n appropria tions already has begun its work on the sundry bills. The fact that the managers desire to restrict legislation will not pre vent other members of the Senate ; and House from cxeiting their efforts : in behalf of favorite measures. The first effort in this direction will be mado in the Senate by Mr. Foraker, who will renew his attempt to have passed the bill authorising ihe re enlistment , of the negro soldiers .dis charged without honor on account of . the. Brownsville. , riot. This measure will be the. special order for Decern- ' be, 16th. Senator Beveridge v will make, an effort to obtain early con sideration cf his child labor bill, and Senator Carter, cf the postal savings bank bill It is quite certain that the recent agreement between the United States . and Japan will receive early consid eration in tho Senate. Already a number of Senators have privately expressed disapproval of the fact that the compact -was entered into without consulting the Senate. Monday at 12 o'clock both houses of Congress, convened for the begin-' ning of the second session of the Six- -tieth Congress. Practically no busi ness was transacted in either bouse Monday. In. the Senate ex-Governor Cummins, of Iowa, took the oath of office as the successor of Senator Al lison ,as did Carroll S. Page, of Ver- : mont, as. the successor cf Senator Stewart. In the House the seven -members who were elected in Novem ber to succeed mombers who have died or resigned, are Henry A. Barn hart, Democrat, who succeeds the late lor. Brick, Republican, from the thir teenth Indiana district ; Albert ' Esto- -nnal,- Democrat who' succeeds : the Ute Mr, Meyer from the first Louis iana 'district; Otto G. JFoelker, Be-; Sublican,- successor to Mr. Dnnwell, :ipnblican, in the third lew York; district; - Frank Jl.. Guernsey, Repub lican, successor to Mr. Powers, Re publican, f rem the , fourth Maine dis- : trict; Eben M. Rasters, Republican, asor to Jr. raraer, nepnoucan, South Dakota at large : Q, C. loy, Dlmocrat,' successor : to ;hia ; Ubir. A. A. Wiley, Democrat, from heleeond a Alabama distnc and John P. Swansay, Republican sue- - eeiaor to Mr. Littlefield, who resigned ding tbe last session from the -see -red Maine district; :' rTljf twp houies appointed commit" : teea each to notify the other Houe 3., and the President that tho two bodies wtta organized ... and prepared 10 . 9 . PAnvant. Tlh.thi business of the Bes lion, i The Senate then adjourned for the dayi out of respect Jo ne mem- ory of (3enatcr.AlHson. who died dnr lag tha receES. The House terminat ed ita itref ;;8esaiott, with rcsolntion j t commemorative of ihe . livta ; o1J Meaara Parker, Wiley, Dunwell and -Powers, who have died aince adjourn ment last Mayi, ,. -" ; .-v : Brave Engiiicer Scalded to-Death far - v Vr ;;; ; "::His CaV v ;; $ 6tatieoroj: Ga$ SpccUL-emain- ing at;; Hipost;tkougli danger tbTnatened. A. A. Reppard, a sen cf. the late ; wellrknown ilainbemaa;Rps D.;Reppard3f;Baviinn walded to 'dcatE--nea,!i'!pft;:?aBiw turned; over and. pinned him? in; "-b' wreckage, ene mile, from Aaroni- Ga,.- , y ea' the Savannah, "Aujiwt;- ft ; North ty ern-iRailwayifeTwenly;, pa?sehgers;ii&; a cabwse thatwith the.v engine nads . np tbartraia-M tJwP'; X.''tmm.iy: 1 J l'lSm- WWmmmmm ' l-J 4 V ma Ettssell 5 cneaeprougu, nvu a; well-known achv aesi?2C5;cf U;i vt ( ci ty, -ccssnftei aaidis-vty.vahc:-.! t-rrflf J4haa:cad f.Ul-a ruvcvsr, fw-n:;.
The Montgomery Herald and Montgomerian (Troy, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Dec. 10, 1908, edition 1
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