4
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I call your especial attention to the
unsatisfactory condition of our foreign
mall service which because of the
lack of American steamship lines Is
now largely done through foreign lines
and which ya rtlcularby so far as South
and Central America are concerned In
done in a manner which constitutes a
HcrloiiK harrier to the extension of our
commerce
The time has come In my Judgment
to set to work seriously to make our
ocean mail service correspond more
closely with our recent commercial and
political development A beginning
was made by the ocean mail act of
March 1SM but even at that time
the act was known to be Inadequate In
various particulars Since that time
events have moved rapidly in our his
tory We have acquired Hawaii the
Philippines mid lesser islands in the
Paellie We are steadily prosecuting
the great work of uniting at the isth
mus the waters of the Atlantic and
the Pacific To a greater extent than
seemed probable even a dozen years
ago weuiiiy look Uf an American fu
ture on the sea worthy of the tradi
tions of our past As the llrst step in
that direct ion and the stop most feasi
ble at the present time I recommend
the extension of the ocean mall act of
S1 That act has stood for some years
free from successful criticism of its
principle and purpose It was based
on theories of the obligations of a
great maritime nation undisputed in
our owu land and followed by other
nation- since the beginning of steam
navigation Brlelly those theories are
that it is the duly of a lirst class pow
er so far as practicable to carry Its
ocean mails under Its own tlag that
the fast ocean steamships and their
crews required for such mail service
are invaluable auxiliaries to the sea
power of a nation Furthermore the
construction of such steamship- in
sures the maintenance In an eliicienl
condition of the shipyards in which our
battleships must be built
The expenditure of public money for
the performance of such necessary
functions of government is certainly
warranted nor is it necessary to dwell
upon the incidental benefits to our for
eign commerce to the shipping indus
try and shipowning and navigation
which will accompany the discharge of
these urgent public duties though they
too should have weight
The only serious question is whether
at this time we can afford to improve
our ocean mail service as It should be
Improved All doubt on this subject
is removed by the reports of the post
olfice department For the fiscal year
ended June AQ 1907 that department
estimates that the postage collected on
the articles exchanged with foreign
countries other than Canada and Mex
ico amounted toG5790 J34S or3G37
22G81 more than the net cost of the
service exclusive of the cost of trans
porting the articles between the United
States exchange postolfices and the
United States postolfices at which they
were mailed or delivered In other
words the government of the United
States having assumed a monopoly of
carrying the mails for the people is
making a profit of over 3000000 by
rendering a cheap and Inefficient serv
ice That profit I believe should be de
voted to strengthening our maritime
power in those diieetions where it will
best promote our prestige The coun
try is familiar with the facts of our
maritime impotence in the harbors of
the great and friendly republics of
South America Following the failure
of the shipbuilding bill we lost our
only American line of steamers to Aus
tralasia and that loss on the Pacific
has become a serious embarrassment
to the people of Hawaii and lias whol
ly cut off the Samoan islands from
regular communication with the Pa
cific coast Puget sound in the year
has lost over half four out of seven
of its American steamers trading with
the orient
We now pay under the act of 1S91
4 a statute mile outward to 20 knot
American mail steamships built accord
ing to naval plans available as cruis
ers and maimed by Americans Steam
ships of that speed are confined ex
clusively to transatlantic trade with
New York To steamships of 1G knots
or over only 2 a mile can be paid and
It is steamships of this speed and type
which are needed to meet the require
ments of mail service to South Amer
ica Asia including the Philippines
and Australia I strongly recommend
therefore a simple amendment to the
ocean mail act of 1S91 which shall
authorize the postmaster general in his
discretion to enter into contracts for
the transportation of mails to the re
publics of South Amc nr to Asia the
Philippines and Australia at a rate not
to exceed la mile for steamships of
1G knots speed or upward subject to
the restrictions and obligations of the
act of 1S91 The profit of 3G00000
which has been mentioned will fully
cover the maximum annual expendi
hiw ini iHwl mi tlii rccnmninnilation
and it is believed will in time establish j
the lines so urgently needed lue
proposition involves no new principle
but permits the efficient discharge of
public functions now inadequately per
formed or not performed at all
Not only there is not now but there
never has been any other nation in the
world so wholly free from the evils of
militarism as is ours There never has
been any other large nation not even
China which for so long a period lias
had relatively to its numbers so small
a regular army as has ours Never at
any time in our history has this na
tion suffered from militarism or been
in the remotest danger of suffering
from militarism Never at any time of
our history has the regular army been
of a size which caused the slightest
appreciable tax upon the taxpaying
citizens of the nation Almost always
it has been too small in size and un-
derpaid Never in our entire history
has the nation suffered in the least par
ticular because too much care has been
l
given to the army too much pronil
nenco given it too much money spent
upon it or because It has been too
large But again and again we have
suffered because enough care has not
been given to 11 because It lias been
i too small because there has not been
sufficient preparation In advance for
possible war Kvery foreign war in
j which we have engaged has cost us
I many times the amount which If wise
ly expended during the preceding years
of peace on the regular army would
have instiled the war ending In but a
fraction of the time and but for a frac
tion of the cost that was actually the
case As a nation we have always
been shortsighted In providing for the
efficiency of the army in lime of peace
It is nobodys especial interest to make
such provision and no one looks ahead
to war at any period no matter how
remote as being a serious possibility
while an improper economy or rath
er niggardliness can be practiced at
the expense of the army with the cer
tainty that those practicing It will not
be called to account therefor but that
the price will be paid by the unfortu
nate persons who happen to be in of
fice wlieu a war does actually come
THE ARMY
No Ground For Demagogic Declamation
Against Militarism
I think it is only lack of foresight
that troubles us not any hostility to
the army There are of course fool
it li people who denounce any care of
the army or navy as militarism but
I do not think that these people are
numerous This country lias to con
tend now and has had to contend in
the past with many evils and there is
ample scope for all who would work
for reform Iut there is not one evil
that now exists or that ever has exist
ed in this country which is or ever
lias been owing In the smallest part
to militarism Declamation against
militarism has no more serious place
iu an earnest and intelligent move
ment for righteousness in this country
than declamation against the worship
of Baal or Astaroth It is declama
tion against a nonexistent evil one
which never has existed in this coun
try and which lias not the slightest
chance of appearing here We are
glad to help in any movement for in
ternational peace but this is because
we sincerely believe that it is our duty
to help all such movements provided
they are sane and rational and not be
cause there is any tendency toward
militarism on our part which needs
to be cured The evils we have to
fight are those in connection with in
dustrialism not militarism Industry
is always necessary just as war is
sometimes necessary Each has Its
price and industry in the United
States now exacts and has always ex
acted a far heavier toll of death than
all our wars put together The statis
tics of the railroads of this country
for the year ended Tune 30 1900 the
last contained in the annual statistical
report of the interstate commerce com 1
mission show in that one year a total
of 10S324 casualties to persons of
whicii 10G1S represent the number of
persons killed In that wonderful hive I
i
of human activity Pittsburg the
deaths due to industrial accidents in
190G were 919 all the result of acci
dents in mills mines or on railroads
For the entire country therefore it is
safe to say that the deaths due to in
dustrial accidents aggregate in the
neighborhood of 20000 a year Such
a record makes the death rate in all
our foreign wars utterly trivial by
comparison The number of deaths in
battle in all the foreign wars put to
gether for the last century and a quar
ter aggregate considerably less than
one years death record for our indus
tries A mere glance at these figures
is sufficient to show the absurdity of
the outcry against militarism
But again and again in the past our
little regular army has rendered serv
ice literally vital to the country and it
may at any time have to do so in the
future Its standard of efficiency and
instruction is higher now than ever
in the past but it is too small There
are not enough officers and it is im
possible to secure enough enlisted men
We should maintain in peace a fairly
complete skeleton of a large army A
great and long continued war would I
have to be fought by volunteers but
months would pass before any large
body of efficient volunteers could be
put in the field and our regular army
should be large enough to meet any I
immediate need In particular it is I
sential that we should possess a i
ber of extra officers trained in peace j
to perform efficiently the duties
gently required upon the breaking out
of war
The medical corps should be much
larger than the needs of our regular
army in war Yet at present it is
smaller than the needs of the service
demand even in peace The Spanish
war occurred less than ten years ago
The chief loss we suffered iu 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 not the
slightest effort has been made to pre
pare a medical corps of sufficient size
to prevent the repetition of the same
disaster on a much larger scale if we
should ever bo engaged in a serious
conflict The trouble in the Spanish
war was not with the then existing j
officials of the war department it was
with the representatives of the people
ls a whoie who for the preceding
ty years had declined to make the
necessary provision for the army JJn
less ample provision is now made by
congress to put the medical corps
where it should be put disaster in the
next war is inevitable and the respon
sibility will not lie with those then in
charge of the war department but
coanscED os page six
jyij luji TFTtirBiEP3iTTTHBfffiT2ffffKTflWF7TB KrTB MiiZm3K BntHBI
By
HENRY WALLACE PHILLIPS
COPYRIGHT 1902 BY McCLURE PHILLIPS Z COMPANY
tlMIMIll KKOM IASI VIII
Aggy says 1 at last Ive got a
that you could nave lit a match on me
anywheres but to save me I couldnt
Holpluughing Ag had the comicalest
good notion to lay two violent hands
on you and wind you up like an eight wjj5
A tlat lht dr s
day clock but rather than make hard I tUnVn
feelings between friends Ill refrain
Besides you are a funny cuss thats
sure One tiling boy you can mark
down We leave here tomorrow morn- I
lug
All right says Ag This sporting
life is the very devil I like outdoors
as well as the next man when I get j
there
So the morrow morning away we
went All we had for kit was the
picks shovels and pans The rest of I
our belongings was staying with the
hotel man until we made a rise j
Ag said hed be cussed if hed walk j
A hundred and fifty miles of stroll j
was too many
But we aint got a cent to pay the j
stage fare says I J
Borrow it of Uncle Hotel keep
says he
Not by a town site says I Wo
owe him all were going to at this
very minute Youll have to hoof it
thats all
I tell you I wont I dont like to
have anybody walk on my feet not
even myself I can stand off that
stage driver so easy that youll won
der I dont take it up as a profession J
Now dont raise any more objections
please dont says he I cant tell
you how nervous vou make me al
WJTJ3 liHiTng some Rlulir with every
thing I try to do Thats no way for a
hired man to act let alone a uardner
so or course ne got tne best or me
as usual and we climbed into the
stage when she come along Now
our bad luck seemed to hold because
you wouldnt find many men in that
country who wouldnt stake two fel
lers to a wagon ride wherever they
wanted to go and be pleasant about
it Id have sure seen that the man
got paid even if Aggy forgot it but
the man that drove us was the surli
est brute that ever growled When
youd speak to him hed say Unh a
style of thing that didnt go well in
that part of the country I kept my
mouth shut as knowing that I didnt
have the come-up-with weighed on my
5tl r vsy J Jiz
m yv If L
WmTj yiMujL LS
i y ss
BESSBf
-VT tel l you I wont I dont Wc to have
anybody icalli on my feet
pirits but Aggy gave him the jolly
He only meant it in fun and there was
plenty of reason for it too for you
never seen such a game of driving rs
that feller put up in all your life The
Lord save us He cut around one cor
ner of a mountain so that for the
longest second Ive lived through my
left foot hung over about a thousand
feet of fresh air Id have had time
to Avrite my will before I touched hot- j
torn if wed gone over I dont know
as I turned pale but my hair aint
been of the same rosy complexion
since
Well says Aggy in a surprised
tone of voice when we got all four
wheels on the ground again Here we
are says he Whod have suspected
it I thought he was going to take
the short cut down to the creek
The driver turned round with one
corner of his lip histed a dead ringer
of a mean man Says he to Aggy
Yer a funn bloke aint yer
Why says Ag thats for you to
say wouldnt look Avell coming from
me but if you press me Ill admit I
give birth to a little gem now and
then
Our bold buck puts on a great
swagger Well yer neednt be funny
iu this wagon says he The pair of
yer spongin a ride Yer neednt be
gay Yer hear me dont cher
Why I hear you as plain as though
you set right next me says Ag Now
r
j
the horses I aint the kind to feel
faint when a cayuse gets whats com
ing to him for raising the devil but
to see that lad whale his team because
there wasnt nothing else he dared hit
got me on my hind legs I nestled
one hand In his hair and twisted his
ugly mug back
Quit that savs I
You let me be I aint hurting you
he hollers
That aint to say I wont be hurt
ing you soon says I You put the
bud on them horses again and Ill boot
the spine of your back up through the
top of your head til it stands out like
a flagstaff lust one more touch and
you get it says I
lie didnt open hits mouth again till
we come to the river Then he pulled
up This is about as far as I care
to carry you two gents for nothinV he
says Of course youre two to one
and I cant do nothing if you see lit to
bull the thing through But Ill say
this if either one or both of you roost
ers has got the least smell of a gentle
man about him lie wont have to be
told his company aint wanted twice
Now mind you Ag and me didnt
have the first cussed thing not grub
nor blankets nor gun nor nothing and
this the feller well knew
Red says Aggy what do you say
to pulling this thing apart and seeing
what makes it act so
No says I dont touch it it
might be catching Now you whelp
says I to the driver you tell us if
theres a place Avhere we can get any
thing to eat around here Wed ex
pected to go hungry until we hit the
camp some forty miles further on
where Ave knew thered be plenty for
anybody that Avanted it
Yes says lie Theres a man run
ning a shack two mile up the ri er
All right says I Drive on
YouA e played us as dirty a trick as
one man can play another If avo ever
get a cinch on you you can expect
well pull her till the latigoes snap
He kept shut till he got across the
river where he felt safe
Its all right about that cinch he
hollers back grinning Only wait till
you get it yer suckers Sponges
Beats Deadheads Yah
Well a man cant catch a team of
horses and thats all there is about
it but I AA ant to tell you he was on the
anxious seat for a quarter of a mile
We tried hard
When Ave got back to where we
started and could breathe again we
held a council of war
Noav Aggy says I were dumped
What shall Ave do
lie sat there aAvhile looking around
him snapping pebbles -with his thumb
Tell you what it is Pved he says
at last we might as Avell go mining
right here This is likely gri el and
theres a river If that bar in front of
you had been further in the mountains
it would haA e been punched full of
holes Its only because its on the
road that nobodys taken the trouble
to see AA hat AA as in it This road was
made by cattle ranchers that didnt
know nothing about mining and every
miner thats gone OAer the trail had
his mouth set to get further along as
quick as possible just like us Do
you see that little hollow running
down to the ri er Well you try
your luck there I give you that place
as its the most probable and you as a
tenderfoot in the business will haA e all
the luck Ill make a stab Avhere I am
Well sir it sounds queer to tell it
and it seems queerer still to think of
the doing of it but I hadnt dug tAA o
feet before I come to bed rock and
there avis some heaA y black chunks
Aggy says I whats these things
throwing one OA er to him lie caught
it and stared at it
Where did you get that says he
in almost a whisper
Why out of the hole of course
says I laughing Come take a look
Agiry wasnt the kind of a man to
go off the handle over trifles but Avhen
he looked into that hole he turned per
fectly green His knees give out from
under him and he sat on the ground
like a man in a trance Aviping the
swoat ol his face with a motion like
a machine
What the devil ails you says 1
astonished I thought maybe Id done
something I hadnt ought to do
through ignorance of the rules and
regulations of mining
Bed says he dead solemn Ta o
mined for twenty year and from old
Mexico to Alaska but I never saAA
anything that AA as ace high to that
before Gold laying loose in chunks
ofi top of the bed rock is too much
for me I wish Ily could see this
Gold says I What you talking
about What have those black hunks
to do with gold
The only answer he made AA as to
lav the one I had throAvn to him on
you listen and see if Im audible at the top of a rock and hit her a crack Avith
same range Youre a blasted chump a pick Then he handed It to me
he roars in a tone of Aoice that would
have carried forty mile Did you hear
that Bed he asks very innocent I
was so hot at the drh ers sass the
cussed low doAvnness of doing a feller
a favor and then hea ingii at him
Sure enough There under the black
was the yeller Of course If Id
knoAvu more about he business I could
have told it by the Aveight but Id
never seen a piece of gold fresh off
lhe farm before in TO liCe I hadnt
tne slightest Idea what tt iookcu iikc
and I learned afterward It all looks
different Some of it shines up yeller
In the start some of its red and some
Is like ours coated black with iron
crust
So I locked at Ag and Ag looked
at me neither one of us believing
anything at all for aAvhile I simply
couldnt get hold of the thing I aint
yet for that matter I expect to Avake
up and find it a pipe dream and in
some ways 1 wouldnt mind if it wa
I never avus so completely two men as
I was on that occasion One of e n
was hopping around and tiohcifcg
with Ag yelling Hooray and the
other didnt take much interest In the
proceedings at all And it Avatnt uui
I thought Nnw I can pay that cuss
ed coyote of n stage driver what I
owe him that I got any good out
it That brought it home to me When
1 spoke to Ag about paying lie driver
he says That so Then he taker a
quick look around We can pay him I
in full too old horse he hollers and
there was a most joyful smile on hi
face
Bed says he dont you know this
is the only ford on the river for 1
dont know how many miles perhap
the Avhole length of her
Well says I
Our little placer claim says Agg
slowly rubbing his hands together
covers that ford and by a judicious j
taking up of claims for various uncle
and brothels and friends of ours along i
the creek on the lowlands Ae can fix
it so they cant even bridge it
Do you mean they cant cross our
claim if we say they cant
Sure thing says Aggy There j
you and me and the law to say No
to that I wisli I had a gun
You dont need any gun for that
skunk of a driver
Of course not but therell be pas
sengers and there s no telling now ox
cited them passengers -will be wheu
the- find theyve got to go over the
hills ford hunting
Are you going to send em all
around Ag
The Avhole bunch Anyoody com
ing back from the diggings has gold
in his clothes so it Avont hurt em
none and I propose to give that stage
line an advertising that Avont do it a
bit of good Come along Bed Lets
see that lad that has the shack up
the river We need something to eat
and maybe hes got a gun If hes a
decent feller avo11 let him in on a
claim NoAer mind about the hole
It wont run aAvay and theres nobody
to touch anything Come on
So aao went up the river The
mans name was White and lie was a
white man by nature too He fed us
well and aa us just as hot as us Avhen
we told him about the stage drivers
trick Then Ave told him about the
find and let him in
Noaa says Aggy have you got n
gun
I have that says the man My
dad used to be a duck hunter on Ches
apeake bay When you say gun Ill
show you a gun He dove iu under
his bunk and fetched out what I should
say was a No 1 bore shotgun Avith
barrels six foot long
Gentlemen says he holding the
gun up and patting it lovingly if you
ram a quarter pound of powder in
each one of them barrels and a hand
ful of buckshot on top of that youve
got an argument that couldnt be upset
by the supreme court Ill guarantee
that Avhen you point her anywheres
Avithin ten feet of a man not over a
hundred yards aAAay and let her do her
duty all the talent that that mans
farnbly
enough of him to recognize him by
and you wont be in bed moren long
enough to heal a busted shoulder
I hope it aint going to be my pain
ful line of performance to pull the
trigger says Aggy I think the sight
of her Avould have Aveight Avith most
people Whens the stage due back
Day after about noon
That gives us lots of time to stake
and to salt claims that cant show
cause their OAvn selves says Aggy 1
think A ere all right
The next day Ave Avorked like the
old Harry We had everything fixed
up right by nightfall and there was
nothing to do but dig and wait
Curious folks Ave all are aint Ave
I should have said my own self that if
Id found gold by the bucketful Id be
more interested in that than I Avould
be iu getting even Avith a mut that had
done me dirt but it Avasnt so Per
haps it awis because I hadnt paid
much attention to money all my life
and I had paid the strictest attention
to the way other people used me Liv
ing Avhere theres so few folks ac
counts for that I suppose
Getting even on our esteemed
friend the stage drher was right in
your Uncle Iteddys line and Aggy and
our neAv pard White seemed to take
kindly to it also
If ever you saAV three faces filled
Avith innocent glee it A as when Ave
heard the wheels of that stage coming
Avhy the night before I Avas woke
up by somebody laughing There Avas
Aggy sound asleep sitting up hugging
himself in the moonlight
Oh my Oh my says he Its
the only ford for 4000 miles
We platited a sign in the middle of
the road with this AA ording on it in big
letters made Avith the black end of a
stick
NOTICE
This and adjoining claims arc the prop
erty of Agamemnon G Jones Red Saun
ders John Henry White et al
Trespassing done at your own risk
Owrrs will not be responsible for the
remains
There AA as a stretch of about a mile
on the level before us When the stage
come in plain sight Aggy proceeds to
load up Old Moral Suasion as h
called her so that the folks could see
there was no attempt at deception
They come pretty fairly slow after
that At fifty Aiiiolleyi IIaU
The team sat rlglil rtdwn on their
talis
Now Mr Rnlckumfrltz says Ag
gy you that drives I mean come here
and read this little sign
Suppose I dont says the feller
trying to be smart before the passen
gers
Its a horrible supposition says
Aggy and the Innocent will have to
suffer with the guilty Then lie cocks
the gun
God sakes Dont shoot yells one
of the passengers Man you ought to
have more sense than to trj and pick
him out of a crowd Avlth a shotgun
Get down there you fool and make It
quick
So the driver Avalked our way and
lead lie never saitl a word I reck
on lie realized it was the only ford
II ifMl
m i
iP MX
Around yon y lie hotlcrtt
for 000 miles more or less as Aggy
had remarked There he stood Avith
his mouth and eyes wide open
Id like to have you other gentle
men come up and see our first cleanup
so you Avont think Avere running in a
Avindy says Aggy They wanted to
see bad as you can imagine and Avhen
they did see about fifteen pounds of
gold in the bottom of my old hat they
talked like people that hadnt had a
Christian bringing up
Oil Lord groans one man Brig
ham loung and all the prophets of
the Mormon religion This is my
tenth trip over this line and me and
Pete Hendricks played a game of
seven up right on the spot Avhere that
gent hit her not over a month ago
when the stage broke doAvn Some
body just make a guess at the way I
feel and give me one small drink
And he put his hand to his head
Say boys he goes on you dont want
the Aviiole blamed creek do you Let
us in
Hoavs that fellers says Ag to
me and White We said Ave was agree
able
All right in you come says Aggy
There aint no hog about our firm
But as for you says lie walking on
his tiptoes up to the driver as for you
you cockeyed Avhelp around you go
Around you go he hollers jamming
the end of Moral Suasion into the drh
ers trap Oh and wont you go
round though says he Listen to
me iioav if any one of your ancestors
for tAventy four generations had ever
could employ couldnt gather i done anything as decent as robbing a
il wouiu nae coiuerreu a
kind of degree of nobility upon him It
wouldnt be possible to find an ornrier
cuss than you if a man raked all hell
with a fine toothed comb Noav you
stare coated mangy bandy legged
misbegotten outlaw coyote fly llyr
whoops Aggy jumping four foot in the
air before I squirt enough lead into
your system to make it a paying job
to melt you doAvn
The stage dri er acted according to
orders Three Avide steps and he avis
in the Avagon and with one screech
like a pizened bobcat he fairly lifted
the cayuses OA er the first ridge No
body never s iav him any more and no
body Avanted to
So thats the Avay I hit my stake
son just as Id always expected by
not knowing Avhat I Avas doing any
part of the time and noAv there
comes my iron horse coughing up the
track Ill Avrite you sure boy and you
let old Roddy know Avhats going on
and on your life dont forget to ghe
it to the ims straight why I sneaked
off on the quiet Ive got ten years
older in the last six months Well
here Ave go quite fresh and d d if
I altogether Avant to neither Too
late to argue though By by son
CON TINIKI XKXT WEEK
Stenographer s note books for sale at
The Tkiiscse oilier
rYUP Cures BHOv -
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