PRESIDENT
TO CONGRESS
Message Read to Both
Houses of National
Assembly
LEGISLATION CALLED FOR
Financial Standing of the Nation De
clared Excellent—Control of Cor
poration*, the President Thinks,
Should Be Left to the National
Government—Labor Leaders Come
In for Criticism—Respect for Law
Vital to the Well-Being of Country.
Washington.—The message of Presi
dent Roosevelt was read in both
bouses of congress Tuesday. In sub
stance the document was as follows:
<.
To the Senate and House of Represen
tatives: The financial standing of the
nation at the present time is excellent,
and the financial management of the na
tion’s Interests by the government dur
ing the last seven years has shown the
most satisfactory results. But our cur
rency system is imperfect, and it is ear
nestly to be hoped that the currency
commission will be able to propose a
thoroughly good system which will do
away with the existing defects.
During the period from July 1, 1901, to
September 30, 1908, there was an increase
in the amount of money in circulation of
$961,991,399 The increase in the per capita
during this period was $7.06. Within this
lime there were several occasions when
it was necessary for the treasury de
partment to come to the relief of the
money market by purchases or redemp
tions of United States bonds; by increas
ing deposits in national banks; by stim
ulating additional issues of national bank
notes, and by facilitating importations
from abroad of gold. Our Imperfect cur
rency system has made these proceedings
necessary, and they were effective until
the monetary disturbance in the fall of
1907 immensely increased the difficulty of
ordinary methods of relief. By the mid- '
,dle of November the available working
balance in the treasury had been reduced
to approximately $5,000,000. Clearing
house associations throughout the coun
try had been obliged to resort to the
expedient of issuing clearing house cer
tificates, to be used as money. In this
emergency it was determined to invite
subscriptions for $50.000,000 Panama canal
bonds, and $100,000,000 three per cent.
«ertificates of indebtedness authorized by
the act of June 13, 1898. It was proposed
to redeposit in the national banks the
proceeds of these issues, and to permit
their use as a basis for additional circu
lating notes of national banks. The
moral effect of this procedure was so
great that it was necessary to issue only
$24,631,980 of the Panama bonds and $15.
436.500 of the certificates of indebtedness.
During the period from July 1, 1901, to
Roptember 30. 1908, the balance between
the net ordinary receipts and the net
ordinary expenses of the government
showed a surplus in the four years 1902.
1903, 1906, and 1907, and a deficit In the
years 1904. 1905. 1908 and a fractional part
of the fiscal year 1909. The net result
was a surplus of $99,283,413.54. The finan
< ial operations of the government during
this period, based upon these differences
between receipts and expenditures, re
sulted in a net reduction of the intere?*t
bearing debt of the United states from
$987,141,040 to $897,253,990, notwithstanding
that there had been two sales of Panama
canal bonds amounting in the aggregate
to $54,631,980. and an issue of three per
cent, certificates of indebtedness under
the act of June 13. 1898. amounting to
$15,436,500. Refunding operations of the
treasury department under the act of
March 14, 1900, resulted in the conver
sion into two per cent, consols of 1930 of
$200,309,400 bonds bearing higher rates of
interest. A decrease of $8,687,956 in the
annual Interest charge resulted from
these operations.
In short, during the seven years and
three months there has been a net sur
plus of nearly one hundred millions of
receipts over expenditures, a reduction
of the interest-bearing debt by ninety
millions, In spite of the extraordinary ex
pense of the Panama canal, and a saving
of nearly nine millions on the annual
Interest charge.
Control of Corporations.
As regards the great corporations en
gaged In interstate business, and espe
cially the railroads, I can only repeat
what 1 have already ngain and again said
in my messages to the congress. I be
lieve ihat under the Interstate clause of
the constitution the United States has
complete and paramount right to con
trol all agencies of Interstate commerce,
and I believe that the national govern
ment alone can exercise this right with
wisdom and effectiveness so as both to
secure Justice from, and to do Justice to,
the great corporations which are the
most important factor* in modern busi
ness. 1 believe that It is worse than
folly to attempt to prohibit all com
binations as is done by the Sherman
anti-trust law, because such a law can
be enforced only imperfectly and un
equally, and its enforcement works al
most as much hardship as good. I
etrongly advocate that instead of an un
wise effort to prohibit all combinations,
there shall be substituted a law which
shall expressly permit combinations
which are In the interest of the public,
but shall at the same time give to some
agency In the national government full
power of control and supervision over
them. One of the chief features of this
control should be securing entire pub
licity in all matters which the public
has a right to know, and furthermore,
the power, not by Judicial but by execu
tive action, to prevent or put a stop to
every form of Improper favoritism or
other wrongdoing.
The railways or the country should oe
put completely under the Interstate com
merce commission and removed from
the domain of the anti-trust law. The
power of the commission should be made
thoroughgoing, so that It could exercise
complete supervision and control over
the issue of securities an well as over
the raising and lowering of rui n As
regard* rates, at least, this power should
tie summary. . . . Kates must be made
as low as is. compatible with giving prop
er returns to all th» employes of the rail
road, from the highest to the lowest,
and proper return's to the shareholders,
but they must tio«, for Instance, be re
duced In syeh fashion ua to necessitate
a cut In the w ' c; s of the employes or
the abolition of the proper and legitimate
profits of honest shareholders.
Telegraph and telephone companies en
gaged in Interstate business should he
put under the jurisdiction of the Inter
state commerce commission.
It Is very earnestly to be wished that
our people, through their representatives,
-should act In this matter. It is to
|the Interest of all of us that
Ethere should be a premium put upon in
w tridual Initiative and^IndMd11*1 ca
parity, and an ample reward for the
great directing intelligences alone com
petent to manage tl e great business op
erations of to-da\ It is well to keep in
mind that exactly as the anarchist is the
worst enemy of liberty and the reaction
ary the worst enemy of order, ho the
men who defend the rights of property
have most to fear from the wrongdoers
of great wealth, and the men who are
championing popular rights have most
to fear from the demagogues who In the
name of popular rights would do wrong
to and oppress honest business men.
honest men of wealth; for the success of
either type of wrongdoer necessarily In
vites a violent reaction against the cause
the wrongdoer nominally upholds. . . .
Need of Centralization.
The proposal to make the na
tional government supreme over, and
therefore to give it complete control over
the railroads and other Instruments of
interstate commerce is merely a propos
al to carry out to the letter one of the
prime purposes, if not the prime purpose,
for which the constitution was founded.
It does not represent centralization. It
represents merely the acknowledgment
of the patent fact that centralization has
already come in business. If this irre
sponsible outside business power is to be
controlled in the interest of the general
public It can only be controlled in one
way; by giving adequate power of con
trol to the one sovereignty capable of ex
ercising such power—the national govern
ment. To abandon the effort for national
control means to abandon the effort for
all adequate control and yet to render like
ly continual bursts of action by state leg
islatures, which cannot achieve the pur
pose sought for, but which can do a
great deal of damage to the corporation
without conferring any real benefit on
the public.
There should be regulation by the na
tional government of the great interstate
corporations, including a simple method
of account keeping, publicity, supervision
of the issue of securities, abolition of
rebates and of special privileges. There
should be short-time franchises for all
corporations engaged in public business;
including the corporations which get
pow'er from water rights. There should
be national as well as state guardianship
of mines and forests. The labor legisla
tion hereinafter referred to should con
currently be enacted into law.
To accomplish this, means a certain In
crease in the use of—not the creation of
—power, by the central government. The
power already exists; It does not have
to be created; the only question is
whether it shall be used or left idle—
and meanwhile the corporations over
which the power ought to be exercised
will not remain idle. The danger to Amer
ican democracy lies not in the least in the
concentration of administrative power In
responsible and accountable hands. It
lies in having the power insufficiently
concentrated, so that no one can be held
responsible to the people for its use.
Concentrated power is palpable, visible,
responsible, easily reached, quickly held
to account. Democracy is in peril
wherever the administration of po
litical power is scattered among
a variety of men who work in
secret, whose very names are un
known to the common people. It is not
in peril from any man who derives au
thority from the people, who exercises
it in sight of the people, and who is
from time to time compelled to give an
account of its exercise to the people.
Legislation for Wageworker.
There are many matters affecting labor
and the status of the wageworker to
which I should like to draw your atten
tion. but an exhaustive discussion of the
problem in all its aspects is not now nec
essary. I believe In a steady ef
fort, or perhaps it would be more
accurate to say in steady efforts
in many different directions, to bring
about a condition of affairs imder which
the men who work with Hand or with
brain, the laborers, the superintendents,
tire men who produce the market and the
men who find a market for the articles
produced, shall own a far greater share
than at present of the wealth they pro
duce, and be enabled to invest it in the
tools and instruments by which all work
is carried on. As far as possible I hope
to see a frank recognition of the advan
tages conferred by machinery, organiza
tion and division of labor, accompanied
by an effort to bring about a larger share
in the ownership by wage-worker of rail
way, mill and factory.
Postal Ravings banks will make It
easy for the poorest to keep their sav
ings in absolute safety. The regulation
of the national highways must be such
that they shall serve all people with
equal Justice. Corporate finances must
be supervised so as to make It far safer
than at present for the man of small
means to Invest his money in stocks.
There must be prohibition of child la
bor. u.minutlon of women labor, short
ening of hours of all mechanical labor;
stock watering should be. prohibited,
and stock gambling so far as Is possi
ble discouraged. There should be a
progressive inheritance tax on large
fortunes. Industrial education should
be encouraged. As far as possible we
should lighten the burden of taxation
on the small man. We should put a
premium upon thrift, hard work, and
business energy; but these qualities
cease to be the main factors in accu
mulating a fortune long before that
fortune reaches a point where It would
be seriously affected by any Inheri
tance tax such as I propose. It is emi
nently right that the nation should fix
the terms upon which the great for
tunes are Inherited. They rarely do
good and they often do harm to those
who inherit them In their entirety.
There should no longer be any palter
ing with the question of taking care of
the wageworkers who, under our pres
ent industrial system, become killed,
crippled, or worn out as part of the
regular Incidents of a given busi
ness. As far as concerns those
who have been worn out, I call your
attention to the fact that definite
steps toward providing old-age pen
sions have been taken In many of our
private Industries. These msy be In
definitely extended through voluntary
association and contributory schemes,
or through the agency of savings
banks, as under the Massachusetts
plan.
Urgent Need of Reform.
Our present system, or rather no sys
tem, works dreadful wrong, and Is of
benefit to only one class of people—the
lawyers. When a workman Is Injured
what he needs Is not an expensive and
doubtful lawsuit, but the certainty of
relief through Immediate administra
tive action. No academic theory
about “freedom of contract" or "consti
tutional liberty to contract" should be
permitted to interfere with this and
similar movements.
Pending a thoroughgoing investiga
tion and action there is certain legis
lation which should be enacted at once.
The law. passed at the last session of
the congress granting compensation to
certain classes of employes of the gov
ernment .should be extended to Include
all employes of the government and
should be made more liberal in its
terms. There is no good ground for
the distinction made in the law be
tween those engaged in hazardous oc
cupations and those not so en
gaged. The terms of the act pro
viding compensation should be made
more liberal than in the present
act. A year's compensation is not ade
quate for a wage-earner's family in the
event of his death by accident in the
course of his employment And in the
event of deatli occurring, say. ten or
eleven months after the accident, the
[ family would only receive as compen
sation the equivalent of one or two
months’ earnings In this respect the
generosity of the I’nited States towards
its employes compares most unfavora- j
bly with that of every country in Ku*
rope even the poorest.
1 renew my recommendation made In 1
a previous message that half-holidays
he granted during summer to all wage
workers in government employ .
1 also renew my recommendation that
the principle of the eight-hour day
should as rapidly and a* far as practi
cable be extended to the entire wrork
being carried on by the government;
the present law should he amended to
embrace contracts on those public
works which the present wording of
the act seem* to exclude.
Would Double Salaries of Judges.
1 most earnestly urge upon the con
gress the duty of increasing the totally
inadequate salaries now given to our
Judges On the whole there is no body
of public servants who do as valuable
work, nor whose moneyed reward is so
nadequate compared to their work. Be
ginning with the supreme court the
judges should have their salaries dou
bled. It is not befitting the dignity of
the nation that its most honored public
servants should be paid sums so small
compared to what they would earn in
private life that the performance of
public service by them Implies an ex
ceedingly heavy pecuniary sacrifice.
It is earnestly to be desired that some
method should be devised for doing
away with the long delays which now
obtain in the administration of justice,
and which operate with peculiar sever
ity against persons of small means, and
favor only the very criminals whom It
I is most desirable to punish. These
long delays in the final decisions of
cases make in the aggregate a crying
evil; and a remedy shout i be devised.
Much of this intolerable delay Is due
to improper regard paid to technicali
ties which are a mere hinderance to
justice. In some noted recent cases this
over-regard for technicalities has re
sulted in a striking denial of justice,
and flagrant wrong to the body politic.
Labor Leaders Criticised.
At the last election certain leaders of j
organized labor made a violent and
1 sweeping attack upon the entire judi
ciary.of the country, an attack couched
in such terms as to include thp most
upright, honest and broad4minded j
judges, no less than tb«*«* of narrower
mind and more restricted outlook.
Last year, before the house com
mittee on Judiciary, ' these suine
labor leaders formulated their de
mands, specifying the bill that
contained them, refusing all compro
mise. stating they wished the principle
of that bill or nothing. They insisted
on a provision that in a labor dispute
no injunction should issue except to
protect a property right, and specifical
ly provided that the right to carry on
business should not be construed as a
property right; and in a second provis
ion their bill made legal in a labor dis
pute any act or agreement by or be
tween two or more persons that would
not have been unlawful If done by a
single person. In other words, this bill
legalized blacklisting and boycotting
in every form, legalizing, for Instance,
those forms of the secondary boycott
which the anthracite coal strike com
mission so unreservedly condemned;
while the right to carry on a business
was explicitly taken out from under
that protection which the law throws
over property. The demand was made
| that there should be trial by Jury in
contempt cases, thereby most seriously
impairing the authority of the courts.
All this represented a course of policy
which, if carried out. would mean the
enthronement of class privilege in its
i crudest and most brutal form, and the
| destruction of one of the most essen
tial functions of the judilcary in all civ
! ilized lands.
The violence of the crusade for this
legislation, and its complete failure,
| Illustrate two truths which it is essen
tial our people should learn. In the
first place, they ought to teach the
i workingman, the laborer, the wage
worker. that by demanding what is im
1 proper and impossible lie plays into the
hands of his foes. Such a crude and
| vicious attack upon the courts, even if
| it were temporarily successful, would
| inevitably in the end cause a violent
I reaction and would hand the great
i mass of citizens together, forcing them
i to stand by all the judges, competent
and incompetent alike, rather than to
1 see the wheels of Justice slopped.
The wageworkers, the workingmen,
the laboring men of the country by the
, way in which they repudiated the ef
j fort to get them to cast their votes in
! response to an appeal to class hatred.
! have emphasized their sound patriotism
and Americanism. Such an attitude
is an object lesson in good citizenship to
the entire nation.
Judicial System Sound.
Our judicial system Is sound and
effective at core, and It remains,
and must ever be maintained, as
the safeguard of those principles of lib
erty and Justice which stand at the
foundation of American Institutions; for.
as Burke finely said, when liberty and
justice are separated, neither Is safe.
There are, however, some members of
the judicial body who have lagged be
hind In their understanding of these
great and vital changes In the body
politic, whose minds have never been
opened to the new applications of the old
principles made necessary by the new
conditions. Judges of this stamp do last
ing harm by their decisions, because they
convince poor men In need o' protection
that the courts of the land are pro
foundly ignorant of and out if sympathy
with their needs, and profoundly Ignorant
or hostile to any proposed remedy. To
such men It seems a cruel mockery to
have any court decide against them on
the ground that It desires to preserve
"liberty" in a purely technical form, by
withholding liberty In any real and con
structive sense
There are certain decisions by various
courts which have been exceedingly det
rimental to the rights of wage-workers.
This Is true of all decisions that decide
that men are, by the constitution, "guar
anteed their liberty” to contract to enter
a dangerous occupation, or to work an
undesirable or improper number of hours,
or to work in unhealthy surroundings;
and therefor# cannot recover damages
when maimed In that occupation, and
cannot be forbidden to work what the
legislature decides is an excessive num
ber of hours, or to carry on the work
under conditions which the legislature
decides to be unhealthy. Decisions
such as those nullify the legislative
effort to prote< t the wage-workers who
most need protection from those employ
ers who take advantage of their grind
ing need. They halt or hamper the move
ment for securing better and more equi
table conditions of labor.
There Is also, I think, ground for the
belief that substantial injustice Is often
suffered by employes In consequence of
the custom of courts issuing temporary
injunctions without notice to them, and
punishing them for contempt of court in
Instances where, as a matter of fact,
they have no knowledge of any proceed
ings. Organized labor is chafing
under the unjust restraint which
comes from repeated resort to this
plan of procedure. Its discontent
lias been unwisely expressed, and
often improperly expressed, but there
i Is a sound basis for It, and ttie or
derly and law-abiding people of a com
munity would be In a far stronger posi
j tion for upholding the courts If the un
doubtedly existing abuses could be pro
vided against.
Injunction Must Remain.
The power of Injunction Is a great
equitable remedy, which should on no
account be destroyed. But safeguards
should be erected against Its abuse.
In substance, provision should he made
that no injunction or temporary re
straining order Issue otherwise than on
notice, except where Irreparable injury
would otherwise result, and In such case
a hearing on the merits of the order
should he had within a short fixed pe
riod. and. if not then continued after
hearing, it should forthwith lapse De
cisions should be rendered immediately,
and the chance of delay minimised In
every way. Moreover. I believe that the
procedure should be sharply defined, and
the Judge required minutely to stute the
particulars both of his action and of his
reasons therefor, so that the congress
can If it desires examine and investigate
the same.
For many of the shortcomings of
Justice In our country our people as a
whole are themselves to blame, and the
judges and Juries merely hear their
share together wrlth the public as a
whole. It is discreditable to us as a
people that there should he difficulty In
convicting murderers, or in bringing to
Justice men who as public servants
have been guilty of corruption, or who
have profited by the corruption of
public servants. The result Is equally
unfortunate, whether due to hairsplit
ting technicalities in the interpretation
of law by judges, to sentimentality and
class consciousness on the part of
Juries, or to hysteria and sensational
ism in the daily press For much of
this failure of justice no responsibility
whatever lies on rich men as such. We
who make up the mass of the people
cannot shift the responsibility from our
own shoulders. But there Is an impor
tant part of the failure wnlch has spe
cially to do with inability to hold
to proper account men of wealth who
behave badly.
The Modern Corporation.
The huge wealth that has been accu
mulated by a few individuals of recent
years, in what has amounted to a so
cial and industrial revolution, has been
aa regards some of these individuals
made possible only by the Improper use
of the modern corporation. A certain
type of modern corporation, with its
officers and agents, its many Issues of
securities, and its constant consolida
tion with allied undertakings, finally
hetomfi an instrument so complex as
to contain a greater number of ele
ments that, under various Judicial de
cisions. lend themselves to fraud and
oppression than any device yet evolved
in the human brain. Corporations are
necessary Instruments of modern busi
ness. They have been permitted to
become a menace largely because the
governmental representatives of the
people have worked slowly In provid
ing for adequate control over them.
Our great clusters of corpora
tions. huge trusts and fabulously
wealthy multimillionaires, employ the
very best lawyers they can obtain to
pick flaws In statutes after their
passage; hut they also employ a class
of secret agents who seek, under the
advice of experts, to render hostile
legisla.ion innocuous by making it un
constitutional. often through the inser
tion of what appear on their face to be
drastic and sweeping provisions against
the interests of the parties inspiring
them; while the demagogues, the cor
rupt creatures who introduce black
mailing schemes to "strike” corpora
tions, and all who demand extreme,
and undesirably radical. measures,
show themselves to be the worst ene
mies of the very public whose loud- !
mouthed champions they profess to he. j
Real damage has been done by the
manifold nnd conflicting Interpretations
01 the interstate commerce law. Con
trol over the great corporations doing
interstate business can be effective only
if it is vested with full power in an
administrative department, a branch of
the federal executive, carrying out a
federal law; it can never be effective if
a divided responsibility is left In both
the states and the nation; it can never
be effective if left in the hands of the
courts to be decided by lawsuits.
Respect for Law Must Be Upheld.
The courts hold u place of peculiar and
deserved sanctity under our form of gov
ernment. Respect for the law Is essen
tial to the permanence of our Institu
tions and respect for the law la largely
conditioned upon respect for the courts.
It Is art offense against the republic to
say anything which can weaken this re
spect. save for the gravest reason and in
the most carefully guarded manner. In no
other nation In the world do the courts
wield such vast and far-reaching power
as In the United States. All that Is nec
essary Is that the courts as a whole
should exercise this power with the far
sighted wisdom already shown by those
Judges who scan the future while they
act In the present. Let them exercise
this great power not only honestly and
bravely, but with wise Insight Into the
needs and fixed purposes of the people,
so that they may do Justice, and work
equity, so that they may protect all per
sons In their rights, and yet break down
the barriers of privilege, which Is the foe
of right.
Forest Preservation.
If there is any one duty which more
than another we owe it to our children
to perf„im at once. It Is to save the for
est* of this country, for they constitute
the first and most important element In
the conservation of the natural re
sources of the country. . . . Just as
a farmer, after all his life making his
living from his farm, will, If he Is an ex
pert farmer, leave it ae an asset of In
creased value to ills son, so we should
leave our national domain to our chil
dren, Increased In value and not worn
out. There are small sections of our own
country, in the east and In the west, in
the Adirondacks, the White mountains
and the Appalachians, and In the Rocky
mountains, where we can already see for
ourselves the damage In the shape of
permanent injury to the soil ami the
river systems which comes from reckless
deforestation. It matters not whether
this deforestation is due to the actual
reckless cutting of timber, to the fires
that Inevitably follow such reckless cut
ting of timber, or to reckless and uncon
trolled grazing, especially by the great
migratory bands of sheep, the un
checked wandering of which over the
I'ountry means destruction to forests and
disaster to the small home-makers, the
settlers of limited means
Thanks to our own recklessness
In the use of our splendid forests,
we have already crossed the verge of a
timber famine In this country, and no
measures that we now take can, at least
for many years, undo the mischief that
has already been done. But we can pre
vent further mischief being done; and It
would be In the highest degree reprehen
sible to let any consideration of tem
porary convenience or temporary cost
Interfere with such action, especially as
regards the national forests which the
nation can now, at this very moment,
control.
The lesson of deforestation in China
Is a lesson which mankind should have
learned many times already from what
has occurred In other places. Denuda
tion leaves naked soil; then gullying
cuts down to the bare rock; and mean
while the rock-waste buries the bottom
lands When the soil Is gone, men
must go; and the process does not take
long
Plea for Inland Waterways.
Action should be begun forthwith, dur
ing the present session of the congress,
for the improvement of our inland water
ways -action which will result in giving
us not only navigable but navigated
rivers.
Until the work of river Improvement is
undertaken in a modern way it can not
have results that will meet the needs of
this modern nation. The plan
which promises the best and quick
eat results is that of a per
manent commission authorized to ro-or- |
dtnale the work of all the government
departments relating to waterways, and
to frame and supervise the execution of
a comprehensive plan. Under such a
commission the actual work of construc
tion might l»e entrusted to the reclama
tlon service or to the military engineers
acting with r sufficient number of civili
ans to continue the work in time of war;
or it might be divided between the rec
lamation service and the corps of en
gineers. Funds should be provided from
'iirrent revenues if it Is deemed wise—
itherwtss from the sale of bonds. The
•ssentlal thing is that the work should
go forward under the best possible plan,
and with the least possible delay. The
time for playing with our waterways is
past. The country demands results.
The president urges that national
parks adjacent to national forests be
placed under the control of the forest
Hervice of the agricultural depart
ment; he also points out the benefits
derived from ptire food legislation.
The message continues:
Need* of the Secret Service.
!.»*t year an amendment was Incor
porated In the measure providing for the
secret service, which provided that there
should be no detail from the secret serv
ice and no transfer therefrom. The
amendment In question was of benefit to
no one excepting to criminals, and
It seriously hampers the government In
the detection of crime and the securing
of justlre. The chief argument In
favor of the provision was that
the congressmen did not them
selves wish to be Investigated by the
secret service men. Very little of such
Investlgstlon has been done In the past;
but It Is true that the work of the secret
service agents was partly responsible for
the Indictment end conviction of a sen
ator and a congressman for land frauds
In Oregon. I do not believe that It la
In the public Interest to protect criminals
In any branch of the public service, and
exactly as we have again and again dur
ing the past seven years prosecuted and
convicted such criminals who were In
the executive branch of the government,
so In my belief we should be given ample
means to prosecute them If found In the
legislative branch. But If this Is not
considered desirable a special exception
could he made In the law prohibiting the
use of the secret service force In Inves
tigating members of the congress.
Postal Saving* 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 to encourage thrift and economy In
the wage-earner and person of mod
erate means. II Is believed that In the
aggregate vast sums of money would be
brought Into circulation through the In
strumentality of the postal savings
hanks.
Parcel Post.
In my last annual message I com
mended the post master-general's
recommendation for an extension of the
parcel post on the rural routes. The
establishment of a local parcel post on
rural routes would he to the mutual
benefit of the farmer and the country
storekeeper, and II Is desirable that the
routes, serving more than 15,000.000
people, should he utilised to the fullest
practicable extent
Education.
With the limited means hitherto pro
vided. the bureau of e duration lias
rendered efficient service, but the con
gress tins neglected to adequately sup
ply the bureau with means to meet the
educational growth of the country.
I earnestly recommend that this un
fortunate state of affairs as regards
the national educational office be reme
died by adequate appropriations. This
recommendation Is urged tiy the repre
sentatives of our common schools and
great state universities and the leading
educators, who all unite In requesting
favorable consideration and action by
the congress upon tills subject.
The president points out the neces
sity of better organization of the vari
ous bureaus responsible for the pub'Ir
health, and urges the placing of all
soldiers' homes under the jurisdiction
of the war department.
Statehood.
On the question of statehood the
president says;
I advocate the immediate admission of
New Mexico and Arizona as slates. This
should tie done al the present session of
the congress. The people of the two ter
ritories have made It evident bv their
votes that they will not come In as one
state. The only alternative Is to admit
them as two, and 1 trust that this will be
done without delay.
Interstate Fiaheries.
I call the attention of the congress to
the Importance of the problem of the
fisheries In the Interstate waters. On the
Oreat t-akes we are now, under the very1
wlae treaty of April 11 of this year, en
deavoring to come to an International
agreement for the preservation and sat
isfactory use of the fisheries of these wa
ters which can not otherwise be achieved.
T,ake Erie, for example has the richest
fresh water fisheilea !<• the world; but It
la now controlled by the statutes of two
nations, four ciates, and one province,
and this province by two different ordi
nances In different counties. All these
political divisions work at cross pur
poses, and In no case can they achieve
protection to the fisheries, on the one
hand, and justice to the localities and In
dividuals on the other.
Foreign Affaire.
This nations foreign policy is based
on the theory that right must be done
between nations precisely as between
Individuals, and in our actions for the
last ten years we have In tills matter
proven our faith by our deeds. We
have behaved, and are behaving, to
wards other nations, as in private life
an honotable man would behave to
wards his fellows.
Latin-American Republics.
The commercial and material prog
ress of the 20 Latin-American republics
Is worthy of the careful attention of
the congress. The International Bureau
of the American Republics is doing a
useful work in making these nations
and their resources better known to
us, and in acquainting them not only
with us as a people and with our pur
poses towards them, but with what we
have to exchange for their goods.
Panama Canal.
The work on the Panama canal is be
ing done with a speed, efficiency and
entire devotion to duty, which make it
a model for all work of the kind. The
men on the? Isthmus, from Col. Goethals
and his fellow commissioners through
the entire list of employes who are
faithfully doing their duty, have won
their right to the ungrudging respect
and gratitude of the American people.
Ocean Mail Lines.
I again recommend the extension of
the ocean mail act of 18S1 so that satis
factory American ocean mail lines to
South America. Asia, the Philippines,
and Australasia may be established.
Hawaii.
I call particular attention to the Ter
ritory of Hawaii. The importance of
those Islands is apparent, and the need
of improving their condition and de
veloping I heir resources Is urgent.
The Philippines.
Heal progress toward self-government
Is being made In the Philippine Islands.
1 trust that within a generation
the time will ai rive w hen the Philippines
can decide for themselves whether It la
well for them to become Independent, or
to continue under the protection of a
strong and disinterested power, able to
guarantee to the Islands order at horns
and protection from foreign Invasion
Porto Rico.
I again recommend that American clt
isenshlp be conferred upon the people of
Porto Itlco.
Cuba.
In Cuba our occupancy will cease In
about two months' time; the Cubans
have In orderly manner elected their own
governmental authnillies. and the Island,
will be turned over to them. Our occu-1
patlon on this occasion has lasted a lit
tle over Iwo years, and Cuba has thriv
en and prospered under It. Our earnest
hope and one desire Is that the people
of the Island shall now govern them
selvea with Justice, so that peace and of-'
der may be secure.
Japanese Exposition.
The Japanese government has post
poned until 1917 the date of the great,
international exposition, the action be-,
lug taken so as to Insure ample time
In which to prepare to make the expo
sition all that It should be made The
American commlaaloners have visited
Japan and the postponement will mere
ly give ampler opportunity for Ameri
ca to be represented at the exposition.
Not since the drat International expo
sition has there been one of greater
importance than this will be. marking,
as It does, the fiftieth anniversary of
the ascension to the throne of the em
peror of Japan. The extraordinary
leap to the foremost place among the
nations of the world made by Japas|
during this half century Is somethin#
unparalleled In all previous lilstorvj'
I take this opportunity publicly t^
state my appreciation of the way lit
which in Japan. In Australia. In New
Zealand, and In all the states of Boutl^
America, the battle fleet has been re*
reived on Its practice voyage around
the world. The American government
can not too strongly express Its appre
ciation of the abounding and generous
hospitality shown our ships In every
port they visited.
Tha Army.
As regards the army I call attention
to the fact that while our junior ofll!
cere and enlisted men stand very high,
the present system of promotion by
seniority results In bringing Into this
higher grades many men of medlocry
capacity who have but a short tima to
serve. No man should regard It as hlis
vested right to rise to the highest rank
In the army any more than In any
other profession. It Is a curloua and
by no mentis creditable fact that there
should be so often a failure on the
part of the public and Its representa
tives to understand the great need,
from the standpoint of the service and
the nation, of refusing to promote re
spectable. elderly Incompetents. The
higher places should be given to the
most deserving men without regard to
seniority; st least seniority should be
treated as only one consideration. In
the stress of modern Industrial com
petition no business firm could succeed
If those responsible for Its management
were chosen simply on the ground that
they were the oldest people In Its em
ployment; yet this Is the course advo
cated ns regards the army, and re
quired by law for all grades except
those of general officer. As a matter
of fact all of the best offlrers In the
highest ranks of the army are those
wtio have attained their present posi
tion wholly or In part by a process of
select Ion.
The scope of retiring boards should
he extended so that they could con
sider general unfitness to command for
any cause. In order to secure a far more
rigid enforcement than at present |n
the elimination of officers for mental,
physical or temperamental disabilities.
Hot this plan is recommended only If
the ( ongress does not see fit to provide
what In my Judgment Is far better,
that Is. for selection in promotion, and
for elimination for age Officers who
fall to attain a certain rank by a cer
tain age. should be retired for In
stance. If a man should not attain
field rank by the lime he Is 4f. he
should of course he placed ori the re
tired list. General officer* should be
selected ns at present, and one-third
of the ottier promotions should be
made by selection, the selection to be
made by the president or secretary of
war from a list of at least two candi
dates proposed for each vacancy by a
hoard of officers froni tlie arm of the
service from which the promotion Is
to he made. A bill Is now before the
congress having for it* object to se
cure the promotion of officers to vari
ous grades at reasonable ages through
a process of selection, by boards of of
ficers, of the least efficient for retire
ment with a percentage of their pay
depending upon length of service. Tha
bill, although not accomplishing all
that should be done. Is a long step in
the right direction; and 1 earnestly
recommend its passage, or that o( a
more completely effective measure.
National Guard.
Now that the organized militia, the
National Guard, has been Incorporated
with the army at a part of the national
forces. It behooves the government to
do every reasonable thing In its power
to perfect Its efficiency. It should bo
assisted In its Instruction end other
wise aided more liberally than hereto
fore. The continuous services of many
well-trained regular officers will be
essential in this connection, i A
bill is now pending before the
congress creating a number of extra
officers In the army, which if passed,
as It ought to be, will enable more
officers to be trained as instructors of
National Guard and assigned to that
duty. In case of war it will be of the
utmost importance to have a large
number of trained officers to use for
turning law levies Into good troops.
The Navy.
I approve the recommendations of
the general board for the in
crease of the navy, calling especial
attention to the need of addi
tional destroyers and colliers, and above
all. of the four battleships. It is desir
able to complete us soon as possible a
squadron of eight battleships of the best
existing type.
I most earnestly recommend that the
gcnernl board be by law turned Into a
general staff. There Is literally no ex
cuse whatever for continuing the pres
ent bureau organization of the navy. The
navy should be treated as a purely mili
tary organisation, and everything should
be subordinated to the one object of se
curing military efficiency. A system
of promotion by merit, either by selec
tion or by exclusion, or by both
processes, should be Introduced. It is out
of the question, If the present principle
of promotion by mere seniority Is kept,
to expect to get the best results from the
higher officers. Our men come too old,
and stay for too short a time, in the high
command positions.
Nothing better for the navy from every
standpoint has ever occurred than the
cruise of the battle fleet around the
world. The Improvement of the ships In
every way has been extraordinary, and
they have gained far more experience
In battle tactics than they would have
gained if they had stayed In the Atlantic
waters. The American people have cause
for profound gratification, both In view
of the excellent condition of the fleet as
shown by this cruise, and in view of the
improvement the cruise has worked In
Hits already high condition. I do not
believe that there is any other service in
the world in which the average of char
acter and efficiency In the unlisted men
is as high ns is now the case In our own.
THEODORE ROOSEVELT.
The White House, Tuesday, December
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