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IK PIEMEN'S MESSAGE MVMEHOt'S II WOMMEN RATION'S ?IT XOIIIINO RADICAL AD? VOCATED. Asked to Anirral Anll-Trii-t Ut -The Need of Immediate Ho In Currency hystem strongly 4V Pasts! Having" Rank Kndorsrd?Inheritance end Tas Recommended.? Wo?M Ureaw luilrnml*. Washington. Dec. t ?The annual 1 in Hi of President Roosevelt wa& read la congress today at noon. The members ware all In their teats and the galleries were crowded with spec? tator*, the message being eagerly an? ticipated by the public at large as well ssv by members of congress. The president In bis message to con ?resu says ? No aatlun has greater resources thun sara* and I think It on be truthfully tali that the eltUens of no ustlou po> euwa greater energy sue* Industrial abii 1 In no nation are tbs fundaments I saa conditions k?under tbsn In si this rery moment, snd It a* When <ueh Is tls? case for pen rti m i ?y Instead of keeping sound hanks, for It kf such hoard haf that Is the Immadate ore s? I on ol y atrlngeocy Moreover, ss a the saw hit is of our fsjople It con 4 wttb honesty and probity, and $Mm Applies alike to farms and fae tat las. to rail roe hi an 1 banks, to all ajar legitimate commercial enterprises ? Ja any large body at men, however, tri eerta'n to hs ?oroe who arc and If the conditions are I these men prospor or commit \ wltft impunity the I. m s -er> eel I thing for the Where bese men are of grea* sagacity and o' both unscrupulous an 1 sa>? where the conditions are s>y act without supervision mt at drat a ithoot effective psjhUc opinion, tbey delude ps*w>le uio making in es* c. ? yirkli g in kinds of that are really unsound. When of these successfully dts man art discovered, suffering tot only upon them, but upon t whom they hare misled painful awakeahvgi whenever it] and loturaJ!/ a had ft doss oc frha suffer ata apt to fonret atafajf it wai deferred the Ah It wonid ?l In toe effort the guilty it hi beta wVe end ror so far as pasftb.v iMratM of those who by the gaOty. yet it to raftnin because of strt'tag to put sn that art the altl of tbs Maturing and. as a ft this sod. whirs possible to state rasposad'Oe for them snag ha honest differences of an many gomramsotal poll sjssjgy there eta he an such aa to the ao?d/?f nnSlncb ks th? war against sty. tatorstats Csssiaeroe. small part of the trouble that we touts* from carrying to su ax taw national virtue of self reli? ef Indavsndence In Initiative SCttoo- It Is wise to conserve tbls snd to provide for Its fullest Ige sotn pat lute with tseelng that dor* eo* sacoms a liberty to other*, l afortunately tbls Is of liberty that the lack of all reg .' ? ? >n tits/vitabiy breed*, kvs ?>( the constitution pro that the national government gdd have complete snd sole coutrol interstate commerce. There was practically no Interstate bushie*? tenjntcb ss wss conducted by water, and this too national government at osjre proceeded to regul; to in thorough going und effect h ?? fashion. Condi I have now ao a holly chtuged that the Interstate commeree by water Is Inslg Mannt compared with the amount it | et by land, and almost nil bii tsaatneas concerns are now engaged in tatarsture commerce. As s result It can ha but partially snd Imperfectly con? trolled or regulated by the action of any o? e of the several states, such uc tton luevltably tending to l>e either ^toa drastic or elae too lax and In either m%ase Ineffective for purposes <>f justice Tmly the national government can In thorongtigoiug fashion even I e the ntsded control. Tbls foes not menu that there should be soy sxtensiou of il satbortty, for inch authority exists under the constitution amplest ami moat far reaching form. It doss mean that there should be 'an extension of federal tetlrlty. TuU 1s not adrycatlua cengnillzatlou. It l< merely looking facts in tS*? faee and realising tbat centralisation In business has slready come and munot be avoid SSt or undone and tbst Use public at (in only protect Itself from cer evil effects of this business ecu dmatloa by provtdlag l?ottcr methods for the exorcise of coo hoi through the authority already centralised In the na Mona i government by the const I to tSon itself. There rru?t be no halt In the healthy c e ooorse of sc tton which thu as elected to ^stoahunst and has steadily pursued dur ?Tag the last Hi years, as shown both In the legtola > congress and the administration of r s Isw by the irtment af Nstiensl Llssn ?* Fo Rsilrosds. The moat ettnl < In connection with the rsl o these. In ray seat. Um re now he either national I >? i . set or a law ifteoneing nsllws alee to engage at httsrststv eoaim**rf>; u|>on certslu aaadttlons The law t boo id bo so fismtil ss lo gree lo the Interstate ?ouituisskvu Mrwar to pass future baue of seeunik*. latfffSP v. bile ample means should be provided to enable the co;*.:iulsslon whenever tn Its JudgnienMt 1? uocessory to make n phytdcal valuation of any railroad. As 1 suited In my message to the congress a year a^o, railroads should be given power to enter Into agreements sub? ject to these ugreemeuts being made public in minute detail and to the con? tent of the interstate commerce com? mission bel?g first obtained. Until tbe national government assumes prop? er control of Interstate commerce In the exercise of the authority It already possesses It will be Impossible elth-f to give to or to get from the railroads full Justice. The rat! roads and all oth? er great corporations will do well to recognise that this control must coma, The only question Is as to what gdV trnmeutal body can most wisely exer? cise It. The courts will determine the limits within which the federal author? ity can exercise it, and there will still remain ample work within each state for tbe railway cotlimlsslou of that ?tab*, and tbe natloual Interstate com? merce commission will work In har? mony with the several state commis? sions, each within Its own province, to achieve tbe desired end. The Antitrust Law. Moreover. In my judgment, there Should be additional legislation looking to tbe proper control of the great busi? ness concerns engaged In Interstate bus lues*, this control to be exercised for their own benefit and prosperity 00 leas than for the protection of In? vestors and of tbe general public. As 1 nave repeatedly said In messages to congress and elsewhere, experience has definitely shown not merely tbe unwis? dom, hut the futility, of endeavoring to pot a stop to all business combinations. Modern Industrial conditions are such the t combination to not only necessary, but Inevitable. It Is so In tbe world of business Just as It Is so In the world of labor, and. It to as Idle to desire to put tn end to til corporations, to til big combinations of capital, ts to desire to put nn end to combinations of It bor. Corporation and labor union alike have" COIDf to ?tty. Each If properly man tged to $ source of good and not evil. Whenever In tithe? there to evil it should be promptly bed to account, bat It should rectlve hearty encourage? ment to long tt It to properly managed. It to profoundly immoral to put or keep on the statute books a Itw no ml na 11 y In tbe Interest of public morality that really putt t premium upon pub? lic Immorality by uudertaklng to for? bid honest men from doing what must be done under modern business condi? tions to that the law Itself provides that Its owa Infraction must be the condition precedent upon business suc? cess. To tlm tt tbe accomplishment of too much usually means the uccoro ' pttobment of too little and often tht do? me; of positive damage. Net Repeal, but Amendment? The i tod trust law should not be re? pealed, bat it should be made both more efficient tad mow In harmony with actual conditions It thou Id be to amended tt to fovt>ld oolj the kind of combination which decs harm to the general public, such amendment to be accompanied by or to be an Incident of t grant of supervisory power to the government over these big concerns engaged in Interstate business. This should be accompanied by provision for the compulsory publication of ac? counts and the subjection of books and papers to the Inspection qt the gov? ernment officials. A beginning hat al? ready been made for tuch supervision by the establishment of the bureau of corporations. The antitrust law should not prohibit comblnations that do no Injustice to the public, still less those tbe existence of which ts on the whole of benefit to the public. But even If this feature of the law were abolished there would remain as an equally objectionable fea? ture the difficulty and delay, now Inci? dent to Its enforcement. The govern-, ment must now submit to Irksome and repeated delay before obtaining a Una! decision of the courts ui>ou proceedings Instituted, and even a favorable de? cree may mean an empty victory. Moreover, to attempt to control these corporations by lawsuits means to Im? pose upon both the department of Justice and the courts nn impossible burden. It Is not feasible to carry on more than a limited number of such suits. 8uch a law to be really effec? tive must of course be administered by an executive body and not merely by means of lawsnlts. The design should be to prevent the abuses lucl dent to the creation of unhealthy and Improper combinations Instead of wait Ing until they are In existence and then attempting to destroy them by civil or criminal proceedings. Law Should 3s Explicit. A C .ublnatlou should uot be tolerat? ed if It abuse the power acquired by combination to the public detrlmeut No corporatlou or association of any kind should l>e permitted to engage in foreign or Interstate commerce that is formetl for the purpose of or whose operations create a monopoly or gen? eral control of the production, sale or distribution of any one or siore of the prime necessities of life or articles of general use and necessity. Such com? binations are against public policy. They violate the commou law. The doors of the courts are closed to those who are parties to t*iem. and 1 believe tbe congress can clone the channels of Interstate commerce against them for Its protection. The law should make Its prohibitions and permissions as clear aud definite in possible, leaving the least possible room for arbitrary action or allegation of such action on the pArt of the executive or of dlver fent Interpretations by the courts. Among the points to be aimed at should be the prohibition of unhealthy competition, such as by rendering serv? ice at an actual loss for the purpose of crushing out competition, the preven? tion of Inflation of capital and the pro? hibition of a corporation's making ex clusivs trsde with Itself t condition of having any trade wltb Itself. Reason able agreements between or combina? tion* of QOsiroaUss.* th.ou.ui ba. psr mit toil provided they are first submit? ted to and approved by some appro? priate government body. Congress' Power. The congress has the power to char? ter corporations to engage In interstate and foreign commerce, and n general law can be enacted under the provi? sions of which existing corporations could take out federal charters and new federal corporations could 1k? cre? ated. An essential provision of such a law should l*> a method of predeter? mining by some federal board or com missiou whether the applicant for a federal charter was an* association or comblnatlou within the restrictions of the federal law. Provision should also be made for complete publicity in all matters affecting the public and com? plete protection to the investing public and the shareholders lu the matter of issuing corporate securities. If an In? corporation law is not deemed advisa? ble, a license act for big Interstate cor poratlons might be enacted or a com? bination of the two might be tried. The supervision established might be analogous to that now exercised over national banks. At least the anti? trust act should be supplemented by specific prohibitions of the t&eihods which experience has shown have been of most service in enabling monopolis? tic combinations to crush out competi? tion. The real owners of a corporation should be compelled to do business In their own name. The right to hold stock In other corporations should here? after be denied to Interstate corpora I tlons, unless on approval by the proper government official*, and a prerequisite I to such approval should lc the listing with the government of all owners and stockholders, both by the corporation owning such (stock and by the corpora? tion in which auch stock is owned. Lessons of Recent Crisis. To confer upon the national govern? ment In connection with the amend? ment I advocate iu the antitrust law power of supervision.over big business concerns engaged Id Interstate com? merce would benefit them as It has benefited the national bunks. In the Vecent business crisis it is noteworthy thst the institutions which failed were institutions which were not under the supervision and control of tho national government. Those which were under national control stood the test National control of the kind above advocated would be to the benefit of every well managed railway. From the standpoint of the public there is need for additional tracks, additional terminals and improvements in the ac? tual handling of the railroads, and all this as rapidly as possible. Ample, safe and speedy transportation facili? ties are eveu more necessary than cheap transportation. Therefore there Is need for the Investment of money which will provide for all these things while at the same time securing as far as is possible better wages and shorter hours for their employees. Therefore, while there must be Just and reasona? ble regulation of rates, we should be the first to protest against any arbitra? ry and unthinking movement to cut them down4* without the fullest and most careful consideration of all inter' ests concerned and of the actual needs of the situation. Only a special body of men acting for the national govern? ment under authority conferred upon it by the congress is competent to pass judgment on such a matter. Those who fear from any reason the extension of federal activity will do well to study the history uot only of the national banking act. but of the pure food law, and notably the meat Inspection luw recently enacted. The pure food law was Opposed so violent? ly that Its passage wus delayed for u decade, yet It has worked unmixed und immediate good. The meat Inspection law was even more violently assailed, and the same men who now denomue the attitude of the untloual govern? ment In seeking to oversee and control the workings of Interstate common car? riers and business concerns then as? serted that we were "discrediting und ruining a great American industry." Two years have not elapsed, and al? ready it has become evident that the great benefit the law confers upon the public 1s accompanied by un equal ben? efit to the rapjOtuhls packing establish? ments. The latter are better off uuder the law than they were without it. The benefit tc interstate common car? riers and business coucerns from the legislation I advocate would be equal? ly marked. Pure rood Lsw. Incidentally In the passage of the pure food law the action of the vari? ous state food and dairy commission? ers showed In striklug fashion how much good for the whole people results from the hearty co-operation of the federal and state officials Iu securing a given reform., it Is primarily to the action of these state commissioners tbtt tve owe the enactment of this I ?fv, for they aroused the people, first to demand the enactment nud enforce? ment of state laws on the subject and then tho enactment of the federal law, without which the state laws were largely Ineffective. There must be the closest co-operation between the na? tional and state governments in ad? ministering these laws. Currency Legislation Needed. 1 again urge on the congress the need of immediate attention to this matter. Wo need a greater elasticity in our currency, provided of course that we recoguias the even greater need of a safe and secure currency. Provision should be made for nn emergency currency. The emergency Issue should of course be made with un effective guarantee ami upon condi? tions carefully prescribed by the gov eminent. Such emergency issue must i bo bused on adequate securities ap? proved by the government and must be issued under a henry tax. This would penult currency being Issued when the demand for It was urgent, while secur- , lug its retirement as the demand fell off. It Is Worth investigating to de lennl'oe wjje^ber oiDcers and directors of national bunks should ever be al? lowed to loan to themselves. Trust companies should be subject to the same supervision ns banks. Legisla? tion to this effect should be enacted for the District of Columbia and the ter? ritories. Yet we must also remember that even the wisest legislation on the sub? ject can only accomplish n certain amount. No legislation can by any possibility guarantee the business com? munity against the results of specula the folly any more than It can guaran? tee an Individual against the results of his extravagance. When an Individual mortgages Iiis house to buy an auto? mobile hti^vltes disaster, and when wealthy iikm or men who pose as such or are unscrupulously or foolishly eager to become such Indulge in reckless speculation, especially if It is accom? panied by dishonesty, they Jeopardize not only their own future, but the fu? ture of all their innocent fellow citi? zens, for they expose the whole busi? ness community to panic and distress. Can't Revise Tariff Now. This country is definitely committed to the protective system, and any ef? fort to uproot It could not but cause widespread industrial disaster. In other words, the principle of the pres? ent tariff law could not with wisdom be changed. But In a country of such phenomenal growth as ours it is prob? ably well that every dozen years or so, the tariff laws should be carefully scru? tinized so as to see that ho excessive or improper beneQts are conferred thereby, that proper revenue is provid? ed and that our foreign trade is en? couraged. There must always be as a minimum a tariff which will not only allow for the collection of an ample revenue, but which will at least make good the difference In cost of produc? tion here hnd abroad?that Is, the dif? ference in the labor cost here and abroad, for the well being of the wage worker must ever be a cardinal point of American policy. The question should be approached purely from a business standpoint, both tbe time and the manner of the change being such as to arouse tbe minimum of agitation and disturbance in the business world and to give the least play for selfish and factional motives. The sole con? sideration should rbe to see that The" sum total of changes represents the public good. This means that the sub? ject cannot with wisdom be dealt with In the year preceding a presidential election, because as a matter of fact experience has conclusively shown that at such a time It Is Impossible |o get men to treat It from the standpoint of the public good. In my judgment tbe .wise time to deal with tbe '.natter Is* Immediately after such election. Inooms Tex snd Inheritance Tsx. When our tax laws are. revised the question of an income tax and an in? heritance tax should receive tbe care? ful Attention of our legislators. I; my Judgment, both of these taxes should be part of our system of fed era! taxation. I speak diffidently about the Income tax because one scheme f?r an Income tax wus declared unconsti? tutional by the supreme court, while In addition it is u difficult tax to admin? ister in its practical working, and great care would have to be exercised to see that it was not evaded by the very men whom tt was most desirable to. have taxed. Nevertheless a graduated income tax of the proper type would be a desirable feature of federal taxa? tion, and it is to be hoped that one may be devised whlcb the supreme court will declare constitutional. The Inheritance tax. however, Is n far better method of taxation. The goverumeut has the absolute right to decide us to the terms upon which a man Shall receive a bequest from an? other, and this point in the devolution of property Is especially appropriate f;>;* the Imposition of a tax. Laws im? posing such taxes have repeatedly been,, placed upon the national statute books and as repeatedly declared constitu? tional by the courts, and these laws contained the progressive principle? that Is, after a c ertain amount Is reach? ed the bequest or gift In life or death ts increasingly burdened and the rate of taxation Is Increased In proportion to the Remoteness of blood of the man receiving the bequest. These principles are recognized already In the leading civilized nations of the world. Germany's Inheritance Tax. The German law Is especially inter? esting to us because it makes the in? heritance tax an imperial measure while alloting to the Individual states of the empire a portion of the pro? ceeds and. permitting them to Impose taxes In addition to those imposed by the Imperial government. Small inher? itances are exempt, but the tax is so sharply progressive that when the In? heritance is still uot very large, pro? vided it Is not an agricultural or a for? est land, it is taxed at the rate of 25 per cent If It goes to distant relatives. There is no reason why in the United States the national government should not impose inheritance taxes iu addi? tion to those imposed by the states, and when we last had an inheritance tax about one-half of the states levied such taxes concurrently with the na? tional government, muklig a combined maximum rate in some cases as high as 25 per cent. To Tax Nonresidents Higher. The tax should if possible be made to bear more heavily upon those resid? ing without the country than within it. A heavy progressive tax upon a very large fortune Is in no way such a tax upon thrift or industry as a like tax would be on a small fortune. No ad? vantage conies either to tin? country as a whole or to the individuals Inher? iting the money by permitting the transmission in their entirety of the enormous fortunes which would be af? fected by such a tax, and as an Inci? dent to its function of revenue raising such a tax would help to preserve a measurable equality of opportunity for the people of the generation.* growing to mnnbood We have not,the slightest *?mjhll 1 with that socialistic Idea which would try to put laziness, thriftlcssness and fnr^flclencv on n nnr with Industry thrift and efficiency, which would strive to break up not merely private property, but, what is far more impor? tant, the home, the chief prop upon which our whole civilization stands. Such a theory If ever adopted would mean the ruin of the entire country, but proposals for legislation such as this herein advocated are directly op? posed to this class of socialistic the? ories. Enforcement of the Law. A few years ago there was loud com I plaint that the law could not be In voked against wealthy offenders. There Is no such complaint now. The course of the department of justice during the last few years has been such as to make it evident that no man stands I above the law, that no corporation is so wealthy that it cannot be held to ac? count. Everything that can be done I under the existing law and with the I existing state of public opinion, which I so profoundly influences both the courts and juries, has been done, but the laws themselves need strengthening. Thoy I should be made more definite, so that no honest mau can be led unwittingly to break them and so that the real wrongdoer ean be readily punished. I Moreover, there must be the public I opinion back of tbe laws or the laws I themselves will be of no avail. The two great evils in the execution of our criminal laws today are sentimentality and technicality. For the latter the I remedy must come Trom the "hands of I the legislatures, the courts and the law? yers. The other must depend for Its I cure upon the gradual growth of a I sound public opinion which shall insist I that regard for the law and.the de I mands of reason shall control all other I Influences and emotions in the jury I box. Both of these evils must be re I moved or public discontent with the I criminal law will continue. I Injunctions. I Instances of abuse in the granting" I Of Injunctions In labor disputes con I tlnue to occur, and the resentment in I the minds of those who feel that their rights are being invaded and their lib? erty of action, and of speech unwar? rantably restrained continues likewise | to grow. Much of the attack on the Use df the process of injunction is wholly without warrant, but I am con? strained to express the belief that for some of it there Is warrant This ques? tion Is becoming one of prime impor? tance, and unless the courts will deal with it in effective manner It is cer? tain ultimately to demand some form of legislative action It would be most unfortunate for our social welfare if we should permit many honest and law abkling citizens to feel that they had Just cause for regarding our courts with hostility. I earnestly commend to ibr DttcU'tlon of the congress th!s matter i *<ome way may be da vi^ed vrmU h wfil limit the ab MM of In* junction! and -voted those riy'ms which from time to time it unwarrant? ably Invades, lioreover, discontent is often expressed with the use of the process of injunction by the courts, not only in labor disputes, but where state taws arc concerned. I refrain from discussion of this question as 1 am Informed that It will soon receive the cousldera,tion of the supreme court The process of injunction is an es? sential adjunct of the court's doing Its work well, and as preventive measures are always better than remedial the, wise use of this process is from every' standpoint commendable. But where It is recklessly or unnecessarily used the abuse should be censured, above all by the very men who are properly anxious to prevent any effort to shear the courts of this necessary power. The court's decision must be tiual. The protest is only against the conduct of Individual Judges in needlessly antici? pating* such final decision or In the tyrannical use of what is nominally a ten orary injunction to accomplish ,what is In fact a permanent decision. The president urges the passage of a model employers' liability act for the District of Columbia and the territories to encourage corporations to treat in? jured wage workers l>etter. He em? phatically indorses the eight hour day. The president urges the states to fight the child and woman labor evil. He says: The national government has as an ultimate resort for control of child la? bor the use of the interstate commerce clause to prevent the products of child labor from entering Into Interstate com? merce. But before using this it ought certainly to enact model laws on the subject for the territories under Its own immediate control. Presidential Campaign Expenses. Under our form of government vot? ing is not merely a right, but a duty, and. moreover, a fundamental and uec? essary duty if a man Is to be a good citizen. It is well to provide that cor? porations shall not contribute to presi? dential or national campaigns and, fur j thermore, to provide for the publica? tion of both contributions and expendi? tures. There is, however, always dan? ger in Irws of this kind, which from their very nature are difficult of en? forcement, the danger being lest they be obeyed only by the honest and dis? obeyed by the unscrupulous, so as to act only as a penalty upon honest men. Moreover, uo such law would hamper an unscrupulous man of unlimited means from buying his own way into office. There is u very radical meas? ure which would, I believe, work a substantial Improvement in our sys? tem of conducting n campaign, al though I am Weil aware that it will ! take some time for people so to famil? iarize themselves with such n*proi>osal as to be willing to consider its adop? tion. The ueed for collecting large campaign funds would vanish if con? gress provided an appropriation for the proper and legitimate expenses of each of the great national parties, an appro? priation ample enough to meet the ne? cessity for thorough organization and machinery, which requires s large ez peuditure of money. Then the stipu? lation should be made that no party receiving campaign funds from the treasury should accept more thau a fixed amount from any individual sub? scriber or donor, and the necessary publicity for receipts and expeuditurea could without difficulty be provided. The Army. The president recommends legisla? tion to increase the number of officers in the army, especially in the medical corps. The rate of pay of officers should be greatly increased, he de? clares. There should be a relatively even greater increase in the rate of pay of enlisted men if we are to keep the army in shape to be effective In time of need. The president recom? mends severe examination of officers for promotion up to the rank of major, j From that point promotion should be I purely by sc4?ett?n. lie speaks of tbe I recent physical test of army officers I with emphatic approbation and recom J mends a bill equalizing the pay of officers and men of the army, navy, marine corps and revenue cutter serv? ice The Nsvy. Concerning the navy the president says: In my judgment, we should this year provide for four battleships. But it is idle to build battleships unless. In addition to providing the men and the ( means for thorough training, we pro? vide the auxiliaries for them?unless we provide docks, the coaling stations, the colliers and supply ships that they need. We are extremely doflptp^t \n coaling stations any I ?kt on the Pa? cific, and, this deb clou cy should n< t longer be permitted to exist Plenty of torpedo boats and destroyers should be built Both on the Atlantic and Fg? ciflc coasts fortifications of the best type should be provided for all pur gre.o.te*t harbors. j Until our battle fleet is much larger^ than at present it should never be split into detachments so far apart that they could not In event of emergency he Speedily united. Our coast line is on the Pacific Just as much as on the At? lantic. The battle fleet should uom. > and then be moved to the Pacific, just as at other times it should be kept in the Atlantic. When the. isthmian caiiaj. is built the" transit of the battle fleet from one ocean to the other Will be comparatively easy. Until it is built I earnestly hope that tbe battle fleet will be thus shifted between tbe two oceans every year or two. The battle fleet la about starting by the strait of Magellan to visit the Pacific coast. Sixteen battleships are go'ng under the command of Rear Admiral Evans, while eight armored cruisers a*jd two other battleships will meet him In San Fran? cisco, whithet certain torpedo destroy? ers are also going. No fleet of such size has ever made such a voyage, and I It will be of verr great educational use to all engaged it. Tin* on'.y way by which to teach officers and men how to bandit the beet so as to meet every possible strain and emergency In time of War It to have them practice under similar conditions in time of peace. The president recommends the in? creased pay for both officers and enlist? ed men and advises promotion by se? lection above the grade of lieutenant commander. Foreign Affairs. In foreign affairs, the president says, this country's steady policy is to be- # have toward other nations as a strong and self respecting man should behave toward the other men with whom ha is brought into contact. In other words, our aim is disinterestedly to help other nations where such help can be wisely given without the appearance of med? dling with what does not concern us, to b4 careful to act as a good neighbor and lit the same time in good natured fashion to make it evident that we do not Intend to be imposed upon. The president refers at length to The Hague peace conference. He bellevea it accomplished much good work. Postal Savings Banks. The president says on postal nffnirs: I commend to the favorable consid? eration of the congress a postal sav? ings bank system as recommended by the postmaster general. Timid deposi? tors have withdrawn their savings for the time bajttg from uational banks, trust companies and savings banks, in? dividuals ' have hoarded their cash and the workingmcu their earnings, all of which money has been withheld and fcepfc In hiding or in the safe de? posit box to the detriment of prosper? ity. Through the agency of the postal savings banks such money would be restored to the channels of trade, to the mutual benefit of capital and labor. I further commeiid to the congress the consideration of the postmaster general's recommendation for an ex? tension of the parcel post, especially on the rural routes. It would be a most desirable thing to put the fourth class postmasters in the classified serv? ice. , Other recommendations are: Deepening of the inland waterways, especially of the Mississippi river sys? tem, to make them great national high? ways. The repeal of the tariff on /orest products, especially the duty on wood pulp. The amendment of the public land laws to make them more1 effective tgalnat land grabbers and more favor? able to bona tide settlers. Retention of the government's title to public coal and other mineral lands. Extension of the national forest re? serves. ritlzenshlp for the people of Porto Rico. Freer local self government for Alas? ka. Encouraromeut of the merchant ma? rine, particularly of an ocean mall line to South America. Remission of the Boxer indemnity. and freer entry for C hinese students coming to America.