Show THE PRESIDENTS MESSAGE It is inevitable thnt a Presidents message must l be largely routine and commonplace The message read to Congress yesterday from President Roosevelt Is to a considerable extent of the usual character yet In two noteworthy note-worthy points it Is exceptional These are the treatment of the trade trust capital and labor questions anti the portion relatIng to the erection 01 the new nil Ion of Panama and its significance signifi-cance with respect to the Isthmian canal The general routine summaries sum-maries of the departmental reports and the statement of the condition of the country and of the Government show very well and prove the country to be in excellent condition The President vigorously presents approvingly ap-provingly the legislation of the last Congress In creating the Department of Commerce and Labor with Its Bureau of Corporations together with the antidiscrimination legislation as to transportation The excellent effect ef-fect of all this making a real advance ad-vance In all questions vitally affecting capital and wages and upon our home trade and the influence it will have in expanding our foreign trade are tersely pointed out And his strong words for the necessity of building up the American Ameri-can merchant marine meet the situation exactly while his recommendation of a particular examination Into this subject sub-ject by a special commission composed of the Secretary of the Navy the Post masterGeneral the Secretary of Com merce and Labor together with such representation from the Senate and the Ilouse as Congress may direct this commission to report at the next session ses-sion of the present Congress will no doubt be acceded to as it Is at once conservative and definite With regard ta the relations between capital and labor the President speaks with boldness and wisdom declaring that both must be amenable to the laws and both must eoncede individual I freedom and Justice and fair dealing toward all Wiieni vcr either corporation corpo-ration or labor union or individual disregards the law or acts In a spirit of arbitrary and tyrannous interference with the rights of others whether I corporation or individuals then when I the Federal Government Jias Jurisdiction Jurisdic-tion it will see to it that the misconduct is stopped paying not the slightest heed to the position or power of the corporation corpora-tion the union or the individual l but only to the one vital fact that Is the question whether or not the conduct of the Individual or aggregate of individuals 1 indi-viduals is in accordance with the law of the land And It must be conceded thai that is all the Government has any business to doAn do-An appropriation for The enforcement of the antitrust and interstate commerce com-merce laws urged Extradition treaties for bribery are < recommended The points in the Alaskan boundary arbitration are recited and the strength of the American Is made clear And a good word Is spoken for international arbitration The exemption from seizure at sea of private properly in time of war is urged The free delivery system is pronounced pro-nounced < to be a gratifying success and Its extension is urged as desirable In this connection also a good word Is spoken for the good roads movement The development of Alaska requires fitting legislation and the needs of Porto Rico Hawaii and the Philippines are brought forward with the suggestion sugges-tion that the latter may well be given I the same recognition as Porto Rico The revision of the oublic land laws Is pronounced a necessity and in order that definite information for that purpose pur-pose may be available for Congress he has appointed W A Richards Commissioner Com-missioner of the General Land Oflice Gifford Pinchet Chief of the Bureau of Forestry and F H Newell Chief Hydrographer a commission to examine exam-ine into the whole subject and report at the earliest practicable moment together to-gether with their opinion on changes needed The work thai is progressing under the Irrigation law is unqualifiedly commended com-mended and Its ultimate benefits are enthusiastically dwelt upon Forest preservation Is emphatically recommended recom-mended Safety appliances are urged on railway rail-way lines that do an Interstate business busi-ness and Congress Is aoked to legislate for their perfection The general staff law has had an excellent ex-cellent effect in the army and a like staff Is asked for the navy A strong navy is essential to the enforcement of the Monroe doctrine and its enlargement enlarge-ment is cordially commended The President gives a calm review of the whole canal question of the efforts ito i-to get a satisfactory treaty with I Colombia points out and proves that whatever guarantee l of sovereignty we made for New Granada in the treaty of 1816 was against other and foreign powers only and not against domestic insurrections In this connection the many revolts compacts and dissolutions dissolu-tions that have occurred since that treaty arc recited and the conclusion Is Justly reached that We have done our duty to others In letter and spirit and we Have shown tho utmost forbearance In exacting our own rights Our utmost ut-most efforts to bring order out of chaos lo cause Colombia to see the fatuousness fatuous-ness of its course failed and Colombia by < her persistence in repulsing the advances ad-vances that have been made has forced us for the sake of our own honor and of he Interest and wellbeing not merely mere-ly I of our own people but of the people of the Jslhniia of Panama and the people peo-ple of the civilized countries of the world to take decisive steps to bring to an end a condition of affairs which had become Intolerable These steps were the recognition of the new nation of Panama and the negotiation ne-gotiation with it of a canal treaty which Involves the payment of the same sums to Panama that were under the rejected treaty payable = to Colombia Colom-bia in consideration of which we receive re-ceive much greater Jurisdiction and security se-curity than the other treaty conferred Had the Government not seized this opportunity op-portunity it would have been guilty of folly and weakness amounting in their sense to a crime against the nation The message on the whole Is both satisfactory and strong |