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Show to do away with the power of injunction; and therefore such careless use of the injunctive process tends to threaten its very existence, for If the American people ever become convinced that this process Is habitually abused, whether m matters affecting labor or in matters corporations. It will be impossible to prevent Its abolition," THE PRESIDENT S well-nig- h ANNUAL MESSAGE The Negro Problem. TO LAWMAKERS Recommends Legislation on New and Important Subjects. INCOME -- INHERITANCE TAX He Believes Such Laws Would Curb Growth of Fortunes to Dan- gerous Proportions. His Views on Negro Question Asks for Currency Reform, and Shipping Bill Would Make Citizens of Japs Many Other Important Subjects Discussed. Washington, Dec. Rooseto the second session of the Fifty-nint- h congress deals with a number of new and Important subjects, chief of which is the government prosecution of the trusts, the abuse of injunc-tldjj- a in; labor troubles, the negro question, The preaching of class hatred Between capital and labor, additional legislation for the control of large corporfederal Inheritance and Income ations, tax rfrw and currency reform. The, message opens with a statement . t. . .me i wmu last congress lei t unfinished, ".' did of this he savs: "I again recommend a law prohibiting all innralinnu f,.,.. nnnt,ih,., expenses of any party. Such jjranipalgn bill has already past one house of eon- -' a' fcress. Let individuals contribute as they . desire; but let us prohibit in effective fashion all corporations from making i . contributions for any political purpose. or nlrectly indirectly. .auvuin mil wiuun lias whichpasuis one urhouse of the congress and jum gently necessary should be enacted Into law is that conferring upon the government the right of appeal in criminal cases on questions of law. This right exists in many of the states; it exists in the District of Columbia by act of the It is of course not proposed congress. that In any case a verdict for the defendant on the merits should be set aside. Recently in one district where the government had indicted certain persons for conspiracy in connection with rebates, the court sustained the defendant's demurrer: while in another jurisdiction an indictment for conspiracy to Obtain rebates has been sustained by the court, convictions obtained under it, and two defendants sentenced to imprisonment. The two cases referred to may not be In real conflict with each other, but it Is unfortunate that there should even be an apparent conflict. At present there is no way by which the government can cause such a conflict, when It occurs, to be solved by an appeal to a higher court; and the wheels of justice are blocked without any real decision of I can not too strongly the question. urge the passage of the bill in question. A failure to pass will result in seriously hampering the government in its effort to obtain justice, especially against wealthy individuals or corporations who do wrong; and may also prevent the government from obtaining justice for who are not themselves wageworkers able effectively to contest a case where the judgment of an inferior court has been against them. have specifically In view a recent decision by a district Judge leaving railway employees without remedy for violation of a certain labor statute. It seems an absurdity to permit a single district judge, the judgment of against what may be of his colleagues the immense majority on the bench, to declare a law solemnly-enacteby the congress to be '"unconstitutional," and then to deny to the government the right to have the supreme court definitely decide the question." velt's message ... l 1 Evasion by Technicalities. "In connection with this matter, I would like to call attention to the very unsatisfactoryin state of our criminal law, relarge part from the hab't of sulting setting aside the judgments of inferior courts on technicalities absolutely unconnected with the merits of the case, and where there is no attempt to show that there has been any failure of substantial justice. It would be well to enact a law providing something to the effect that: l "No Judgment shall be set aside or civil or crimgranted in any ofcause, on misdirection of the the inal, ground Jury or the improper admission or rejection of evidence, or for error as to any matter of pleading or procedure unless. In the opinion of the court to which the application is made, after an examination of the entire cause, It shall affirmatively appear that the error complained In a miscarriage of oi lias resulted Justice " new-tria- Injunctions. ' On the subject of the abolition of Inhe says: junctions in labor disputes, "In my last message I suggested the enactment of a law in connection with the Issuance of injunctions, attention having been sharply drawn to the matter by the demand Inthat the right of applylubor cases should bo ing Injunctions wholly abolished. It is at least doubtful whether a law abolishing altogether the use of Injunctions In such cases would stand the test of the courts; in which case of course the legislation would be believe it would Ineffective. Moreover, be wrong altogether to prohibit the use Is criminal It to permit of injunctions sympathy with criminals to weaken our hands In upholding the law; and if men seek to destroy life or property by mob violence there should be no Impairment of the power of the courts to deal with them in the most summary and effective way possible. But so far as possible the abuse of the power should be provided against by some such law as I advocated last year. "In tht 'matter of injunctions there Is lodged In the hands of Isthe judiciary a nevertheless necessary power which abuse. subject to the possibility of grave he should Is a that exercised It power with extreme care and should be subthe jealous scrutiny of all men, ject to and condemnation should be meted out as much to the judge who falls to use it boldly when necessary as to the Judge who uses It wantonly or oppressively. Of course, a Judge strong enough to be flt for his office will enjoin any resort to violence or Intimidation, especially by what his opinion conspiracy, no mutter tinoriginal quarmay be of the rightsbeof no In must hesitation rel. There But there must disorder. with dealing Inlikewise be no such abuse of the junctive power ns Is implied In forbidding if boring men to strive for their own betterment In peaceful and lawful ways, nor must the Injunction be used merely to aid some big corporation In carrying out schemes for Its own aggrandizement. that a prelimIt must be remember.' labor rase, If inary Injunction In without (even adequate proof granted to support when authority ran be found the conclusions of law oti which It Is founded), may often settle the dispute if between the parties; and therefore do Irreparable Improperly granted aremav IMUIJf Judges who wrong. Yet there course granting assume a matter-of-fac- t of a preliminary Injunction to be the Judicial disposition ordinary and proper of such cases, and MM have undoubtwrongs committed edly been flagrant with labor disby Judges In connection few years, putes Ieven within thelesslast often than in much think altho former years. Such Judge by their unwise action Immensely strengthen the nds Of those who are roivlnc entirely The negro is given considerable attention, problem after calling attention to the fact that no section of the country is free from faults, and that no section lias occasion to Jeer at the shortcomings of any other section, he turns to the subject of lynchings. and especially as applied to the negro of the outh. He savs the greatest existing cause for mob law is the perpetration by the blacks of the crime of rape, a crime which he terms even worse than murder. He quotes the admonitions to the white people spoken by Gov. Candler, of Georgia, some years ago. and by Gov. Jelks, of Alabama, recently, and then says: "Every colored man should realize that the worst enemy of his race is the negro criminal, and above all the negro criminal who commits the dreadful crime of rape; and it should be felt as in the highest degree an offense against the whole country, and against the colored race in for a colored man to fail toparticular, the officers of the law in hunting help down with all possible earnestness and zeal every such infamous offender. Moreover. In my judgment, the crime of rape should be punished with death, as is always the case with murder; assault with intent to commit rape should be made a capital crime, at least in the discretion of the court; and provision should be made by which the punishment may follow Immediately upon the heels of the offense; while the trial should be so conducted that the victim need not be wantonly shamed while giving testimony, and that the least possible publicity shall be given to the details. The members of the white race on the other hand should understand that every lynching represents by just so much a loosening of the bands of civilization; that the spirit of lynching inevitably throws Into prominence in the community all the foul and evil creatures who dwell therein. No man can take part in the torture of a human being without having his own moral nature permanently lowered. Every lynching means just so much moral deterioration in all the children who have any knowledge of It. and therefore just so much additional trouble for the next generation of Americans. "Let Justice be both sure and swift; hut let it be justice under the law. and not the wild and crooked savagery of a mob. Need for Negro Education. "There is another matter which has a direct bearing upon this matter of lynching and of the brutal crime which sometimes calls it forth and at other times merely furnishes the excuse for its existence. It is out of the question for our people as a whole pcrmanently to rise by treading down any of their own number. Even those who themselves for the moment profit by such maltreatment of their fellows will in the long run also suffer. No more shortsighted policy can be imagined than, in the fancied interest of one class, to prevent the education of another class. The free public school, the chance for each boy or girl to get a good elementary education. lies at the foundation of our whole political situation. In every community the poorest citizens, those who need the schools most, would be deprived of them if they only received school facilities proportionately to the taxes they paid. Tbls is as true of one portion of our country as of another. It is as true for the negro as for the white man. The white man. if he is wise, will decline to allow the negroes in a mass to grow to manhood and womanhood without education. Unquestionably education such as is obtained in our public schools does not do everything towards making a man a good citizen; but it does much. The lowest and most brutal criminals, those for . instance who commit the crime of ra.W, are in the great majority men who have had either no education or very just as they are almost invariably lltle; ijen who own no property; for the nfen who puts money by out of his earnings, like the man who acquires ecucation. is usually lifted above merej brutal criminality. Of course the best type of education for the colored ipan. taken as a whole, is such education as is conferred in schools like Hampton and Tuskegee; where the boys and girls, the young men and young women, are trained industrially as well as in the ordinary public school branches. The graduates of these schools turn out well in the great maof and cases, jority hardly any of them become criminals, while what little there is never takes the criminality form of that brutal violence which invites lynch law. Every graduate of these schools and for the matter of that every oher colored man or woman who leads a life so useful and honorable as to win tiie good will and those whites whose neighrespect of bor he or she is. thereby helps the whole colored race as it can he helped in no other way; for next to the negro himself, the man who can do most to help the negro is his white neighbor who lives near him; and our steady-efforshould be to better the relations between the two. Great tho the benefit of these schools has been to their colored pupils and to the colored people, it may well be questioned whether the benefit has not been at least as great to the white people among whom these colored pupils live after they graduate." Capital and Labor. On the subject of capital and labor the president takes the agitators of class hatred to task and says "to preach hatred to the rich man, as such, . t . . to seek to mislead and inflame to madness honest men whose lives are hard and who have not the kind of mental training which will permit them to appreciate the danger in the doctrines preached Is to commit a crime against the body politic and to be false to every worthy principle and tradition of American national life." Continuing on this subject he says: "The plain people who think the mechanics, farmers, merchants, workers with head or hand, the men to whom American traditions are dear, who love their country and try to act decently by their neighbors owe it to themselves to remember that the most damaging blow that can be given popular government is to elect an unworthy and sinister agitator on a and hypocrisy. platform of violence Whenever such an Issue is raised In this country nothing can be gained by flinching from It. for In such case democracy Is itself on trial, popular under republican forms Is itself on trial. The triumph of the mol) Is Just as evil a th'ng as the triumph of the plutocracy, and to have avails nothing escaped one danger whatever If we suciiumb to the other. In the end 'he honest man. whether rich or poor, who earns his own living and tries to deal Justly by his fellows, has as much to fear from the Insincere and unworthy demagog, promising much and performing nothing, or else nothing hut evil, who performing would set on the mob to plunder the as from the crnfty corruptlonlst. rich, who. for his own ends, would permit common the people to be exploited by the very wealthy. If we ever let this government fall Into the hands of men of either of these two classes we shall show ourselves false to America's past. Moreover, the demagog and corruptlonlst often work hand in hand. There are at this moment wealthy reactionaries of such obtuse morality that they regard the public servant who prosecutes them when they violate the law. or who seeks to make them benr their of the public burdens, as proper share more objectionable than being even the violent agitator who hounds on the moh to plunder the rich. There la such a renothing to choose between an ngitntnr: fundaactionary and such are in alike their selfish mentally they of the rights of others: nnd disregard It Is natural that they should Join In opposition to any movement of which tte aim I" fearlessly to do exact and even Justice to all." Railroad Employees' Hours. He nsks for the passing of the bill limof the number hours of iting employment of railroad employes, and classes the measure as a verv moderate one Me says the aim of all should be to steadily reduce the number of hours of labor, with as a goal the general introduction of an eight-hou- r day. but Insists that on the Isthmus of Panam conditions are so different from oi an they are here that the introduction eight-hou- r day on the canal would be absurd, and continues. "Just about as absurd as it is, so far as the isthmus is concerned where while labor cannot be whether the employed, to bother as to men or alien work is done by alien black yellow men. Investigation of Disputes. He urges the enactment of a drastic child labor law for the District of and t lie territories, and a federal Investigation of the subject of child and female labor throughout the country. He reviews the work of the commission appointed to investigate labor conditions in the coal nelds of l'ennsylvania in 1902, and refers to the wish of the commission i "that the state and federal governn should provide the machinery for what may be called the compulsory Investigation of controversies between employers and employes when they arise." After fact that a bill has alreferring to the ready been introduced to this end he says: "Many of these strikes and lockouts would not have occurred had the parties to the dispute been required to' appear before an unprejudiced body representing the nation and. face to face, stale the In most reasons for their contention. instances the dispute would doubtless found to be due to a misunderstanding by each of the other's rights, aggravated by an unwillingness of either party to accept as true the statements of the other as to the justice or injustice of the matters in dispute. The exercise of a judicial spirit by a disinterested body the federal government, representing such as would be provided by a commisand arbitration sion on conciliation would tend to create an atmosphere of friendliness and conciliation between contending parties; and the giving each side an equal opportunity to present fully Its case In the presence of the other would prevent many disputes from developing into serious strikes or lockouts, and in other cases, would enable the commission to persuade the opposing parties to come to terms. "In this age of great corporate and labor combinations, neither employers nor at employees should be left completely the mercy of the stronger party to a dispute, regardless of the righteousness of their respective claims. The proposed measure would be In the line of securing recognition of the fact that in many strikes the public has itself an interest which cannot wisely be disregarded; an interest not merely of general convenand ience, for the question of a just conproper public policy must also be sidered. In all legislation of this kind it is well to advance cautiously, testing each step by the actual results; the step for proposed can surely be safely taken,would the decisions of the commission not bind the parties in legal fashion, and for public opin) et would give a chance ion to exert its full force for the right." Control of Corporations. A considerable portion of the message is devoted to the subject of federal control of corporations in what he refers to the passage at the last session of the rate, meat inspection and food laws, and says that all of these have already justified their enactment, but recommends the amendment of the meat inspection law so as to put dates on the labels of meat products, and also to place the cost of inspection on the packers rather than on the government. Continuing on this subject of the control of corporations by the federal government he says: ex"It cannot too often be repeated that imthe perience has conclusively shownactions of possibility of securing by the state different hundred nearly half a ineffective but legislatures anything chaos in the way of dealing with the do not operate great corporations whichlimits of any one exclusively within the state. In some method, whether by a national license law or in other fashion, we must exercise, and that at an early date, a far more complete control than at present over these great corporationsa control that will among other things prevent the evils ofwillexcessive and that compel overcapitalization, the disclosures by each big corporation of its stockholders and of its properties and business,' whether owned directly or thru subsidiary or affiliated corporations. This will tend to put a stop to t&e securprofits by .favored ing of inordinate individuals at the expense whether of the general public, the stockholders, or Our effort should be the wageworkers. not so much to prevent consollda' ion as it such, but so to supervise and control to as to see that it results in no harm e the people. The reactionary or ultracon-servativapologists for the misuse of wealth assail the effort to secure such control as a step toward socialism. As a matter of fact it is these reactionaries and ultraeonservatives who are themselves most potent in increasing socialistic feeling. One of the most efficient methods of averting the consequences of a dangerous agitation, which is 80 per cent, wrong, is to remedy the 20 per cent, of evil as to which the agitation is well founded. The best way to avert the very undesirable move for the governmental to secure by ownership of railways is of the people the government on behalf as a whole such adequate control and cominterstate the of great regulation mon carriers as will do away with the evils which give rise to the agitation them. So the proper antidote against to the dangerous and wicked agitation men of wealth as such is to the against secure by proper legislation and executive action the abolition of the grave abuses which actually do obtain In connection with the business use of wealth under our present system or rather no svstem of failure to exercise any adequate control at all. Some persons speak is if the exercise of such governmental control would do away with the freedom of Individual initiative and dwarf indiIt vidual effort. This is not a fact. would be a veritable calamity to fail to put a premium upon individual initiative, individual capacity and effort; upon the energv, character and foresight inwhich the it Is so important to encourage individual. But as a matter of fact the of effect pure deadening and degrading of Its extreme socialism, and especially form communism, nnd the destruction of individual character which they would the bring about, are in part achieved by which competition wholly unregulated results In a single Individual or corporation rising at the expense of all others until his or its rise effectually checks all former competicompetition and reduces tors to a position of utter Inferiority and subordination. "In enacting and enforcing such legislation as this congress already has to Its credit, we are working on a tocoherent secure plan, with the steady endeavor the needed reform by the Joint action of who men the moderate men, the plain or do not wish anything hysterical who do intend to deal dangerous, but with fashion commonsense In resolute the real and great evils of the present The reactionaries and the viosystem. lent extremists show symptoms of Joinus. Both assert, for ing hands against instance, that if logical, we should go to government ownership of railroads and the like; the reactionaries, because on such an Issue they think the people would stand with them, while the extremists care rather to preach discontent and agitation than to achieve solid results. As a matter of fact, our position is as remote from that of the bourbon as from that of the impracreactionary We hold ticable or sinister visionary. that the government should not conductIt but that of the nation, the business should exercise such supervision as will In the InterInsure Its being conducted est of the nation. Our aim Is, so far as may be, to secure, for all decent, hardworking men, equality of opportunity and equality Of burden. Combinations Are Necessary. "The actual working of our laws has shown that the effort to prohibit all combination, good or bad, Is noxious wheref Combination It Is not Ineffective capital like combination of labor Is necessary element of our present Industrial system. It Is not possible completely to prevent It; and if It were possible, such complete prevention would do damage to the body politic. What we tie. 1 Is not vainly to prevent all combination, but to secure such rigorous nnd adequate control and supervision of the combinations as to prevent their Injuring the public, or existing in such form as Inevitably to threaten Injury for the mere fact that a combination has secured practically complete control of a necessary of life would under any circumstances show that such combination whs to be presumed to be adverse to the pubIt Is unfortunate that our lic interest. present laws should forbid all combinations. Instead of sharply discriminating between those combinations which do evil. Rebates, for Instanc e, are as often dus to the pressure o( big shippers (as . was shown in the investigation of the Standard Oil company and as has been shown since by the investigation of the tobacco and sugar trusts.) as to the initiative of big railroads. Often railroads would like to combine for the purpose of a big shipper from freventing advantages at the expense of small shippers and of the general public. Such a combination. Instead of being forbidden by law, should be favored. In other words, It should be permitted to railroads to make agreements, provided these agreements were sanctioned by the and Interstate commerce commission With these two condiwere published tions compiled with it is impossible to see what harm suc h a combination could do to the public at large. It is a public evil to have on the statute tooks a law because incapable of full enforcement both Judges and juries realize that its busitiie would full enforcement destroy ness of the country, for the result is to men violators of make decent railroad the law against their will, and to put a of the wilful premium on the behavior wrongdoers. Such a result m turn tends to throw the decent man and the wilful wrongdoer into close association, and in the end to drag down the former to the latter's level: for the man who becomes a lawbreaker in one way unhappily tends to lose all respect for law and to be willing to break it in many ways. No could be more scathing condemnation visited upon a law than is contained In the words of the inInterstate commerce commission when, commenting upon the fact that the numerous joint traffic violate the assoc iations do technically law, they say: "The decision of the United States supreme court In the case and the Joint Transinississippl Traffic association case has produced no effect upon the railway operapractical tions of the country. Such associations, in fact, exist now as they did before these decisions, and with the same general effec t. In justice to all parties, we ought probably to add that it is difficult to see how our interstate railways could be operated with due regard to the interest of the shipper ami the railway without concerted action of the kind afforded thru these associations." This means that the law as construed the by the supreme court Is such that conbe business of the country cannot ducted without breaking it I recommend that you give careful and early consideration to this subject, and if you find the opinion of the interstate commerce commission justified, that yon amend the law so as to obviate the evil disclosed. Inheritance and Income Tax. It was expected that the president would refer in some way to his belief in the necessity for the curbing of enor- mous fortunes, and he lias done so by recommending legislation for both Income and an inheritance tax. He believes the government should Impose a graduated Inheritanc e tax.taxand.HeIf po. a graduated income says. "I am well aware that such a subject as this needs long and careful study in order that the people may become familiar with what is proposed to be done, may clearly see the necessity of proceedand ing with wisdom and may make up their minds just how far in to the are matter; go willing they while only trained legislators can work out the project In necessary detail. But I feel that in the near future our national legislators should enact a law providing for a graduated Inheritance tax by which a steadily Increasing rate of duty should be put upon all moneys or other valuables coming by gilt, bequest, or devise to any Individual or corporation. It may be well to make the tax heavy in proportion as the individual benefited is remote of kin. in any event, in my of the tax should judgment the pro rata witli the increase increase very heavily of the amount left to any one individual reached. been lias a certain point after It Is most desirable to encourage thrift of source a and ambition, and potent the thrift and ambition is the desire on chilpart of the breadwinner to leave his dren well off. This object can be attained moderby making the tax very small on because ate amounts of property left; conthe prime object should be to put ainherburden on the stantly ofincreasing swollen which fortunes those itance it is certainly of no benefit to this country to perpetuate. There can be no question of the ethical propriety of the government thus dethe conditions upon which any termining should be received. gift or inheritance how far the inheritance tax Exactly of would, as an incident, have the effect or transmission by devise limiting theenormous in question fortunes of the gift not it is necessary at present to discuss. It is wise that progress in this direction should be gradual. At first a permanent national inheritance tax, while it might be more substantial than any such tax has hitherto been, need not approximate, extent of the either In amount or In the Increase by graduation, to what such a be. tax should ultimately t, Inheritance Tax Constitutional. "This species of tax has again and again been imposed, altho only temporarily, by was first the national government. 6.It 1797, when July imposed by the act of Constitution were the makers of the was affairs. It of head at the alive and a graduated tax; tho small in amount, amount the with the rate was increased left to any Individual, exceptions being made in the case of certain close kin. A by the similar tax was again imposed sum of act of July 1, 1862; a minimum $1,000 in personal property being excepted from taxation, the tax then becoming remoteness progressive according to the act of June 13. of kin. The tax on 1H98, provided for an Inheritance the value of $10,000. any sum ofexceeding tax increasing both in accordthe rate in aance with the amounts left and ccordance with the legatee's remoteness that of kin. The supreme court has held time the succession tax imposed at the but of the civil war was not a direct tax conan impose of excise whic h was both the stitutional and valid. More recently Mr court. In an opinion delivered by an exJustice White, which containeddiscussion ceedingly able and elaborate to Impose of the powers of the congress deatli duties, sustained the constitutionof the tax feature Inheritance the of ality act of 1S98. war-reven- war-reven- Is Income Tax Constitutional? "In Its Incidents, and apart from the an revenue, main purpose of raising Income tax stands on an entirely different footing from an inheritanceof tax, it involves no question the per- of fortunes swollen to an unpetuation size. The question Is In its healthy of the proper adjust essence a question As the metit of burdens to benefits. law now stands It Is undoubtedly difftax icult to devise a national income But shall be constitutional. which Is an whether It is absolutely Impossible other question; and if possible It is most desirable. The first purely incertainly come tax law was least by the congress In 1861. but the most Important law deal ing with the subject was that of It94. This the court held to be unconstitutional. "The question Is undoubtedly very Inand troublesome The tricate, delicate,court was only reached decision of the It Is the law of the by one majority. Is of course, excepted as such land, and, and loyally obeyed by all good citizens hesitation the evidently Nevertheless, felt by the court as a whole In coming to a conclusion, when considered to- with the previous decisions gether the subject, may perhaps indicate on the constitutional of devising possibility Income-talaw which shall substantially acccompllsh the results aimed at. The difficulty of amending the constitution Is so great that only real necan Justify a resort thereto cessity effort she. old he made In dealing Every with this subject, as with the subject of the proper control by the national government over the use of corporate wealth In Interstate business, to devise legislation which without such action shall attain the desired end. but If this falls, there will ultimately be no alternative to a constitutional amendment." He makes a strong plea for technical and Industrial education for the masses, and while the federal government can do but little In this line, he asks that schools of this character be established In the District of Columbia as an example to the various states. Agricultural Interests. He appeals for every encouragement that the congress can give to the agriHe cultural Interests or the country. Is being done by points to the good that of grange organizathe various forms tions, and says: "Several factors must cooperate In the Improvement of the farmer's condition. a x He must have the ehnne to be educated In the widest possible sense In the sense lew the intimate which keeps ever In of edurelationship between the theory cation and the facts of life. In all education we should widen our alms. It Is a good tiling to produce a certain number of trained scholars and students, but the education superintended by the state must seek rather to produce a hunone dred good citizens than merely scholar, and it must le turned now and then from the class book to the study of the great book nature Itself. This is especially true of the farmer, as has been pointed out again and again by alt observers most competent to pass practical Judgment on the problems of our All students now realize country life that education must seek to train the executive powers of young people and to confer more real significance upon the phrase 'dignity of labor."In and to preaddition to pare the pupils so that each developing in the highest degree for his Individual capacity work, they may together help create a right public opinion, and show in many ways social and cooperative spirit. Organization has become necessary in the business world: and it has accomplished much for good In the world of labor. It is no less necessary for farmers. Such a movement as the grange movement Is good in itself Infinite furand Is capable of a ther extension for good so long as it is kept to Its own legitimate business. The benefits to be derived by the association of farmers for mutual advantage are partly economic and partly sociological. "Moreover, while in the long run voluntary effort will prove more efficacious than government assistance, while the do most for farmers must primarily themselves, yet the government can also do much. The department of agriculture has broken new ground In many directions, and year by year it finds how it can Improve its methods and develop Its constant effort is fresh usefulness to give the governmental assistance In the most effective way; that is, thru associations of farmers rather than to or thru individual farmers. It is also striving to coordinate its work with the agricultural departments of the several states, and so far as Its own work is to coordinate it with the educational, work of other educational authorities. is necessarily Agricultural education based upon general education, but our agricultural educational institutions are wisely specializing themselves, making their course relate to the actual teaching of the agricultural and kindred sciences to young country people or young city people who wish to live In the country. "Great progress has already been made among farmers by the creation of farmers' institutes, of dairy associations, of breeders' associations, horticultural associations, and the like. A striking example of how the government and the farmers can cooperate is shown in connection with the menace offered to the cotton growers of the southern states by the advance of the boll weevil. The department Is doing all it can to organize the farmers in the threatened districts, just as it has been doing all it can to organize them in aid of Its work to eradicate the cattle fever tick in the south The department can and will cooperate with all such associations, and it must have their help if its own work is to be done In the most efficient style." He urges the extension of the Irrigation ami forest preservation system, and asks for an appropriation for building a memorial theater at Arlington. Marriage and Divorce. As a means of bringing about national regulation of marriage and divorce he suggests a constitutional amendment, and says It Is not safe to leave these questions to he dealt with ley the various states. Continuing on this subject he says: When home ties are loosened; when men and women cease to regard a worthy family life, with all its duties fully performed, and all its responsibilities lived up to, as the life best worth living, then evil days for the commonwealth are at band. There arc1 regions in our land, nnd classes of well-nig- h where the birth rate has sunk below the death rate. Surely It should need no demonstration to show that wilful sterility from the Is, standpoint of the nation, from me standpoint of the human race, the one sin for which the penalty is national death, race death; a sin for which there is no atonement; a sin which is the more dreadful exactly in proportion as the men and women guilty thereof are In other respects, In character, nnd bodily and mental powers, those whom for the sake of the state it would be well to see the fathers nnd mothers of many healthy children, well brought up in homes made nappy No man. no woman, by their presence. can shirk the primary duties of life, whether for love of ease and pleasure, or for any other cause, and retain his or her The president asks for the enactment t. into law of a shipping bill that will place American interests on the seas on a par with those of other countries, and urges especially that something he done that will establish direct steamship communication with South American ports. Currency Reform. Amendments to tiie present currency laws are asked for, and after showing that present laws are Inadequate because of Interest of the wide fluctuation charges, he says: of mere statement these facts "The shows that our present system Is seriously defective. There Is need of a Unfortunately, however, many change of the proposed chances must be ruled consideration because from are are not easy of they comprecomplicated, hension and tend to disturb existing We must also rights and Interests.which rule out any plan would materially Impair the value of the I'nited States two per cent bonds now pledged to secure circulation, the Issue of which was made under conditions peto creditable the I treasury. culiarly do not press any special plan Various been have recently plans proposed by i xpert committees of bankers. Among the plans which are possibly feasible ind which certainly should receive your consideration is that repeatedly brought to your attention by the present secretary of the treasury, the essential features of which have been prominent hankers approved by many and business men. According to this banks should be pernational plan mitted to issue a .specified proportion In of their capital notes of a given kind, the Issue to be taxed at so high a rate as to drive the notes back when not wanted In legitimate trade. This plan would not permit the Issue of currency to give banks additional profits, but to meet the emergency presented by times of stringency Need of Automatic System. "I do not say that this Is the right system. I only advance It Isto emphasize my belief that there need for the adoption of some system which shall be automatic snd open to all sound banks, so as to avoid all posof discrimination and favoritisibility sm. Such a plan would tend to prevent the spasms of high money and which now obtain in the speculation New York market; for at present there Is too much currency at certain seasons of the year, and Its accumulation at New York tempts bankers to lend It at low rates for speculative purposes: whereas nt other times when the crops are hlng moved there Is urgent need for a Urge but temporary Increase In the currency supply. It must never be forgotten that this business men genquestion concerns as much as bunkers; eserally quite Is this true of stockmen, pecially farmers and business men In the west; for at present at certain seasons of the year the difference In Interest rates between the east and the west Is from six to ten per cent., whereas In Canada the corresponding difference Is hut two per cent. Any plan must, of course, guard the Interests of western snd Southern bankers as carefully as It guards the Interests of New York and must be or Chicago bankers; drawn from the standpoints of the farmer and the merchant no less than the city from the standpoints of banker snd the country banker The law should be amended so as to specifically to provide that the funds derived from customs duties may be treat f the treasury as ed by the secretary he treats funds obtained under the In- There should be ternal revenue laws a considerable Increase In bills of small should be Permission denominations. under settled given banks, to If necessary circulation to retire their restrictions, a larger amount than $3,000,000 a month." He again asks for free trade with this country for the Philippines and In the sams connection reviews the work done by this country in the Islands, and says "If we have erred In the Philippines It has been In proctedhlf loo rapidly In the direction of granting a large mi ure or American citizenship should be conferred on the citizens of Porto RIeo. The harbor of San Juan In Porto Rico should be clredged and improved. Tho expenses of the federal court of Porto Rico should be met from the federal treasury The administration of the affairs of Porto Rico, together with those of the Philippines. Hawaii and our other insular possessions, should all be direct-eunder one executive department; by preference the department of state or the department of war. el Naturalization of Japs. President Roosevelt scores San Francisco and other Pacific coast citiea for their treatment of the Japanese, and makes the following recommendations: Our nation fronts on the Pacific. Just as It fronts on the Atlantic. We hope to play a constantly growing part In the great ocean of the orient. We wish, as we ought to wish, for a great ommercial development In our. dealings with Asia: and It Is out of the question that we should permanently have such development unless we freely and gladly extend to other nations the same measure of justice and good treatment which we expect to receive in return. It Is only a very small body of our citizens that act badly Where the federal government has power It will deal summarily with any such. When1 the several states have power I earnestly ask that they also deal wisely and promptly with such conduct, or else this small body of wrongdoers may tiring shame upon the great mass of their innocent and fellows that is. upon our nation as a whole. Good manners should be an International no less than I ask an Individual attribute. fair treatment for the Japanese as I would ask fair treatment for Hermans or Frenchmen. Russians oi Knglishmen.I Italians ask It as due to humanity I and civilization. ask it as due to ourselves because we must act uprightly toward allto men. the congress "I recommend that an act be passed specifically provding for the naturalization of Japanese who ome here intending to become American citizens. One of the great embarrassments attending the performance of our International obligations is the fact that the statutes of the I'nited States government are entirely Inadequate. They right-thinki- c fail to give to the national government sufficiently ample power, through United States courts and by the use of the army and navy, to protect aliens in the rights secured to them under solemn treaties which are the law of the land. therefore earnestly recommend that' t he criminal and civil statutes of the so be amended and added I'nited States to as to enable the president, acting for the United States government, which is responsible In our international to enforce the rights of aliens Even as the law now laj der treaties. something can he done by the federal government toward this end. and In the matter now before me affecting the Japanese, everything that It Is in my power to do will be done, and all of the forces, military I and civil, of the I'nited States which may lawfully employ will be so employed. There should, however, bei no particle of doubt as to the power of the national government completely to perform and enforce Its own obligations to other nations. The mob of a singlet ity may at any time perform acts of lawless violence against some class of foreigners which would plunge us Into war. The city by Itself would be powerless to make defense against the forIndeeign power thus assaulted, and If would-nevit pendent of this government venture to perform or permit the performance of the acts complained ofv The entire power and the whole duty to protect the offending city or the offending community lies in the hands of the It Is I'nited States government. a polthai we should h nucleiwhic given locality may be icy allowed to commit a crime against a friendly nation, and the United limited, not to preventing lie- commission of the crime, but, In the las! resort, to defending the people who have committed it against the consequences of their own wrongdoing." I rela-rion- s. States-governme- Cuban Intervention. The rebellion in Cuba and the incidents leading up to the establishment ofl the provisional government Is reviewed, and the president says: "When the election has been held and the new government Inaugurated ini peaceful and orderly fashion of the provisional government will come to an end. take this opportunity of expressing, people, upon behalf of the American with all possible solemnity, our most earnest hope that the people of Cuba will realize the Imperative need of preserving justice and keeping order In the Island The United States wishes nothing of Culm except that it shall prosper morally and materially, and wishes nothing of the Cubans save that they shall be able to preserve order among themselves anel therefore to preserve their Independence. If the elections become a farce, and If the Insurrectionary habit becomes confirmed in the Island, It Is absolutely out of tho question that the island should continue independent; and the United States, which has assumed lie1 sporseershlp before the civilized world for Cuba's career as a nation, would again have to Intervene anel lo see that the government was managed in such orderly fashion as to secure the Bafety The path to be of life and property. trodden by those who exerc ise is always harel, and we should have every charity anel patience with tho Cubans as they tread this difficult parth. I have the utmost sympathy with, and most earnestly regard for, them; but adjure' them solemnly lei weigh their reto see when their and that sponsibilities new government is started it shall run freedom from flawith and smoothly, grant denial of right on the one hand, and from Insurrectionary disturbances on the other." Considerable space Is devoted to the International conference of American republics and the visit of Secretary Root to South America, anel points to the fact that our efforts In behalf of the nations of that country are apprec iated by them. On the subject of the Panama eana! he promises a special message in the near future. I The Army and Navy. The message closes with a plea for the maintenance of the navy at Its pres-sstandard, to do which he says would mean the building of one battleship each Of the present efficiency of the year. army and navy he says: "Tiie readiness and efficiency of both the army and navy In dealing with the recent sudden crisis in Cuba Illustrates afresh their value to the nation. This readiness and efficiency would have been very much less had it not been for the existence of the gen. nil staff In the army and the general board in the navy; both are essential to the proper development and use of our military forces afloat and The troops that were sent to ashore. It was Cuba were handled flawlessly. the swiftest mobilization and dispatch of sera ever over by accomplished troops The expedition landed our government. lm for and ready completely eej nipped rneeilate service, si vara of Its organlza. lions hardly remaining In Havana ovel night before1 splitting up Into detachments and going to their several posts. It was a fine demonstration of the valor and efficiency of the general staff. Sim. llarly. It was owing in large part to the general board that the navy was able at the outset to meet the Cuban crisis with such instant efficiency; ship after at ship appearing on the shortest notice any threatened point, while the marina orps In particular perfoitned IndispensThe army and navy wai able service. liable value to the colleges .cic- ol two services, and they cooperate with constantly Increasing efficiency and importance. "The congress has tne.st wisely provided for a national boaiel for the promotion Excellent results have of rlfln practise ' daes ' one hum ..It. nd our icuular araty not go far enough war In so small that Is any gri'at should have to trust tnalnlv to volunteers; nnd In such event theseto volunshoot; teers should already know how for If a soldhr has the lighting edge, In himself of care to take and ability the open, his efficiency on the line of to battle Is almost directly proportionate We should excellence in marksmanship. In all establish shoollng galleries thj large public anel military schools,In should differmaintain national target ranges ent parts of the country, and should lo . of it age 'he formation ery w.iv rifle clubs thruout all parts of the land. The little republic of Switzerland offer us an excellent example In all matters connected with building up an efficient citizen soldi sry, 'THEODC'P.L R009SVELT." nt iru-a- l t ' ' |
