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Show The Message HP HE president's message is a classical iproduc- tion as usual. His urging the immediate beginning be-ginning of a ibetter preparedness against possible attack from without Is good, though it would be quite as effective had it been more terse and direct di-rect and bearing upon it fewer literary bouquets. We( like his Idea, too, of paying the added expense ex-pense of preparation without selling more bonds. The money the work will cost will not be sent away, .but spent right at home, so there is to be no depletion in the volume of money only a change of owners. Indeed, if paid in legal tender notes it will be a help to the people. The lamest feature of the message Is the running run-ning of needed steamship lines to foreign lands for export and Import service by the government. His description of the disadvantages and losses this country is suffering under for want of an efficient merchant marine has ibeen quite as effectively ef-fectively explained every week for quite thirty years past; we are glad that war has finally worn the scales from his eyes and that he has been made to realize what a three-wheeled cart our country's business Is with no ocean commerce In our own hands. But his statement that to begin to build up a merchant marine is too great a task for private capital to engage in, is not borne out by one fact. It would have been vastly more frank and fair had he said: "If congress would only offer such subsidies as will be necessary to compete With the subsidized ships of the old world nations, there are plenty of citizens eager to build and sail American ships. And they would be better ships than the government can buy or build, and would bring better results than can be obtained from government owned and government nevl-gated nevl-gated ships, but the party in power cannot afford to pay subsidies, it will be ibetter to make up the losses under cover of a deficiency drain." As was expected, a continuance of the tariff on sugar is recommended "for revenue only." It was perfectly proper for the president to commend in his message his policy in dealing with Mexico. Somebody ought to commend it, and we know of no one who could do that except ex-cept the president. His position is not unlike that of a mother who loves her deformed child more than any of her perfectly formed children. The president's exaggerated expressions of affection af-fection for all Spanish America are a little overdone, over-done, but just now the president is a little in love with all the world. His reminder that in the event of an attempted attempt-ed conquest of any Spanish-American state wo should be bound to go to the rescue, Is entirely proper, and a" proper notice to serveArt certain H fi foreign powers who have long looked upon por- H tlons of Spanish America with covetous eyes1. H We wish that state authorities in all the states H after reading the president's program for insur- fl ing increased preparedness, would reflect that the fl most necessary preparation Is the training of men H for military duty, that every slate is alike inter- H ested in this, and that the preparations should be- H gin in every high school, academy and university! H That would at once1 place a million young men H under training, and If in the future all wars could I be avoided, still that training would be the most H useful accomplishment of the schools. ' H |