Bemidji Daily Pioneer Newspaper, December 3, 1907, Page 6

actual needs is to perform in time of peace whatever maneuvers might be v in time of war, After war ed it is too late to find out the That means to invite disaster. telp to the Pacific will show what some oi our needs are and will enable us to provide tor them. The proper place for an officer to learn his duty is at and the only way in which a navy 1 ever be made eflicient is by practice at sew under all the conditions which would have to be met il war existed, NAVAL }i:fR_SONNEL. Promotion of Officers by Strict Seniority Not a Good Principle. 1 bespeak the most libers for the oflicers and enlisted the navy. .t is true of ther the otlicers and en they forn: men of as like- sted men a body wise of n. In wmee of 3 from them. should be awple when do their best, and nothing less u their best should be tolerated. 1t tor the bLest results in the senior grades late in lite and duty be exacted The is ille te hope when the men comte o those grads serve too short a ti n them. Up to the rank of lieutenant commander pro- in the v houid Le as now, subject, wever, to such would eliminate the un- ie of lientenant com- when we come to the nd rank—the unit wminated in such wanner v the conspicuously fit would n, and sea service should be a Those who certai spective en number well be that almost all licutenants and lieu v a minority be fit to be ¢ nd but three or four to be s. Those who ob- ject to promotion otherwise than by should retlect upon the elementary fact that no b s 1 private life could be successti man- aged if those who enter at the lowest rungs of the ladder should each in turn i he lived become the head, of the firm, its active director, and retire after hie had held the position a few months. On its face such a scheme is an abs lity. Chances nproper 1 can be minimized Ly a formed board, such as the board of iast June which did such con- scientious and excellent work in elim- ination. If all that ought to be done cannot now be doune, at least let a beginning be made. In n last three annual special message to the last congress the neces for leg- islation that will cause officers of the line of the navy to reach the des of captai 1d rear admiral at less ad- vances ind which will cause them to have more sea training and ex- perience in the highly responsible du- ties of those grades, so that they may become thoroughly skillful in handling battleships, di ons, squadrons and mo by seniority, rigid t S tit. Al of men it n would most manders, will mere senior favoritis F) fleets in action, has been fully explain- | ed and urgently recommended. Upon this subject the secretary.of the navy has submitted detailed and definite recommendations which have received my approval and which if enacted in- to law will accomplish what is imme- diately necessary and will, as compar- ed with existing law, make a saving of more than $5,000,000 during the next seven years. The navy personnel act of 1809 has accomplished all that was expected of it in providing sati sfactory periods of service in the so slgn to the grade of lieute mander, but the law is inade the upper grades arn be inadequate on ac M pansion of personnel since its en- actment. Your attention invited to the following quotations from the re- count of B eX= navy was president: s auth in the the Naval er- of mid- v, and promoted to ens ior ¢ made the low gested t of tho o looment and ti that t t to the e a real mer o the pub- E in my spe 1 the last congress, “I am fir opinion t! unless the tlon of i vonnel ig tion e the efli- corps of the fon to this end oposed, and I trust has already heen it may be enacted without delay. It must be remembered that every- thing done in the navy to fit it to do well In time of war must be done in time of peace. Modern wars are short. They do not last the length of time requisite to build a battleship, and it takes longer to train the officers and men to do well on a battleship than it takes to build it. Nothing effective ean be done for the navy once war has PR treatment | begun, and the result of the war, if the combatants .are otherwise equally matched, will depend upon which pow- er has prepared best in time of peace. The United States navy is the best gunranty the nation has that its honor and interest will not be neglected, and tn addition it offers by far the best insu ance for peace that can by human Ingenuity be devised. 1 call attention to the report of the official board of visitors to the Naval academy at Annapolis, which has been forwarded to the congress. The report | contains this paragraph: “Such revision should be made of the courses of study and methods of con- ducting and marking examinations as will develop and bring out the average | all round ability of the midshipman rather than to e him prominence in any one par study. The fact should be kept in mind that the Naval academy is not a university, but a| school, the primary object of which is to educate In to be eflicient naval of- fico Chang rriculum, there- fore, should be in the divection of mak- | ing the co ruction less theo- | retical and move | No portion | of any futere class should be gradu- | ated in advance of the full four years’ course, and under no circumstances should the standard of instruction be | !lowered. The academy in almost all of its departinents is now magnificent- | Iy equipped, and it would be very un- wise to make the course of instruetion | less exacting than it is today.” Acting upon this suggestion, I desig- nated t ring officers, Captain Richard Wainwright, Commander Rob- lert S. Grifiin and Lieutenant Com- mander Albert L. raduates of the academy, vestigate condi- tions and to recommend to me the best method of ving into eflect this general recommendation. These ormed the duty prompily ntly, and under the per- ection of Captain Charles J. intende of the acad- 1 changes as sonal d 1 t at the begin- ar, Oct. 1 last. The r 1 am confident, will be most ial to the academy, to the midshipmen and to the navy. | able were put into e ning of the g reign Affairs. affairs this country’s v is to behave toward oth- ! er natio 1 strong and self respect- ing man should behave toward the other men with whom he is brought into contac is disinterestedly to help other na- tions where such help can be wisely | given without the appearance of med- | dling with what does not concern us, fto Le careful to act as a good neigh- | bor and the same time in good na- tured fashion to make it evident that we do not intend to be imposed upon, THE HAGUE In for !ste:ul,\' pe | | | | Conference Accomplished. The second international peace con- | ference was convened at The Hague on the 15th of June last and remained in session until the 18th of October. { For the first time the representatives practically all' the civilized coun- tries of the world united in a temper- ate and kindly discussion of the meth- ods by which the causes of war might ]be narrowed and its injurious effects reduced. , 3 ¢ Although the agreements reached in | the conference did not in any direction g0 to the length hoped for by the more sanguine, yet in many directions im- portant steps were taken, and upon every subject on the programme there was such full and considerate discus- slon as to justify the belief that sub- | stantial progress has bLeen made to- ward further agreements in the future. Thirteen conventions were agreed upon, embodying the definite conclu- sions which had been reached, and res- olutions were adopted marking the progress made in matters upon which agreement was complete to make conventions practi- cable, The delegates of the United States were instructed to favor an agreement for obiigatory arbitration, the estab- |t 1 to pr 1g and < in the reed judicially ract debts alleged to rernments to citizens of s until after arbitration aud amount of the 1nd amanner of pay- te proper- tion of the als and, in case any t end should be intro- i ments. fiald of peaceful disposal of in- cifferences several impor- i be due other Although the failed to sccure a unani- n for obligatory arbitration, ve as follows: E wimous (1) in ineiple for obligat t.on: (2) in declari fer ) the interpretatisn and application of International conventional stipulations, accepting arbitra- ebligatory arbitration without any re- etr In view of the fact that as a result | 6f the discussion the vote upon the slefinite treaty of obligatory arbitra- on which was proposed stood 32 in | favor to 9 against the adoption of the treaty there can be little doubt that j the great majority of the countries of the world have reached a point where they are now ready to apply practically the principles thus unanimously agreed upon by the conference. The second advance, and a very great ~na i the agreement which relates to t present advis- ! In other words, our aim | What the Second International Peace | not yet sufficiently | lishment of a permanent court of arbi- ' on of international | it upon the details of a ; the use of force for the collection of contract debts, Your attention is ia- vited to the paragraphs upon this sub- Ject In my message of December, 1906, and to the resolution of the third Amer- ican conference at Rio in the summer of 1906, 'The convention upon this subject adopted by the conference sub- stantially as proposed by the American delegates is as follows: “In order to avoid between natlons armed conflicts of a purely pecuniary origin arvising from contractual debts claimed of the government of one coun- try by the government of another coun- try to be due to its nationals the sig- natory powers agree not to have re- course to armed force for the collee- tion of such contractual debts. “However, this stipulation shall not be applicable when the debtor state refuses or leaves unanswered an offer to arbitrate or, in case of acceptance, thakes it Impossible to formulate the terms of subm m or after arbitra- tion fails to comply with the award rendered. “It is further agreed that arbitration here contemplated shall be in con- formity as to procedure with chapter 8 of the convention for the pacific settlement of international . disputes adopted at The Hague and that it shall determine in so far as there shall be no agreement between the parties the jus- tice and the amount of the debt, the time and mode of payment thereof.” Such a pro on would have prevent- ed much injustice and extortion in the past, and I cannot doubt that its effect in the future will be most salutary. A third advance has been made in amending aud perfecting the conven- tion of 1809 for the voluntary settle- ment of international disputes and par- ticularly tsc extension of those parts of that convention which relate to commissions of inquiry. The existence of those provisions enabled the govern- ments of Great Britain and Russia to avoid war notwithstanding great pub- lic excitement at the time of the Dog ger bank incident, and the new conven- tion agreed upon by the conference gives practical effect to the experience gained in that inquiry. Substantial progress was also made toward the creation of a permanent judicial tribunal for the determination of international causes. There was very full dise on of the proposal for was finally reached in favor of its, creation. The conference recommend- ed to the signatory powers the adop- tion of a ft upon which it agreed for the organization of the court, leav- ing to be determined only the method by which the judges should be select- ed. This remaining unsettled question is plainly one which time and good teruper will solve, A further agreeinent of the first im- portance vwas that for the creation of i an interna.ional prize court. stitution, organization and procedure of such a tribunal were provided for in detail. Any oi:é who recalls the in- Justices under which this country suf- fered as a neutral power during the early part of the last century cannot fail to see in this provision for an in- ternational prize court the great ad- vance which the world is making to- ward the substitution of the rule of reason and justice in place of simple force. Not only will the international prize court be the means of protecting the interests of neutrals, but it is in itself a step toward the creation of the more general court for the hearing of international controversies to which reference has just been made. The or- ganization and action of such a prize court cannot fail to accustom the dif- ferent countries to the submission of international questions to the decision of an international tribupal, and we may confidently expect the results of such submission to bring about a gen- eral agreement upon the enlargement of the practice. Numerous provisions were adopted for reducing the evil effects of war and for defining the rights and duties of neutrals. The conference also provided for the holding of a third conference with- fn a periol similar to that which elapsed between the. first and second conferences. The delezates of the United States worthily represented the spirit of the American people and maintained with fidelity and ability the policy of our government upon all the great ques- tlons discussed in the conference. The report of the delegation, togeth- er with authenticated copies of the conventions signed, when recelved will be laid before the senate for its consid- eration. ; When we remember how difficult it is for one of our own legislative bodies i composed of citizens of the same coun- . A try, speaking the same language, liv- the same customs, to reach an agree-. ment or even to secure a majority up- on any difficult and important subject which is proposed for legislation it becomes piain that the representatives of forty-five different countries. speak- ing mauny different languages., accus- tomed to different methods of proce- dure, with widely diverse interests, who discussed so many different sub- jects and reached agreements upon many, are entifled to grateful apprecia- tlon for the wisdom, patience and mod- eration with which they have discharg- ed their duty. The example of this temperate discussion and the agree- ments and the efforts to agree among representatives of all the nations of -the earth, acting with universal recog- nitlon of the supreme obligation to promote peace, cunnot fail to be a rowerful influence for good in future international relations. i Cuba: A year ago in consequence of a revo- lutionary movement in Cuba which threatened the fmmediate return to chaos of the island the United States intervened, sending down an army and establishing a provisional government The con-. such a court, and -a general agreement | ing under the same laws «@and having | under Governor Magoon. Absolute qulet and prosperity have returned to the island because of this action. We are now taking steps to provide for elections in the island, and our ex- pectation is within the coming year to be able to turn the island ovet again to a government chosen by the people thereof. Cuba is at our doors. It is not possible that this' nation should permit Cuba again to sink into the con- dition from which we rescued it. All that we ask of the Cuban people is that they be prosperous, that they govern themselves so as to bring content, or- der and progress to their island, the Queen of the Antilles, and our only interference has been and will be to help them achieve these results. TOKY0 @snm. An Opportunity to Display Our Friend- ship For Japan. An invitation has been extended by Japan to the government and people oi the United States to participate in a great national exposition to be held at Tokyo from April 1 to Oct. 31, 1912, and in which the principal countries of the world are to be invited to take part. This is an occasion of special in- terest to all the nations of the world and peculiarly so to us, for it is the first instance in which such a great na- tlonal exposition has been held by a great power dwelling on the Pacific, and all the nations of Europe and to success this first great exposition ever held by a great nation of Asia. The geographical and the United States as the possessors of such large portions of the coasts of | the Pacifie, the intimate trade relations already existing between the two coun- tries, the warm friendship which has been maintained between them with- out break since the opening of Japan to intercourse with the western nations and her increasing wealth and produc- tion, which we regard with hearty good will and wish to make the occa- sion of mutually beneficial commerce, all unite in making it eminently des! able that this invitation should be ac- cepted. I heartily recommend such legislation as will provide in generous fashion for the representation of this government and its people in the pro- iposed exposition. Action should be taken now. We are apt to underesti- mate the time necessary for prepara- tien in such cases. The invitation to the French exposition of 1900 was brought to the attention of the con- gress by President Cleveland in De- cember, 1893, and so many are the de- 11ays necessary to such proceedings that the period of four years and a half which then intervened beforé the ex- position proved none too long for the proper preparation of the exhibits, German Tariff Agreement. The adoption of a new tariff by Ger- many, accompanied by conventions for reciprocal tariff concessions between that country and most of the other countries of continental Europe, led the German government to give the notice necessary to terminate the re- ciprocal commercial agreement with this country proclaimed July 13, 1900. The notice was to take effect on the 1st of March, 1906, and in default of some other arrangements this would have left the exports from the United States to Germany subject to the gen- eral German tariff duties, from 25 to 50 per cent higher than the conven- tional duties imposed upon the goods of most of our competitors for German trade. Under a special agreement made be- tween the two governments in Febru- ary, 1906, the German government postponed the operation of their notice until the 30th of June, 1807. In the meantime, deeming it to be my duty to make every possible effort to prevent & tariff war between the United States and Germany arising from misunder- standing by either country of the con- ditions existing ih the other and aet- ing upon the invitation of the German government, I sent to Berlin a com- mission composed of competent ex- perts in the operation and administra- tion of the customs tariff from the de- partments of the treasury and com- merce and labor. This commission was engaged for several months in confer- | ence with a similar comimission ap- pointed by the German government under instructions so far as practica- ble to reach a common understanding as to All the facts regarding the tariffs of the United States and Germany ma- terial and rvelevant to the trade rela- tions between the two countries. The commission reported, and upon the ba- sis of the report a further temporary to by the two countries, pursuant to which in the exercise of the authority conferred upon the president by the third section of the tariff act of July 24, 1897, I extended the reduced tariff rates provided for in that section to champagne and all other sparkling wines and pursuant to which the Ger- man conventional or minimum tarifft rates were extended to about 0614 per cent of all the exports from the Unit- ed States to Germany. This agree- ment_is to remain in force untii the 30th of June, 1908, and_ until six months after notice by either party to terminate it. [ The agreement and the report of the commission on ‘which it is based will be lai¢ before the congress for its in- formation. This careful examination into the tar- iff relations between the United States and Germany involved an inquiry into certain of our methods of administra- tion which had been the cause of munch complaint on the part of German ex- porters. In this Inquiry I became sat- isfled that certain vicious and unjusti- flable practices had grown up in our customs administration, notably the practice of determining values of im- ports upou detective reports never dis- America will, I trust, join in helping | relations of Japan | commercial agreement was entered in- | clored to the persons whose interests were affected The use of detectives, though often necessary, tends toward abuse and sheuld be carefully guard- ed. Under our practice as I found it to exist in the case the abuse had be- come gross and discreditable. Under it instead of seeking information as to the market value of merchandise from the well known and respected mem- bers of the commercial community In the country of its production secret statements were obtained from info: ers and discharged employees and bu: ness rivals, and upon this kind of se- cret evidence the va of imported goods were frequently ed and heavy penalties were frequently imposed upon importers, who were never permitted to know what the evidence was. and who never had an opportunity to meet it. It is quite probable that this sys- tem tended toward an increase of the duties collected upon imported goods, but I conceive it to be a violation of law to exact more duties than the law provides, just as it is a violation to ad- mit goods upon the payment of less than the legal rate of duty. This prac- tlce was repugnant to the spirit of { American law and to American sense of justice. most competent experts of the treas- ury department and the department of commerce and labor it was wholly un- necessary for the due collection of the customs revenues, and the attempt to defend it merely illustrates the demor- alization which naturally follows from i a long continued course of reliance upon such methods. I accordingly caused the regulations governing this branch of the customs service :to be modified so that values are determined ing in which all the par- ested have an opportunity to .ibe heard and to know the evidence against them. Moreover, our treasury agents are redited to the govern- ment of the country in which' they seek information and in Germany re- ceive the assistance of the quasi offi- cial chamber mining the ual market value of goods in accordance with what I am advised to be the true construction of the law. These changes of regulations were adapted to the removal of such mani fest abuses that I have not felt that they ought to be confined to our rela- tlons- with Germany, fand I have ex- tended their operation to all other countries which have expressed a de- sire to enter into similar administrative relations. China. I ask for authority to reform the agreement with China under which the indemnity of 1900 was fixed by remit- ting and cancelling the oblization of China for the payment of all that part jof the stipulated indemnity which is {in"excess ¢f the sum of $11,655,462.69 and interest at 4 per cent. After the rescue of the foreign legations in Pe- king during the Boxer troubles in 1900 the powers required from China the payment of equitable indemnities to the several nations, end the final proto- In the judgment of. Lhei of commerce in deter- ! are exchanged with the United States. Under -these circumstances numerous questions necessarily arise between the two countries. These questions are al- ways approached and disposed of in a spirit of mutual courtesy and fair deal- ing. Americans carrying on business in Mexico testify uniformly to the kindness and consideration with which they are treated and their sense of the security of their property and enter- prises under the wise administration of the¢ great statesman who has so leng held the office of chief magistrate of that republic. The two governments have been unit- ing their efforts for a considerable time Dast to aid Central America in attain- ing the degree of peace and order which have made possible the pros- perity of the northern parts of the con- tinent. After the peace between Guate- mala, Honduras and Salvador, celebrat- ed under the ‘umstances described in my last message, a new war broke out between the republics of Nicara- gua, Honduras and Salvador. The ef- fort to compose this new difiiculty has resulted in the acceptance of the joint suggestion of the presidents of Mexico | and of the United States for a general peace conference between ail the coun- tries of Central America. On the 17th day of September last a protocol was | signed between the representatives of five Central American countries ac- credited to this government agreeing upon a conference to be held in the city of Washington “in order to devise the means of preserving the good re- lations among said republics and bringing about permanent peace in those countries.” The protocol in- cludes the expression of a wish that the presidents of the United States and Mexico should appoint “representatives | to lend their good and impartial offices in a purely friendly way toward the realization of the objects of the con- ference.” The conference is now in session and will have our best wishes and where it is practicable our friend- | Iy assistance. Bureau of American Repuhlics. One of the results of the pan-Amer- ican conference at Rio Janeiro in the summer of 1206 has been a great in- (crease in the activity and usefulness {of the international bureau of Amer- | fcan republics. That institution, which includes all the American republics in its membership and brings all their representatives together, is doing a | really valuable work in informing the people of the United States about the i other republics and in making the | United States known to them. Its ac- tion is now limited by appropriations determined when it was doing a work on a much smalier scale and rendering much less valuable service. 1 recom- mend that the contribution of this gov- ernment to the expenses of the hureau be niade commensurate with its in- creased work. - THEODORE ROOSEVELT. The White House, Dec. 3, 1907. 1 The Story of the Row. col under which the troops were wi'h- drawn, signed at Peking Sept. 7, 1901. fixed the amount of this indemnity al- lotted to the United States at over $20. cluding the 1st day of June last a little over $6,000.000.. Tt was the first inten- tlon of this government at the proper { time ' when eIl claims had been pre- sented and sll expenses ascertained as fully as possible to revise the estimates and account and as a proof of sincere friendship for China voluntarily to re- lease that country.from its legal lia- bility for all payments in excess of the sum which should prove to be neces- sary for actual indemnity to the Unit- ed States and its citizens. Chinese Students. This nation should help in every practicable way In the education of the Chinese people, so that the vast and populous empire of China may gradually adapt itself to modern con- ditions. One way of doing this is by promoting the coming of Chinese stu- dents to this country and making it at- tractive to them to take courses at our universities and higher educational in- stitutions. Our educators should, so far as possible, take concerted action toward this end. ROOT'S VISIT TO MEXICO. Our Southern Neighbors. On the courteous invitation of the president of Mexico, the secretary of | state visited that country in Septem- ber and October and was received ev- erywhere with the greatest kindness and hospitality. S He carried from the government of the United States to our southern meighbor a . message of respect and good will-and of desire for better ac- quaintance and increasing friendship. The response Srom the government and the people of Mexico was hearty and sincere. No pains tvere spared to manifest the most friendly attitude and feeling toward the United States. In view of the close neighborhood of the two countries the relations which exlIst between Mexico and the United States are just cause for gratification. 1,500 miles from the gulf of Mexico to the Pacific. Much of it Is marked only by the shifting waters of the Rio are residing upon our side of the line, and It i estimated that over 40,000 Americans are resident in Mexican ter- ritory and that American investments in Mexico amount to over $700,000,000. The extraordinary industrial and com- mercial prosperity of Mexico has been greatly promoted by American enter- prise, and Americans are sharing largely fn {its results. The foreign trade of the republic already exceeds $240,000,000 per annum, and of this two-thirds both of exports and imports 000,000, and China paid up to and in- | Evidences of Our Cordial Relations With | We have a common boundary of over | Grande. Many thousands of Mexicans | At a Dublin county court once I was | very much interested in the following case: { Judge—Who is it that brings the al- | legator against the prisoner at the bar? i " X 99—Plaze, y'ur wurshup, Oi'm the allegator. i Judge—What's the charge? X 99—Well, plaze y’ur wurshup, Ol was on my bate as usual when Oi saw & man with a box creating a disturb- ance in the road. “What are ye doing there?” says Ol. “Oi'm going to lave that box here,” says he. “Shure ye can’t lave it there,” says Ol “Well, Of've left it there,” says he. “Come out of that,” says Ol. “Oi’'m not in it,” says he. “It's ag'inst the law,” says Of. “You're a liar,” says he; “it's ag'inst the window!* With that Oi struck him and missed him. Thin Of hit him ag’in in the same place, but he hits me a blow on the nose wid his { fist and says, “A friend in need is a friend indeed.”—London Answers. Hundred Dollar Mics. “Oh, yes; I have seen mice worth $100,” said a pet stock dealer. “They were prize winners of course—pedi- greed stock—to command so fancy a figure. Here's a $45 mouse now.” He took from a gilt cage a mouse with a long silver gray coat. “This little chap,” he said. patting the small, sieek head, *has won three firsts and four seconds. He is very good class.” Then he opened a catalogue that de- voted two pages to mice. It offered mice at any figure from 25 cents up to $90. There were fawn mice, white mice, singing mice, beautifully marked brown and whites, black and tans, white and reds—400 varieties in all. “Are there mouse societies? What a stupid question. - Of course there are,, the same as there are societies for the breeding of dogs, pigeons, horses. And now, can't I persuade you; sir, to take this handsome $45 silver gray chap for your little boy ?’—New Orleans Times- Democrat. A Little Ambiguous. Very commendable is the zeal dis- played in recent years in the effort to put an end to the obnoxious habit of expectorating in places frequented by the public. Still, the offense would probably be classed under the head of ‘“venial’—and it might be well to ad- Just the punishment to the crime. After crossing on one of the ferry lines that convey passengers over the North river to New Jersey points and | carefully considering the possible log- jeal connection between the two parts of the “Notice to Passengers” hanging in a conspicuous place one wonders if perhaps the reforming zeal of the ferry far. The sign reads: “Spitting on the floor is prohibited. Life preservers are provided for all passengers.”” company may not have carried it too E | | |