Evening Star Newspaper, December 6, 1897, Page 19

THE EVENING STAR. PUBLISHED DAILY EXCEPT SUNDAY. AT THE STAR BUILDINGS, re Star Ne Company UFFMANN, Pres. —————— New York Office, 49 Potter Building. ochre: Snel ‘The Evening Star is served to subcribers In the eity by enrriers, on their own account, at 10 cents per week. or 44 cents per month. Copies at the counter Z cents each. By mail—anywhere in the United States or Cenada—postage prepaid—S0 ccnts per month. erday Quintuple Sheet Star. $1 per year, with foreign postage added, $3.00. (Entered at the Post Office at Washington. D. C.. ee secend-clase mail matter.) : All mail subscriptions must be paid in advance. Rates of advertising made ir Heation. Advertising is not an expense, It is a business investment. If you want to invest your money profitably you will P ect ooy put your advertisements in such a paper as The Evening Star, that is read regularly and thoroughly by everybody worth reaching, The Star is the recognized household and family journal of the National Capital, and has no rival as an advertising med- lum, ANNUAL REPORT The Recommendations CONDITION OF THE LOCAL DEBT Civil Service Reform Wanted for Municipal Offices, Say the Local Rulers, NEW DISTRICT BUILDING —— Do Not Want Control of National Guard— Increased Police Force—More Pay for Firemen—Selling Beer on Sunday— Supervision of the Food Supply —lnerease of Sewer System. nual report of the Di rict Com- ar ended June | containing the rv ymmenda- mates for the ensuing year, was submitted to Congress today, and is 2s follows “The appropriations for the year, which were payable out of the general revenues, and included all but those for the water department, were 1 69. The re-/ ceipts from taxes and other resources ap- { plicable to the payment of sald appropria- | tions (including the amount contributable by the United States as its share of the District expenses, and a surplus of $02 555.69 of District revenues of former years), were $7,225,459.48. The expenditures of the water depart- ment, which were wholly payable out of | the revenues received from water rents and | taxes, were $31 The revenue of said department, including repayments and balance of former years, amounting to 44.56, were $372,188.69. The District Debt. “The funded debt of the District of Co- Iumbia on June 30, 1897, was $16,656,420. No portion of it was incurred under the present form of government. The treasurer the United States, who fs charged with its manzgement, reports it to be as follox board fer the se, | | | 3S, 4 Jo WoT dpR—C 2! 5 | E eT 2! | a ad 13 GE: | 5s isle 2153 For Increase of Water Supply. “On July 1, 1806, the Water Department of the District of Columbia owed the United States $86,545.33 on account of the debt in- eurred under the act of July 15, 1882, pro- viding for an increase of the water supply by the construction of the tunnel from the siinding on July 1, 1 embracing the official doings of | § it bilities incurred during the year which could not have I anticipated and includ- ed in the estimates and appropriations for + Such as judgments of the courts, and were not due to any deficiency of the revenue; also of certzin outstanding obliga- ns connected with speci ments for work done under contracts with the late ce tes which were is- ce of overc! or improp- pecial assessments for pub- | under contracts of snsiens of said con- ion bearing no in payment of } and amount to er charges of lic improvements made d. the said b unding spe- tes amount- . which are redeemable in such nt of specs erage of about |} twenty yea: lance of collec- tions on account of special assessments in the custody of the treasurer of the Unit- ed States was, on the same date, $6,643.24. The Secretary of the Treasury and the treasurer of the United States have recom: mended that the surplus of the tax lien cer- tificates now held by a - curity for the payment of anding 8 ber cent certificates be delivered to the | Commission order that they may ap- ply all moneys derived therefrom in excess of the amount required on account of the 8 per cent certificates to the retirement of | the outstanding drawback certificates, as contemplated by the act of Congress’ ap- proved June 19, 1878. The Commissioners concur in that recommendation. Any por- tion of these assets which shall remain af- ter the retirement of all the outstanding 8 per cent certificates, and the drawback c¢ issued under existing laws, should ferred to the credit of the District of Columbia. Trust Obligations. “On July 1, 1897, the amount of outstand- ing 8 per cent certificates issued under the act of the legislative assembly of May 20, 1873, was £200, with about $150 of accrued interest thereon. $130 of these, and interest thereon, are payable out of proceeds of sale of 3.65 bonds and the remainder out of collections of special assessments levied for special improvements made under con- tracts and extensions of contracts of the late board of public works. “There was outstanding at.same date in the hands of private holders, $3,819.41 of liens against private property for the afore- said special improvements. ‘These liens are redeemable out of proceeds of special as- sessments levied on the property again which they lie, except that in case: E sments have been inya the liens are redéem ks issued in lieu of such void ts under act of June 2, 1890. The S$ are receivable for general and taxes. “Tkere 1s also outstanding a small amount, not readily ascertainable, of spe- cial assessment scrip issued by the late cor- poration of the clty of Washington. The Assessments. “Assessment of taxable real estate and personal property jn the District of Colum- bia July 1, 18¢ Washi . e ‘Taxable Outside of Was‘ington city 4 D 4ob'e op land at $1.50. .$19,702,418 Taxable on improvements. at $1.50, 6:351,906 17,054,318 Taxable on land at $1.00. Taxable on improvements at $1. 1,155,400 “5,669,600 Total assessed value of taxable real estate seteseeeeeeeeee ss o$181,256,284 Made for the Good of he District of Columbia, thousand bdthers, but that the limited means for the operation of the beach did Rot admit of the employment of a large enough force of attendants to adequately manage and protect it. he beach and its appurtenances are in need of repairs and improvements. ‘The present beach should be sloped farther out into the 1 and resarded, the capacity of the floating baths increased, and the bath houses and other accommodations re- modeled and enlarged. “During the summer steps were taken ‘to verd adapting the inner basin of the Po- temae flats for 2 bathing pool,’ as cuntem- plated by the proviso in the District ap- propriation law approved June 11, 1896, aking an appropriation for that purpose. put _arter a few weeks’ progress on the werk had been made it became apparent that the completion of the improvement would involve a vastly greater outlay than the Commissioners had been led to sup- pese or the projectors of the plan had an- "cipated. Other complications arose and led to a suspension of the work, the 4 constrained to believe would be inad- vle, at least until it atl have been orily demonstrated that the prepesed bathing beach would he preferable to those which the old beach would provide with a much smaller expenditure, as hereinbefore pro- pesed. “The experience of the Commissiuners with the bathing beach leads them to be- lieve that it answers a great publie need. It affords exceilent facilities for physical training and exerctse, and an opportunity for all to acquire without cost a useful ac- complishment, which often enables the beneficlarics to protect their own lives and to render a similar fce to others, len( of Charidies. emit the an- superintendent of char- their last annual re- port the incumbeney of the office has been changed by the decease on the 16th day of May of Col. John Tracy, and the appoint- ment of Mr. Herbert W. 1 Col. Tracy Was well fitted for the work by his general accomplishments and his large previous experien haritable and reformatory S a capable organizer ani 3 3 a Ba 2 a? a , ort of th District Civil Service. “It should be the aim and desire of those rged with the control of the affairs of the District of Columbia to conduct its business for the best interests of the Unit- ed States and of the taxpayers. Looking to that end, all employes of the District government should be selected and retain- ed wholly upon a basis of merit and effi- ciency. Partisan control of the affairs of the District has been ignored by every President of the United States since the establishment of the present form of gov- ernment in 1878 by the appointment upon the board of District Commissioners of a representative of each of the great political Parties. “With all of the departments of the gen- eral government under the protection of the civil service law, ever; change In the administration of the general goverument brings to the officials in charge of the Dis- trict government demands for appoint- ments Impossible of recognition, but walch ere dangerous to the {Interests of the Dis- trict, and which seriously interrupt and sometimes practically prevent the conduct of its rapidly increasing business interests. “The Commissioncrs strongly recommend that the District government be included Within the protection of the civil service aw. The Public Schools. ne total number of pupils enrolled dur- ing the past fiscal year was 42,005, of whom 2 were white and 15,198 colored. Our Reople nave a just pride in the high stand- ard of efficiency which has been maintain- ed in every department of their system of public instruction, “The special feature which has received their commendation has been that of man- ual training. For more than a decade hand work has been one of the co-ordinate activities of the public schools of the Dis- trict of Columbia. Hand and eye have been trained in the processes by which s aut applied, whereby putits schools get * daily work, The uppar grades, e te al tretaing / cocking and me- Thus has a re cutiing and recet fittin in chanical work in the shops. generation of trained children grown up. The conditions now demand for the appro- priate continuance of this work a manual training high school. There are now hun- dreds of boys and girls in the community who have had the necessary preliminary training which fits them to learn the high- er applications of handcraft, that to them will be valuable from the educational point of view, and that will especially fit them for life work. This kind of training is de- manéed for our advancing civilization, and the Commissioners believe that the public schools should give it. The school trus- Washington $8,569,413 Washington 46,400 Ruliroads, receipts. ‘Total .. -$191,036,942 “The rate of general tax f e year was fixed at $1.50 on each $100 for all taxable personal property, and for all real property, except that used sclely for agricultural purposes, the rate of which was $1 per $100 of assessed valuation. Arrears of General Taxen, “The Commissioners repeat their recom- mendation for the enactment of the legis- lation proposed in Senate bill No. 916, ‘In relation to tax sales in the District of Co- which is designed to require as a condition precedent to the issue of @ tax deed, that all arrears of taxes on the prop- erty involved shall be paid. This legisla- distributing reservoir, and its appurtenant works: but all that remained of the indebt- edness on this account up to July 1, 1897, ‘was liquidated by the treasurer of the United States, out of the general revenues, pursuant to the followimg proviso in the District appropriation act of March 3, 1897: “ ‘Provided, that not exceeding $104,738.24 of the surplus general revenues of the Dis- trict of Columbia remaining on the first Gay of July 1897, shall be transferred to the water fund, to be applied in payment in full of the balance of the principal of the debt incurred for increasing the water supply as Provided in the act of July 15, 1882.” Fleating Obligations. tion is urgently needed to prevent toss of taxes already in arrears and to remove the incentive to delinquency in the future, which is offered by the present law as ju- dictally construed. Defective License Lawa: “The necessity for a reyision of the l- cense laws on account of the development of new kinds of business and the modifica- tion and abandonment of old ones, still ex- ists. A bill to improve this condition of af- fairs will be submitted to Congress during the present Bathing Beack: “The patronage of the bathing beach dur- ing the past summer largély exceeded that of any previous season. The superintena- “The floating indebtedness consists of lia- ent reports that it was used by over fifty tees have estimated for such schools. The Commissioners believe these estimates should be granted. Street Cleaning. “A five-year contract for sprinkling, sweeping and cleaning of the streets and avenues of the District expired on the 30th day of June, 1897. Under that contract all cleaning of improved streets and avenues was done by machinery, except Pennsyl- vania avenue and some intersecting streets, which were cleaned by hand. A new con- tract for a term of two years was entered into, beginning July 1, 1897, under which a large portion of the principal busincss streets and some of the residential streets are cleaned by hand. “The resulta of this hand-cleaning system have been so satisfactory and have been so highly commended by the citizens of the District that the Commissioners are con- vinced that as funds may be made available therefor the entire area of the improved streets and avenues should be cleaned with- out the use of the street-sweeping ma- chines. “The hand system does better work, keeps the public areas more clean-and present during the hours of daylight,- causes less annoyance from dust and gives employment. oa. more of our worthy laborers than the other system. s Saeigeds “Under the existing contract the price per 1,000 square yards cleaned by inaugurate the new system over thé entire District, and also because they regarded it | as probable that the. work might in the near future be well. and profitably done without the intervention of a contractor. The experience gained since the 1st of Juiy under the system now in vogue has enabied the superintendent of street clean- ing te calculate the actual cost of hand cleaning the entire area of the improved ways to be cleaned at a cost not to exceed per 1,000 square yards the expense now incurred by machine cleaning. ‘The Com- missioners have thereby been induced to recommend that they be authorized, at the expiration of the existing contract, to have the work of cleaning the streets and ave- nues done under their own direct super- vision and without letting the same to the lowest bidder. : The National Gunra. “The existing law requires that ‘all leases and contracts involviag expenditures on ac- count of the militia shall be made by tie Ccmmissioners of the District of Columbia, and apprepriations for the militia. shall be disbursed only upon vouchers duly author- ized by the Commisisoners, for which they shall be held strictly accourtable.’ “The great responsibility hereby imposed upon the Commissioners {s without any corresponding control over the vse of any of the money, so appropriated. All ex- perditures of the District government are made upon itemized requisitions, carefully prepared and approved py the heads of the departments making the same, through the preperty clerk or the* superintendent of property, and the Commissioners through these officers have .diréct knowledge and ecrtrol of the minutest detail of the same. In the matter of disbursements by the mili tia, a requisition fot a bulk sum is made by the brigadier general or the quarter- master, which sum js expended by the of- ficers of the militia without consultation with, supervision over or other control whatever by officers appointed by or re- spcnsible to the Commissioners. “The Commissioners, in view of this fact, and in consideration of the further fact that the militia is more properly a branch of the War Department, recommend tha they be relieved of the responsibility afore- said, and that the entire supervision and control of the militia be vested in the Sec- retary of War, A Census. During the past Year a census of the population of the District of Columbia was taken by the police department, which, it is believed, is as accurate as suca a census can be, and which shows chat, the total Population of the District at that time, April, 1807, was 277,782. Of this Se 277, 7R2. 180,457 were white, and 88, 978 reside in > reside in the county, of which 27,202 are white and 13,48 colored. Police Department. The report of the!major and superin- tendent of police, which will be found ap- pended to the report of the Commissioners, is of great interest, giving, as it dves, a complete account ef the work done by his department. With the growth of the population, which means naturally an increased amount of crime, owing to the necessities laid upon those who are without supnort and who are thus driven to theft, it is gratifying to note that although the force has :ot heen at all increased in any proportion to the increaSed work put upon it, better results have been achieved than ever befor. In this connection {t is worthy note that because the clerjeal force of the Dis- trict is not adequate‘to perform the pure- ly clerical work absolutely necessary, in many instances the police are calle! upun to perform these duties, which is not at all properly within the provisions of tne police department. To this extent 1h weakened, and it is all the more ¢ to the department that it has been able to accomplish such good resuits under such adverse circumstances. Increased Force Necessary. The weakness of the force, so far as the rumbers are concerned, is perhaps as prominently seen in the matter of what are called “foot-pads” as in anything else. Where crime is expected and provisions are made for patrolling those sections, serious ofternses have been kept well in hand,but in the resident portion of the city, during the cay, where the officers: are so few and so far apart, these bold thieves, many of whom present a wejl-dressed appearance, and who are ually young lads from six- teen to eighteen yeats of age, disturb the peace of the entire neighborhood by boldly snatching a lady's purse and running off with it. Another evidence of the necessity for an increase of the force may be noticed in the fact that many of our citizens, not feeling satisfied with the protection of their homes afforded by the present force, pay monthly for the services of additional watchmen, who nightly patrol the streets and guard their property. The number of these addi- tional privates so employed is about one hundred. Total Number Available. The total number of privates for street duty fs 480. Out of this number are taken fifty-seven men, detailed for special du- ties, a part of whom are assigned to the Executive Mansion, which should have a force of its own; a part to the Police Court, for which bailiffs should be provid- ed; a part to the workhouse, where watch- men should be employed, and the balance to other similar duties, none of which are proper drains upon the police department. This leaves 423 men avatiable, from whic a still larger drain must be made for sic ness and absence on account of leave, this number to be divided between day and night watches, so that the largest number available to guard the entire District at night, covering a territory of 72 square miles, is 166 men, but which will hardly &verage more than 140 men. This is out of all proportion to the requirements and to the numbers allowed in other cities. New York, with a population of 1,513,501, hes 5,051 policemen to patrol 41 square miles; Philadelphia, with a population of 1,046,752, has 51 policemen, to patrol 121 square miles; Chicago, population 1,009,752, area 187 square miles; has 3,400 policemen; Brooklyn, population 804377, area 65 square miles, has 1,836 men; St. Louis, population 460,357, area 60 square miles, has 876; Bos- ton, population 446,507, area square miles, has 1,004; Baltimore, population 434,151, area 15 square miles, has 817; San Francisco, population 298,997, area 41 square miles, has-&57; Buffalo, population 255,664, arca 42 square miles, has 636; Dis- trict of Columbia,. population 280,000, area 72 square miles, will have in 1898 545 po- licemen. The Retired List. Owing to the fact that until very re- cently there was-ro provision made for retiring those who have grown old in the service or who may be. incapacitated through injury retetyed while in the line of duty, an unusuaily large number of the members of the foree :were not qualified fer active work. .Recent provision, how- ever, by Congress for supplying such defl- cit as may arise inthe pension pay roll from the funds vf the Police Court has enabled the department to’ do an act of simple justice to some of the men and at the seme time to reduce the number of inca. Pacitated men and supply their places with younger and able-bodied officers. But even with this additional number the force wii is still ith those who should Fecommendation pf the maior aed sao recom rand super- intendent, wi is heartily indorsed by the Cor t,.in order to pro- PRESIDENT = MeKINLEY'S MESSAGE The Cuban Question and the Duty of This Gov- elnment F ‘The President today sent age to Congress: THE MESSAGE. To the Senate and House of Represent- atives It gives me pleasure to extend greeting to the Fifty-fifth Congress, assembled in regular session at the seat of Government, with many of whose Senators and Repre- sentatives I have been associated in the legislative service. Their meeting occurs under felicitous conditio: justifying sin- cere congratulation and calling for our grateful acknowledgment to a beneficent Providence which has so signaiiy blessed and prospered us as a nation. Peace and good will with all the nations of the earth centinue unbroken. A matter of genuine satisfaction is the growing feeling of fraternal regard and unification cf all sections of our country, the incompleteness of which has too long delayed realization of the highest blessings of the Union. The spirit of patriotism is uni ‘al and is ever increasing in fervor. The public questions which now most en- gross us are lifted far above either parti- ganship, prejudice or former sectlonal dif- ferences. They affect every part of our eommon country alike and permit of no division on ancient lines. Questions of foreign policy, of revenue, the soundness of the currency, the inviolability of national obligations. the improvement of the public service, appeal to the individual conscience of every earnest citizen to whatever party he belongs or in whatever section of the country he may reside. THE CURRENCY QUESTION. ‘The extra session of this Congress which closed during July last enacted important legislation, and while its full effect has not yet been realized, what it has already ac- complished assures us of its timeliness and wisdom. To test its permanent value fur- ther time will be required, and the people, satisfied with its operation and results thus far, are in no mind to withhold from it a fair trial. ‘Tariff legislation having been settled by the extra session of Congress, the question next pressing for consideration is that of the currency. The work of putting our finances upon a sound basis, difficult as it may seem, will appear easier when we recall the financial operations of the Government since 1866. On the thirtieth day of June of that year we had outstanding demand liabilities in the sum of $728,868,447.41. On the first of January, 1879, these Mabilities had been re- duced to $443,899,495.88. Of our interest- bearing obligations, the figures are even the following mes more striking. On July 1, 1866, the prin- cipal of the interest-bearing debt of the Governnient was $2,332,331,208. On the first day of July, 1893, this sum had been reduced 100, Or an aggregate reduction |, 747,294,108. The interest-bearing debt of the United States on the first day of December, 1897, was $47,365,620. The Gov- ernment money now oustanding (December 1) consists of $346,681,016 of United States notes, $107,793,280 of Treasury notes issued by authority of the law of 1890, $381,963,504 of silver certificates, and $61,280,761 of standard silver dollars. With the great resources of the Govern- ment and with the honorable exampie of the past before us, we ought not to hesi- tate to enter upon a currency revision which will make our demand obligations less onerous to the Government and relieve our financial laws from ambiguity and doubt. The brief review of what was accom- plished from the close of the war to 1893, makes unrevsonable and groundless any distrust either of our financial ability or soundness; while the situation from 1893 to 1897 must admonish Congress of the Imme- @late necessity of so legislating as to make the return of the ccnditions then prevailing impossible. There are many plans proposed as a rem- edy for the evil. Before we can find the true remedy we must appreciate the real evil. Ix is rot that our currency of every kind is not geod, for every dollar of it is good; good tecauze the Government’s pledge is out to keep it so, and that pledge will not be broken. However, the guaranty of our purpose to keep the pledge wil! be best shown by advancing toward its fulfill- ment. > Evil of the Present System. The evil of the present system is found in the great cost to the Government of maintaining the parity of our different forms of meney, that is, keeping all of them at par with gold. We surely can not be longer heedless of the burden thie im- poses upon the people, even under fairly Prosperous conditions, while the past four years have demonstrated that it is not only an expensive charge upon the Government, but a dangerous menace to the National credit. 4 It is manifest that we must devise some plan to protect the Government against bond issues for repeated redemptions: We must either curtail the opportunity for speculation, made easy by the multiplied i 2 3 TENET BTR BETSY AER She BA we ly Discussed, _ NO ACTION RECOMMENDED NOW Treaty ) Prompt Ratification of the Hawaiian Urged, tainty get gcld is by borrowing. It can get it in no other way when it most needs it. The Government without any fixed goid revenue is pledged to maintain gold re- demption, which it has steadily and faith- fully done and which under the authority now given it will continue to do. The law which requires the Government after having redeemed its United States notes to pay them out again as current funds demends a constant replenishment of the gold reserve. This is especially so in times of business panic and when the revenues are insufficient to meet the expenses of.the Government. At such times the Government has no other way to supply its deficit and maintain redemp- tion but through the increase of its bonded eebt, as during the Administration of my predecessor when $262,315,400 of four-and-a half per cent. bonds were issued and sold and the proceeds used to pay the expenses of the Government in excess of the rev- enues and sustain the gold reserve. While it is true that the greater part of the pro- ceeds of these bonds were used to supply Geficient revenues, a considerable portion was required to maintain the gold reserv. With our revenues equal to our expense: there would be no deficit requiring the ts- suance of bonds. Rut if the gold reserve s below $10,000,000, how will it be re- pl€nished except by selling more bonds? Is there any other way practicable under existing law? The serfous question then is, shall we continue the policy that has been pursued in the past; that is, when the gold reserve reaches the point of darger, issue more bonds and supply th= needed golé, or shall we provide other means to prevent these recurring drains upen the gold reserve? If no further leg- isiation 's had and the policy of selling bonds is to be continued, then Congress should give the Secretary of the Treasury authority to sell bonds at long or sho-t pericds, bearing a less rate of interest than is now authorized by law. His Recommendations. I earnestly recommend as soon as the receipts of the Government are quite suffi- cient to pay all the expenses of the Gov- ernment, that when any of the United States notes are presented for redemption in gold and are redeemed in gold, such notes shall be kept and set apart, and only paid out in exchange for gold. This is an obvious duty. If the holder of the United States note prefers the gold ana gets it from the Government, ke should not receive back from the Government a Unite3 States note without paying gold in. ex- ckarge for it. The reason for this is made all the more apparent when the Goyern- ment issues an interest-bearing debt to provide gold for the redemption of United States notes—a non-interest-bearing debt. Surely it should not pay them out again except on demand and for gold. If they are put out in any other way, they may return again to be followed by another bond issue to redeem them—another interest- bearing debt to redeem a non-interest-bear- ing debt. In my view it is of the utmost tmport- ance that the Government should be re- lieved from the burden of providing all the gold required for exchanges and export. This responsibility is alone borne by the Gcvernment without any of the usual and necessary banking powers to help itself. The banks do not feel the strain of gold redemption. The whole strain rests upon the Government and the size of the gold reserve in the Treasury has come to be, with or without reason, the signal of dan- ger or of security. This ought to be stcpped. If we are to have an era of prosperity in the ceuntry, with sufficient receipts for the expenses of the Government, we may feel no immediate embarrassment from our present currency; but the danger still exists and will be ever present menacing us so long as the existing system continues. And besides it is in times of adequate revenues and business tranquillity that the Gov- errment should prepare for the worst. We can not avoid without serious consequences the wise consideration and prompt solution of this question. The Secretary of the Treasury has out- lired a plan in great detail, for the purpose of removing hee ee recurrence of a depleted gold fe and save us from future embarrassment on that account. To this plan I invite your careful considera- tion. ‘CURRENCY LECISTATION How to Relieve the Difficulties of the Present System—The Nicaragna Canal ~The Pacific Railroais—The Civil Service Law and Other Import: ant Matters Touched Upon. — regions of the country to be suppl currency to meet their needs. I recommend that the issue of Nuiional bank notes be restricted to the deromina- tion of ten dollzrs and upward. If the sug- sestions I have herein made shall }: approval of Congre then I would mend that Naticnal banks be rv redeem their notes in gold. ied with ve the com- quired to QUESTION. The most importont problem with which this government is now called upon to deal pertaining to its foreign relations concerns its duty ard Spain and the Cuban in- surrection. Problems and condi ons more or less in common with those no. existing have confronted this govern t at va- rious times in the past. The s of Cuba for many years has been one of unrest; Srowing discontent; an effort toward a larger enjoyment of liberty and ‘on= trol; of organized resistance to the mother country; of depression after distress and warfare and of ineffectual settlement to be followed by renewed revolt. For no endur- ing period since the enfranchisement of the continental possessions of Spain in the Western continent has the condition of Cuba or the policy of Spain toward Cuba not caused concern to the United States, The prospect from time to time that the weakness of Spain's hold upon the Island and the political vicissitudes and embar- rassment of the home government might lead to the transfer of Cuba to a cont tal-power called forth, between 1423 and 1800, various emphatic declarations of the policy of the United States to permit no disturbance of Cuba's connection with Spain unless in the direction of indepen- eerce or acquisition by us through pur- chase; ner has there been any change of this declared policy since upon the part of the government. The revolution which began in 18GS lasted for ten years, despite the strenuous efforts of the successive peninsular governments to suppress it. Then as now the Govern- ment of the United States testified its grave concern and offered its aid to put an end to bloodshed in Cuba. The overtures made by General Grant were ref nd increased besides throwing en- hanced burdens of neutrality upon this Government. In 1878 peace was brought about by the Truce of Zanjon, obtained by negotiations between the Spanish Comman- der, Martinez de Campos, and the insure American interests gent leaders. The present insurrection broke out in February, 1895. It is not my purpose at this time to recall its remarkable increase or to characterize its tenacious resistance against the enormous forces massed against it by Spain. The revolt and the efforts to subdue it carried destruction to every quar- ter of the Island, developing wide propor- tions an@ defying the efforts of Spain for its suppression. The civilized code of war has been disregarded, no less so by the Spaniards than by the Cubans. The existing conditions cannot but fill this Government and the American people with the gravest apprehension. There i no desire on the part of our people to profit by the misfortunes of Spain. We have only the desire to see the Cubans prosper- ous and contented, enjoying that measure of self-control which is the inalienable right of man, protected in their right te reap the benefit of the exhaustless treas< ures of their country. The offer made by my predecessor in 4 ab