US Presidency
1899

The people of Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the Philippine Islands should be helped, by the establishment of experiment stations, to a more scientific knowledge of the production of coffee, India rubber, and other tropical products, for which there is demand in the United States. There is widespread interest in the improvement of our public highways at the present time, and the Department of Agriculture is reentryerating with the people in each locality in making the best possible roads from local material and in experimenting with steel tracks. A more intelligent system of managing the forests of the country is being put in operation and a careful study of the whole forestry problem is being conducted throughout the United States. A very extensive and complete exhibit of the agricultural and horticultural products of the United States is being prepared for the Paris Exposition. On the 10th of December, 1898, the treaty of peace between the United States and Spain was signed.