Fair play., 1875-12-09
presidents MESSAGE,

itnors ne pleasure to recur to the advancc,i. I.
tli't has neen made from the time of the coiouies
one HuSDRED YEARS AGO.
We were then people numbering only tire
millions, now we humber more than fort
millions. Then industries were conined :,lmo.
cAciusiVe:y ~ the tiage of the soil; no,
hhahuiac."riea absorb much of the labor q
tne country. Our liberties remain unimpaire,.
the Don'isinen nave been freed from slavery
we nave become possessed Of the respect
II hot the friendship, of all civilized nations
our progress has been great in all the arts
IN science, commerce, navigation, mining
mechanics, law, medicine, etc, etc. , and il
general education the progress is likewise encour
aging. Our thirteen States have become tnirt y
eight, including Colorado, which has taken tn,
steps to become a State, and eight Territories
including tie Indian Territory and Alaska, an,
exciudins Colorado, making the territory eN'
tend from the Atlantic to the Pacific. On I'll,
south We have extended to the Gulf OF Mexico
ana in the West from the Mississippi to the Paci
nc. One hundred years ago the cotton gin, tn,
steamship, the railroad, the telegraph, the reap
ing, sewing, and modern printing machines, an,
numerous other inventions, Of scarcely less valu.
10 our business and happiness, were entirely un
known. In 1876 manufactures scarcely q xiste,
even In name. In all this vast territory in lS1t
more than two millions Of persons were EN-
ployed IN manufactures producing more
than Ss,iW.0H,OtO Of produce, an amount
annually nearly equal to our national
debt. From nearly the whole of the
population of 1916 being engaged in the one oc
cupation Of agriculture, in 1910 so numerous and
people, that less than six millions out of more
taan forty millions were engaged. The extra
Ordinary effect produced in our country by Il re
Sort To si,c!i occupations has built il market for
the products ot fertile lands distant from the sea
BOARD ana the markets Of the world. The Amer
cah systeni ol working various and extensive
manufactures next TO the plow and the pasture,
anu adding connecting railroads and steamboats,
mas prddurcu III our distant country results not
eIualeG by the intelligence of other nations
Inc ingenuity and skill of American mechanics
Tp 81 -f..f
manner Eioet natter,nr 70 their pride But for
The extraordinary genius and ability OF our me
chanics, the achievements of our agricuturists
manufacturers and TRANSFORMERS throughout
Lhe country would have been Impossible of
attainment. The progress of the miner has
also been great. In coal our production was
Small No" many millions Of tons are mined
annually. SO with iron, which formed scarcely
an appreCiabe part of our product Il century
ago, we ,ow produce more than the wOrid con-
su'nec Il. the beginning of our national existence.
Lead, zinc and copper from being articles OF i'm
ports We may expect to be large exporters of in
the near future. The ,ievelOpme of gold and
selver miEes throughout the States anu Terrific
3es has not only been remarkable, but has had
NrSe influence upon the business of all CONNER
4iai n:ltiuns. Our merchants in the last hundred
Years have had 4 success and have established
reputation orenterprise, sagacity, progress and
integrity, unsurpassed by the people Of older ma
tiOnalities. This good name is not confined to
their homes. but goes out on every sea and every
port where commerce enters. With
progress in in the the lea learned '''i rrofes sions. "si
OUR NATIONS MANHOOD.
As We about to enter on our second centea-
NAL, commencing our manhood a nation, it is
well to iook back upon the past and study what
will he best to preserve and advance our future
greatness. From the fall o: Adam for his trans-
gressioE to the present day, no nation has ever
been free from threatened danger to its prOsperi-
ty and happiness. We should look to the dan
gers that threaten and remedy them SO far as lies
in our power. We are Republic whereof one
man Is as good as ansther before the law. With
such II form of government it is Of the greatest
Importance that all should be possessed of edu-
cation and intelligence enough to casta vote with
right understanding of its meaning. 4 large
association of ignorant men cannot for any con
siderable period oppose a successful. resistance
TO tyranny as opposed to the educated. They in
evtably sink, and acquiesce to the will of intel
ligence, whether directed by the demagogue or
by prestcratt. Hence the education Of the mass-
es becomes of the first necessity for
the preservation of Our institutions
They are worth preserving because
they have secured the greatest
of any form Of government yet devised. All
other form, of government approach it first in
proportion to the general diffusion Of education
and independence of thought and action Asthe
primary step therefore to our advancement in all
that has marked our progress in the past GEN.
tury, suggest for your earnest consideration,
and most earnestly recommend, that 4 constitu
tiOnal amendment he submitted to the Legsla
lures of the several States for ratification. max
ing thu duty of each of the several states to es-
tabiish and forever maintain
FREE PUBLIC SCHOOLS,
adequate 10 the education of all children in the
rudmentarv branches within their respective
limits, irrespective of sex color, birth place or
religion, and forbidding the teachings in said
schools of religious, atheistic, and pagan text,
and prohibiting the Srantin" of any school funds
or school taxes or any part thereof, either by
legislative. municipal or other authorities forth
benefit of any other object of any nature or Kind
whatever.
UNrAXED CHURCH PROPERTY.
In connection with this important question
would also call Your attention to the importance
of correcting an evil that, if permitted to con-
tinue. will probably lead to great trouble in our
land before the close of the nineteenth century.
1t is the accumulation OF vast amounts of un-
taxed church property. In lS5O l believe the
church property of the United states which paid
no tax, municipal or state, amounted to about
s., ,0o0, 900. In 1860 the amount had doubled.
In 1873 it Is about ,Oo0. 600. BY l9O0 with
out check. tits safe to say this property will
reach sum exceeding 50 .OOO, 600 coo. So vast
a sum receiving all the protection AMI benefits of
Government without bearing its proportion of
the burdens and expenses of the same, will not
be looked upon acquiescently by those who have
paid taxes. In a growing country where real
estate enhances SO rapidly with time as in the
United States, there is scarcely limit to
the wealth that may be acquired by corporations,
religious or otherwise if allowed to retain real
estate without taxation. The contemplation of
alton may lead to sequestratiOn without constitu-
sionai authority and perhaps with bloodshed |
would suggest the taxation of all property equal
", whether church corporation, excepting
only the last resting place of the dead and pos
sibiy with proper restrictions OF church edices.
OUR FOREIGN RELATIONS.
Our relations with most Of the foreign powers
continue on Il satisfactory and friendly footing.
Increased intercourse. the extension Of com
merce and the cultivation of mutual interests
have improved our relations with the large ma
joritv of the powers Of the world rendering prac-
;icable the peaceful solution Of questions which
from time to time arise, leaving few which de-
mand extended particular notice. The cor
respcnience OF the Department of State with our
diplomatic representatives abroad is transmitted
herewith.
am happy to announce the passage of an act
bv the General Cortes of Portugal, proclaimed
sinc4the adjournment Of Congress, for the ato-
Iitiol of servit,rie in the Portuguese colonies.
1t ID he hoped that such legislation may be an
othAf step toward the great consummatiOn to be
reached wren no man shall he permitted, Iii.