The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1888-08-27
THE PRESIDENTS MESSAGE.
What Congressman Reed Says Con-
corning It.

Hon. Thomas B. Reed was asked Saturday
his opinion of the Presidents message, urg-
ing the withdrawal of the privilege which
the Canadian railroads now enjoy of trans
porting goods for foreign shipment through
the United States free of duty. He said:
Grover Cleveland, the politician. in a CAM
paign, seems to have keener sense of what
is due this country than Grover Cleveland,
the President. The treaty negotiation was
conceived when he thought a President
should have but one term, his message was
sent in after he had dismissed that idea from
his life,and practce, This circumstance would
seem to show that President influenced by
the people is much more valuable to coun-
try than a President "wraptin the solitude
of his own originality"
The treaty proceeds on the idea that no
progress has been made in the world in COM
ity and reasonable friendlness among ma
tiOns since 1918 and we were in the treaty
turned over on our part to the mere lawyers
notion that treaty is in all respects like n
contract, instead of the statesman's fact that
treaty is but the expression in good faith
of what the mutual action of nations should
be at the time it was made with right OF abb
rogation when circumstances make 1t un-
bearable, subject OF course to consequences.
Our right to the fish taken by
our fishermen is not merely the
right we have as citizens of the world
but those we had as subjects Of Great
Britain and which we carried with us into
our new and independent relation. The fish
we catch on the Banks and outside the three
mile limit are as surely our own product as
the wheat of Dakota and as the wheat of
Manitoba Is the product of Canada. 1t is
just as unreasonable to refuse transit to
such fish as to refuse it to Canada wheat.
The righteous rejection of treaty the chief
glory of which was that our disabled vessels
might tranship cargo, a privilege which Sir
Charles Upper himselfin substance told the
Canadians could not be refused by Chris
tian nation anywhere has caused the Presi-
dent to awake at lastto the necessity of as
ton. In so doing he shows discerning
world how badly the Democratic Senators
have acted, and the hollowness of Mr.. Put
MANS speeches. Why he has not used the
powers he already has he gives us no good
reason. 1t seems trifie droll to have the
SO important that all Canadian products
should be stopped in transit when he did not
think transit of fish important enough to be
demanded and secured by the very treaty he
has obliged his friends to defend.
think he has a second moving cause for
the action he is trying-if he fails in his main
object OF endeay0ring to be more fierce on
occupants-and that is to rouse certain rail
road interests against our fishermen.
de also has another purpose believe, and
that Is to try to have something talked of be-
sides the tariff, on which issue the case is
visibly going against him. On that issue
there has been in this district, and l think
all over Maine, larger meetings everywhere
than at any time since the early years of the
war. But nothing less than war can divert
the people from this issue, and if war comes
then even Mr.. Mills will postpone free trade
to more convenient season.