The Forrest City times., 1897-12-10
PRESIDENT TO CONGRESS-.
Digest of President McKinlev's
 First Annual Message.
currency Reform, the Cuban and HawaII- ah Questions Dealt With Along Con- serVative Lines-Other Matters
 Given Consideration.
Congratulations.

Congratulations.
 WASHINGTON, Dec. 6.-President Me hlnley sent his annual message to con- gress.
 :, lie congratulated 1t upon assembling under IS!ielllouS conditions Peace and good will witb all nations of the earth continue unbrol-er ba says, and We should feel genuine satisfaction at tne tl growing spirit of fraterna regard and uni ncatlon in all sections Of our country and tbe Aitlng Of great public questions above party prejudice f-''
 The Finances.
 , beglnnlng with the subject Of the finances ,L .e PresIueht says that while the full effect of SAe 4eEislat Ion or the extra session has not vet been realized, what it has already accomplished assures us of it's timeliness and wisdom To s .es. iLs permanent value further time will be Iequired and the people, satisfied with its oper- atlons and results thus far are in no mind to withhold from it fair trial. The next ques- uon pressing for consideration is that of inc currency. With the great resources of yovern ment anu with the honorable example of the past past beiore us we ought not to hesi- revision which will make our demand obligag tons less onerous to the government and re- IleVe our financial laws from ambiguity and uoubt. The evil of the present system is found in the great cost to the goyernment of maintaining at parity with gold our different iofms or money, and the experience of the past Iouf years nave demonstrated that this is not only an expensive charge upon the government put dangerous menace to the national cIeuII It Is manifest that must devise some plan 10 protect the government against pond issues for repeated redemptions We nave f9UO,0OO,O00 of currency which the gov ernment by solemn enactment has Undertaken to heep al IT, and nobody is obliged to redeem 4N Q government. which must borrow U 2 law, which requires the payment ou. 4sury of redeemed United States note den is constant replenishment of the goId reserve, especially in times of panic and Ihsuinelent revenue, and during the preceding aL aanlnlstration s262,Sl0,4o0 41-per-ceAt- bonds fnf the gold reserve and pay the expenses or the government in excess of revenue. While II IS true that greater part of this is used to supply dehcient revenues, considerable por- tlon was required to maintain the gold reserve II no further legislation is to be had to correct thls and the policy of selling bonds is to be continued then congress should give the sec retary of the treasury authority to sell bonds at long or short periods, bearing less rate of interest rest, than IS now authorized by law. The president says:
 Recommendations.
 T earnestly recommend as soon as the receipts Of the government quite sufficient to pay all the expenses Of the government, that when any United states notes are presented for redemp- ton In gold and are redeemed in gold such obvious duty. If the holder of the eId Cnl'ed States note prefers the gold he should not receive back from the govern ment united states note without paying gold in exchange for il"
 . Ing an interest bearing debt, a government bond, for a non-interest bearing debt United States note. The government should be re- HeVed from the burden of providing all the gold required fOr exchanges and exports. This ought to be stopped With an era of prosperity and sufficient receipts we may feel no immediate embarrassment, but the danger will be ever present
 The president invites careful consideration for the detail plan of the secretary of the treas ury to protect the gold reserve He concurs with him Tn tie recommendation that national banks be allowed to issue notes to the face value of their bonds depoSited that their cir eulatiOn tax be reduced to One-half of one per cent, and national banks may be established with capital of s25 0OO, He also recommends that the issue of national bank notes be re- stricted to the denomination of ten dollars and upwards and that they be required to redeem their notes in gold.
 The Cuban Question.
 Turning to foreign affairs, the president de- votes much space in his message to a consider alton Of the Cuuan question, which he says, is the most important problem with which our government Is now called upon to deal in it's foreign relations Summarizing the history of former outbreaks, the president comes down to the present insurrection, speaking of its re- markaole increase, It's tenacious existence ! against enormous forces massed by Spain, the widespread destruction of property and the disregard or the civilized code of give rise to gravest apprehensionS There is no desire on our part to prOht by SpainS mis- fortunes. and we have only the desire to see n, which is the inalienable right of man. or the concentration policy of Weyler he says: It has utterly failed as war measure IL is not civilized warfare-it is eXterminaton."
 Our Governments Protest.
 Against this abuse Of the rights of war the pre- id Tt says, he has felt constrained, on re- peated occasions, to enter the firm and honest protest of this government He outlines his instructions to Minister Woodford, which were in substance to impress upon the Spanish gov ernment the sincere wish of the United States to lend it's aid toward the ending Of the war by reaching peact ful and lasting result, just and honorable to Span and to the Cuban people. It was also asked whether Spain of her own vohtion should not make proposals for settle ment and it was said that we could not contem- plate an indefinite period for the accomplish ment of this result
 The spanish Reply.
 The Spanish reply to Mir. Woodford was in the presidents opinion, In the direction or better understanding IL admitted our friendly purposes and deep interest, and declared that the new government was bound to change Of policy that should satisfy the United States and pacfy Cuba within a reasonable time. To this end political reforms will be put into effect and military operations conducted on humane lines It was suggested that spain be left free to conduct military operations and grant political reforms while the United States for it's part should enforce neu- tral obligations and cut or the assistance which the insurgents, it was asserted, received from this country Early and complete paeih- cation is hoped for
  position to charge us with failure to meet in- ternational duties is baseleSS and points to the efforts this government have made at the cost of millions, and by the employment Of the administrative machinery of the nation to per form it's duty well. He also says that the fact that no military expedition or armed vessel has left our shores has been automatically represented with Spain Promising that throughout all the horror and danger to our peace the United States has never abrogated its right to determine its policy as to Cuba, the president points out that, of untrled measures, there remains only: Recognition of the insur- gents as belligerents, recognition of the inde- pendence of Cuba, neutral intervention to end inc war by imposing a rational compro mise be- tween the contestants. an intervention in favor of one or the other party.
 No Forclbie Annexation. He says: T speak not of forcible annexa- tion for that can not be thought of That by our code of morality would bc criminal aggres- sion Taking up the question ot oelllgerency, The president quotes at length from President Grant's message of December ' leio, wherein he declared that the condition in Cuba war ranted neither the recognition of independence nor the reconition of belligerency. He adds that moreover a recognition or OeIllg- erencv would confer upon neither marty to conflict a status rot tbtrStOfore act a fl.a fF