The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1898-09-30
GOVERNORS MESSAGE
Full Text of the Document Delivered
Before the Joint Session of the Ore
gOn Legislature.

the ndll OF representatives,, III lue pItS-
ence of the members of both houses of
the legislature, judges of the supreme
court. and other state officers. Governor
! Lord delivered his message to the special
session. Its delivery occupied half an
hour, and it was closely listened to. The
full text of the document follows:
| Gentlemen of the Legislative Assembly
The constitution authorizes the governor,
on extraordinary occasions, to convene
| the legislative assembly by proclamation,
| ard, when assembled, devoiveS upon him
| the duty to state to both houses the pur-
| poses for which he has convened them.
By virtue of such authority, and in COM
pliance with this requirement, 1 shall en-
! deavor briefly to state the reasons which
| have induced me to summon your body in
| Special session.
| We are at critical period in the history
! Of our country. The next few, years Will
| mark an advance or retrograde movement
| in our national destiny. Not since the
war of the rebellion has the statesman
! ship of our country been confronted with
| Questions of such transcendent Importance
| as those which have grown out of
| victorious contest with Spain. They ere
| questions involving considerations of such
various sort and far-reachng effect that
| they will require for their rightful solu-
| ton the best brains and wiseSt heads of
| our country. Cuba and Porto Rico IN the
| west. and the Philippine islands in the
| far east, have been wrested from their
| Spanish OppreSSor by our victorious arms,
| are now in the possession of the United
| States, to be dealt with on those en-
| Eghtened principles of justice and LIuity
| which animate the conduct of free gov
| erlments. Hawaii has gravitated to uF,
by the law of political affinity, and by an
reXation has become a permanent part Of
| our territory. All these islands lie within
| the tropical regionS their climate is mild
| and their soil fruitful to exuberance, rem
In 10
that constant labor and effort exacted by
| the rigor of the temperate zones. Their
| people are of an alien race, whose habits
| and customs, modes of thought and civili-
zat1on, form of government and institu-
| ttonS, are different from our own and
| whose condition of poverty, ignorance and
| Wretchedness is the result of pitiless taxa
| tlon and merciless tyranny. AS a conse-
| quence of these causes, and of blood adul-
| teration, deteriorating the quality of their
| people, and weakening their mental and
| moral fiber, these islands, though richly
| endowed by nature, have been only par
| TALLY developed. their civilization is sta
| tionary or backward, and in some of the
| Philippines a condition prevails that verges
| on semi-barbarism.
| TO meet these complex conditions and
| undertake their general Improvement; to
| institute regulations aiming to revive
| trade, improve sanitary conditions, induce
| social reform, and aid in the educational
| and political advancement of these Deople:
| to win their loyalty by providing a govern
| ment that shall tighten the burden of taxa
| ton, add to the wealth of the country by
| development of it's natural resources and
| the interchange of trade and commerce,
| protect rights of property and secure
| the blessings of civil and religious liberty,
| Is a herculean task, demanding for its
| proper performance our best thought and
| Wisest craftsmanship. If we must retain
these islands, or any part of them, con-
/ siderations of this kind must confront us
| for determination We are in legal pos
| session of them and cannot shirk the re-
| sponsibilty of our position. Can we give
| them back to Sapin? Would not such an
| act be crime, and turn the glory of our
| battles into victories of idishonor? All
| commercial nations now are fighting for
| trade, and in their race of cupidity and
| inofdinate ambition China is threatened
| with partition. We need the business of
| these islands. Exchange of products nat
| ural and artificial, would be mutually ben
| efcial to them and to us. We must find an
| outlet for the surplus product of our
| fields and forests, our factories and work
| shops; we must share on equal terms with
| all other nations the opportunity for trade
! in the Orient, which our possession of the
| Philippine islands affords US. Their loca-
| ton is said to be the key to the Orient,
| and now to throw away the opportunity
| it affords would be worse than a blunder
| it would be a calamity. What then
| shall we do with these islands? Shall we
retain them as naval stations or as
permanent part of our territory? And if
| the latter, what form of government shall
| be devised for them? Shall it be a pro-
| tectorate, or a dependency or what?
| These are some of the important ques-
tions which will confront our national
| legislature at its next session, in Decem-
| Der, and demonstrate the need of a full
| representation in that body. Already,
| commissioners to agree upon terms of
| peace have been appointed by the United
| States and Spain, and have received their
| instructions from their respective govern
| ments, and the strong probability is that
they will close their labors and make their
| report before the meeting of the United
| States congress in December.
1t is important, then, to our state and
the nation, that we should have a sena-
| tor present to assist in the discharge of
| the onerous and responsible duties of the
| senate. If his election be delayed until
| the regular session. he will not be likely
| to reach Washington until near the end of
the session in February; but his election
now will afford him opportunity not only
| to ascertain the will of his constituency
but to study the situation and acquaint
| himself with its environments, so as to
| be ready to render intelligent and faithful
service when the session of congress be-
gins in December and when the country
needs his service and the administration
| his support.
There is another matter incidentally
| connected with these considerations, which
| furnishes additional reason for the cleo
ton of a senator at the present time
I refer to the early construction of the
Nicaragua canal. The wonderful voyage
of the battle-ship Oregon has demon
strated the necessity of its construction
to protect our coast from depreciation
and our commerce from spoliation. Its
building ought to be undertaken without
further delay; 1t should be built, owned
and operated exclusively by the United
States. The canal should be in name and
fact an American canal, under American
control No corporation should he allow
ed to construct 1t, or supervise its opera
tons. The building, though, of this 18TH
mian waterway, uniting two great oceans,
will necessarily affect the interests of all
commercial nations, and give rise to
many conflicting questions of public pol
icy and international relations which our
country cannot ignore, and which will re-
quire the wisdom of it's best statesmen to
solve on principles of justice and equity.
But built this canal must be. whatever the
responsibility it imposes, to meet the de-
mands of our growing commerce, and to
strengthen our coast defenses. The signs
of the times. the future development of
our bcundleSs resources, the growth of
our industrial interests and commercial
enterprises admonish us of the necessity
Of its early construction. and of the i'm
portance Of organizing a naval force ade-
quate to protect our commerce and coast
from the depredationS of hostile nations,
and equal to the task of meeting all ques-
tions for which our government stands
sponsor among the nations of the earth.
/ These considerations, gentlemen, are
suggested as showing in part the neces-
sity of an extra session, to enable your
body to select senator before the meet
ing of congress in December, and thus af-
ford our state an opportunity to be heard
in its deliberations, and to cast its full
vote In determining these various import
ant questions. which so largely affect the