The Elk Mountain pilot., 1901-12-10


of its purposes, but has also shown,
possibly, that some of its requirements
are wrong certainly that the means de
vised for the enforcement of its pro-
visions are defective"
I Touching the subject of agriculture,
| the message says that the Cabinet de-
! partment has accomplished real value
| in upbuilding foreign and domestic
| trade. 1t has created in the public
| opinion more just appreciation of the
value of forests. The message de-
clares that this should be continued
and immense forest reserves maintain
| ed. The reclamation and settlement of
the arid lands, the President says will
enrich every portion of our country
| just as the settlement of the Ohio and
| Mississippi valleys brought prosperity
| to the Atlantic states. There should
! be no extravaganza, however, in the
matter of spending public moneys, and
! whatever the nation does for the eX-
| tension of irrigation should harmonize
with and tend to improve the condition
of those now living on irrigated land.
| We are not at the starting point of
! this development. over $1,000 900
of private capital has already been eX-
pended on the construction of these ir-
rigation works and many millions of
acres Of arid land reclaimed. The ma
| ton must ultimately cooperate with
| the several arid states in proportion as
| those states by legislation and admins
traton show themselves fit to receive
| 1t. With few creditable exceptions,
the arid states have failed to provide
for the certain and just division of
streams in times of scarcity. Lax and
uncertain laws have made it possible
to establish rights to water in excess
of 81
streams have already passed into pri-
vate ownership, or a control equivalent
TO ownership
Whoever controls n stream practi-
cally controls the land it renders pro-
ductive, and the doctrine of private
ownership of water apart from land
cannot prevail without causing endur-
ing wrong. The recognition of such
ownership. which has been permitted
to grow up in the arid regions, should
give way to n more enlightened and
larger recognition of the rights of the
public in the control and disposal of
the public water supplies. Laws
founded upon conditions obtaining in
humid regions, where water is too
abundant to Justify boarding it, have
no proper application in dry country.
Laws so vitality affecting homes as
those which control the water supply
Will only be effective when they have
the sanction of the irrigators; reforms
can only be final and satisfactory when
they come through the enlightenment
of the people most concerned. The
larger development which national aid
insures should, however awaken in
every arid state the determination to
make its irrigation system equal in
justice and effectiveness that of any
country in tho ciViIizaI No
thing could be more unwise than for
Isolated communities to continue to
learn everything eNperimentally in
stead of profiting by what is already
known elsewhere. We are dealing
with n new and momentous question.
in the pregnant years while institu-
tions are forming, and what we do will
affect not only the present but future
generations"
Speaking of the new acquisitions the
President says our aim must be to de
velop Hawaii on traditional American
lines. We do not wish n region of large
estates TILED by cheap labor, but
healthy American community owning
small farms. Porto Rico" says the
message, lis thriving as never before,
and is being administered officially and
honestly, and in Cuba progress has
been made, and we must put the indie
pendent government of the island upon
Il firm footing, and before the present
sessions of Congress close this will be
an accomplished fact and Cuba will
start as her own mistress. In the Phil
ippines our problem is larger. There are
rich tropical Islands inhabited by vary
ing tribes. We must help them along
the stony and difficult path that leads
to self-government. Already a greater
measure of prosperity and government
nj honesty has been obtained in the
Philippines than ever before in their
history.
The Monroe doctrine should be the
cardinal feature of the foreign policy
of all the nations of the two Americas,
aS it is of the United States. 1t is in
no wise intended rs hostile to any ma
tion of the old world"
The work of upbuilding the navy
must be steadily continued. No one
point of our policy, foreign and domes-
tic, is more important than this to the
honor and material welfare and above
all to the peace of our nation in the fu-
ture. Whether we desire it or not. we
must henceforth recognize that we
have International duties no less than
international rights.
Our people intend to abide by the
Monroe doctrine and to insist upon it
as the one sure means of securing the
peace of the Western hemisphere. The
navy offers us the only means of max
ing our insistence upon the Monroe
doctrine anything but a subject of de-
rision to whatever nation chooses to
disregard it.
The death of Queen Victoria caused
the people of the United States deep
and heartfelt sorrow, to which this |
government gave full expression. |
When President Mckinley died our
nation in turn received from every |
quarter of the British empire express |