Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1902-09-04
UNCLE SANS POLICY.
President Roosevelt Points to New
Position Assumed.
Praises Civil and Military Officials
and Speaks for Prosperity In
InSuIar PoSseSsiOns-W WOn-
derful Achievements

While visiting Hartford, Conn, Fri
day, August %, President Roosevelt
spoke in the evening at the Coliseum
to an assemblage of 5000 people,
taking as his principal subject the
attitude of the administration to-
wards the new insular possessions
and Cuba. The president was re-
ceivcd with much enthusiasm and his
address was warmly applauded. In
substance he said
THE events of the last few years have
forced the American republic to take
larger position In the world than ever be-
fore, and therefore more than ever before
to concern herself with questions of policy
which affect her interests beyond her own
borders As a people we now have duties
and opportunities in the tropc seas and
lands south of us as well as in those of the
farthest east. And much depends upon the
way In which we meet these duties, the
way in which we take advantage of these
opportunities
From the days of Monroe, Clay and
the younger Adams, we as a people have
always looked with interest upon the
West Indies and the isthmus connecting
the two Americas, feeling that anything
happening in those regions must be
of concern to our welfare. There is now
ampler reason than ever before for this
feeling. The outcome of the Spanish
war put us in possession of Porto Rico
and brought us into peculiarly close
touch with Cuba, while III" successful
negotiation of the -Pauncefote
treaty at last cleacd the way for the
construction of the isthmian canal. Por-
to Rico, it is a pleasure to say, may now
serve as an example of the best methods
of administering our insural possessions.
Conditions in Porto Rico.
$50 excellent have been the effects of
our administration and legislation CON
corning this island that their very excel
lence has resulted in their being almost
forgotten by those a I home. There Is
hardly ripple of failure on the stream
of our success and so. as IL apt to be
our way, we do not think of it at ali.
Yet ii is well worth while to think of it,
and it is pleasant to learn by an expert
ence which teaches us what to follow
instead of what to avoid. First and
foremost in Porto Rico, we have con-
sistently striven to get the very best
men to administer the affairs of the
island. 1t is desirable throughout our
public service to secure a high standard
of efficiency and integrity. But after
all, here at home we always have in
our own hands the remedy for any fail
ure to provide such qualities. In far
off island things are different. There
wronGdoins is more easy, and those who
suffer from 1t arc more helpless: while
of that public opinion to which public
men are sensitive. In consequence, the
administration of those islands is. be-
yond all other kinds of administration in
our country, the one in which the high
est standard must be demanded. In
making appointments to the insular serv-
ice, it is necessary to disregard any
question of mere party eXpedenCy, and
to look at the matter solely from the
standpoint of the honor Of our own nation
~ nf ha Il f.. Of h. C1
This has been the standpoint adhered to
in selecting the men who represent our
government in Porto RicO-governOr,
treasurer, attorney general, Judges su-
perintendent of educaton-every one.
In consequence, all Americans should
feel a real pride in the way in which
their compatriots who are responsible
for the government of the island have
administered it. Moreover, in shaping
the government of the island We have
acted with good sense as well as with
good faith. We have not been fright
ened or mislead into giving the people Of
the island a form OF government un-
suitable to them; and while providing
that they should govern themselves 50
far as possible, we have not hesitated in
their own interest to keep the power of
shaping their destiny.
The Cuban Problem.
In Cuba the problem was larger, more
complicated and more difficult Here,
again, we Kept our promise absolutely.
After having delivered the island from its
oppressors, We refused to turn 1t loose
ollhahd with the certainty thaL 1t would
sink into chaos and sdVagcry. For over
three years We administered it on a plane
hLEher than II nae ever reached curing the
lour centuries since the Spahlards hrst
landed upon Its shore. We brought moral
and physical cleanliness into the govern
meht We stamped out yellow feVer-in
itself an inestimabie service both to the
Cuban people and to the people of our OWE
southern states We established a school
system. We made life and property secure,
so that INDUSTRY could again begin TO
thrive. Then, when we had laid deep and
broad the foundations upon which civil
liberty and national independence must
rest, We turned the island over to the hands
OF those whom the people had chosen as
the founders OF the new republic. 1t is
republic with which our own great republic
must ever be closely knit by the ties of
common interests and common aspira-
t!oEs
Must Have Reciprocity.
cuba must always be peculiarly re-
I,t.