, 1902-12-02

ny kVHT TWtSU CWNITfIJ!lS TOITE UTIT'T COW-
sideration. continuing III the meantime IL
prepare for laying the cable. They have,
however. at length acccdcd to them. and
an all American line bctN ". en- our Pacific
coast and the Chinese empire by way OF
Honolulu and the Philippine Islands Is
tnUs provided for and is expected within
a few months to he ready for BUSINESS.
Among Ihg cunditioUS IS "r'' r"SurvirE
the power Of the congress to mo1.fy or re-
peal any or all of theEl a copy of the
conditions is herewith transmitted
OF Porto itiCu 1t is only necessary to say
that the prosperity Of the island and the
wisdom with which it has been governed
have been S:Ch as to make it serve as an
example" of all that is best in insular ad-
ministrutiOn.
On July / last. on the one hundred and
twenty sixth anniversary Of the deClara-
ton of our independence. peace and am
nesty were promulgated in the Philippine
time to tim- threatened with tn" Muham.
mcdan M"r's. but with the late insurrcc-
tionary i'ilipinos the war has entirely
ceased. civil government has now been
enjoy such rights To- life. liberty and the
pursuit of happiness as he has never be.
fore k..pWu during the recorded history #
the islands. but the people. taken as u
whole. now cnjoy a measure OF self gov
crnnlcrt greater than that granted To- any
other or, Ii:.!S by any foreign power and
greater t.Eii that enjoyed by any other
oriCutals timber their own governments
save the japanese alone We nave not
gnH" to far in granting th.>" rights Of
liberty and self government but we have
certainly gone t. the limit that in the in
tercsts Of TIE Philippine people themselves
it was Wise or Just to go. To hurry mat
ters. to 20 faster than We are now going,
would entail calamity on The people Of
the ISL" is No policy ever entered into
by the American people has indicated it
self in m'r" signal manner than the poll
cy of hcldlng the Philippines. Tn" tri-
umph Of our arms. ahDv" all the triumph
of our laws and principles. has come soon
or than "" had any right To- expect Too
much praise cannot be given To- the army
for rlsr I II . lIG limo - thu. thttli ff.4-
both In warttr" and frnn an administers
i've. standpoint. in preparing the way ( Top
longs 70 tho ciyi! authorities for the WAY
in which they have planted tho seeds Of
self government in IL" ground thus mad
ready for tErm The courage. the uH
tlinch:ng endurance. the high 5 ldierly -
cheney and the general kind h,lrtcln"ss
s,Tlkt h%gTa nit f Of our r IT,. rs h G%y% ~,, t.,
only some 1900 troops in the Islands ~.
told. over 10000 have been sent thor" 'i
course there have been iudi.ilu.I IL.
stances OF wrongd0in" among tl.ra Tl""
warrcd under fearful difficulties ct ell.
mate ana surroundings. and "lI"r til"
strain of the terrible prnvuCltiu's VT
they continually received fr al tI-,r .
occasional instances OF CrNr, rutAl.'! -
occurred Every cf"rt has To- ~ mad" /.
prevent such Crueltips. and NIllly tr'..'
efforts have been completely =HrC.-ri"i
Every effort has also been made Ia 3'
tcCt and punish tn" w~ronHhU".s Afj,'
making all allowance for these misir..'
1t remains trHc that few inI',r! nav" g.,
the instances in which var has h',N
wagcd by a civilized power against semi
civilized or barbIrOus forces where Their"
has been so little ~wrongdoing by the vic
tors as in the Philippine islands on til o
other hand. the amount Of difficult. impor
tant and bcn"iicent work which has bee
done IL well nigh incalculablc,
Taking the work of the army and the
civil authorities together. it may be Ques
toned whether anywhere else in modern
times the world has seen n better exam
pie Of real constructive craftsmanship
pine Islands. High praise should also be
given those Filipinos = in the aggregate
very nu~merous-who have accepted the
new conditions and Joined with our repre-
sentativcS to work with hearty good will
for the welfare of the Islands.
Thc army has been reduced to the mini
mum allowed by law. 1t is very small for
the size Of the nation and most certainly
should be kept at the highest point of eff
cheney. The senior officers are given scant
chance under ordinary conditions to eX-
ercise commands commensurate with their
rank under circumstances which would fit
them to do their duty in time of actual
war. a system Of maneuvcrinE our army
in bodies of some little size has been be
gun and should be steadily continued.
Without such maneuvers II is folly to eX-
pcct that in the event of hostilities wit,
any serious foe even a small army corps
could be handled to advantage. Both our
officers and enlisted men are such that
We can take hearty pride in them. No
better material can be found. But thu
must be thoroughly trained; both as indi-
lu.tlN AM III Allt u lllll MAJ
ship of the men must receive special at
tcntion. In the circumstances of modern
warfare the man must act far more on
his own individual responsibility thar
ever before. and the high individual eff
cheney of the unit is of the utmost i'm
%portance. Formerly this unit was tn"
regiment. 1t is now not the regiment, not
even the troop or company: it is the indi-
viduai soldier Every effort must be made
dierly quality in both the officer and the
enlisted man
l urgently call your attention to the
need of passing a bill providing for n gen
eral staff and for the reorganization of
the supply departments on the lines of tn,
bill proposed by the secretary of war las
year When The yoTnE officers enter II"
stand above their compeers in any other
military service. Every effort should be
made by training, by reward of merit. by
scrutiny into their careers and capacity.
to keep them Of the same high relative
excellence throughout their careers.
The measure providing for the rcorgan-
ization of the militia system and for Sc
curing the highest efficiency In the nation
al guard; which has already passed the
house. should receive prompt attention
and action. 1t is of great Importance that
the relation Of the national guard to the
militia and volunteer forces of the United
States should be defined and that in place
OF ou Erseent obsolete laws II practical
ard efficient system should be adopted.
Provision should be made to enable the
secretary Of war to keep cavalry and ar
tillery horses worn out in long perform
ance Of duty. Such horses fetch but a
triiie when sold, and rather than turn
them out to The misery awaiting them
when thus disposed of IT would he better
to employ them at liEh; work around TIC
posts and when necessary to pat them
painlessly to death.
For the first time in our history naval
mnncuNerS on n large scale are being held
under the Immediate command Of the adj
miral of the navy. Constantly increasing
attention is being paid to the guEncry Ul
Inc M w bIt II is Vet FAR from what y
should be. ] earnestly urgc that the in
crease asked for by the secretary of tae
navy in the appropria ton for improving
the craftsmanship be granted. IN battle
II" only shots that count are the shots
that hit. 1t i necessary to provide ample
funds for practice with the great guns in
time of peace. These funds must provide
not only for the purchase Of p.ujcct!,a.
but for allowances for prizes TO cncour-
age the gun crews. and especially the gun
pointers. and for pcrfcctins an intelligent
system under which alone It is possible to
get good practice.
There should be no halt in the work of
building up the navy. providing every
year additional fighting craft. We are a
very rich country. vast in extent of terri
tory and great In population. a country.
moreover, which has an army diminutirc
indeed when compared with that of any
other first class power. We have dClibCr-
ately made our own certain foreign poll
Cies which demand the possession of a
first class navy. The sthmia canal will
greatly Increase the efficiency Of our navy
II the navy is of sufficient size. but If We
have an Inadequate navy then the build
Ing of the canal would be merely giving q
hostage to any power of superior strength.
The Monroe doctrine should be treated as
the cardinal feature of American foreign
policy. but IT would be worse than idle
to assert 1t unless we Intended to back it
up. and 1t can be backed up only by n
thoroughly good navy. A good navy is
not n provocative Of war. 1t Is the surest
guaranty OF peace.
Each individual uni, of our navy should
be the most t!iCient of its kind as regards
bot6 matcriI. and personnel that Is to be
found In tho world. call YOUR spccinl