The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1902-12-18

1t is earnestly to be hoped that tbs = =.
case will serve as preceden, tor o,:'5ls,
foreign nations may take advantage OF
the machinery already in existence at
I commend to the Favorable consi3era-
ton of the congress the Hawaiian fire
claims which were the subject Of careful
The Congress has wisely provided that
we shall build at once an isthmian canal,
If possible at Panama. The attorney gen
nutre good title from the French Panama
canal company. Negotiations are now
pending with Colombia to secure It;i her as,
tent to our building the canal THIS canal
will be one Of the greatest engineering
ieats of the twentieth century, a greater
,ngineering feat than has yet been 1.t G
The work should be carried out as con
.inuing policy without regard to change
Of admnistraton and II sh0Va make IT
matter Of pride for all administrations
o continue the policy.
AMERICA aT ean and W" Of importanee to ali the
world It will be Of advantage to us in
1ustrially and also as improving our mil
the countries of tropical America. 1t is
earnestly to be hoped that all CT these
countries will do as some Of them nave
already done with signal success and will
invite to their shores commerce and I'M
Grove their material conditions by recog-
nizing that stability and order are the
No Independent nation in America need
have the slightest fear of aggression fre.la
the United States. 1t behooves each one
to maintain oroer within Its own ooroers
and to discharge its just obligations to
foreigners. When this is done, they can
rest assured that be they strong or weak,
they have nothlns to dread from outside OUTSIDE
ing interdependeNce and compleXity or
international political and economic rela-
tons render it incumbent on all civilized
orIo To ms n
During the fall of 1901 communication
was addressed to the secretary Of state
asking whether permission would be
granted by the president to corporation
to lay a cable from point on the Cali
fornia coast to the Philippine Islands by
way of Hawaii. statement of cOndi-
tons or terms upon which such corpora
ton would undertake to lay and operate
a cable was volunteered.
Inasmuch as the congress was shortly to
convene and Pacific cable legislation had
been the subject Of consideration by the
congress for several years, it seemed to
me wise to defer action upon the ,ppiica-
ton until the congress had first an oppor--
tunity to act. The congress adjourned
matter in exactly the same condition in
which it stood when the congress con-
vened.
Meanwhile it appears that the CONNER
cial Pacific Cable company had promptly
proceeded with preparations for laying its
cable: 1t also made application to the
ings taken by the United States steamship
Nero for the purpose of discovering a
practicable route for g transpacific cable,
the company urging that with access to
these soundings it could complete its cable
much sooner than If it were required to
take soundings upon it's own account.
appeared important and desirable to at
tach certain conditions to the permission
to examine and use the soundings if it
should be granted.
In consequence of this solicitation Ct the
cable company certain conditions were
formulated, upon which the president was
willing to allow access to these sound
inSs and to consent to the landing and
laying Of the cable, subject to any altera-
tons additions thereto imposed by the
congress This was deemed proper, espe-
cially as it was clear that cable con-
nection Of some kind with China. a for
eign country, was part Of the conpany'S
cordance with a line Of presidents. includ-
ing President Grants action in the case
congress in his annua! message Of De
cember, 1875, and the instance occurring
in 1879 of the second French cable from
Brest to St. Pierre. with a branch to
Cape Cod.
These conditions prescribed, among 9TH
er things, maximum rate for CONNER
should construct line from the Philip
pine Islands to China, there being at pres
ent, as is well known, British line from
Manila to HongkonS.
The representatives Of the cable Conpa-
ny kept these conditions long under con-
sideration continuing in the meantime to
prepare for laying the cable, They have;
however. at length acceded to them, and
| an all American line between our Pacific
coast and the Chinese empire by way CT
Honolulu and the Philippine Islands is
| thus provided for and is expected within
| a few months to be ready for business.
Among the conditions is one reseTVing
the power OF the congress to modify or re-
conditions is herewith transmitted
OF Porto Rico it is only necessary to 50 y
wisdom with which it has been governed
| have been such as to make it serve as an
| example of all that is best in insular adj
| miniStration.
| On July last, on the one hundred and
! twenty sixth anniversary of t. dCclara-
| ton Of our independence. peace and an
nesty We're promulgated in the Philippine
| time to time threatened with the Moha T,
medan Moros. but with the late insurrec-
| ceased. Civil government has now beer
introduced. Not only does each Filipino
| enjoy such rights to life, liberty and the
| pursuit of happiness as he has never be
| fore known during the recorded history Ct
| the islands, but the people, taken
whole. now enjoy measure Of self gov
| eminent greater than that granted to any
| other orientals by any foreign power ant
| greater than that enjoyed by any othel
ais Ynder their own &
gone too far in granting these rights @
liberty and self government, but We hav'
terests Of the Philippine people themselve
it was wise or just to go. To hurry mat
tiers, to go faster than we are now going
| would entail calamity the people o
the islands. No policy ever entered int
by the American people has vindicated it
self III in bo5fn sig nal than The poll
| umph of our arms, above all the triumph
of our laws and principles, has come soon
er than we had any right to expect To-
| a 10 r
| for what it has done in the Philippines
both in warfare and from an administra
civil government. and similar credit be
longs to the civil authorities for the wa
in which they have planted the seeds Q
self government in the ground thus mad
ready for them. The courage, the I'm
flinching endurance, the high soldierly eff
cheney and the general kind heartednes
and humanity of our troops have bee
str1kingly manifested. There now remain
only some 1900 troops in the islands, Al
course there have been individual in
stances of wrongdoing among them. The
warred under fearful difficulties of eli
nate and surroundings. and under tn
Strain of the terrible prOvocations Whic
they continually received from their foe
coca sonal instances ea Of cruel retalia ITO ,
prevent such cruelties, and finally thes
efforts have been completely successful
Every effort has also been made to de
tect and punish the wrongdoers. Afte
making all allowance for these misdeed
1t remains true that few indeed have bee
the instances in which war has bee
waged by a civilized power against semi
civilized or barbarous forces where Their
has been SO little wrongdoing by the vic
tors as in the Philippine Islands. On tn
other hand, the amount of difficult, impoT
tant and benefcent work which has bee
done is we'll nigh incalculable,
| Taking the work Of the army and tn
civil authorities together. it may be Ques
toned whether anywhere else in moder
times the world has seen a better exam
| "a t1Syp lcb
than our people have given in the Philip
pine Islands. High praise should also b
given those Filipinos - in the aggregat
very numerous-who have accepted tn
new conditions and Joined with our repre-
sentatives to work with hearty good wi
for the welfare Of the islands.
The army has been reduced to the mini
mum allowed by law. 1t is very small fo
the size of the nation and most certainl
should be kept at the highest point of eff
| cheney. The senior officers are given scan
chance under ordinary conditions to ey
erciSe commands commensurate with thei
rank under circumstances which would f