The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-12-03
MESSAGE OF
 THE PRESIDENT
(Continued from Page Ten.)

of a first-class navy. The isthmian canal will greatly increase the efficiency of our navy if the navy Is of sufficient size; but if we have an inadequate navy, then the, u ilding of the caral would be merely giving hostage to any power Of supe- Iior strength. The Monroe Doctrine should be treated as the cardin Il feature of American foreign policy; but it would be worse than idle to assert 1t unless we intended to bacx 1t up, and it can be backed up only by a thoroughly good navy. A good navy s not provocative peace.
 Need of Men for Navy.
 Each individual unit of our navy should be the fmost efficient of it's kind as re- gards both material and personnel that is to ba found in the world. I call your for the manning of the ships. Serious trouble threatens us if we can not do bet ter than we are now doing as regards se- curing the services of sufficient num- sea mechanics. The veteran seamen or our war ships are of as high type as can be found in any navy which rides the waters of the world; they are un- readiness. in thorough knowledge of their profession. They deserve every consid- eration that can be shown them But there are not enough Of them It is no more pOSSfDle tO lIIPlONtbC d SiC" thoh ~ Is possible to improvise a warship. To build the finest ship, with the deadhest battery, and to send 1t afioat with raw crew, no matter how brave they were in- if a foe of average capacity were encoun- tered. Neither ships nor men can be im- provised when war has begun.
 We need a thousand additional ofncers in order to properly, man the ships ' now The classes at the Naval School at A,- napolis should be greatly enlarged. At the same time that we thus add the of ficers where we need them, we should facilitate the retirement of those at the he ad of the list whose usefulness has be- come impaired. Promotion must be fos- tered if the service Is to be kept efncient
 The lamentable scarcity of officers. and the large number of recruits and of un- skilled men necessarily put aboard the new vessels as they have been commls- stoned, has thrown upon our officers, ana especially on the Heutenants and junior grades unsual labor and fatigue and has gravely strained their powers of endur- ance. Nor is there sign of any immedi- ate let-up in this strain. It must contin- ue for some time longer, until more oni- cers are graduated from Annapolis. and until the recruits become trained and skillful in their duties. In these difficult ties incident upon the development of our war fleet the conduct of all our offi- cers has been creditable to- the service, ana IHc DGutclldHtS tHu JuniOi 5i"uSS aiA particular have displayed an ability and steadfast cheerfulness which entities them to the ungrudging thanks of all who realize the dsheartening trials and fstgaes to which they are of necessity subjected.
 No Cloud on Horizon.
 There is not a cloud on the horizon at present There seems not the slightest chance of trouble with foreign power. We most earnestly hope that this state of things may continue; and the way to insure it's continuance is to provide for thoroughly efficient navy. The refusal to maintain such navy would invite trou- ble and if trouble came would insure de- feat. Fatuous self-complacency or van ity, or short -sghtedness in refusing to prepare for danger, is both foolish and wicked in such a nation as ours; and past experience has shown that such fatulty in refusing to recognize or prepare Tor any crisis in advance Is usually succeed cd by mad panic of hysterieaai Tear once the crisis has actually arrVeo.
 The striking increase in the revenues of the Postoffice Department shows clear ly the prosperity of our people and the increasing activity of the business Of the country.
 The receipts of the Postofice Depart ment for the fiscal year ending June 30 last amounted to $121 1.S4S,v47.26. an in- crease of $10,216 853.S7 over the preceding year, the largest increase known in the
  tude of this increase will best appear from the fact that the entire postal re- ceipts for the year 1860 amounted to but $S51S, ,067.
 Rural free-delivery service is no longer in the experimental stage; 1t has become a fixed policy. The results following it's introduction have fully justified the Con- gress in the large appropriations made for it's establishment and extension The average yearly increase in postoffice re- ceipts in the rural districts of the coun- try is about per cent. We are now aole' by actual results, to show that where rural free-delvery service has been es- tablished to such an extent as to enable us to make comparisons the yearly in- crease has been upward of 10 per cent.
 On November 1. 1902, Il $50 rural free- delivery routes had been established and were in operation covering about one third of the territory of the United States vaailable for rural free-delivery service. There are now awaiting the ac- ton of the Department petitions and ap- plications for the establishment of 10,- 14s additional routes. This shows con clusively the want which the establish ment of the service has met and the need of further extending it as rapidly as pos sfble. It is justified both by the financial results and by the practical benerits to our rural poppuation: it brings the men who live on the soil into close touch with the active business world; IL keeps the farmer in daily touch with the mar d it enhances the value of farm property, II akes farm life far pleasanter and less isolated, and will do much to check the undesirable current from country to city.
 It is to be hoped that the Congress will make liberal appropr atlons for the con- tinuance of the service already estab- lished and for it's further extension.
 Irrigation Question.
 Few subjects of more importance have been taken up bv the Congress in recent years than the inauguration of the sys- tenn of nationally-aided irrigation for the arid regions of the far West. A good be- ginning therein has been made. Now that this policy of national irrigation has been adopted the need of thorough and scien- tific forest protection will grow more rap idly than ever throughout the public land States.
 Legislation should be provided for the protection of the game. and the wild crea- lures generally, on the forest reserves. The senseless slaughter of game. which can by judicious protection be permanent lv preserved on our national reserves for the people as a whole. should be stopped at once. It is for instance, a serious count against our national good sense to permit the present practice of butcherinF off such a stately and beautiful creature as the elk for its antlers or tusks.
 So far as they are available for agri- culture. and to whatever extent they may be reclaimed under the national irriga- ton law. the remaining public lands