The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-12-03

the SuDan f1Arhct anu " Al. means to foster our supremacy m .ne tropical lands and waters sonth ot us but also because we, of the eiani Ie public of the north, should make aii ou. feel that whenever they will permit It Ws desire to show ourselves daslnteresleoi' and effectively their friend.
 A convention with Great Britaln na laid before the Senate for ratification providing for reciprocal trade arrange, ments between the United states ,,na a
 Newfoundland on substantially the Hnes
 of the convention formerly negouateu py the Secretary of State, MT. Blaine. pc
 lieve reciprocal trade relations vii pe
 greatly 10 the advantage of both coun- tries. | The Hague Tribunal.
 As civilization grows warfare becomes less and less the normal condition or foreign relations. The last century mas
 seen e marked diminution or wars pc tween civilized powers; wars With a. uit.Is ilized powers are largely mere nia.'e of international police duty essential TOT the welfare of the world. Wnereyer possible, arbitration or some slmllaI method should be employed in Reu or war to settle difficulties between clvsliSeu rat tons although as yet the world mas not progressed sufficiently to render IL pos sible. or necessarily desirable to invoKe arbitration in every case Ine of the international tribunal Whaeh si.s
  from which great consequences TOT ue welfare of all mankind may flow IL is far better. where possible. to invoke such | a permanent tribunal than to.ore pase spe cial arbitrators for given purpose. It is a matter of sincere congratuiauoI | to our country that the United States ana | Mexico should have been the first 10 use | the good offices Of The Hague ,.nst | satisfactory results in the case or claim at issue between us and our slsteI | republic. It Is earnestly to be hopeo .ndt the first case will serve as a precedenss States but foreign nations may take ao- vantage of the machinery already In ex- l istence at The Hague. | commend to the favorable consloe1a-
 ton of the Congress the Hawaiian hre l claims, which were the subject of careIul investigations during the last session; | The Congress <nas wisely provided that | we shall build at once an isthEntan canal If possible at Panama The Attorney | General reports that we can undouoteuiy
 acquire good title from the French Pan- | anna Canal Company. Negotiations are
 now pending with Colombia to secure | her assent to our building the canal. | This canal will be one of the greatest
 engineering feats of the twentieth cen | tury; a greater engineering fead tnan mas l yet been accomplished during the hlsto.E
 of mankind. The work should be carried l out as a continuing policy without regard
 to change of Ad-lintstratioa; and
 should be begun under, circumsstaneces c | which Will make it a matter of pri"" f9r
 all admiptstra lions "a contir'e the policy.
 A Canal Necessary.
 | The canal will be of great benefit 70 | America. and of importance to all the
 world. It will be of advantage to us IT. l dustrially and also improving our mi itary position. It will be of adTantagge 10
 the countries of tropical America. It IS
 earnestly to be hoped that all or these | countries will dn as some Of them naWH
 -..Al. IL D invite to their shores commerce ana lin- l prove their material conditions bv re- | cogni1ing that stability and order are the prerequisites nf successful dAVeinp- | ment No independent nation in America | noed have the slightest fear of aggres-
 sion from the United States. II hehooT"s
 each one to maintain order within It's
 own borders and to dscharge its 1Hst
 obligations to foreigners. When this is
 done, they can rest assured that. q they
 strong or weak they have nothing t0
 dread from outside interference. More
 and more the increasino interdependence
 and complexity of international polit-
 ical and economic relations render II ln-
 cumbent on all civilized and orderly pow
 CTS to insist on the proper policing Of the
 world.
 During the fall of 1901 a communication
 was addressed to the Secretary of State.
 asking whether permission would be
 granted by the President to corpora
 tion to lay a cable from point on the
 California coast to the Philippine Islands
 by way of Hawaii. statement of con ditions or terms upon which such corpo-
 ration would undertake to lay and oper-
 ate 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 ap- , l plcatiun until the Congress had first an , opportunity to act The Congress ad- , journed without taking any action. leav- ing the matter in exactly the same con- dition in which it stood when the Con | RresS convened.
 Meanwhile it appears that the Commer- cial Pacific Cable Company had promptly , | proceeded with preparations for laying its cable. It also made application to the President for access to and use of sound ings taken by the U. S. s. Nero for the , purpose of discovering practicable route for a trans-Pacilc cable. the company ! urging that with access to these sound-
 ings 1t could complete it's cable much . sooner than if it were required to take
 soundings upon it's own account. Pend , ing consideration of this subject. it ap- I peared important and desirable to attach certain conditions to the permission to f examine and use the soundings, If II g Restrictions as to Cable. %, I In consequence of this solicitation of ' the cable company, certain conditions 3 were formulated, upon which the Presi- !, dent was willing to allow access to these I SOunulnRS ana to consent ks lIle ldnuiHS l and. laying of the cable, subject to any = alterations or additions thereto imposed n by the Congress. This was deemed prop n err especially as 1t was clear that ca Q ble connection of some kind with China r a foreign country was part Of the com l pany's plan. This course was. moreover @ in accordance with a line of precedentS h including President Grants action in the h | case of the first French cable. explained n to the Congress in his annual message e of December. 1875. and the instance occur :, | ring in 1879 of the second French cabl' s from Brest to St. Pierre. with a brancf e to Cane Cod.
 S These conditions prescribed. among oth e CT things. a maximum rate for commer r cial messages and that the Compan! @ should construct a line from the Philip e pine Islands to China. there being a T present as is well known. a British ltn' l. from Manila to Hongkong
 I. The representatives of the cable com V pany kept these conditions long unde consideration continuing, in the mean
 | time. to prepare for laying the cable . They have, however. at length acceded tC y them. and an sll-American line between Il our Pacific coast and the Chinese Elm T pire. by way of Honolulu and the Philip U pine Islands Is thus provided for, and il !, | expected within few months to be read! ~ for business. :, the power of the Congress to modify o repeal any or all of them. A copy of th - conditions is herewith transmitted.
 - Of Porto Rico it is only necessary t' say that the prosperity of the island anC - inc wisdom with which it has been gov U erned have been such as to make it serv' Y as an example of all that Is best in insu