New-York tribune., 1902-12-03
TIE PRESIDENTS MESSAGE.

TIE PRESIDENTS MESSAGE.
President Roosevelt at the beginning Of his
Message sent to Congress yesterday strikes
high note of confident patriotism IN Iul as
surance of 4 fervent response from all parts OF
the country For better worse great place
among the nations has been iTrevocably as
signed 10 tho United States Even II we
would zrn cannot play small part IL we
..sbouId try all that would follow would be
.'tbot we should play large part ignobly ana
.'sharnefully" That is not a novel declaration,
but the Presidents phraseology gives q touch
of originality 10 the thought He has seldom
expressed an important truth in more erect
i've manner and his own sanguine and resoiute
temper is the temper OF the people. They kno"
well that grave problems are before them
problems possibly even graver than those which
they have triumphantly faced in the past But
they are not iismayed or tinid. They accept
the heavy responsibilities and set about the per
picking tasks committed to them with re-
ioicing sense of capacity TO work out their own
salvation and lead the progress OF the World
not without mistakes, but, on the whole, with
a large measure of success. That is the spirit
of the Presidents Message aud that is the
national spirit
The Message is of an unusual character be-
Judged that il was not necessary to include long
summaries of department reports which &C.
company it and of which the substance was
already known, while his simple statement that
there is not cloud on the horizon or seemingly
the slightest chance of trouble with any other
power will be contentedly accepted in place of
the customary survey In detail OF foreign Tela-
tons. But the Message is hot deficient in suit
able suggestions variety of topics OF inter
national and domestic concern-on the isthmian
canal project, for example: the faulty conditions
of settlement on the public lands the new
policy Of irrigation on an extensive scale; the
related necessity Of forest preservation; the
Pacific cable which will soon be in operation
ob terms acceptable to our government; the
duty and advantage of generosity 10 Cuba; the
benefits resulting from new postal facilities re-
Gently established; the pressing needs of the
army and navy: Alaskas claim 10 a more eff
ficient system of laws and administration, and
the wisdom of making Washington a model
city
More space Is justly given to the noble Findi
cation in the Philippines of American honor,
humanity. courage fortitude and ability to rule
alien dependents. The President is obliged TO
make no plea in excuse of partial failure to
meet the requirements Of an extraordinarily
difficult situation. The history of the last four
years in that quarter of the globe is history
of imperative obligations performed with ad-
nirable skill and altogether unexampled kind
ness. Thus far the record is secure. We quar-
rel with no one whose mind is so constituted
that ne can foresee little or no compensation for
the toll and sacrifice which the inevitable course
of events compelled this nation to undertake
in the Orient but we rejoice 10 believe with the
President that vast majority Of the American
people have from the first been animated by
answering purpose to do their whole duty
there, are now proud Of the fidelity with which
that duty has been done, and preserve a con
slant faith that increasing experience will Sc
cure still finer results in the long years to come
The President reserves the chief place for
these questions which current discussion too
commonly groups under Il single head, IL the
tariff and the trusts were organcally and In
separately related If friends feared that the
Message would deal rashly with these subjects,
or foes hoped that il would be evasiye and in
significant, there no warrant for either ex-
pectation The President says nothing which
be has not at least clearly suggested heretofore,
nor, nasmuch as he has already taken occasion
several times TO make his convictions known
both as TO what is wise and feasible and what
would be foolish and ruinous, could anything
more than an essential repetition be fairly
asked or reasonably apprehended. Spokesman
of the opposition. whether statesmen or dema-
gogues. will seek to serve their own purposes
by declaring that the President has confined
himself to mere rehearsal of generaIties. II
that were true they would have little right to
complain for they themselves have notoriously
contributed nothing but easy denunciations TO
the debate. But it is not true. The President
offers no panacea for the evils which great
combinations have engendered. and which IA
natics would recklessly attack without know
| ing or much caring whether or not infinitely
| worse results were to follow. But he does
| firmly prescribe the one course which the pres
ent state of knowledge points out as safe and
| presumably snfficient-namely. complete pub
| ieity. rigorous application of existing laws
/ to the redress of ascertained wrongs and
constitutional bestowal of larger powers on Con-
| gress If its present authority should prove in
adequate. AS for the tariff that NAV and
probably does require some modification, but il
would be the widest folly to destroy the whole
fabric OF prosperity by resentful changes in the
customs schedules which If they somewhat en-
parrassed the giant trusts, good OF bad. would
| infaliibly wreck tneir feebler eompetitors
In conclusion it should be said that the Presi-
dent administers timely rebuke to the i'm