Windham County reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1901-1906, 1903-12-11
REGULAR SESSION OPENS
CONGRESS LISTENS TO PREsl.
DENTS ANNUAL MESSAGE.
Trade slackens and Employees Are Cut
oo"n-colombia Becomes WarIike-
To Esterminate Mafia-Ear Graftina
SuecessfuI.-Airship Fails.


Inc extra session of congress endef
saturday in the house and Monday n
the senate and the regular session
opened Monday. The presidents an.
hual message was read after which tn,
senate began discussion of the Cubar
reciprocity bill The Panama cana
treaty was sent to the senate. The sec.
rotary of the treasury submitted es.
Inmates OF the appropriations required
by the government for the fiscal wear
ending June 80, 1905. The appropria-
tlons asked for aggregate 1924, 502,l46
as against $3.50 1912 asked for the
year 1904. The president sent to the
senate the nomination of Brigadier-
General Leonard Wood to be major
general and those of 167 other officers
dependent on General Woods promo
ton He also sent in the nominations
OF about 25 civilian appointees who
Jailed of confirmation including DR..
Crum to be collector of the port of
Charleston.
The presidents message expressed
congratulation at the provision of SUI
lpervision over the great corporations
and combinations engaged in inter-
state commerce. The government
policy is to hold the unscrupulous In
check without cramping industrial de-
velopment. Government receipts for
last fiscal year exclusive of postal SER
vice. were s5e0.396.674; expenditures,
s5O6,099,0 01; surplus S54,297, 667. Sur
plus for present year, if any. will prob
ably be very small Removal of war
taxes two years ago has tended to cut
down the undesirable large surplus,
and a substantial equality of revenue
and expenditure seems likely to be at
tanned. Care and economy in appro-
priations should therefore be observed
Reconstruction of our entire monetary
system would be unwise and unneces-
sary under present conditions. Certain
needs of the financial situation noted
in. Dec, 1902, We're again commended
/ to consideration Of congress. The in
iternational monetary conference is
doing good work. commission for
the purpose of investigating and re-
porting to congress at its next session
what legislation is desirable or neces-
sary for the development of the Ameri-
can merchant marine and American
commerce and incidentally of a nation
al ocean mail service of adequate aux
| iliary naval cruisers and naval reserves
was recommended as especially
desirable just now, our con-
tract for ocean mail with the
American line expiring in 1905. The
establishment of new lines of cargo
ships to South America, to Asia and
elsewhere was also recommended. An
immigration system is needed that
shall keep undesirable immigrants out
entirely while distributing desirable
immigrants properly throughout the
country. Frauds in naturalization call
for the immediate attention of con-
gress, and an extension of the purposes
of the $4,000 appropriation made in
February for enforcing the antitrust
laws was urged in behalf of enforce
ing laws against public land, natural
ization and postal crimes and offenses
also the punishment of offenders and
the recovery of dishonest acquisitions.
The need for treaties making bribery
extraditable was pointed out and the
Alaskan boundary settlement reviewed.
a new commercial treaty with China
was signed Oct. s, placing our com
mercial relations with the great orien-
tai empire on a more satisfactory foot
ing than they have ever heretofore en-
ioyed. Our relations with Turkey re-
main friendly. Proper laws should be
enacted for the development of Alaska
whose sources of wealth include mines,
fisheries. forests. farming and stock
raising. Cable, rail and wagon roads
and lighthouses should be built and In
dian officers should be appointed. APP
preparation for lighthouses in Hawaii |
should be made and the governor given I
power of suspension or removal of Of /
fcers appointed by him. The Philip /
pines should be knit closer to us by
tariff arrangements.
Attention was called to the necessity +
of perpetuating our forest resources I
and retaining arid lands which work /
was recommended to be consolidated
in the bureau of forestry. Remedial /
legislation for the cotton boil weevil I
was suggested and the work of the +
pension bureau commended. also that +
in connection with the extension of +
civil service rules. The work and pro-
gress in army and navy were made I
subject of congratulation.
The president concluded by review
ing the isthmian canal matter. He said +
that definite and irrevocable decision 1
has been made as to the route for such I
canal ana a treaty pIoN4d4ilS Lol SiAS
building of the waterway has been
made. The question is simply whether
or not we shall have an isthmian canal.
In planning and negotiating for this
canal we have always been more than
Just to the people controlling the 18TH
mus and with foreign nations in ref
ereuce thereto. We have done our du-
ty and shown the utmost forbearance.
But the treaty made by representatives
of Colombia and the United States and
ratified by the senate, drawn in more
than just and generous terms, and at
the urgent solicitation of the people of
was finally repudiated by the
Colombian government in such way
as to leave no hope of ever getting a
satisfactory treaty from them The
people of Panama, long Disseminated,
rose as one man when the canal treaty,
a matter of vital concern TO them, was
lost A bloodless revolution was ac-
complished, Colombian troops on the
making common cause with
them.
The duty of the United States in
the premises was clear In strict
accordance with the principles laid
down bv Secretaries Cass and Seward
The United states gave notice that 1t
would permit the landing of no ex-
Evolutionary force. the arrival of which
1ouId mean chaos and destruction
md Of