The Springfield herald., 1903-12-11


it is declared, steady progress is being
made and the condition of the island
ers already has been materially ad-
J vanced.
Receipts of General Land Office.
On the subject of the public lands
of the country the message says:
The cash receipts of the General Land
| Office for the last fiscal year were Sll.-
o2i.7iS.e5. an increase of si''62 sl6.il over
| the preceding year. OF this sum- approx
| imately s., ,45l 493 will go to the credit
of the fund for the reclamation OF arid
| land, making the total of this fund. up
to the 3Oth of June. 1908, approximately.
| Sl6.l9l.S36.
| A gratifying disposition has been
evinced by those having unlawful in
closures of public land to remove their
| fences. Nearly Two million acres so in
closed have been thrown open on oe-
| mand. In but comparatively few cases
| has II been necessary to go into court
| to accomplish this purpose. This work Will
| be vigorously prosecuted until all unlaw
full Enclosures have been removed.
Irrigation.
TIE work of reclamation OF the arid
| lands of the West Is progressing steadily
| and satisfactorily under the terms of
| the law setting aside the proceeds from
| the disposal of public lands. The corps of
engineers known as the Reclamation
|
and examinations. has been thoroughly
| organized, especial pains being taken to
secure under the civii-service rules
body OF skilled. experienced. and efficient
men. Surveys and examinations are
| progressing throughout the arid states
and territories, plans for reclaiming works
| being prepared and passed upon by
| boards OF engineers before approval by
| the Secretary OF the Interior. In Arizona
and Nevada. in localities where such
work is pre-eminently needed. construc-
| tion has already been begun In other
| parts OF the arid West various projects
are well advanced toward the drawing
! up of contracts these being delayed in
| part by necessities of reaching agree
ments or understanding as regards rights
of way or acquisition of real estate. Most
| of the works contemplated for construc-
| tion are Of national Importance. involv-
! ing Interstate questions or the securing
| of stable. self-supporting communities in
| the midst OF vast tracts of vacant land.
The Nation as whole Is of course the
| gamer by the creation of these homes.
| adding as they do to the wealth and sta
| bility CT the country, and furnishing
| home market for the products of the East
| ana South. The reclamation law, while
| perhaps not ideal. appears at present to
answer the larger needs for which 1t Is
| designed. Further legislation is not rec
| commended until the necessities OF change
| are more apparent.
Preservation of Forests.
The President points out the neces-
sity Of taking steps for the preserva-
tion of our forests, especially at the
headwaters of streams. or the cotton
weevil he says:
The cotton growing States have re-
Gently been invaded by weevil that has
done much damage and threatens the
entire cotton industry. l suggest to the
Congress the prompt enactment OF such
lt..l
approve.
The Philippines and Porto Rico.
OF our insular possessions the Philip
pines and Porto Rico 1t is gratifying to
say that their steady progress has been
such to make II unnecessary to spend
much time in discussing them. Yet the
Congress should ever keep in mind that
peculiar obligation rests upon us to
further in every way the welfare OF these
communities. The Philippines should be
knit closer to us by tariff arrangements.
1t would, OF course, be impossible sud
denly to raise the people of the Islands to
the high pitch of Industrial prosperity
and Of governmental efficiency to which
they will in the end by degrees attain:
and the caution and moderation shown
in developing them have been among
the main reasons why this development
has hitherto gone on so smoothly. Scru-
pulous care has been taken In the choice
of governmental agents. and the entire
public service. The condition of the
islanders Is in material things far better
than ever before. while their govern
mental intellectual. and moral advance
has kept pace with their material ad-
vance. No one people ever benefited an
other people more than we have bene-
fitted the Filipinos by taking possession
of the Islands.
lsthmian Canal.
The causes leading up to the estab-
lishment of the new republic of Pan
anna, and its recognition by the
United States are given in much de-
tail, as follows:
By the act of June IS, 1902, the Con-
gress authorized the President to enter
into treaty with Colombia for the build
ing OF the canal across the Isthmus of
Panama: it being provided that in the
event of failure to secure such treaty
after the lapse of II reasonable time, re-
course should be had to building a canal
through Nicaragua. it has not been
necessary to consider this alternative, as
am enabled to lay before the Senate
treaty providing for the building of the
canal across the lsthmus of Panama
This was the route which commended
itself to the deliberate Judgment of the
Congress, and now acquire by
treaty the right to construct the canal
over this route. The question now. there
fore is not by which route the IsthmIan
has been definitely and irrevocably de-
cided The question is simply whether or
not we shall have an isthman canal
When the Congress directed that we
should take the Panama route under
treaty with Colombia, the essence OF the
condition, of course, referred not to the
Government which controlled that route,
but to the route itself; to the territory
across which the route lay, not to the
name which for the moment the territory
bore on the map. The purpose of the law
was to authorize the Pre- sident to make
a treaty with the power in actual control
of the Isthmus OF Panama. This purpose
has been fulfilled.
In the year 1916 this Government en-
tered into a treaty with New Granada
the predecessor upon the Isthmus of
the Republic of Colombia and of the
present Republic of Panama. by which
treaty 1t was provided that the Govern
ment and citizens of the United States
should always have free and open right
of way or transit across the Isthmus of
Panama by any modes of communication
that might be constructed. while In re-
turn our Government guaranteed the
| perfect neutrality of the above Ve-mcntioned
isthmus with the view that the free tran
| sit from the to the other sea might
| not be interrupted or embarrassed. The
! treaty vested in the United States
substantial property right carved out of