Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-09-12

they show their uSual 1iatlicdl puSiueSS
sense will insist that when these laws
are modified they shall be modified with
the utmost care and conservatism, ana py
the friends and not the enemies OF the
protective system. They cannot afford to
trust the modification to those who treat
protection and robbery as synonymous
terms
In closing what have to Say about the
system of promoting American industry
let me add a word of cordial agreement
with the policy of in some way including
within its benefits. by appropriate legis-
Iation, the American merchant marine 1t
il not Credit3ble to us as nation that
our great export and import trade should
he well nigh exclusively in the hands of
foreigners.
Size of the Standing Army.
1t is difficult to know if our opponents
are really sincere in their demand for the
reduction in the army. If insincere, there
is no need for comment. and if sincere.
what shall we say in speaking to rational
persons of an appeal to reduce army
OF sixty thousand men which is taking
care of the interests of over eighty mil
lion people The army is now relatively
smaller than it was i'm the days of Wash
lngton. when ON the peace establishment
there were thirty-SiN hundred soldiers.
while there were q little less than four
millions of population: smaller than il
was in the peaceful days of jefferson.
when there were fifty-one hundred SOL
dierS to five million three hundred thou
sand population. There is now one soldier
to every fourteen hundred people in this
Country-less than one-tenth of one per
cent.
We cannot he asked seriously to argue as
TO the amount Of possibly tyranny contain
ed In these figures. The army as il is now
Is as small as it can possibly he and serve
its purpose as an effective nucleus for the
organization, equipment and supply of a
volunteer army in time of need. 1t is
used. as never before. for aiding in the up
building of the organized militia of the
country. The War Department is engaged
In a systematic effort to strengthen and
develop the National Guard in the several
states. as witness. among many other In
stances the great field maneuvers at Ma
nasSas. which have just closed. If our OPP
ponentS should come into power they could
not reduce our army below its present size
without greatly imparing its efficiency and
abandoning part of the national duty. In
short, in this matter If our opponents
should come into power they would either
have to treat this particular promise of the
year 1904 as they now treat the promises
they made in 1856 and 1900 that is as pos
sesSing no binding force, else they would
have 70 embark on policy which would be
ludicrous at the moment. and fraught with
grave danger to the national honor in the
future.
An Imaginary Deficit.
Our opponents contend that the govern
meut is now administered extravagantIy.
ana that whereas there was "a surplus of
SS0,Co1.Fn I'm 1900 there Is "a deficit of
more than $4,000, COO in the year that has
just closed.
This deficit is imaginary, and is obtained
by including in the ordinary current ex-
penses the sum of fifty millions, which was
paid for the right of way of the Panama
canal out of the accumulated surplus in the
treasury. Comparing the current or ordi-
nary expenditures for the two years there
was surplus of nearly eighty millions for
the year 19h'. and of only a little more than
eight millions for the year that has Just
closed.
But this diminution of the annual s,,rpIus
was brought about designedly by the aboli-
lion OF the war taxes in the interval be
tween the two dates. The acts of March .
1901. and April L. 1902, cut down the in
terndl revenue taxes to an amount esti-
mated st one hundred and five millions a
year In other words. the reduction of
taxation has been considerably greater than
the reduction in the annual surplus Since
the close Sf the war with Spain there has
been no substantial change in the rate of
annual expenditures. As compared with the
fiscal year ending June. 1901 for example
the fiscal year that has just closed showed
a relatively small increase in expenditure
texcIudlng the canal payment already re
ferFed to-; while the year previous showed
a relatively small decrease
National Expenditures.
The expenditures of the nation have been
managed in a spirit of economy as far re-
moved from waste as from niggardliness.
N
tinued to secure an economy as strict as is
consistent with efficiency. Once more our
opponents have promised what they cannot
or should not perform The prime reason
why the expenses of the government have
increased OF recent years is to be found in
the fact that the people after mature
thought have deemed It wise to have GER
tam new forms of work for the public un-
dertaken by the public. This necessitates
such expenditures. for instance. as those
Tor rural free delivery, for the INSPECTION
of meats under the Department of Agri-
culture or for irrigation. But these new
expenditures are necessary; no one would
seriously propose to abandon them: and vet
II Is idle 70 declaim against the increased
expense OF The government unless it is in
tended to cut down the very expenditures
which cause the increase. The pensinns ia
the veterans of the civil war are demanded
by every sentiment of regard and attitude
The rural free delivery is of the greatest
use ana convenience 20 the farmers, a body
OF men Who live under conditions which
make them ordinarily receive little direct
return for what they pay toward the sun
port OF the government. The irrigation
pplCy OF the arid and Semi-ard regions of
the west is one fraught with the most
btnehceat and tar-reaching good to the
actual settlers, the homemakerS. whose en-
enlargement is traditional feature in
America S national policy
DO our opponents grudge the fifty millions
paid for the Panama canal? Do they in
tend TO cut down the pensions to the
veterans of the civil war? Do they intend
20 put a stop to the irrigation policy? or
10 the permanent census bureau? or to
immigration Inspection? Do they intend
10 abolish rural free delivery? Do they in
tend to cut down the navy? or the Alas
ka telegraph system? D6Sthey intend to
dlsmante our coast fortiications? If there
Is to be a real and substantial cutting
down IN national expenditures il must be
III such matters as these. The Depart
ment of Agriculture has done service of in
calcuiable value to the farmers of this
country III many different lines Do our OPP
ponentS wish to cut down the money for
tins service? They can do il only by de-
sIolinS the usefulness of the service itself
Insular Administrations.
The public work Of the United States has
never been conducted with a higher degree
OF honesty and efficiency than ut the pres
ent time; and a special need of praise be-
longs to those officials responsible for the
Philippines and Porto Rico where the adj
ministrattons have been models of their
KIND. OF course wrong has occasionally oc-
CURED. but 1t has been reIentlessly slammed
out; We have known no party in dealing
with Offenders. and have hunted down with