The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-09-12

I instrument for peace among the na- | tions? This government has used l that tribunal, and advocated its use by others. in pursuance of it's policy tc promote the cause of internationa, peace and good will by all honorable ] cy. it has settled dispute after dispute by arbitration or by friendly agree | ment. It has behaved towards all nations, strong or weak, with cour- | tesy, dignity and justice: and 1t is now on excellent terms with all.
 Alaska Boundary Settlement. Do our opponents object to the set- | clement of the Alaska boundary line7 Do they object to the fact that after freeing Cuba we gave her reciprocal trade advantages with the United States, while at the same time keep ing naval stations in the island and providing against its sinking into chaos, or being conquered by any for cign powerf Do they object to the fact that our flag now dies over Porto Ricof Do they object to the acduisi- tion of Hawaii? Once they hauled down" our dag there: we have hoisted 1t again; do they intend once more to haul 1t down? Do they object to the pert we played in China? Do they not know that the voice of the United States would now count for nothing in the Far East if wbhad abandoned the Philippines and refused to do what was done in China7 Do they object to the fact that this government secured a peaceful settlement of the troubles in Venezuela two years ago? Do they object to the presence of the ship -of- war off Colon when the revolution broke out in Panama, and when on y the presence of this ship saved the lives of American citizens. and pre- vented insult to the flag?
 The Raisulai Incident.
 Do they object to the fact that American war ships appeared prompt. ly at the port of Beirut when an effort had been made to assassinate an Amer. ican ofiicial, and in the port of Tam gier when an American. citizen had been abducted? and that in each case the wrong complained of was righted and expiated? and that within the last few days the visit of an American squadron to Smyrna was followed by the long-delayed concession of their just rights to those Americans con- cerned in educational work in Turkey?
 Do they object to the trade treaty with China. so full of advantage for the American people in the future? Do they object to the fact that the ships carrying the national flag now have higher standard than ever before in markmanship and in seamanship, as in- dividual units and as component parts of squadrons and fleets? If they ob- ject to any or all of these things, we join issue with them.
 Our foreign policy has been not only highly advantageous to the United States, but hardly less advantageous 10 the wopld as a whole. Peace and good will have followed fn it's footsteps. The Government has shown itself no less anxious to respect the rights of others than insistent that the rights of Americans be respected In return.
 As for the navy, 1t has been and Is now the most potent guarantee of peace; and 1t is such chiefly because 1t is formidable. and ready for use.
 The Celebrated Pension Order.
 When our opponents speak of .'en- croachments' by the Executive upon the authority of Congress or the Judi ciary. apparently the act they ordinar- fly have in view Is Pension Order No. IS, issued under the authority of exist ing law. This order directed that here after any veteran of the Civil War who had reached the age of sixty-two should be presumptively entitled to the
 
 under the independent pension law to those whose capacity to earn their live lihood by manual labor has been de- creased fifty per cent, and that by the time the age of seventy was reached the presumption should be that the phy- sical disability was complete; the age being treated as an evidential fact in each case.
 The order was made in the perform ~A 4,.A. ident by an act of Congress. which re- quires the Executive to make regula- tions to govern the subordinates of the Pension Of1ce in determining who are entitled to pensions. President Cleve- land had already exercised the power by a regulation which declared that seventy five should be set as the age at which total disability should be con clusively presumed. Similarly Presi- dent Mckinley established sixty-five as the age at which half disability should be conclusively presumed. The regula- tion now In question. in the exercise of the same power, supplemented these regulations made under Presidents Cleveland and Mckinney.
 All Should Have Pensions. The men who fought for union and for liberty in the years from 1881 to 1865 not only saved this nation from rum put renuereu an lneStlmaDlo ser vice to all mankind. We of tho United States owe the fact that today we h>ve country to what they did; and the Ma ton has decreed by law that no one of them, if disabled from earning his own living, shall lack the pension to which he Is entitled, not only as a matter of gratitude, but as a matter of justice. It Is the policy of the Republican par ty, steadily continued through many years, to treat the veterans of the Civil War in a spirit of broad liberality.
 The order in question carried out this policy, and is justified not merely on legal grounds. but also on grounds of public morality. It is a matter O. common knowledge that when the av- craze man wo depends for his wages upon bodily labor has reached the age of sixty-two his earning ability Is in all probability less by half than 1t was when he was in his prime; and that by the time he has reached the age of sev- enty he has probably lost all earning ability.
 Industrial Pensions.
 If there is doubt upon this point let the doubter examine the employees do- factory or on any great railroad, and find out how large is the proportion of men between the ages of sixty-two and seventy, and whether theso men are still employed at the highly paid tasks which they did in their prime. As a matter of fact, many railroads pension their employees when they have reached these ages, and in nations