The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1904-12-08
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CITY or WASHINGTON.

CITY or WASHINGTON. -
The President recommends that the
city be thoroughly cleaned up. go that
it be made in fact perfect Amer
lean city, free from contagious and
evil influences.
THE ARMY.
United States has set an example In
disarmament where disarmament was
proper. BY law our Army is fixed at
maximum OF one hundred thousand
and minimum Of sixty thousand men.
! When there was instruction in the
Philippines we Kept the army at the
maximum. Peace came in the Philip
| pines, and now our Army has been re-
| duced to the minimum at which 1t is
possible to keep it with due regard to
| it's efficiency. The guns now mounted
require twenty-eight thousand men, If
| the coast Notifications are to be ade-
| quatelya manned. Relatively to the
| Nation, it is not now so large as the
! police force Of New York or Chicago
| relatively to the population OF either
| ciey. We need more officers; there are
not enough to perform the regular
army work. 1t is very important that
the officers Of the Army should be &C
| custcmed to handle their men in
masses, as it is also important that the
| National Guard of the several States
| should be accustomed to actual field
maneuvering, especially in connection
| with the regulars. For this reason we
are to be congratulated upon the sue
cess Of the field maneuvers at Manas-
| sas last fall, maneuvers in which a
| larger number Of Regulars and Ma
| tional Guard took part than was ever
! before assembled together in time Of
| peace. No other civilized nation has
! relatively to its population, such a
dlmInutlve Army as ours; and while
| the army is so small we are not to be
excused if we fail to keepit at very
| high grade of proficiency. 1t must be
necessarily practiced; the standard for
! the enlisted men should be kept very
| high. while at the same time the SER
| vice should be made as attractive as
| possible; and the standard for the eff
GERS should be kept even higher
| which, as regards the upper ranks
can best be done by introducing some
| system Of selection and rejection into
| the promotions. We shall be able in
tho event Of some sudden emergency
to put into the field one first class
army corps, which should be, as a
whole, at least the equal OF any body
OF troops OF like number belonging to
any other nation.
Great progress has been made in
protecting our coasts by adequate
Notifications with sufficient guns. We
should. however, pay much more heed
than at present to the Development OF
an extensive system OF floating mines
for use in all our more important har-
bors. These mines have been proved to
be most formidable safeguard against
hostile fleets
THE NAVY.
The strong arm Of the Government
in enforcing respect for it's just rights
in international matters is the Navy
Of the United States. l most earnest
ly recommend that there be no halt in
the work of upbuilding the American
Navy. There is no more patriotic duty
before us as people than to keep the
Navy adequate to the needs of this
country'S position. We have undertake
en- to build the Isthmian Canal We
have undertaken to secure for our
selves our just share in the trade OF
the Orient. We have undertaken to
| protect our citizens from improper
treatment in foreign lands. We con-
tinue steadily to insist on the applica-
| ton Of the Monroe Doctrine to the
| Western Hemisphere. Unless our atti-
| tlIde in these and all similar matters
| is to- be mere boastful sham we can
| not afford to abandon our naval pro-
| gramme. Our voice is now potent for
| peace, and it is SO potent because we
are not afraid OF war. But our prOtes-
tations upon behalf Of peace would
neither receive nor deserve the slight
est attention if we were impotent to
make them good.
HOWAIi AND PORTO RICO.
The Alaskan natives should be given
| the right to acquire, hold, and dis.
| pose of property upon the same condi.
tons. as given other inhabitants and
| the privilege Of citizenship should be
given to such as may be able to meet
| certain definite requirements. In
Hawaii Congress should give the gov.
ernor power to remove all the officials
appointed under him. The harbor OF
Honolulu should be dredged. The Ma.
| rine Hospital Service should be EN-.
poweredto study leprosy in the islands.
I ask special consideration for the re.
port and recommendations of the gov.
ernor Of Porto Rico.
THE PHIL PPlNES.
In the Philippine Islands there has
been during the past year continue
ton OF the steady progress which has
obtained ever since our troope definite
" got the upper hand Of the insurgents.
The Philippine people, or, to speak
more accurately, the many tribes, and
even races. sundered from one another
more or less sharply. who go to make
| UP people OF the Philippine Islands,
contain many elements of good, and
some elements which we have a right
to hope stand for progress. At present
they are utterly incapable of existing
III independence at ali or of building
| up a civilization of their own. / firmly
believe that we can help them to rise
higher and higher in the scale of civili-
cation and of capacity for Self-goyern-