Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-09-26

| pressed 10 completion Win all reason
able expedition.
The methods by which the executive
| acquired the Panama canal route and
| rights are a source of regret to many.
To them the statement that thereby Il
| great puAlic work was assured to the
| profit of our people is not sufficient
answer to the charge of violation of
national good faith. They appreciate
| that the principles and healthy convic-
| lions which in their working out have
made Us free and great stand firmly
| against the argument or suggestion
| that we shall be blind to the nature
of the means employed to promote our
welfare. They hold that adherence to
| principle, whether it works for our
! good or i'll. will have more benefi-
| cent influence on our future destiny
| than all our material upbuilding, and
| that we should ever remember that
| the idea of doing n wrong TO a small
er. weaker nation that we, or even all
mankind. may have n resultant good
| is repugant to the principles upon
which our government was founded.
Under the laws of the United States
| the duty is imposed on the executive
! ~ pAOOScu VIII UuG OiI4SSlINc III Inv
work of constructing the canal. That
duty should be promptly performed.
American Shipping.
| Our commerce in American bottoms
amounts to but 9 per cent of our total
exports and imports. For 40 years
prior to 1861, when the repub-
! ican party came into power, our mer-
chant marine carried an average of
so per cent of our foreign commerce.
| BY 1877 it had dwindled to % per cent.
| Now we carry but Il contemptibly
small fraction of our exports and i'm
ports.
American shipping in the foreign trade
was greater by almost 100000 tons
| in 1910. nearly 100 years ago. than it
| was last year. In the face of the con-
! tinuoUS decline in the record of Amer
! lean shipping during the last forty
| three years the promise of tn" Repub-
| lican party to restore II is without en-
enlargement The record of the Dem
| Ocratic party gives assurance that the
! task can be more wisely Entrusted to
| it.
| 1t is an arGuouS task to undo the eff
| feet of forty years of decadencc and
| requires the study and invest CATION
! of those best fitted by experience to
| find the remedy which surely does not
! lie in the granting of subsidies wrung
| from the pockets of all the taxpayers.
investigation of Government Depart
nents.
Recent disclosures. coupled with the
rapid augmentation of government eX-
penditures. show need Of an inveSti-
CATION of every department of the gov
| ernment The Democrats in congress
demanded il. The Republican MAORI
ty refused the demand. The people
can determine by their vote in No
vembcr whether they wish an honest
and thorough investigation. y Demo
cratic congress and executive will as
sure it.
Army and Navy.
We are justly proud of the officers
and men of our army and navy. Both.
! however. have suffered from the per
sistent injection of personal and polit
! zeal influence. Promotions and appoint
ments have been frequently based on
| favoritism instead of merit. Trials
and court martials have been set aside
I
| zeal interference These and other
abuses should he corrected.
| Pensions For Our Soldiers and Sailors.
| The national Democracy favOrs lib
eral pensions to the surviving soldiers
and sailors and their dependents on
the ground that they deserve liberal
! treatment. 1t pledges by its platform
| adequate legislation to that end. But
/ it denies the right of the executive to
usurp the power of congress to legis-
late on that subject. Such usurpatiOn
was attempted by pension order No.
| rs, and effect has been given to it by
p congress that dared not resent the
usnrratinu. It is said that this order
was made in the performance of I
! duty imposed upon the president by
! act of congress-" but the provision
making the imposition is not pointed
! out. The act 10 which the order re-
! ferS. which is the one relating to pen
| sionS to civil war veterans, does not
| authorize pensions on the ground of
! age. 1t does grant pensions To those
suffering from any mental or physical
! disability or disabilities of Il perma-
/ nCnt character, not the result of their
own vicious habits. which so iscapaci-
! tates them from the performance OF
/ manual labor as to render them una
/ bic to earn Il support" This specified
| requirement of incapacity is in effect
/ set aside by order 30. IS as TO all per
SONS over siXty-tNo.
| The war closed nearly forty years
/ ago Ia the meantime many Of our
| soldiers ana sailors long survived the
! age of siXty-twO and passed away
without receiving any pension. Skill
/ full pension attorneys. hunting through
| the statute. failed 10 find there Il pro-
! vision giving "A pension 10 all who had
/ reached siXty-two. Many prominent
veterans urged the justice of congress
/ sional action giving a service pension
| to all veterans Bills TO that effect
were Introduced in congress And not
until March of this year did any one
ever claim To have made the discovery
2 81.