Evening journal., 1905-12-05

a.....- g.. - ......... lie 1l-nrJ, !
-oc,riac does rot force us 70 Interfere
20 prevent tha punishlcnt OF "a por.
save TO see that the punishment does
not assume The form OF territorial occu- /
patton in any shape The case is more
difficult when it refers to contractual
obligation. This country would GER
tainly decline 10 80 TO war TO prevent
foreign government from collecting a
just debt. On the other hand, it is
very inadvisable 10 permit any foreign
power to take possession. even tempo
rarily, Of the custom houses of an
American republic I'm order TO enforce
the payment Of IFS obligations, for such
temporary occupation might turn into
a permanent occupation. The only es-
cape from these alternatives may at
any time be that we must ourselves
undertake to bring about some arrange
ment by which so much as possible of
a just obligation shall be paid
To do so insures the defaulting re-
public from having to pay debts Of an
improper character under duress, while
it also insures honest creditors of the
republic from being passed by in the
interest of dishonest or grasping cred
itors. Moreover. for the United States
to take such a position offers the only
possible way Of insuring us against a
clash with some foreign power The
position is therefore in the interest of
peace as well as in the interest of jus
tice.
santo Domingo.
SantO Domingo has now made an ap-
peal to us, and not only every principle
Of wisdom but every generous instinct
within us, bids us respond to the ap-
peal. The conditions in Santo Domingo
have for number of years grown
from bad to worse until year ago all
society was on the verge of dissolution
Fortunately just at this time a ruler
sprang up I'm Santo Domingo who. with
his colleagues, saw the dangers threat
ening their country and appealed to the
friendship Of the only neighbor who
possessed the power and the will to
/ help them. There was imminent dan
ger of foreign Intervention The pa
tience Of foreign creditors had become
I tions were ON the point Of Intervention
and were only prevented by the unofii-
cial assurance Of this government that
It would itself strive TO help Santo
Domingo in her hour of need.
/ Accordingly, the executive depart
ment of our government negotiated
! treaty under which we are trying to
help the Dominican people to straight
en- out their finances. This treaty is
pending before the senate. In The
meantime a temporary arrangement
has been made under which the Domin-
J lean government has appointed Amer
leans to all the important positions in
/ the customs service. and they are see
ing TO the honest collection of the rev.
enues, turning over 40 per cent to the
government for running expenses and
putting sthe other 50 per cent into a
safe deposltary for equitable division
In case the treaty shall he ratified
among the various creditors, whether
European or American
Under the course taken stability and
order and all the benefits Of peace are
at last coming to Santo Domingo, dan
ger OF foreign Intervention has been
suspended and there Is at last a pros
pect that all creditors will get justice,
no more and No less. II the arrange
ment is terminated by the failure OF
the treaty chaos will follow, and sooner
or later this government may be in.
vOlved in serious difficulties with for
eign governments over the island or
else may be forced itself to intervene
il the island in some unpleasant fash
ion.
Army and Navy.
! do not believe that any army In the
world has a better average Of enlisted
man or a better type Of junior officer
but the army should be trained to act
effectively in mass. Provision should
be made by sufficient appropriations
for maneuvers Of a practical kind.
Provision should be made for the pro
motion Of exceptionally mertoriou:
men over the heads Of their comrade:
and for the retirement of all men whC
have reached a given age without get
, ting beyond given rank.
There should be an increase in thu
| coast artillery force so that our coas
{ Notifications can be In some degree
! adequately manned. There Is specia
= need for an increase and reorganization
= OF the medical department Of the army
+ In both the army and navy there mus
4 be the same thorough training for dut.
y in the staff corps as in the fighting line
4 The Importance Of this was shown con
) clusively in the Spanish-American an
t the Russo-Japanese wars. The wor
j. OF the medical departments In the jar
l. anese army and navy is especiall
l. worthy Of study.
l. Our navy must. relatively TO the ns
3 vies OF other nations. always be O
o greater size than our army. We hav
e most wisely continued for number q
It years to build mp our navy. and
has now reached a fairly high standar
IS OF efficiency. This standard must nc
h only be maintained. but increased.
il does not seem to me necessary, how
e. ever. that the navy should. at least
IT the immediate future, be increased b
v yond the present number Of unit
a What is now clearly necessary is
Ie substitute efficient for inefficient uni
q as the latter become worn out or as
e becomes apparent that they are us
" less. Probably the result would
r attained by adding single battleshi
IL to our navy each year, the supersede
NnH