Weekly Arizona journal-miner., 1905-12-13


 zens of Porto Rico. The harbor of San The expenses of the federal court of Porto Rico should be met from the fed eral treasury, and not from the Porto Rican treasury. The elections in Porto Rico should take place every foul years, and the legislature should meet in session every two years. The pre- sent form of government in Porto Rico, which provides for the appoint ment by the President of the members of the executive council or upper house of the legislature, has proved satisfac- tory, and has inspired confidence in property owners and investors.
 Insular Affairs in General.
 I wish also to call the attention of Congress to one question which affects our Insular possessions generally, name ly, the need of an increased hberality in the treatment of the whole franchise question in these islands. In the proper desire to prevent the islands being ex- plotted by speeulators and to have them develop in the interest of their own people an error has been made in refusing to grant sufficiently liberal terms to induce the investment of American capital in the Philippines and in Porto Rico. We have been pay ing all possible heed to the political and educational interests of the islands, but, important though these objects are, it is not less important that we should favor their industrial develop ment. The government can in certain ways help this directly, as Dy building good roads; but the fundamental and vital help must be given through the development of the industries of the islands, and a most efficient means to this end is to encourage big American corporations to start industries in them, and this means to make it advanta- geous for them to do so. To limit the ownership of mining claims as has been done in the Philippines is absurd. In both the Philippines and Porto Rico the limit of holdings O. land should be largely raised.
 I recommend that Indian Territory Admission to Statehood. I recommend that Indian Territory and Oklahoma be admitted as one state and that New Mexico and Arizona be admitted as one state. There is no obligation upon us to treat territorial subdivisions, which are matters of eO-s- venience only, as binding us on the question of admission to statehood. No thing has taken up more time in the congress during the past few years than the question as to the statehood to be granted to the four territories above mentioned, and after careful considera- tion of all that has been developed ill the discussions of the question I re- commend that they be immediately ad- mitted as two states. There is no jus tifcation for further delay; and the ad- visibility of making the four territories into two states has been clearly estab lished.
 In some of the territories the legis- lative assemblies issue licenses for gambling. The congress should by law forbid this practice, the harmful results of which are obvious at a glance.
 The Panama Canal.
 Active work in canal construction, mainly preparatory, has been in pro- gress for less than year and half. During that period two points about the canal have ceased to be open for de- bate First, the question of route; the canal will be built on the Isthmus of Panama. Second, the question of feasibility; there are no physical Ob- stacles on this route that American engineering skill will not be able to overcome without serious difficulty, or that will prevent the completion of the canal within a reasonable time, and at a reasonable cost. This is vir tually the unanimous testimony of the engineers who have investigated the matter for the government.
 The point which remains unsettled is the question of type, whether the canal shall be one of several locks above sea level, or at sea level with a single tide lock. On this point hope to lay be- fore the Congress at an early day the findings of the advisory board of American and European engineers
 What is needed now and without de- lay is an appropriation by the Con gress to meet the current and accruing expenses of the commission. The first appropriation of $1O,OOO,OOO out of the $135, ,00O0 000 authorized by the Spooner dcI, WAS mdue IHI6t years dSO- 1I IS nearly exhausted. There is barely en- ough of it remaining to carry the com mission to the end of the year. Unless the congress shall appropriate before that time all work must cease.
 The Department of State.
 recommend more adequate provision than has been made heretofore for the work of the department of state. With in few years there has been a very | great increase in the amount and i'm portance of the work to be done by | that department both in Washington | and abroad. This has been caused by | the great increase of our foreign trade, | the increase of wealth among our peo- pie, which enables them to travel more | generally than heretofore, the increase | of American capital which is seeking | investment in foreign countries, and | the growth O our power and weight in the councils of the civilized world. There has been no corresponding in