The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1906-12-05

amphitheater al. necessary for the pro-
per observance of Memorial day and as
fitting monument ITO the soldier and
sailor dead buried there. In this 1
heartily concur and commend the mat
ter to the favorable consideration of
the congress.
Marriage and Divorce.
/ am well aware of how difficult it is
to pass a constitutional amendment.
Nevertheless in my judgment the whole
question of marriage and divorce
should be relegated to the authority Of
the national congress. At present the
wide differences in the laws of the diff
ferent states on this subject result in
scandals and abuses; and surely there
is nothing so vitality essential to the
welfare of the nation, nothing around
which the nation should 50 bend her
self to throw every safeguard, as the
nome life OF the average citizen. The
change would be good. from every
standpoint. In particular it would be
good because 1t would confer on the
congress the power at once to deal rad
ically and efficiently with polygamy;
and this should be done whether or not
marriage and divorce are dealt with.
1t Is neither safe nor proper to leave
the question of polygamy to be dealt
with by the several states. Power to
deal with it should be conferred on the
national government.
When home ties are loosened; when
men and women cease to regard a
worthy family life, with all it's duties
fully performed, and all its responsible
tiles lived up to, as the life best worth
living; then evil days for the common
wealth are at hand, There are regions
in our land, and classes of our popula-
ton, where the birth rate has sunk be-
low the death rate Surely it should
need no demonstration to show that
wilful sterility is, from the standpoint
OF the nation, from the standpoint of
the human race, the one sin for which
the penalty is national death, race
death; sin f3r which there is no
atonement; sin which is the more
dreadful exactly in proportion as the
men and women guilty thereof are in
other respects, in character, and bodily
and mental powers, those Whom for the
| sake of the state 1t would be well to
see the fathers and mothers of many
healthy children, well brought up in
homes made happy by their presence.
No man, no woman, can shirk the pri-
mary duties of life, whether for love Of
ease and pleasure, or for any other
cause, ana retain his or her self-re-
specs.
American Shipping.
Let me once again call the attention
of the congress to two subjects CON
corning which / have frequently before
communicated with them. One is the
question Of developing American ship
ping, I trust that a law embodying in
substance the views, or major part OF
the views, exprest in the report on this
subject laid before the house at its last
session will be past. / am well aware
that in former years Objectionable
measures have been proposed in refer
ence to the encouragement of Ameri-
can shipping; but 1t seems to me that
| the proposed measure is as nearly un-
| Objectionable as any can be. 1t will OF
course benefit primarily our seaboard
states, such as Maine, Louisiana and
! Washington; but what benefits part OF
our people in the end benefits all; just
as government aid to irrigation and
! forestry in the west is really of benefit
4 not only to the Rocky Mountain States
but to all our country. If 1t prove i'm
practicable to enact a law for the en-
couragement of shipping generally
then at least provision should be made
for better communication with South
America, notably for fast mail lines tc
the chief South American ports, 1t is
discreditaIble to us that our business
! people, for lack of direct communities
4 ton in the shape Of lines of steamers
with South America should in that
great sister continent be at disad-
i vantage compared to the business peo-
| pie of Europe.
Currency Reform.
I especially call your attention to the
second subject, the condition of our
currency laws. The national bank act
( has ably served a great purpose in i'd
| ing the enormous business development
of the country; and within ten years
there has been an increase in ctrcula-
ton per capita from $21A to $SS.0S
For several years evidence has beer
accommodating that additional legisla-
ton Is needed The recurrence of eacf
crop season emphasizes the defects Of
the present laws. There must soon Toe
revision of them, because to leave
them as they are means to incur liza.
bllity of business disaster. Since YOU
body adjourned there has been a fiuc-
! tuation in the interest on call money
from per cent. to 80 per cent; and thu
fluetuation was even greater during thu
preceding six months. The Secretary
of the Treasury had to step in and by
wise action put stop to the most vic
lent period of oscillation. Even worse
than such fluctuation Is the advance il
commercial rates and the uncertainty
felt in the suffleiency of credit even a.
high rates. All commercial interests
suffer during each crop period Exoes-
| sive rates for call money In New Yorl
attract money from the interior banks
into the speculative field; this depletes
the fund that would otherwise be avail
able for commercial uses, and CONNER
cial borrowers are forced to pay alb
normal rates; so that each fall q tax
in the shape of increased Interest
charges, is placed on the whole com,
merce of the country