The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-08-21
ROOSEVELT LAUDS HIMSELF Propaganda Letter of
 President. SAYS HE IS GREATEST EVER --.--- Declares It Would Be Sinful to
 Change Congress. Gives Joe Cannon Credit A. House Leader for AlIesed Acts of Worth iness Hut Doesn't overlook
 ready.
JAYS HE IS GREATEST EVER

New York, Aug, z0--A letter written by President Roosevelt to Congressman
 James E. Watson of Russville. Ind. reviewing and approving of the work of the present congress. The letter was as follows:
 My Dear Mir Watson
 I hear through Speaker Cannon and
 representative sherman that you nave volunteered to give your services t. the congressional conmittee for the entire campaign, without regard to
 the effect it may have on your canvass IT, your own district, and l feel like writing you a word of congratulation and of earnest hope for success of your efforts. If there were only partisan issues Involved In this contest should
 hesitate to say anything publicly in reference thereto.
 But I do not feel that such is the case.
 On the contrary feel that all good citizens who have the we1fare of Amer
 iea at heart should appreciate the tm- nlense amount that has been accom- 1 plished by the present congress organ ized as 1t Is and the urgent need of
 keeping this organization in power.
 With MT Cannon as speaker, the house has accomplished a literally phenonninal amount of good work.
 It has shown a courage. good sense
 and patriotism such that 1t would be a real and serious misfortune for the country to fall to recognize. To change
 the leadership and organization of the
 house at this time means to bring con-
 fusion on those who have been success
 fully engaged in the steady working of l a great and comprehensive scheme for I the betterment of our social, industrial
 and civic conditions.
 i Such a change would substitute purposeless confusion q violent and
 hurtfU1 oscillation between the posi- l tione of the extreme radical and the extreme reactionary for the present
 orderly progress along the lines of q
 carefully thought out policy.
 Interests are Varied. The interests of this, nation are as varied as they are vast. Congress need but of many and widely different national needs, and I speak with hiss. toric accuracy when I say that not in | our time has any other congress done
 so well in so many different fields of
 epdeavor as the present congress has done No congress can do everything.
 still less can 1t in one session meet | every need. At it's first session the
 present Congress in addition to the
 many tasks 1t actually-.compIeted un- dertook several tasks which I firmly believe it will bring to completion fin l the second session next winter Among | these, hope and believe that the bills
 to prohibit political contributions by corporations and to lower the duties | on imports from the Philippines, each | of which has been passed by one | house, will be enacted into laws. l hope and have the reason to be- lieve that favorable action will be l taken upon the bill limiting the mum
 Der of hours of employment of railway employees. These and one or two other measures, the enactment of which 1 have reason to hope for, are important. l But far more important are the meas
 ures which have actually been passed ] and as to these measures I wish to reiterate that they are not import
 ant in a merely partisan sense. but are | important because they subseTve~ the
 welfare of our people as a whole. of I our nation as an entirety. They are l important because those who enacted them into law thereby showed them
 selves to be fit representatives of all | good Americans
 The Panama Canal.
 In affairs outside of our country our
 great work has been beginning to dig the Panama Canal. The acquisition of the canal strip was due to the initiative of Congress: ard the fact that the work thereon Is now being done In
 the most thorough and satisfactory fashion is due to the action of the
 present Congress at the session just closed This action rendered the work
 possible and the heartiest acknowledg-
 mems are due to the far-seeIng patri-
 otism of those who thus made 1t pos
 sible.
 The digging of the Panama Canal Is the colossal engineering feat Of all ages. No task as great of the kind, has ever been undertaken by any oth- CT nation. The interests banded to- gether to oppose it were and are nu- merous and bitter and most of them with a peculiarly sinister basis for their opposition. This sinister. oppo- sition rarely Indeed ventures openiy to announce its antagonism to the canal as such.
 Sometime it takes the form of base less accusations against the manage ment or demand for an investiga- tion under circumstances which would mean indefinite delay.
 Sometimes 1t takes the form Of de- termined opposition to the adoption of plans which will enable the work to be done not merely in the best but in the quickest possible way. Had congress been either timid or corrupt uuQ ndu not tne ledueTS or congress shown the most farsighted resolution in the matter, the work of building the canal would never have been be- gun, or if begun. would have halted The opposition to the adoption of the treaty by which our right to build the Panama canal was secured; a part at least of the opposition even now be- ing made to the ratification of the Santo Domingo treaty, which is one more step in the effort to make peace full and secure the waters through one pretext and another and the actual work on the canal--all prove how es- sential 1t is if the American Vlople desire the Panama canal to be built in safety and efficient fashion, they should uphold the hands of those who in the present congress have so effectively championed this work.
 Build Up the Navy.
 No less praiseworthy has been the attitude of thls congress in continu- ing to build and maintain on a high plane of efficiency the United States navy. This country is irrevocably committe dto the maintenance of the Monroe doctrine It is irrevoeably com