Daily Arizona silver belt., 1909-03-05

ern seaboard of the United States and the western coast of South America and, indeed, with some of the import. ant ports on the east coast of South America reached by rail from the west coast. The work on the canal is mak- ing most satisfactory progress. The type of the canal as lock canal was fixed by congress after full considera. tion of the conflicting reports of the majority and minority of the consulting board, and after the recommendation of the war department and the execu. tive upon those reports. Recent sug. eestion that something had occurred on the Isthmus to make the lock type of the canal less feasible than it was sup. posed to be when the reports were made and the policy determined on, led to a visit to the Isthmus of board of competent engineers to examine the Gatun dam and locks which are the key of the lock type. The report of that board shows that nothing has oc- cured in the nature of newly revealed evidence which should change the views once formed in the original discussion. The construction will go on under a most effective organization controlled by Colonel Goethals and his fellow army engineers associated with him, and will certainly be completed early in the next administration, if not before.
 Some type of canal must be con structed. The lock type has been se- lected. We are all in favor of having l it built as promptly as possible. We must not now, therefore, keep up fire 1 in the rear of the agents whom we have authorized to do our work on the Isth- mus. We must hold up their hands. and speaking for the incoming admin istration, l wish. to say that propose to devote all the energy poss bic and under my control, to the pushing of this work on the plans which have been adopted, and to stand behind the men who gre doing faithful hard work to bring about the early completion of this, the greatest constructive enter | Insular Possessions.
 prise of modern times.
 The governments of our dependeacies in Porto Rico and the Philippine are progressing as faworably as could be de sired. The prosperity of Porto Rico continues unabated The business con. ditions in the Philippines are not all that we could wish them to be. but with the passage of the new tariff bill per mitting free trade between the United States and the archipelago, with such limitations in sugar and tobacco as shall prevent injury to the domestic interests on those products, we can count on an improvement in business conditions in the Philippines and the development of a mutually profitable trade between this country and the islands. Meantime our government in each dependency is upholding the tra- ditions of civil liberty and increasing popular control which might be expect ed under American auspices. The work which We are doing there rebounds to our credit as nation. B. l Southern States.
 l look forward with hope to increas. ing the already good feeling between the south and the other sections of the country. My chief purpose is not to effect a change in the electoral vote of the southern states. That is second ary consideration. What I look for ward to is an increase in the tolerance of political views of all kinds and their l advocacy throughout the south, and the existence of a respectable political op. position in every state; even more than this, to an increased feeling on the part of all the people in the south that this government is their government, and that its officers in their states are their officers
 The consideration Of this question cannot, however, be complete and full without reference to the negro race, its progress and its present condition. The l thirteenth amendment secured them freedom; the fourtheenth amendment due process of law, protection of prop erty and the pursuit of happiness; and the fifteenth amendment attempted to secure the negro against any depriva. tion of the privilege. to vote, because he was negro. The thirteenth and four ! teenth amendments have been general ly enforced and have secured the ob- Ijects for which they were intended. 1 While the fifteenth amendment has not been generally observed in the past, it ought to be observed, and the tendency of the southern legislation today is to, ward the enactment of electoral quail. Ifcations which shall square with that amendment Of course, the mere adop. tion of a constitutional law is only one step in the right direction. It must be I fairly sand justly enforced as well. In time both will come. Hence it is clear to all that the domination of an ignor. ant, irresponsible element can be pre-. vented by constitutional laws which shall exclude from voting both negroes and whites not having education or oth. CT qualifications thought to be ncces- sary for proper electorate. The dan. ger of the control of an ignorant cleo. torate has therefore passed With this change, the interest which many of the southern white citizens take in the wei fare of the negroes has increased. The colored men must base their hope on the results of their own industry, self
 reliant thrift and business success. as well as upon the aid and comfort and sympathy which they may receive from their white neigbbors of tho south. There was time when northern. CTS who sympathized with the negro in his necessary struggle for better con ditions sought to give to him the suffrage as protection, and to enforce it's exercise against the prevailing senti- ! .f 4ha A,,th Nba ar,i