Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-12-08

board to make a comprehensive gio Joe.
sarv and encyclopedias of the terms
used and articles embraced ira the tar,
| iff law. and to secure Indignation as 10
the ccst of prod ofssalch goods IL,
this country and the costFof their, PRO-
duction in foreign countries have
therefore appointed a tariff board con-
sistinr of three members and have d.
rected them to perform all the duties
above described. This work Will per
hans take two or three years, and 1
ask from Congress continuing an
nual appropriation equal TO that al
ready made for it's prosecution. be-
lieye that the work of the board VIII
be of prime utility ana Importance
whenever Congress shall deem it wise
gain to readjust the customs duties.
IF the facts secured by the tariff board
are of such a character as to snow
generally that the rates of duties i'm
nosed by the present tariff law are ex-
cessive under the principles of protec-
tion as described in the platform of
the successful party at the late elec-
lion. l shall not hesitate to invite tire
attention of Congress to this fact and
10 the necessity for action predlcated
thereon. Nothing, however, halts
business and interferes with the course
of prosperity so much as the threat
ened revision of the tariff, and until
the facts are at hand, after careful ana
deliberate investigation, upon which
such revision can properly be under
taken, it seems to me unwise to at
Tho 1t nf n1ClnfOrnlH-
ton that creeps into arguments pro
and con in respect to tariff rates Is
such as to require the kind of invest,-
cation that 1 have directed the tariff
board to make, an investigation UNDER
taken by it wholly without resrect to
the effect which the facts may have In
calling for a readjustment of the rates
of duty.
WAR DEPARTMENT.
In the interest of immediate econ
omy and because of the prospect OF
deficit, I have required reduction in
the estimates of the War Department
for the coming fiscal year, which
brings the total estimates down to an
amount forty-five millions less than
the corresponding estimates for last
year. This could only be accom-
plished by cutting off new projects
and suspending for the period of one
year all progress in military matters.
For the same reason I have directed
that the army shall not be recruited
up to its present authorized strength.
These measures can hardly be more
than temporary-to last until our
revenues are in better condition and
until the whole question of the ex-
pediency of adopting a definite mill
tary policy can be submitted to Con-
gress, for I am sureNthat the interests
of the military establishment are
seriously in need of careful considera-
ton by Congress. The laws regu-
lating the organization OF our armed
forces in the event of war need to- be
revised in order that the organization
can be modified so as to produce a
force which would be more consis-
tently apportioned throughout it's nu-
merous branches. To explain the cir
cumstances upon which this opinion is
based would necessitate a lengthy dis
cussion, and I postpone it until the
first convenient opportunity shall
arise to send to Congress special
iHeSSdSe upon InlS SUBJECT.
The Secretary of War calls atten-
ton to number of needed changes in
the army in all of which I concur, but
the point upon which I place most
emphasis is the need for an elimina-
ton bill providing method by which
the merits of officers shall have some
effect upon their advancement and by
which the advancement of all may be
accelerated by the effective elimina-
ton OF definite proportion of the
least efficient. There are in every
army and certainly in ours, a number
of officers who do not violate their
duty in any such way as to give rea-
son for a court martial or dismissal,
but who do not show such aptitude
and skill and character for high COM
mand as to justify their remaining in
the active service to be promoted.
PROVISION should be made by which
they may be retired on a certain
proportion of their pay increasing
with their length of service at the
time of retirement. There is now a
personnel law for the navy which it.
self needs amendment and to which I
shall make further reference. Such a.
law is needed quite as much for the
army.
The coast defenses of the United
States proper are generally all that
could be desired, and in some re-
spects they are rather more elaborate
than under present conditions are
needed to stop an enemys fleet from
entering the harbors defended. There
Is, however, one place where addition
al defense is badly needed, and that is
at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay.
where it is proposed to make an artifi-
cial island for a fort which shall pre-
vent an enemy's fleet from entering
this most important strategical base
of operations on the whole Atlantic
and Gulf coasts. hope that appro-
pirate legislation will be adopted to
secure the construction of this de-
tense.
The military and naval Joint board
nave unanimously agreed that it
would be unwise to make the large
expenditures which at one time were
contemplated in the establishment of
a naval base and station in the Philip
pine Islands, and have expressed their
Judgment, in which 1 fully concur, in
favor of making an extensive naval