The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-03-05

The putting into force of laws which shall i secure the conservation of our resources,
 so far as they may be within the jurisdic-
 tion of the federal government, including 1 the most important work of saving and l restoring our forests. and the great im- l provement of waterways, are all proper
 government functions which must involve
 large expenditure if properly performed. | While some of them, like the reclamation l of arid lands, are made to pay for them | selves, others are of such an indirect
 benefit that this cannot be expected of 1 them. A permanent improvement, like the l Panama canal, should be treated as a dis
 tinct enterprise, and should be paid Tor l by the proceeds of bonds, the issue of
 which will distribute it's cost between the l present and future generations in accord
 ance with the benefits derived. It may
 well be submitted to the serious consid- l eraton of Congress whether the deepen- 1 ing and control of the channel of a great
 river system, like that of the Ohio or the l Mississippi, when definite and practical l plans for the enterprise have been ap-
 proved and determined upon. should not
 be provided for in the same way.
 Necessary Expenditures.
 Then, too, there are expenditures of l government absolutely necessary if our 1 country Is to maintain<its proper place 1 among the nations of the world, and is to 1 exercise it's proper influence In defense of l its own trade interests in the nalneen- 1 ance of traditional American policy | against the colonization of European mon archies in this hemisphere, and in the I promotion of peace and international nor I ality. I refer to the cost of maintaining l proper army, proper navy and suitable l Notifications upon the mainland of the United States and In it's dependencies. 1 We should have an army so organized, | and so officered, as to be capable in time I of emergency, in cooperation with the | national militia, and under the provisions 1 of proper national volunteer law, rapidly to expand into force sufficient to resist all probable invasion from abroad ana to furnish respectable expeditionary force, 1T necessary, in the maintenance of our
 traditional American policy which bears
 the name of President Monroe
 Our Notifications are yet in a state of only partial completeness, and the num- Der of men to man them is insufficient In few years, however, the usual annual
 appropriations for our coast defenses both on the mainland and in the dependencies, will make them sufficient to resist all direct attack and by that time we may hope that the men to man them will be provided as necessary adjunct. The dis tance of our shores from Europe and Asia, of course, reduces the necessity for man.
 
 does not take away the requirement, of mere prudence, that we should have an army sufficiently large and so consti- tuted as to form a nucleus out of which a suitable force can quickly grow.
 Army and Navy Needs.
 What has. been said of the army may be affirmed in even a more emphatic way of the navy. A modern navy cannot be improvised. It must be built and in exis- tence when the emergency arises which calls for it's use and operation. My dis 1 tinguished predecessor has in many
 speeches and messages set out with great force and striking language the necessity for maintaining strong navy com- mensurate with the coast line, the govern
 mental resources and the foreign trade of
 our nation: and I wish to reiterate all the reasons which he has presented in favor of the policy of maintaining a strong l navy as the best conservator of our peace with other nations and the best means of l securing respect for the assertion of our ! rights, the defense of our interests and l the exercise of our influence in interna- 1 tional matters.
 ! Our international policy is always to 1 promote peace. We shall enter into any war with a full consciousness of the aw- 1 ful consequences that it always entails l whether successful or not and we, of course, shall make every effort, consistent 1 with national honor and the highest na- l tional interest, to avoid resort to arms. l We favor every instrumentality, like that 1 of The Hague tribunal and arbitration | treaties made with view to it's use in all ] international controversies, In order to l maintain peace and to avoid war But 1 we should be blind to existing conditions
 and should allow ourselves to become fool | ish ideaiists if we did not realize that with all the nations of the world armed ! and prepared for war, we must be our | selves in a similar condition in order to | prevent other nations from taking advan- 1 tage of Us and of our inability to defend 1 our interests and assert our rights wr,n | strong hand. In the international con I troversies that are likely to arise in the | Orient, growing out of the question of the 1 open door and other issues the United States can maintain her interests intact | and can secure respect for her just de- mands. She will not be able to do so, I however. if 1t is understood that she
 never intends to back up her assertion of 1 right and her defense of her interest by 1 anything but mere verbal protest and dip- | lomatic note. For these reasons the ex- l penses of the army and navy and of coast | defenses should always be considered as l something which the government must 1 pay for, and they should not be cut off l through mere consideration of economy. ] Our government is able to afford a suit ! able army and suitable navy It may l maintain them without the slightest dan 1 ger to the republic or the cause Of Tree fn- I stitutions, and fear of additional taxa 1 tion ought not to change a proper policy l in this regard War Policy of Nation.
 The policy of the United States in the I Spanish war, and since, has given it l a position of influence among the nations l that 1t never had before, and should be l constantly exerted to securing to it's bona | fide citizens, whether native or natural l ized, respect for them as such in for | eign countries. We should make every l effort to prevent humiliating and degrad- | ing prohibition against any of our cit
 izens wishing temporarily to sojourn in 1 foreign countries because of race or re- | lgion.
 l The admission of Asiatic immigrants | who can not be amalgamated with our l population has been made the subject | either of prohibitory clauses in our treat l ies and statutes, or of strict adminis- | trative regulation secured by diplomatic
 negotiation. I sincerely hope that we may continue to minimize the evils likely 1 to arise from such immigration without
 unnecessary friction and by mutual con
 sessions between self-respecting govern | ments. Meantime, we must take every 1 precaution to prevent, or, failing that, | to punish outbursts of race feeling among l our people against foreigners of what l ever nationality who have by our grant l treaty right to pursue lawful business 1 here and to be protected against lawless
 assault or injury.
 This leads me to point out a serious
 defect in the present federal Jurisdiction