The Mena weekly star., 1909-03-11

commission in studying the general in- fuence of currency on business and of business on currency, have wisely extended their investigation in Euro pean banking and monetary methods.
 Urges Postai savlngs Banks.
 The incoming congress should promptly fulfill the promise of the Re- publican platform and pass a proper postal savings bank bill. It will not be unwise or excessive paternalism. The promise to repay by the govern ment will furnish an inducement to savings deposits which private enter prise cannot supply. and at such low rate of interest as not to withdraw custom from existing banks. It will substantially increase the funds avail able for investment as capital in use ful enterprises. It will furnish tho absolute security which makes the proposed scheme of government guar anty of deposits so alluring without It's pernicious results.
 I sincerely hope that the incoming congress will be alive. as 1t should be, to the importance of our foreign trade and of encouraging 1t in every way feasible. The possibility of increas- ing this trade in the orient, in the Philippines and in South America are known to everyone who has given the matter attention. The direct effect of free trade between this country and the Philippines will be marked upon our sale of cottons, agricultural ma chinery and other manufactures. The necessity of the establishment of d. rect lines of steamers between North and South America has been brought to the attention of congress by my predecessor, and by Mir. Root before and after his noteworthy visit to that continent, and I sincerely hope that congress may be induced to see the wisdom of a tentative effort to estab. fish such lines by the use of mail subsidies
 The importance which the iepart- ment of agriculture and of commerce and labor may play in ridding the markets of Europe of prohibitions and discriminations against the importa- ton of our products is fully under stood, and it is hoped that the use of the maximum and minimum feature of our tariff law to be soon passed will be effective to remove many of those restrictions.
 The Panama Canal.
 The Panama canal will have most important bearing upon the trade be- tween the eastern and the far western sections of our country, and will great ly increase the facilities for transpor- tation between the eastern and west ern seaboard, and may possibly revo- lutionize the transcontinental rates with respect to bulky merchandise. It will also have a most beneficial effect to increase the trade between the east ern seaboard of the United States and the western coast of South America, and, indeed, with some of the i'm portant ports on the east coast of South America reached by rail from the west coast The work on the canal is making most satisfactory progress. The type of the canal as a lock canal was fixed by congress after a full consideration of the conflicting reports of the majority and minority of the consulting board. and after the recommendation of the war depart ment and the executive upon those reports. Recent suggestion that some thing had occurred on the isthmus to make the lock type of the canal less feasible than it was supposed to be when the reports were made and the policy determined on, led to visit to the istnmus oi d pvard 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 occurred in the nature of newly revealed evil dence which should change the views once formed in the original discussion. The construction will go on under most effective organization controlled by Col. 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 1t built as promptly as possible. We must not now, therefore. keep up fire in the rear of the agents whom we have authorized to do our work on the isthmus. We must hold up their hands, and speaking for the incoming administration, I wish to say that l propose to devote all the energy pos sible and under my control, to the pushing of this work on the plans which have been adopted, and to stand behind the men who are doing faithful hard work to bring about the early completion of this, the greatest con structive enterprise of modern times.
 The governments of our dependen- cies in Porto Rico and the Philippines are progressing as favorably as could be desired. The prosperity of Porto Rico continues unabated. The busi- ness conditions in the Philippines are not all that we could wish them to be, but with the passage of the new tariff bill permitting free trade between the United States and the archipelago, with such limitations in sugar and to- bacco as shall prevent injury to the domestic interests on those products, we can count on an Improvement in business conditions in the Philippines