Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1909-03-10

ton of right and her defense OF her
interest by anything but mere verbal
protest and diplomatic note. For
these reasons, the expenses of the
navy and of coast defenses should al
ways be considered as something
which the government must pay for,
and they should not be cut off through
mere consideration of economy.
Oriental Immigrants.
The admission of Asiatic immi-
grants who can not be amalgamated
with our population has been made
the subject either of prohibitory
clauses in our treaties and statutes,
or of strict administrative regulation
secured by diplomatic negotiation.
The president scarcely hopes that we
may continue to minimize the evils
likely to arise from such immigration
without unnecessary friction and by
mutual concessions between self
respecting governments. Meantime,
we must take every precaution to
prevent, or, failing that, to punish
outbursts of race feeling among our
people against foreigners of whatever
nationality who have by our grant
treaty right to pursue lawful business
here and to be protected against law
less assault or injury.
This leads me to point out seri-
GUS defect in the present federal
jurisdiction which ought to be rene
died at once" said the president.
Having assured to other countries
by treaty the protection of our laws
for such of their subjects or citizens
as we permit to come within our jur-
isdiction, we now leave to a state or
city, not under the control of the fed
eral government, the duty OF per-
forming our international obligations
in this respect. By proper legisla-
ton we may, and ought to, place in
the hands of the federal executive the
means of enforcing the treaty rights
of such aliens in the courts of the
federal government. 1t puts our
government in a pusillanimous posi-
ton to make definite engagements to
protect aliens and then to excuse the
failure to perform those engagements
by an explanation that the duty to
keep them is in states or cities, not
within our control. If we would
promise, we must put ourselves in a
position to perform our promise. We
cannot permit the possible failure of
justice due to local prejudice in any
state or municipal government to ex-
pose us to the risk of war which
might be avoided if federal jurisdic-
ton was asserted by suitable legisla-
proper proceedings instituted by the
executive, in the courts of the nation
al government
Currency, Postal Savings.
The president said that one of the
reforms to be carried out during the
of our monetary and banking laws,
so as to secure greater elasticity in
the forms of currency available for
trade, and to prevent the limitations
of law from operating to increase the
embarraSSmentS of a financial panic.
He declared that congress should
promptly fulfill the promise of the re-
publican platform and pass a proper
postal savings bank bill.
Subsidies.
The possibility of increasing trade
in the ORIENT in the Philippines and
in South America are known to every
one who has given the matter atten-
ton The direct effect of free trade
between this country and the Philip
pines will be marked upon our sale
of cottons, agricultural machinery
and other manufactures. The neces-
sity of the establishment of direct
lines of steamers between North and.
South America has been brought to
the attention of congress and the
president sincerely hopes that con-
gress may be induced to see the wis
dom of tentative effort to establish
such lines by the use of mail subsi-
dies
Panama Canal.
Recent suggestion that something
had occurred on the isthmus to make
the lock type of the canal less feas-
ible than it was supposed to be when
the reports were made and the policy
determined on, led to a visit to the
isthmus ON board of competent en-
gineers to examine the Gatum dam
and locks which are the key to the
lock type. The report of that board
shows that nothing has occurred in
the nature of newly revealed evi-
dence which should change the views
once formed in the original discus
sion. 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 COM
pleted early in the next administra-
ton, if not before.
Some tvpQ IF canal n,uct ho oop