Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-03-06

proposed scheme of government guar
anty of deposits so alluring without
its pernicious results.
Our Foreign Trade.
l sincerely hope that the incoming
congress will be alive, as it should be,
TO the Importance of our foreign trade
and of encouraging it in every way
feasible. The possibility of increasing
ippines 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 manufacturers. 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 Mr.. Root before
and after his noteworthy visit to that
continent, and | sincerely hope that
congress may be induced to see the
wisdom of a tentative effort to estab-
lsh such lines by the use of mail sub
sides
The Importance which the depart
ment of agriculture and of commerce
and labor may play in Kidding the
markets of Europe of prohibitions and
determinations 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 a
most important bearing upon the trade
between the eastern and the far
western sections of our country, and
will greatly increase the facilities for
transportation between the eastern
and the western seaboard, and may
possibly revolutionize the transcon-
tinental rates with respect to bulky
merchandise. 1t will also have a
most beneficial effect to increase the
trade between the eastern seaboard of
the United States and the western
coast of South America, and, indeed,
with some of the important ports on
the east coast of South America reach
ed by rail from the west coast. The
work on the canal is making most
satisfactory progress. The type of
the canal as 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 department and the executive up
on those reports. Recent suggestion
that something had occurred on the
OF tn J,,olyn 40 lob re. no
canal less feasible than it was sup
posed to be when the reports were
made and the policy determined on,
led to visit to the Isthmus Of a
board of competent engineers to ex-
anime the Gatun dam and locks which
are the key of the lock type. The re-
port of that board shows that nothing
has occurred in the nature of newly re-
vealed evidence which should change
the views once formed in the original
discussion. The construction will go
on under most effective organiza-
ton controlled by Colonel Goethals
and his fellow army engineers as
ISOLATED with him, and will certainly
be completed early in the next admin
stration If not before.
Some type of canal must be con-
strncted. The lock type has been
selected. We are all in favor Of hay
ing it 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, wish to say that l
! fn oil hN
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-
. tructive enterprise of modern times.
Government of Dependencies.
lie 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 undated. The business
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
and the development of a mutually
profitable trade between this country
and the islands. Meantime our govern
ment in each dependency is upholding
the traditions of civil liberty and in
creasing popular control which might
be expected under American auspices
The work which we are doing there
rebounds to our credit as nation
l look forward with hope to in
creasing the already good feeling be
tween the south and the other sections
of the country. My chief purpose i:
not to effect change in the electora
vote of the southern states That is
a secondary consideration. What
look forward to is an increase in the
tolerance of political views of al
kinds and their advocacy Throughout
the south, and the existence of re
spectacle political opposition in ever,
state; even more than this, to an in
creased feeling on the part of all the
people in the south that this govern