The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1910-12-09


the organization, mobilization and ad-
ministration of the regular army, the
organized militia and the volunteer
forces in the event Of war.
l.. Need for Additional Officers.
One of the great difficulties in the
prompt organization and mobilization
of militia and volunteer forces is the
absence of competent officers of the
rank of captain to teach the new army,
by the unit of the company. the busi-
ness of being soldiers and of taking
care of themselves so as to render
effective service. This need of army
officers can only be supplied by pro
visions of law authorizing the appoint
ment of a greater number of army
officers than are needed to supply the
commands of regular army troops now
enlisted in the service.
I'm order that the militia of each
state should be properly drilled and
made more like the regular army, reg
ular army officers should be detailed
to assist the adjutant general of each
state in the supervision of the state
militia. But this is Impossible unless
provision is made by congress for q
very considerable increase in. the
number of company and field officers
Of the army. ''s ~ - .......-...
| i L.. .Fortificatlons.
* have directed that the estimates
for appropriation for the improvement
Of coast defenses in the United States
should be- reduced to minimum,
while those for the completion Of the
needed Notifications at Corregidor, in
the Philippine islands, and at Pearl
Harbor. Id the Hawaiian islands,
sr ould be expedited as much as pos.
sible:. r., "a - - ..... ......
During the last summer at my re-
quest the secretary of war visited the
Philippine islands and has described
His trip in his report. He fouad the
Islands in q state of tranquility and
growing prosperity, due largely to the
change In the tariff laws, which has
opened the markets of America to the
products of the Philippines and has
opened the Philippine markets to
American manufactures. =" .'',' -
L. - =. Panama Canal. - $3.50
| At the instance of Colonel Goethals,
the army engineer officer in charge of
the work ON the Panama canal, have
just made visit to the isthmus to in.
spect the work done and to consult
with him on the ground as to certain
problems which are likely to arise In
the near future. The progress of the
work is most satisfactory If no un-
expected obstacle presents itself the
canal will be completed we'll within
the time fixed by Colonel Goethals-
to wit. Jan. l, 1915-and within the
estimate of cost, $375,000,O00.
Among questions arising for present
solution is the decision whether the
+! canal shall be fortified. I have al
ready stated to the congress that
strongly favor fortification, and now
reiterate this opinion and ask your
consideration of the subject in the
light of the report already before you
made by a competent board.
II in our discretion we believe mod
ern Notifications to be necessary to
the adequate protection and policing
of the canal, then it is our duty to
construct them. We have built the
canal. It is our property. BY conven-
ton we have indicated our desire for
and indeed undertaken its universal
and equal use. It is also we'll known
that one of the chief objects in the
construction of the canal has been to
increase the military effectiveness of
our navy. '''- '''' ,s+' g.
Failure to fortify the canal would
leave the attainment of both these
aims in the position of rights and OBJ
legations which we should be power
less to enforce and which could never
in any other way be absolutely safe
guarded against desperate and IRE
sponsible enemy. ...,.........
In determining what the tolls in the
canal should be we certainly ought
not to insist that for good many
years to come they should amount to
enough to pay the interest on the in
vestment of s4O0,O00,0O0 which the
United States has made in the con-
struction of the canal. We ought not
to do this, first, because the benefits
to be derived by the United States
from this expenditure are not to be
measured solely by a return upon the
investment.
My own impression is that the tolls
ought not to exceed 81 per net ton.
On Jan. 1, 1911, the tolls in the Suez
canal are to be z francs and % GEN.
times for one net ton by Suez canal
measurement, which is a modification
of Danube measurement. A dollar a
ton will secure under the figures above
a gross annual income from the Pan
anna canal of nearly $7,000,00O. The
cost of maintenance and operation is
estimated to exceed $3,000,000.
The next question that arises is as
to the maintenance, management and
general control of the canal after its
completion. It should be promised
that 1t is an essential part Of our navy