The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-03-11

ss Since Civil War
 crease of your manufactures and for the promotion of better farming. I congratu- late you on what you have done; I con graduate you on your prospects. There is not the slightest tinge of jealousy or envy of your good condition on the part of the northern and western manufac- turers or farmers They rejoice with you m your success and in a progress more rapid than theirs. But, my friends, you are not so sectional or partisan as to confine your interest to southern com merce and trade that you will not object. if for short time, and In the remarks which 1 am about to make I turn this meeting into a committee on the state of the union and consider some of the is- sues now pending or which have been re- gently disposed of.
 Much Work Done
 "The Sixty-first Congress just closed has enacted more useful and progressive legislation in its three sessions than any Congress since the war. The close of it's third, It's last and it's shortest session was obscured by such an apparent clog ging of business as to leave the impress sion tha. it had done at that session, lit- tie or nothing in<he way of helpful laws. It is due to that Congress to remove such an impression, for 1t has done a number of things that deserve common dation during the last three months. One of the crying evils of the present day is the expense of litigation This Congress has passed an act making sub. stantial reductions in the cost of appeal. ing cases from the courts of first instance n hQ c of revised code of the laws creating fedora courts and fixing their Jurisdiction. II has abolished circuit courts altogether and in this way has been able to sim. plify the practice in those courts and greatly to reduce expenses It has in. creased the salaries of the supreme cour justices 5000 a year. The increase ought to have been made $5000, but any step 1T the right direction should give us satis faction. And it has finally done the jus tice to provide that when federal judges travelling expenses shall be paid
 Tt has added to the safety appliances Tor the prevention of injury to railroad | employees and passengers, and the saving or their lives, provision for the inspec. tion of locomotive boilers, which 1t is hoped will still further diminish that los, of life and limb which before the fedora safety appliance acts were enacted were shocklhg m tnelr number and a shame. ful disgrace to the railroads and to the government that permitted them.
 Embassy Buildings
 Tt has provided for the purchase. cree. tion and furnishing of embassy buildings and legations for our ambassadors and ministers abroad, so that our ambassa- dors and ministers shall be properly housed and shall live In style and dig. nlty behtting the official representative ir foreign country of great nation like ours. The absence of such a provision has made it impossible for men of ordi. nary means to hold diplomatic office. and has brought about the absurd result that we who preach political equality of rich and poor practically limit our repre. sentatives abroad to millionaires. This Congress has passed the so. called Appalachian forest reserve bil authorizing experimental forestation or large scale and the expenditure o1 s2,O00,O00 year for this purpose.
 The same Congress has made a pro vision by which we can issue 8 ne, cent bonds to pay for the Panama canal, and this without disturbing the values of bonds already issued and driy. ing down the price of such bonds tc less than par. This was made possi. ble only by the votes of conservative southern congressman with sound financial ideas. There is no better evi- dence of the business solidity of the south than that it's representatives vote wisely on financial legislation. This argues for the result of deliberations of the monetary commission, which em- braces in its membership so many prominent southern representatives and senator's
 Tn the same session the officers of the line of the army were increased by 200 the quartermasters by 30, and the engineers by 60-a very wise provision, enabling the government at Washing ton to furnish instructors to the mill itia regiments in each state and to en- able the engineer corps of the army much more efficiently and promptly to c1sry out the river and harbor i'm provements. to which the country is now directing so much of it's atten- tion.
 Navy Strengthened
 Tn the naval bill the strength of cur navy Is increased by two battle ships, two colliers, eight torpedo boat |destroyers, four submarine torpedo boats, two gunboats and two sea going tugs This is in accord with the plan adopted some years ago, and if the rate is maintained we shall have a navy commensurate with the dignity of the country and able to resist possi- ble attack.
 The same Congress has provided for the fertilization of the canal. The canal was built partly for commercial purposes and partly defensive purposes, so that the effectiveness of our navy might be doubled in that 1t could be quickly transferred from the Atlantic to the Pacific seaboard, and vice versa. There were good men who insisted that the canal ought to be neutralized and not fortified at all; in other words, by general international agreement should be held for the use of all nations both in time of peace and war. The result would have been that while we could have used the canal we built in time of war to defend ourselves, we scould not prevent our enemy from using the same canal for the purpose of attack. With due deference to those who have taken this view, it seems to me that this is carrying the love of peace to an illogical extreme, is adhering to mere shibboleth, and not treating the subject with the common sense and practical view that it deserves.
 Tariff Bill Disappointment
 "A great disappointment of the session was the final defeat of permanent tariff board of five, to be appointed by the President, whose duty it should be to acquire through impartial investi- gation all possible information as to the cost of production of articles at home and abroad and all other facts relevant in the fixing of tariff. While this bill failed however. provision was made by appropriation in the sundry civil bill tor the continuance of board which I hal already created to make the same kind of investigation and to accumulate the same kind of information. Until now