Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1911-02-14

as close as they could, there was a re
Spouse from every department, but
the appropriation bills were stagger-
ingly big nevertheless. This year a
request was made that another econ
omy trial be attempted. and response
again came, but the bills are still big
and they viii continue to be because
the expenses of the government ow-
ing to the country's rapid growth are
constantly increasing.
Last week the house committee on
naval affairs cut the estimate sub
mitted by the navy department, an
estimate that was several million dol
lars less than 1t had been in any
year for some time. Three years age
1t was declared that under the then
present rate of ship-building and navy
Improvement generally, $1S9,000.00
could be considered fair average for
navy expenses for the ensuing five
years. The house bill this year falls
below this estimated average by
about s14, 1000
Big Navy to Protect Canal7
The plan is to go on building two
batt,eships a year until the Panama
canal is completed. In view of the
fact that there is a good deal of op'
position to the fertilization of the wa
terway because 1t is supposed that the
nations of the earth will respect Its
neutrality, 1t seems little strange
perhaps, that congress should author
lie the continued building of battle
ships with the apparent view of hav
ing a navy sufficiently great to pro
tect the canal In other words, peo-
PIE are asking why big navy is nee
essary to protect the canal II neutra
lization of the waterway zone Is GER
tain.
Under the present naval appropria'
tons bill, two great battleships OF
$1,000 tons each, to cost together
nearly $24,000,0 are authorized
Other ships just as big have been
built before, but the naval authorities
say that the projected vessels will be
more formidable than anything yet
afloat
May Reject Reciprocity Pact.
1t may be that the administration
will have a hard time to secure the
sanction of congress for its reciprocity
pact with Canada. 1t is barely posi-
BILE, too, that it may be little harder
to put 1t through because some of the
congressman say TT is altogether,
wholly and entirely an administration
measure"
What the compliments mean by
this is that the president did not go
out OF his way to consult them about
what he was going to do. 1t is pTuo-
able that some little resentment is felt
because of this fact, but the admins
tration's defense is made readily
enough; whether it be accepted in
good part or not yet remains to be
seen.
In affairs which are largely diplo-
matte in their nature, secrecy always
is enjoined for fear of giving offense
to the parties to the proposed compact
and also to prevent the starting OF a
campaign of opposition in advance to
the completion of the agreement, in
either of the countries which are par.
ties to it.
President Taft, It seems, thought
that the injunction of secrecy imposed
upon him the duty Of keeping the
preliminary proceedings even from the
knowledge of congressman. The
treaty, for so 1t is called, although il
is not really treaty, was negotiated
under conditions of safeguarding sell
dom known before. The only persons
who knew definitely what was going
on were the president, the Canadian
and the American treaty commission
ers, the secretary and first assistant
secretary of state, the premier of Can
ada and the members of the tariff
board
Kent Secret 10 the 1 asst