Watertown leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1909-1911, 1911-12-15

In a special message transmitted to the
| congress on the seventh Of January, 19ll,
| IN which concurred in the recommends
lions made by the secretary of state IN
| regard to certain needful legislation Tor
tne control of our interstate and foreign
| traffic In opium and other menacing
| drugs, L quoted from my annual mes
sage Of December Z, 1909, in which an
nounced that the results of the Interna-
/ tional Opium commission held at Shans.
| hai in February. 1899 at the invitation or
the United States, had been laid teI0fe
| this government: that the report OF that
| commission showed that China was max
| Ing remarkable progress and admirable
efforts toward the eradication of the
| opium evil; that the interested govern
| ella! interests to prevent their co-opera..
ton in this reform; and. as q result Of
question in this country, l recommended
| that the manufacture. sale and use Of
| opium in the United States should be
| more vigorously controlled by legislation.
Prior to that time and in continuation
or the policy Of this government to Sc
| cure the cooperation of the interested
nations. the United States proposed an
international opium conferenfe with fun
| powers for the purpose Of clothing with
the. force of international law the reso--
| buttons adopted by the aforementioned
| tial corcllories. The other powers con-
| cerned cordially responded to the pro-
| posal of this government, and, l am glad
| to be able to announce. representatives
of all the powers assembled in conference
at The Hague on the first Of this month
Foreign Trade Relations of the United
States.
| In my last annual message I referred
| to the tariff negotiations of the depart
ment of state with foreign countries in
connection with the application, by a Sc
ries OF proclamations, of the minimum
| tlons from the several countries. and I
stated that in it's general operation. sec
! ton 2 Of the new tariff law had proved
a guaranty Of continued commercial
/ peace. although there were, unfortunate
| ~, instances where foreign governments
| dealt arbitrarily with American interests
| furious and negotiable. During the past
| year some instances Of discriminatory
| treatment have been removed. but I re-
| gret to say that there remain a few
cases Of difrerential treatment adverse to
the commerce of the United States While
| none Of these instances now appears to
| sense of section 2 Of the tariff law Of
| August s. 1909 they are all exceptions to
| that complete degree Of equality Of tar
if treatment that the department Of
| for American commerce abroad.
While the double tariff feature Of the
tariff law Of 1909 has been amply JUST
| fed by the results achieved IN removing
| former and preventing new, undue dis
| ordinations against American commerce
| it is believed that the time has come for
| in such way as to provide a graduated
| means Of meeting varying degrees Of
| discriminatory treatment OF American
| to protect the financial interests abroad
| Of American citizens against arbitrary
| and Injurious treatment on the part Of
| foreign governments through either leg
iSlative administrative measures.
1t would seem desirable that the maxi
| mum tariff Of the United States should
embrace within its purview the free list
| which is not the case at the present time,
! in order that it might have reasonable
significance to the governments Of those
| into the United States are confined vir-
| tually to articles the free list.
The fiscal year ended June 80 1911,
| shows great progress in the development
| Of American trade. It was noteworthy
! marking the highest record Of exports
| Of American products to foreign coun.
| s.. 600 COO. 900 These exports showed a
| gain over the preceding year Of more
| Crying Need for American Merchant
Marine.
| need hardly reiterate the conviction
! that there should speedily be built up an
| American merchant marine. This Is nee
essary to assure favorable transporta-
| ton facilities to our great ocean-borne
commerce as we'll as to supplement the
navy with an adequate reserve Of ships
and men. It would have, the economic ad-
| vantage Of keeping at home part Of the
| vast sums now paid foreign shipping for
| carrying American goods. All the great
commercial nations pay heavy SUBSIDIES
| to their merchant marine, SO that 1t is
| obvious that without some wise aid from
the congress the United States must lag
| behind in the matter of merchant marine
| in its present anomalous position.
| Legislation to facilitate the extension
| Of American banks to foreign countries is
| another matter in which our foreign
| trade needs assistance.
|
| Of the foreign-service established depart
| mental diplomatic and consular) upon
| the high plane where it has been placed
| by the recent reorganization this gov
| eminent would be abreast Of the times
| in fostering the interests of its foreign
| trade. and the rest must be left to the
| energy and enterprise Of our business
men.
Improvement of the Foreign Service.
| The entire forei gn-service organization
| especial regard to the requirements Of
| the commercial interests of the country
makes it Of the utmost Importance that
| governmental agencies through which
| that trade is to be aided and protected
! should possess a high degree of eff
| cheney. Not only should the foreign rep
| resentatives be maintained upon gen
erous scale in SO far as salaries and es-
| lection and advancement of officers
| should be definitely and permanently reg
| ulated by law, so that the service shall
not fall to attract men Of high character
| and ability The experience Of the past
1 few years with a partial application of
| civil service rules to the diplomatic and
| consular service leaves no doubt in my
| mind of the wisdom of wider and more
| permanent extension of those principles
| TO both branches of the foreign service
| I therefore again commend to the IA
| yorable action of the congress the enact
| ment Of law applying to the diplomatic
| and consular service the principles en-
| bodied in section 1883 of the Revised Stat
! utes Of the United States, in the civil
| service act of January is, 1888, and the
| executive orders Of June Il, 1906, and Of
| November g. 1909. In its consideration of
| this important subject I desire to recall
to the attention Of the congress the very
favorable report made on the Lowden
| bin for the Improvement of the
| afrairs committee of the house of repre-
| sentatives Available statistics show that
| the strictness with which the merit sys-
| tenn has ben applied to the foreign serv-
| ice during recent years and the absolute
| non-partisan selection of consuls and
| diplomatic service secretaries who indeed
| far from being selected with any view
| to political consideration have actually
| been chosen to disproportionate extent
| from states which would have been un-
| represented in the foreign service under
/ the system which it is to be hoped is now
! permanently obsolete. Some legislation
| for the perpetuation of the present sys-
| tenn of examinations and promotions upon
| merit and efficiency would be Of greatest
| value to our commercial and internation-