The Prescott daily news., 1912-08-07

| ter pOWeTS duu IuuSl duu 6ICdt wa terways to the transportation facili- 1 ties of the nation, to supplement the railways within our borders as well as upon the Isthmus. We must revive our merchant marine, too, and fill the seas again with our own fleets. We must add to our present postofflce service a parcels post as complete as that of any other nation We must look to the health of our people upon every hand, as well as hearten them with justice and opportunity.
 There are many sides to these great matters. Conservation Is easy to gen. eralize about, but hard to particular. lze about wisely. Reservation is not the whole conservation. Development of great states must not be stayed in- definitely to await policy by which our forests and water powers can prudently be made use of Use and development must go hand fin hand. The policy we adopt must be progress sive, not negative, merely, as if we did not know what to do
 With regard to the development of l Si CdNSi anu lliOiC AuluSLOuS NdlSi~ ways and the building up of fner. chant marine, we must follow great constructive lines and not fall back upon the cheap device of bounties and subsidies. In the case of the Missls' sippi river, that great central artery of our trade, it is plain that the fed. eral government must build and main tain the levees and keep the great waters in harnes for the general use. It is plain, too, that vast sums of money must be spent to develop new waterways where trade will be most served and transportation most read fly cheapened by them Such eXpen- ditures are no largess on the part of the government; they are national in. v6stments.
 Merchant Marine.
 The question of merchant marine turns back to the tariff again, to which all roads seem to lead, and to our registry laws, which, if coupled with the tariff might almost be sup posed to have been intended to take the American flag off the seas. Bounties are not necessary, If you will but undo some of the things that have been done. Without a great merchant marine We cannot take our rightful place in the commerce of the world. Merchants who must depend upon the carriers of rival mercantile nations to carry their goods to market are at a disadvantage in international trade too manifest to need to be point ed out; and our merchants will not long suffer themselves-ought not to suffer themselves-to be placed at such a disadvantage. Our industries have expanded to such point that they will burst their jackets, if they cannot find a free outlet to the mar kets of the world; and they cannot find such an outlet unless they be giv- en ships of their own to carry their goods-ships that will go the routes they want them to go-and perfer the Interests of America in their sailing orders and their equipment Our do- mestic markets no longer suffice. We need foreign markets That is anoth- CT force that is going to break the tariff down. The tariff was once a bulwark; now 1t is a dam. For trade Is reciprocal; we cannot sell unless we also buy
 The very fact that we have at last taken the Panama canal seriously in hand and are vigorously pushing 1t to- wards completion is eloquent of our re-awakened interest in international trade We are not building the canal and pouring out million upon million of money upon its construction merely to establish water connection be- tween the two coasts of the continent important and desirable as that may be, particularly from the point of view of naval defense It Is meant to be great international highway It would be little ridiculous If We should build 1t and then have no ships to send through it. There have been | years when not single ton of freight passed through the great Suez canal in an American bottom, so empty are the seas of our ships and seamen. We must mean to put an end to that kind of thing or We would not be cut ting new canal at our very doors merely for the use of our men-of war We shall not manage the revival by the mere paltry device of tolls. We must build and buy ships in competi tion with the world. We can do 1t If We will but give ourselves leave.
 There is another duty which the Democratic party has shown itself great enough and close enough to the people to perceive. the duty of govern ment to share in promoting agricul.