Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1912-12-05

national finances and from the ever
present danger of international com
/ plications due to disorder At home
/ Hence the United States has been
glad to encourage and support Amer
+ lean bankers who were willing to lend
a helping hand to the financial re-
Mobilization OF such coutries because
+ this financial rehabilitation and the
+ protection Of their custom houses from
being the prey Of wouId-be dictatOrs
would remove at one stroke the men
ace Of foreign creditors and the men
ance of revolutionary disorder.
The second advantage to the Unit
I ed States is one affecting chiefly all
+ the southern and gulf ports and the
business and industry Of the south
The republics Of Central America and
the Caribbean possess great natural
/ wealth. They need only a measure Of
stability and the means of financial
] regeneration to enter upon an era Of
+ peace and prosperity. bringing profit
and happiness to themselves and at
/ the same time creating conditions
sure to lead TO a fiourishing in
tarchange of trade with this country.
wish to call your especial attention
+ to the recent occurrences in Mica
ragua, for I believe the terrible events
/ recorded there during the revolution
/ Of the past SUMMERTIME useless loss
! Of life, the devastation of property,
! the bombardment Of defenseless cities.
I the killing and wounding of women
/ and children, the torturing Of non
+ cOmbatants to exact contributions,
I and the suffering of thousands Of hui
! man beings might have been avert
/ ed had the department of state,
/ through approval of the loan cOnven-
I ton by the senate, been permitted to
/ carry out its now well-developed policy
/ Of encouraging the extending Of f.
/ nancial aid to weak Central American
/ states with the primary objects OF
/ avoiding just such revolutions by as
/ sisting those republics to rehabili-
tate their finances, to establish their
i currency on a stable basis, to remove
the custom houses from the danger
! Of revolutions by arranging for their
I secure administration, and to estab-
lish reliable banks.
Agricultural Credits.
A most important work, accom-
4 plished in the past year by the Ameri-
can diplomatic officers in Europe, is
/ the investigation of the agricultural
credit system in the European coun-
tries. Both as a means to afford relief
to the consumers Of this country
through a more thorough develop
ment of agricultural resources and as
a means Of more sufficiently maintain
ing the agricultural population, the
| project to establish credit facilities for
the farmers is a concern Of vital i'm
/ pOrtance to this nation. No evidence
of prosperity among wellestablished
/ farmers should blind us to the fact
that lack OF capital is preventing a
development of the nations agricul-
turaI resources and an adequate in
crease of the land under cultivation;
that agricultural production is fast
falling behind the increase in popula-
ton; and that, in fact, although these
weIl-estabIished farmers are main
tanned in increasing prosperity be-
cause Of the natural increase in popu-
lation, we are not developing the in
dustry of agriculture.
The need of capital which American
farmers feel today had been expert
enced by the farmers of Europe, with
( ago. The problem had been success
their centuries-oId farms, many years
fully solved in the old world and it
was evident that the farmers OF this
country might profit by a study of
their systems I therefore ordered,
through the department of state, an
investigation to be made by the diplo-
matte officers in Europe, and I have
laid the results of this investigation
before the governors Of the various
states with the hope that they will
be used to advantage in their forth
coming meeting.
Increase of Foreign Trade.
In my last annual message said
that the fiscal year ended June 80,
1911, was noteworthy as marking the
highest record of exports of American
/ products to fore gn countries. The
fiscal year 1912 shows that this rate
Of advance has been maintained, the
/ total domestic exports having a vaIu-
alton approximC teIy of $4,000, 600, 600,
as compared with a fraction over
$4,000, 100000 the previous year. 1t
is also significant that manufactured
and partly manufactured articles con
tinue to be the chief commodities form
| ing the volume of our augmented ex-
ports, the demands of our own people
for consumption requiring that an in
creasing proportion of our abundant
agricultural products be kept at home.
In the fiscal year 1911 the exports of
articles in the various stages of man
ufacture, not including foOdstuffs part
Iy or wholly manufactured, amounted
approximately to 1907, 100000. In the
fiscal year 1912 the total was nearly
81 OPP, 100000, a gain of $114,000,0 00
Advantage of Maximum and Minimum
Tariff Provision.
The Importance which our manufa G.
lures have assumed in the commerce
of the world in competition with the
manufactures of other countries again
draws attention to the duty of this
government to use its utmost endeav,
ors to secure impartial treatment for
American products in all markets
Healthy commercial rivalry in inter.
national intercourse is best assured
by the possession of proper means