Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1912-12-13
PRESIDENT SENDS ANOTHER MESSAGE
Tells Congress About the Fiscal, Military, lnsuIar
and Judicial Affairs Of the Nation, Including
Panama Canal and Tolls Established.

ceived from President Taft the second Of
his messages to the short session. 1t
deals with fiscal, military, insular and
judicial affairs and in part Is as follows:
The condition of the country with ref
erence to business could hardly be better.
While the four years of the administra-
ton now drawing to a close have not de-
veloped great speculative expansion or a
wide field of new investment, the recoV-
cry and progress made from the depress-
Ing conditions following the panic OF 1907
have been steady and the improvement
has been clear and easily traced in the
statistics. The business Of the country Is
now on a solid basis. Credits are not
unduly extended and every phase of the
situation seems in a state Of prepared
ness for a period of uneXampled prosper
ity. Manufacturing concerns are running
at their full capacity and the demand Tor
labor was never so constant ana growing.
The foreign trade of the country for this
year will exceed 81 1000, 600, 900, while the
balance in our f~avor-that of the excess
OF exports over imports-wil exceed $780,
DOC, 900. More than half our exports are
manufactures or partly manufactured
material, while our exports of farm pro-
ducts do not show the same increase OF
domestic consumption. 1t is a year OF
bumper crops; the total money value OF
farm products will exceed $500, GOO, OoO. 1t
is a year when the bushel or unit price
of agricultural products has gradually
ldlIen, anu YET liz ioShi oio
tire crop is greater by over s1,ooo,ooo'oo
than we have known In our history.
Condition Of the Treasury.
The condition of the treasury Is very
satisfactory. The total Understanding
debt is 1868, TT, ITO, Of which s134 631 $50 con-
stiute the Panam canal loan. The non
interest-bearing debt is s37s. 3o1, 2S4. 80, In
Guiding $346, 671, DIG of greenbacks. We have
in the treasury $3.50. co., 900 in gold coin as
a reserve against the outstanding green
backs; and in addition we have n cash
balance in the treasury as a general fund
of 1857. 152, 47S. 90, or an increase of s26,9i5,-
652 over the general fund last year.
Receipts and Expenditures.
For three years the expenditures OF the
government have decreased under the IN
fuence of an effort to- economic. RMS
year presents an apparent exception. The
estimate by the secretary of the treasury
of the ordinary receipts, exclusive of pos
tai revenues, for the year ending June
30, 1914. indicates that they Will amount
to $40, COO, 900. The sum Of the ina
of the expenditures for that same year.
exclusive of Panama canal disbursements
and postal disbursements payable from
postal revenues is s732. 900, 900. indicating a
deficit of 500, Mo, GOO. For the year ending
June so, 1918. similarly estimated receipts
were s667, 600, 900, while the total CORE
spending estimate of expenditures for that
year, submitted through the secretary OF
the treasury to congress. amounted TO
$3.50, 900, 600. This shows an increase Of
SIG, 900, 900 in the estimates for 1914 over
the total estimates of 1913. This Is due TO
an Increase of sos, 900, 900 in the estimate
for rivers and harbors for the next year
on projects and surveys authorized by
congress; to an increase under the new
pension bill of $50, 500, C00; and to an In
crease in the estimates for expenses Of
the navy department of $24.O 900. 900. The
estimate for the navy department for the
year 1913 included two battleships. Con-
gress made provision for only one battle
ship, and therefore the navy department
has deemed it necessary and proper to
make an estimate which includes the first
years expenditure for three battlesh1ps
in addition to the amount required for
work on the uncompleted ships now under
construction. In addition to the natural
increase in the expenditures for the I'M
completed ships, and the additional bat
tleship estimated for, the other increases
are due to the pay required for 1000 or
more additional enlisted men in the navy,
and to this must be added the additional
cost of construction imposed by the
change in the eight-hour law which
makes it applicable to ships built in pri-
vate shipyards.
The president then explained at some
length the national reserve association
system recommended by the monetary
commission and urged to eX-
anime the plan impartially from all
st%andpoints and then to adopt some
plan which will secure the benefits de-
sired.
Concerning the tariff he had little TO
say in view Of the fact that a new con-
eress has been elected on a platform
of tariff for revenue only.
Army Reorganization.
Our small army now consists of S3,s0e
men, excluding the 5000 Philippine scouts.
Leaving out of consideration the coast
artillery force, whose position is fixed in
-,, ,,-tN,,c caoHnocf 6afancoG and fha
present garrisons Of our various insu1ar
possessions, we have today within the
continental United States a mobile army
of only about IS, 900 men. This little force
must be still further drawn upon to sup
ply the new garrisons for the great naval
base which is being established at Pearl
Harbor, in the Hawaiian islands, and to
protect the locks now rapidly approaching
completion at Panama. The forces re-
manning in the United States are now
scattered in nearly fifty posts, situated
for a variety of historical reasons in
t~wenty-four states. These posts contain
only fractions of regiments averaging
less than 700 men each. In time of peace
it has been our historical policy to adj
minister these units separately by a geo.
graphical organization. In other words,
our army in time of peace has never been
a united organization but merely scat
tered groups of companies, battalions and
regiments, and the first task in time of
war has been TO create out OF tneSe scat
tered units an army fit for effective team
work and co-operStion.
To the task Of meeting these patent
defects, the war department has been ad-
dressing itself during the past year. "A
comprehensive plan of reorganization was
prepared by the war college division OF
the general staff. This plan was thor
oughly discussed last summer at a series
of open conferences held by the secretary
of war and attended by representatives
from all branches of the army and from
congress. In printed form 1t has been
distributed to members of congress and
throughout the army and the national
guard, and widely through institutions OF
learning and in the United
a tentative chart for future progress.
The National Guard.
Under existing law the national guard
constitutes, after the regular army, the
first line of national defense. Its or
Eanization, discipline, training, and equip
ment, under recent legislation. have been
essimilated, as far as possible, to those
OF the regular army, and Its practical
efficiency, under the effect of this train
ing, has very greatly increased. Our citi-
zen soldiers under present conditions
have reached a stage of development be-
yond which they cannot reasonably be
asked to go without further direct as
sistance in the form of pay from the fed
eral government. On the other hand, such
pay from the national treasury would not
be justified unless it produced a proper
equivalent in additional efficiency on the