Montpelier examiner., 1912-12-13
PRESIDENT SENDS ANOTHER MESSAGE
Tells Congress About the Fiscal, Military, InsuIar
and Judicial Affairs Of the Nation, Including
Panama Canal and Tolls Established. .,s

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-
tfon now drawing to a close have not de-
veloped great speculative expansion or
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 period of unexampled prosper
ity Manufacturing concerns are running
at their full capacity and the demand for
labor was never so constant and growing,
The foreign trade of the country for this
year will exceed $4,000, 900, 900, while the
balance in our favor-that of t'lA excess
of exports -ver imports-will exceed $780,
600. 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, 600 900. 1t
IL a year when the bushel or unit price
of agricultural products has gradually
fallen, and yet the total value of the en-
tire crop in greater by over 81. .000 100000
than we have known in our history.
Condition OF the Treasury.
The condition OF the treasury is very
satisfactory. The total interest-bearing
debt Is $685. TO OF which s134 .Ss1. $50 con-
stiute the Panama canal loan. The nom
interest-bearing debt is $S7s. .so1 .2s4.s 30. In
cluding s346 671, ,016 of greenbacks. We have
In the treasury S160. 900 In gold coin as
q reserve against the outstanding green
backs: and in addition we have cash
A-r - A. Asnn
of s167, 162. 1880. or an increase Of $2ss7b,-
662 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 economize. This
| 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
| 90 1914 indicates that they will amount
| to $4,000, 900. The sum of the estimates
| Of the expenditures for that same year.
exclusive of Panama canal disbursements
| and postal disbursements payable from
postal revenues is $7s2. .Oo0. 900. indicating a
deficit of $22oOo.0o0 For the year ending
| June 30 1913 similarly estimated receipts
were $667 100000 while the total corre-
| spending estimate of expenditures for that
year, submitted through the secretary of
| the treasury to congress, amounted to
| t65e 900 0OO This shows an increase of
t7s, OOo. 900 in the estimates for 1914 over
| the total estimates OF 1918. This is due to
an increase of SIS. 900 in the estimate
for rivers ana harbors for the pext year
on projects and surveys authorised by
| congress: to an increase under the new
pension bill Of $50 100000 and to an in
crease In the estimates for expenses of
the navy department of S24.00S,oQ0. The
estimate for the navy department for the
year 1918 included two battleships. Con-
ImG.x A<... hat
ship and therefore the navy department
has deemed 1t necessary and proper to
make an estimate which includes the first
years expenditure for three battleships
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 un-
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 70 this must be added the additional
change In the eight-hour law which
makes it applicable to ships built In pri-
vate shipyards.
The president then explained at some
length tina national reserve association
system recommended by the monetary
commission and urged congress to ex-
amine the plan impartialiy from all
stanApoints and then to adopt some
plan which will SECURE the dement's de-
sired
cay In view Of ths fact that new con-
9Fsss has been elected on platform
OF tariff for revenue only.
| Army Reorganization.
Our small army now consists "a O, 500
naen, excluding the $500 PhilippiRs scouts
Leaving out Of consideration ths coast
artillery force. whose position b nxed in
cur various seacoast defensea, and the
present gerrisons Of our various insular
possessions, we have today within the
continental United States q mobile army
OF only about 3b. 900 men. This little force
must be still further drawn upon TO sup
piy the new garriscns for the great naval
base which In 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 nifty posts, situated
for O variety of historical reasons in
twenty-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 ad-
minister these units separately by a geo
graphical organization. In other words.
our army in time Of peace has never been
united organization but merely scat
tered groups of companies, battalions and
I
war has been to create out of these scat
tered units an army At for effective team
work and cooperation.
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 stan. This plan Was thor
oughly discussed last summer at 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 It has been
distributed to members OF congress and
4 throughout the army and the national
guard, and widely through institutions of
learning and elsewhere In the United
States. In 1t. for the first time. we have
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
ganization. discipline. training. and equip
ment, under recent legislation, have been
asslmilated, 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 1t produced proper
equivalent In additional efficiency on the
End of New York Landmark.