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Washington, Dec. '/.—The president’s message lias been transmitted to con gress. Its principal features are ns fol lows: The country is to be congratulated on the amount of substantial achieve ment which has marked the past year both as regards our foreign and as re gards our domestic policy. With a nation as with a man the most important things are those of the household, and therefore the country is especially to be congratulated on what has been accomplished in the di rection of providing for the exercise of supervision over the great corporations and combinations of corporations en gaged in interstate commerce. The <Amgre.<s lias created the department of commerce and labor, including the bureau of corporations, with for the first time authority to secure proper publicity of such proceedings of these great corporations as the public lias the right to know, it has provided for the expediting of suits for the enforce ment of the federal antitrust law, and by another law it lias secured equal treatment to all producers in the trans portation of their goods, thus taking a long stride forward in making effec tive the work of the interstate com merce commission. The preliminary work of the bureau of corporations in the department of labor has shown the wisdom of its cre ation. Publicity in corporate affairs will tend to do away with ignorance and will afford facts upon which intel ligent action may bo taken. Systemat ic, intelligent investigation is already developing fact the knowledge of which is esser ial to a right under standing of tl needs and duties of the business v >rld. The corporation which is honestly and fairly organ ized, wiiose managers in the conduct of its business recognize their obliga tion to deal squarely with their stock holders, their competitors and the pub lic, lias nothing to fear from such su pervision. The purpose of this bureau is not to enivanass or assail legitimate business, but to aid in bringing about a better industrial condition—a condi-' tion under which there shall he obedi ence to law and recognition of public obligation by ail corporations, great or small. The department of commerce and labor will be not only the clearing house for information regarding the business transactions of the nation, but the executive arm of Iho government to aid in strengthening our domestic ninl foreign markets, in perfecting our transportation facilities, in building up our merchant marine, in preventing the entrance of undesirable immigrants, in Improving commercial aud Industrial conditions and in bringing together on common ground those necessary part ners In industrial progress -capital and labor. < and Labor, j" The consistent policy of the notional I government, so far as it lias the power, is to hold in check the unscrupulous jman. whether employer or employee, but to refuse to weaken individual Initia tive or to hamper or cramp the indus trial development of the country. We •recognize that this,is an era of federa tion and combination, in which great , capitalistic corporations and labor un ions have become factors of tremendous (Importance In all industrial centers. 'Hearty recognition Is given the far reaching, bonellcent work which lias been accomplished through both cor porations and unions, and the , Une gs between different corporations, us be tween different unions, is drawn as it Is between dl£ -rent Is, it is drawn on conduct, the effort being to treat both organized capital and organized labor alike, asking notic ing save that the'interest of each hhflll be brought into harmony with the jum .tvrest of the general public and that tthe conduct of each shall conform to the fundamental rules of obedience to law, of individual freedom and of' jus tice and fair dealing town rtf, ah,. When ever either eorpb>* lion, labor-union, or individual disregards the law or acts In ft spirit of arbitrary and fjWnnoiw Interference with the rights of others,> whether corporations or imllvidhgjs, then v'hore the fedora.l ijovefum'ent ha's" jurisdiction, it will see to' it miscoUdnct is stopped, paying, nibt the sliglitest hood to the position or power of the coStporatiop, the uiijoh’or the in dividual, but only to o:;e fact— that is, the question whether qr hot the cehdfiet Aggre gate of individuals .ig. iu with the law of Wid. Every liftin' must fv.' dU?. liberty, and his right' to do as l-.ejjik.es •v. uh..his, prop erty Y>r Ids labor so long as lie does not infringe the rights of others. Covfrn-KPnt Rprelrfs n;iil I’.xper.d lluws. v . Frc-m all sources, exclusive of the postal service, the receipts of the gov ernment for the last fiscal year aggre gated |5G0,3tki,074. The expenditures for the same period were the surpit»--4or>.the tiscat year * being $54,297,007. The indications are that, the surplus for the present fiscal year will be very small, if indeed there be any surplus. Prom July to November the receipts from customs wore, ap proximately. $9,000,000 JcSs tUau fko receipts. from the same scarce ffer a portion •: ■ - . ;• ar. Shoo# this decrease continue at the same ra tio throughout the fiscal year the sur plus would be reduced by, approxi mately, $30,000,000. Should the rev enue from customs suffer much fur ther decrease during the fiscal year the surplus would vanish. A large sur plus is certainly undesirable. Two years ago the war taxes were taken off with the express intention of equalizing the governmental receipts and expenditures, and, though the first year thereafter stiU showed a mrplus, it now seems likely that a substantial equality of revenue and expenditure will be attained. Such be ing the ease, it is of great moment both to exercise care and economy in ap propriations and to scan sharply any change In our fiscal revenue system which may reduce our income. The need of strict economy in our expend itures is emphasized by the fact that wo cannot afford to be parsimonious in providing for what is essential to our national well being. Npcdn of Financial Situation. The integrity of our currency is be yond question, and under present con ditions it would be unwise and unnec essary to attempt a reconstruction of our entire monetary system. The same liberty should be granted the secretary of the treasury to deposit customs re ceipts as is granted him in the depos it of receipts from other sources. In my message of Dec. 2, 1902, I called attention to certain needs of the finan cial situation, and I again ask for consideration of the congress for these questions. [The president commends the work of the international monetary confer ence and advises its continuance.] A majority of our people desire that steps be taken in the interests of American shipping, so that we may once more resume our former position in the ocean carrying trade. But hith erto the differences of opinion as to the proper method of reaching this end have been so wide that it has proved impossible to secure the adoption of any particular scheme. Having in view these facts, I recommend that the congress direct the secretary of the navy, the postmaster general and the secretary of commerce and labor, asso ciated with such a representation from the senate and house of representatives as the congress in its wisdom may des ignate, to serve as a commission for the purpose of investigating and reporting to the congress at its next session what legislation is desirable or necessary for the development of the American mer chant marine and American commerce and incidentally of a national ocean mail service of adequate auxiliary na val cruisers and naval reserves. While such a measure is desirable in any event, It is especially desirable at this time, In view of the fact that our pres ent governmental contract for ocean mail with the American line will expire In 1905. The establishment of new lines of enrgo ships to South America, to Asia and elsewhere would be much In the Interest of our commercial ex pansion. Immigration. We cannot have too much immigra tion of the right kind, and we should have none at nil of the wrong kind. The need is to devise some system by which undesirable Immigrants styall be kept out entirely, while desirable im migrants are properly distributed throughout the country. At present some districts which need immigrants have none, and in others, where the population is already congested, immi grants come in such numbers as to de press, the conditions of life for those al ready' there. During the last two years the immigration service at New York has been greatly improved and the cor ruption and 'inefficiency which former ly obtained there have been eradicated. I'l'Us service has just been investigated . by a committee of New York citizens of high standing, Messrs. Arthur v. Briesun, Lee K. Friinkol, Eugene A. I’biibUi, Thomas W. Ilynes and Ralph Tract man. Their report deals with the whole situation at length and concludes with certain rccomihehdatio’ns for ad ministrative and legislative action. It is now receiving the attention of the secret.".ty*of commerce and titbor. - Xntin-nlizarion Frauds. 4Qeci(U iuv.estrgmion qf the sub ject 4ion of fhc attorney general and the consequent prosecutions reveal a condi tion of affairs calling for the immedi ate attention of the congress. For geries and perjuries of skameleSs and liagrant character have been perpe trated not only in the dense centers of 'population, but throughout the country, and it is established beyond doubt that very many so called citizens of the United States have no title whatever to that right and are asserting and en joying the benefits of the same through the grossest frauds. It is, qeyer to be TbrgofU'n tfid'fc'iftzenship is, to. quote the words recently used by the su -1 pro me court of the United States, on ‘Thestimable heritage." whether Jt pro ceeds from birth within the country obtained by naturalization, and we poison the sources of our national character and strength at the fountain" if : the privilege is claimed and exer ofcsetl w’thout right aud by means of fraud ;:d corruption. Public Land ami Postal Frauds. In*ir,y TaSt annual message, in eon .mjgtiop xyltli tli^. subject, of the due regulation of eombtouitions, of capital . vchidi £re.£rdiMj[s- injurious to the public, I recommended a special ap propriation for the better enforcement of the antitrust law as it now stands, to be expended under the direction of the attorney general. Accordingly (by the legislative, executive and judicial appropriation act of Feb. 25, 1903. 32 Stat., 854, 904), the congress appro priated for the purpose of enforcing the various federal trust and interstate commerce laws the sum of $500,000, to he expended under the direction of the attorney general in the employment of special counsel and agents in the de partment of justice to conduct proceed ings and prosecutions under said laws in the courts of the United States. I now recommend. a« a matter of the ut nost importance and urgency, the ex tension of the purposes of this appro priation, so that it may be available, under the direction of the attorney general and until used, for the due en forcement of the laws of the United States in general and especially of the civil and criminal laws relating to pub lic lands and the laws relating to postal crimes and offenses and the subject of naturalization. Recent investigations have shown a deplorable state of af fairs in those three matters of vital concern. By various frauds and by forgeries and perjuries thousands of acres of the public domain. emTf acing lands of different character and ex tending through various sections of the country, have been dishonestly acquir ed. It is hardly necessary to urge the importance of recovering these dishon est acquisitions, stolen from the people, and of promptly and duly punishing the offenders. Through frauds, forgeries and per juries and by shameless briberies the laws relating to the proper conduct of the public service in general and to the due administration of the postoffice department have been notoriously vio lated, and many indictments have been found, and the consequent prosecutions are in course of hearing or on the eve thereof. For the reasons thus indicat ed and so that the government may be prepared to enforce promptly and with the greatest effect the due pen alties for such violations of law, and to this end may be furnished with suffi cient instrumentalities and competent legal assistance for the investigations and trials which will be necessary at many different points of the country. I urge upon the congress the necessity of making the said appropriation avail able for immediate use for all such purposes, to be expended under the di rection of the attorney general. AIKHUnn Boundary. After unavailing attempts to reach an understanding on the Alaskan bound ary question through a joint high com mission, followed by prolonged negotia tions. conducted in an amicable spirit, a convention between the United States and Great Britain was signed Jan. 24, 1903, providing for an examination of the subject by a mixed tribunal of six members, three on a side, with a view to its final disposition. Ratifications were exchanged on March 3 last, whereupon the two governments ap pointed their respective members. Those on behalf of the United States were Eliku Root, secretary of war; Henry Cabot Lodge, a senator of the United States, and George Turner, an ex-senator of the United States, while Great Britain named the Right Hon. Lord Alverstone, lord chief justice of England; Sir Louis Amable Jette, K. C. M. G., retired judge of the supreme court of Quebec, and A. B. Ayleswortk, lv. C., of Toronto. This tribunal met In London on Sept. 3 under the presi dency of Lord Alverstone. On the 20th of October a majority of the tribunal reached and signed an agreement on all the questions submitted by the terms of the convention. By this award the right of the United States to the control of a continuous strip or border of the mainland shore, skirting all the tidewater inlets and sinuosities of the coast, is confirmed; the entrance to Portland canal, concerning which legitimate doubt appeared, is defined as passing by Tongass inlet and to the northwestward of Wales and Pearse islands; a line is drawn from the head of Portland canal to the fifty-sixth de gree of north latitude, aud the interior border line of the strip is fixed by lines connecting certain mountain summits lying between Portland canal and Mount St. Elias and running along the. crest of the divide separating the coast slope from the inland watershed at the only part of the frontier where the drainage ridge approaches the coast within the distance of ten marine leagues, stipulated by the treaty as the extreme width of the strip around the heads of Lynn canal and its branches. While the line so traced follows the provisional demarcation of IS7S at the crossing of the Stikine river and that of 1599 at the summits of the White and Cbilkoot passes, it runs much far ther inland from the Klehini than the temporary line of the later modus vi vendi and leaves the entile miniug district of the Porcupine river and Gla cier creek within the jurisdiction of the United States. [The president here recapitulates the details of the imbroglio between Euro pean powers and Venezuela and the reference of certain points of the con troversy to The Hague tribunal through the influence of the United States. This he calls a victory for American diplomacy and a triumph for international arbitration. JJe' advo cates an extension of international law to exempt all private property at sea from capture of destruction by forces of belligerent powers.] International Arbitration. Last year the Interparliamentary un ion for international arbitration met at Vienna, COO member® of the differ ent legislatures of civilized countries attending. It was provided that the next meeting should be In 1904 at St. Louis, subject to our congress extend ing an invitation. Like The Hague tribunal, this interparliamentary union Is one of the forces tending toward peace among the nations of the earth, and it is entitled to our support. I trust the invitation can be extended, Relations With China. The signing of a new commercial treaty with China, which took place at Shanghai on the Bth of October, is a cause for satisfaction. This act, the result of long discussion and negotia tion, places our commercial relations with the great oriental empire on a more satisfactory footing than they have ever heretofore enjoyed. It pro vides not only for the ordinary rights and privileges of diplomatic and con sular officers, but also for an important extension of our commerce by increas ed facility of access to Chinese ports and for the relief of trade by the re moval of some of the obstacles which have embarrassed it in the past. I trust that the congress will con tinue to favor in all proper ways the Louisiana Purchase exposition. This exposition commemorates the Louisi ana purchase, which was the first great step in the expansion which made us a continental nation. The expedition of Lewis and Clark across the continent followed thereon and marked the be ginning of the process of exploration and colonization which thrust our na tional boundaries to the Pacific. The acquisition of the Oregon coun try. including the present states of Oregon and Washington, was a fact of immense importance in our history, first giving us our place on the Pacific seaboard and making ready the way for our ascendency in the commerce of the greatest of the oceans. The cen tennial of our establishment upon the western coast by the expedition of Lewis and Clark is to be celebrated at Portland, Ore., by an exposition in the summer of 1905. and this event should receive recognition and support from the national government. The Philippines and Porto Rico. Of our insular possessions, the Philip pines and Porto Rico, it i 3 gratifying to say that their steady progress has been such a 3 to make it unnecessary to spend much time in discussing them. Yet the congress should ever keep in mind that a peculiar obligation rests upon us to further in every way the welfare of these communities. The Philippines should be knit closer to us by tariff arrangements. It would, of course, be impossible suddenly to raise the people of the islands to the high pitch of industrial prosperity and of governmental efficiency to which they will in the end by degrees attain, and the caution and moderation shown in developing them have been among the main reasons why this development has hitherto gone on so smoothly. Scrupulous care has been taken in the choice of governmental agents and the entire elimination of partisan politics from the public service. The condition of the islanders is in material things far better than ever before, while their governmental, intellectual and moral advance has kept pace with their ma terial advance. No one people ever benefited another people more than we have benefited the Filipinos by taking possession of the islands. Isthmian Canal. By the act of Juno 2S. 1902, the con gress authorized the president to enter into treaty with Colombia for the building of the canal across the isth mus of Panama, it being provided that in the event of failure to secure such treaty after the lapse of a reasonable time recourse should be bad to build ing a canal through Nicaragua. It has not been necessary to consider this al ternative, as I am enabled to lay be fore the senate a treaty providing for the building of tlie canal across the isthmus of Panama. This wm the route iVliiiih commended’’itself to the deliberate judgment'of .the.'.jcongresg, wo Can now treaty H right to construct the canal pvor tints’ .. finite. The 'Question now, therefore, is not; by which route the isthmian canal shsi|-be built, for that question lias arid - Irrevocably decid ed. ’i’he'-question is simply whether or not we shall-have'an isthmian canal. When tbe congress directed that we should take the Panama route under treaty with Colombia the essence of the condition. referred not to the government which controlled that route, but to tkejguto itself: to the territory across the route lay, not to the name whieffit'or the moment the territory bore on’Ake map. The purpose of the law tos to authorize the president to make a treaty with the power in actual centum of the isthmus of Panama. This, purpose has been ■fulfilled. m : ' For 400 years, efer since shortly after the discovery q£ this hemisphere, the canal across arhe isthmus has been planned. I'jfr- twoscore years it has been worked at. When made it is to last for the ages. It is to alter the geography of a continent and the trade routes of the world. We have shown by every treaty we have negotiated or attempted to negotiate, with the peo- pres in control of* the Isthmus and with foreign nations in reference thereto our consistent good faith in observing our obligations, on the one hand to the peo ples of the isthmus and on the other hand to the civilized world, whose com mercial rights we are safeguarding andi guaranteeing by our action. We have done our duty to others in letter and in spirit, and we have shown the utmost forbearance in exacting our own rights. Repatriation of Treaty by Colombia. Last spring a treaty concluded be tween the representatives of the re public of Colombia and of our govern ment was ratified by the senate. This treaty was entered into at the urgent solicitation of the people of Colombial and after a body of experts appointed’ by our government especially to go into the matter of the routes across thQi isthmus had pronounced unanimously) in favor of the Panama route. In draw ing up this treaty every concession was made to the people and to the govern ment of Colombia. We were more than just In dealing with them. Our generosity was such as to make it a serious question whether we bad not gone too far in their interest at the ex pense of our own, for in our scrupulous desire to pay all possible heed not merely to the real but even to the fancied rights of our weaker neighbor, who already owed so much to our pro tection and forbearance, we yielded in all possible ways to her desires in drawing up the treaty. Nevertheless the government of Colombia not mere ly repudiated the treaty, but repudi ated it in such manner as to make it evident by the time the Colombian con gress adjourned that not the scantiest hope remained of ever getting a satis factory treaty from them. Revolution In Panama. The people of Panama had long been discontented with the republic of Co lombia, and they had been kept quiet only by the prospect of the conclusion of the canal treaty, which was to them a matter of vital concern. When it be came evident that the treaty was hope lessly lost the people of Panama rose literally as one man. Not a shot was fired by a single man on the isthmus in the interest of the Colombian gov ernment. Not a life was lost in the accomplishment of the revolution. The Colombian troops stationed on the isth mus, who had long beeu unpaid, made common cause with the people of Pan ama, and with astonishing unanimity the new republic was started. The duty of the United States in the prem ises was clear. In strict accordance with the principles laid down by Sec retaries Cass and Seward, the United States gave notice that it would per mit the landing of no expeditionary force, the arrival of which would mean chaos and destruction along the line of the railroad and of the proposed canal and an interruption of transit as an inevitable consequence. The de facto government of Panama was recog nized. Under such circumstances the gov ernment of the United States would have been guilty of folly and weak ness, amounting in their sum to a crime against the nation, had it acted other wise than it did when the revolution of Nov. 3 last took place in Panama. This great enterprise of building the inter oceanic canal cannot be held up to gratify the whims or out respect to the governmental impotence or to the even more sinister and evil political peculiarities of people who, though they dwell afar off, yet, against the wish of the actual dwellers on the isth mus, assert an unreal supremacy over the territory. The possession of a ter ritory fraught with such peculiar ca pacities as the isthmus in question car ries with it obligations to mankind. The course of events has shown that this canal cannot be built by private enterprise or by any other nation than our own; therefore it must be built by the United States. New Treaty With Panama. Every effort has been made by the government of the United States to per suade Colombia to follow a course which was essentially not only to our interests and to the interests of the world, but to the interests of Colom bia itself. These efforts have failed, and Colombia, by her persistence in re pulsing the advances that have been made, lias forced us for the sake of our own honor and of the interest and well'being, not merely of our own peo ple, but of the people of the isthmus of Panama and the people of the civilized countries of the world, to take decisive steps to bring to an end a condition of affairs which had become intolerable. The new republic of Panama immedi ately offered to negotiate a treaty with us. This treaty I herewith submit. By it our interests are better safeguard ed than in the treaty with Colombia which was ratified by the senate at its last session. It is better in its terms than the treaties offered to us by the republics of Nicaragua and Costa Rica. At last the right to begin this great undertaking is made available. Pan ama has done her part. All that re mains is for the American congress to do its part, and forthwith this republic will enter upon the execution of a project colossal in its size and of well nigh incalculable possibilities for the good of this country and the nations of mankind. The growui ut the is more rapid in children than in adults, and slowest in the aged. It goes on more rapidly in summer than in winter.