and the Militia as an element of our national life and history worthy of representation at a gathering of citizens of all States, to rejoice over the past and gather fraternal and patriotic spirit for the future. War is a calamity always to be deplored, but not always to be avoided. War is to be judged as to its object, its necessity or possibility of honorable avoidance. No American will affirm or admit that the War of the Revolution was, on the part of the colonists, an unjust war, that it did not possess the elements of honor and necessity which secure the approval of mankind. There are righteous causes of war, and wars of gross injustice. The hopes of many people are fixed upon a peaceful settlement of international disputes, a hope held, perhaps, not more earnestly than by those who, in the event of war, will have to do the fighting. But as long as wars of ambition, of annexation and of conquest occur, a people is not justified in neglecting means of rightful defense. England without a Navy would have been helpless and broken before the Spanish Armada. And to-day our own nation cannot disband its Army and Navy while it has great interests to guard in the presence of vast forces to which it may be opposed. Had the United States possessed in 1898 its Navy of to-day, there would have been no costly and bloody war; for it is well known that Spain entered upon the conflict in the confidence, which but few of her people did not share, that her Navy would vanquish our own. We are in the Philippines and we have a duty there. We have a Pacific coast, as well as an Atlantic, to defend. We are about to guard the Isthmus of Panama for the benefit of the world. Farseeing patriots cannot be otherwise than unhappy and anxious, in recognition. of the fact that our defensive preparations do not exist or are inadequate. For, surely, while our country will not seek war nor enter upon a conflict not just and necessary, the possession of suitable means of defense, commensurate with our internal greatness as a nation, must be regarded as the best assurance of peace and of continued happiness. The full military powers of our country will not be displayed at the exposition, but the National Guard of the several States and the Army and Navy will be modestly represented, and the officers and men will be there in a spirit of friendliness to all our visitors from foreign lands. It is understood that upon the opening of the exposition by the President of the United States and upon the arrival of any Miltary representatives or Naval vessels of friendly nations, there will be present such of our national Military and Naval forces as may be assembled without detriment to the public service in the course of their regular employments. The ceremonies will be on the exposition grounds and they will be chiefly of a civic character. The scene will be splendid in its civic nature, and it is intended that the battalions or companies of the Army, Navy and National Guard shall fill their proper place in an imposing event commemorative of the history of the nation. Subsequently, there will remain at the exposition a detachment of each arm of the military service and a division of naval vessels for the purpose of exhibition to the citizens of the United States. There is not a State and not many counties in the United States that have not citizens in the Army and Navy. All the people support the Army and Navy, and they do it willingly, and it is right and proper that the people who visit the exposition shall have an opportunity to see something of the great forces of national defense which they have created and maintain. But there will be no carnival of war nor inspiration of military conquest. It is expected that many friendly nations will be represented by naval vessels and a few by companies of soldiers, illustrative of their military arm. We come now to a brief statement of the principal and more important measures of the Jamestown Exposition Company, intended to give promience to the civic history of our country, commemorative, educational, historical and patriotic. Nearly all the buildings are illustrative of architecture of the colonial period, with many reproductions either exact or upon a reduced scale. The principal building, the Auditorium, with its annexes of Historic Art and of Education, fronts upon Raleigh Square, which will be a floral design, and overlooks Hampton Roads. The Auditorium is provided for the use of numerous Congresses or Conventions, of which, up to the middle of February, one hundred and nineteen had arranged their programmes of attendance and work. A Hall of Congresses will be provided, with a seating capacity for 8,000 persons. This hall is entered from outside the exposition grounds, and it will be used for religious services, morning and evening, during the entire period of the exposition. The conventions represent many associations and lines of endeavor, industrial, educational, professional, commercial, technical, fraternal, religious, historical and patriotic. The Tidewater Ministerial Union is arranging regular Evangelistic Services at the exposition. Perhaps the most prominent of the conventions will be historical and fraternal. The exposition exhibit buildings include: Manufactures and Arts, 550 ft. long, 280 ft. wide. States' Exhibit Court, 250 ft. long, 90 ft. wide. Mines and Metallurgy, 250 ft. long, 100 ft. wide. Mines and Metallurgy Annex, 100 ft. long, 100 ft. wide. Food Products, 300 ft. long, 250 ft. wide. Marine, 300 ft. long, 90 ft. wide. Power and Alcohol (Denatured), 300 ft. long, 150 ft wide. Agricultural Implements, 100 ft. long, 100 ft. wide. Transportation, 200 ft. long, 100 ft. wide. Manufactures, 100 ft. long, 100 ft. wide. Virginia Mines and Timber, 250 ft. long, 100 ft. wide. There is under construction an additional fireproof building, 300 feet long by 90 feet wide, which has been found necessary to house the exhibits of Historic Art. Arts and Crafts (four buildings), Education (college and university), Education (primary and secondary)-buildings of incorporated companies and individuals for special purposes. Thirty States have appropriated money for buildings, for the use of their citizens and for historical exhibits. Eighteen of these State buildings are built or building. Congress, by Act of June 30, 1906, provided for exhibits at the Jamestown Exposition from the Smithsonian Institution, the National Museum and the Library of Congress, of such articles and materials of a historical nature as will serve to impart a knowledge of our colonial and national history, from the War and Navy Departments, the Life Saving Service, the Revenue Cutter Service, the Army, the Navy, the Light House Service, the Bureau of Fisheries, and an exhibit from the Island of Porto Rico. The Bureau of American Republics was invited to make an exhibit illustrative of the resources and international relations of the American republics, in the Government buildings. Twelve American republics have accepted invitations to participate, more numerous representation than ever before. The act further directed the erection at the exposition of suitable buildings for the government exhibits, a suitable building for the exhibit of the Life Saving Service, a fisheries building and aquarium, a building for use as a place of rendezvous for the Soldiers and Sailors of the United States Army and Navy and of foreign armies and navies participating in the celebration, and a similar rendezvous for army and naval officers participating (seven buildings in all). The act further provided for two piers, extending from the exposition into the waters of Hampton Roads, forming a basin or harbor. The piers are in course of construction, giving location to the exposition names, Susan Constant Pier, Godspeed Pier, Discovery Landing, and Smith Harbor. The act also promised for the erection of a permanent landing pier at Jamestown Island. The act further provided an appropriation of $100,000 in aid of the Negro Development and Exposition Company of the United States of America, to enable it to make an exhibit of the progress of the negro race in this country at the exposition. The amusement section of the exposition will be similar to that of previous expositions, like the Midway or the Pike, with many novel features. The lamented General Fitzhugh Lee, first president of the exposition, suggested one day in a humorous way that this section would be a rendezvous. for Indians and might be called the Warpath. The name stuck, though not descriptive of the prospective pleasures of the section. Among the amusements may be noted balloon ascensions, athletic sports and games, military exercises of the Army detachment and National Guards, boat races, and musical performances. The second and third weeks in September will be marked by the yacht races under the management of a national organization, the Jamestown Exposition Yacht Racing Commission. Doubtless, the West Point Cadets and the Midshipmen of the Naval Academy will contribute some exposition of their skill, athletic or professional, during their brief visit. During the last eighteen months there has sprung up a city upon the exposition grounds, and the improvements of the landscape in connection with the natural features of the site have made a scene of singular beauty. There will gather people of all classes and from all parts of the country, and each will find some object of interest. The Governors have settled rules which will insure good order and the convenience and pleasure of all worthy visitors. Gambling, betting, the sale of intoxicating liquors on the grounds, and disorderly conduct of any kind will be suppressed. The exposition will be closed on Sundays. It appears that the programme of exhibits, exercises and arrangements is worthy of a great commemorative assembly. People of the North, South and West will meet under the impression of historical pictures and scenes which belong to all. There must arise a new interest and study in the history of our country, for the educational and historic features of the exposition will overshadow all others and be of the most permanent effect. It cannot be doubted that a new spirit of union and patriotism will spread from the exposition to every part of the land. 1 The Case for Porto Rico. By M. OLMEDO. SECRETARY SAN JUAN BOARD OF TRADE. W ITH the special message of the President to Congress has vanished, once for all, the last vestige of the hopes entertained by the Porto Rican people of a reform of the most anti-American regime that may be devised within the American conception of democratic government. The general discouragement that this document has spread over the little island, is well symthetized in the letter or manifesto that the Speaker of the lower house and leader of the party of the majority has given out to the public. The letter has no great importance in itself, because, although its last paragraph resembles a war cry and this is the only part of the same which is not seriously taken even by the author-it is not intended otherwise than as a warning to undeceive those who still believed in Gen. Miles's promises. But one thing is true of this letter, and that is that it reveals a pessimism, a general discontent, among the people which finds expression in the energetic and eloquent paragraphs of Mr. Matienzo, For some time past the people of Porto Rico, familiar with the history of the United States and American institutions, have begun to realize their present humiliating situation; and, although they do not fail to admire the ability of the legislator who framed their organic law, they doubt the sincerity of a government which, under the pretext of a transitory measure, is trying to perpetuate a feudal system in the island. The greater objection made to the Foraker law has been that it unites in the same officers not only the legislative and executive duties, but in some indirect way the judiciary, with excessive power vested in the attorneygeneral, as has developed lately. The reasons for the objection to this system are obvious; but where it is most offensive to Porto Ricans appears to be in connection with the disposition of their moneys. The law gives the heads of departments the power to appoint their employes, providing for their salaries and making other disbursements. This clause is interpreted in the most ample sense, leaving to the heads of departments, constituting the majority of the Council or Senate, the absolute control of the budget, which is submitted to the House as a matter of form only. This has always been a source of friction and sometimes of comic incidents. Last year, for instance, the Council passed a budget increasing the former one by $130,000 to meet the expense of the ever increasing governmental machinery. The House refused; there was a deadlock. The leader of the majority was sent for by the Governor. What he was told, nobody knows; but the Speaker of the House, on seeing him coming through the lobbies, dejected, could not help crying out: "Oh, my friend, it looks as if your legs were shaky:" |