NEW OFFICES AT THE WHITE HOUSE--SENDS A WIRELESS MESSAGE TO KING EDWARD
OF ENGLAND--END OF THE TROUBLE IN VENEZUELA--THE CANADIAN BOUNDARY
DISPUTE--BEGINNING OF A TRIP TO THE WEST--IN YELLOWSTONE PARK
The end of the year found President Roosevelt in the best of health,
despite the accident some weeks previous. The improvements at the White
House were now complete, and the family of the Chief Magistrate took
possession. A separate set of offices for the President and his Cabinet
had been built at the western end of the executive mansion, and the
rooms formerly used for this purpose were turned into living apartments.
The changes made have been approved by many who have seen them, and they
have wondered why the alterations were not made a long time ago.
On December 1, Congress assembled for a new session, and on the day
following the President's message was read. It was a masterly state
paper, dealing with the trust question, our relations with the new
government of Cuba (for the island was now free, just as we had meant it
to be when the war with Spain started), the creation of a new department
of Commerce and Labor, needs of the army and navy, and the all-important
matter of how the Philippines should be governed. It may be added here
that not long after this a Department of Commerce and Labor was created
by Congress, and Mr. George B. Cortelyou, the secretary to the
President, became its first official head. When Mr. Cortelyou left his
post as secretary, Mr. William Loeb, Jr., who had been the President's
private secretary for some time, became the regular first secretary to
the Chief Magistrate, a place he occupies to-day.
Just about this time there was considerable trouble in Indianola,
Mississippi. A colored young lady had been appointed postmistress, and
the people in that vicinity refused to recognize her. The Post-Office
Department did what it could in the matter, and then referred the case
to the President.
[Illustration: THE WHITE HOUSE, SHOWING NEW OFFICES.]
"As she has been regularly appointed, the people will have to accept
her," said Mr. Roosevelt. And when there was more trouble, he sent
forward an order that the post-office be shut up entirely. This was
done, and for a long time the people of that vicinity had to get their
mail elsewhere, a great inconvenience to them.
On January 1, 1903, the new cable to the Hawaiian Islands was completed,
and President Roosevelt received a message from Governor Dole, and sent
a reply to the same. About two weeks later the President sent a
wireless, or rather cableless, message to King Edward of England. This
helped to mark the beginning of a new era in message-sending which may
cause great changes in the transmission of messages in the future.
For some time past there had been a small-sized war going on in
Venezuela, South America, between that nation on one hand and England,
Germany, and Italy on the other. This war had caused much disturbance to
American trade. Pressure was brought to bear upon the several nations
through President Roosevelt, and at last it was agreed to leave matters
to be settled by arbitration at The Hague. The agreements to this end
were signed at Washington, much to the President's satisfaction. All
trouble then ceased, and American commerce was resumed as before.
For many years there had been a dispute between the United States and
Canada, regarding a certain boundary line. This country claimed a long
strip of territory next to the sea, near the seaports of Dyea and
Skagway, and Canada claimed that this strip, about thirty miles in
width, belonged to her domain.
There had been endless disputes about the claim, and considerable local
trouble, especially during the rush to the Klondike after gold.
Many Americans contended that we had absolute right to the territory,
and when arbitration was spoken of, said we had nothing to arbitrate.
This was, in the main, President Roosevelt's view of the matter, yet, as
things grew more disturbed, he realized, as a good business man, that
something must be done. We did not wish to fight Canada and England for
the strip of land, and neither did they wish to fight, so at last a
Board of Arbitration was agreed upon, and the claims of both parties
were carefully investigated. In the end nearly every point claimed by
the United States was granted to us. It was a great satisfaction to have
this long-standing dispute settled; and how much better it was to do it
by arbitration than by going to war.
The regular session of Congress came to an end on March 4, 1903, but
President Roosevelt had already called an extra session, to consider a
bill for reciprocity in our dealing with the new government of Cuba and
to ratify a treaty with Colombia concerning the Panama Canal.
There was a great deal of debating at this session of Congress. The bill
concerning Cuba caused but little trouble, but many wanted the canal
placed in Nicaragua instead of Panama, and did not wish to pay the forty
millions of dollars asked for the work already accomplished by the old
French Canal Company. But in the end the bill passed the United States
Senate by a vote of seventy-three to five, with the proviso that should
we fail to make a satisfactory arrangement about the Panama Canal, then
the government should build the canal through Nicaragua. President
Roosevelt was enthusiastic over a canal at the isthmus, and lost no time
in arranging to push the work further.
The people of the far West were very anxious to meet the chief ruler of
our nation, and early in the year it was arranged that President
Roosevelt should leave Washington on April 1 for a tour to last until
June. In that time he was to visit more than twenty States, and make
over one hundred stops. The people in the West awaited his coming with
much pleasure.
The President was justly entitled to this outing, for the nation was now
at peace with the entire world, and never had business been so
prosperous. More than this, our affairs with other nations had been so
handled that throughout the entire civilized world no ruler was more
popular than was Theodore Roosevelt. In England he was spoken of with
the highest praise, and the regards of the Germans had already been
shown in the visit of Prince Henry to this country. He was known to be
vigorous to the last degree, but it was likewise realized that he was
thoroughly honest and straight-forward.
The first stop of the President in his trip West was made at Chicago,
where during the day he laid the corner-stone of the new law building of
the University of Chicago, which university conferred upon him the
degree of LL.D. (Doctor of Laws). In the evening he addressed an
unusually large crowd at the Auditorium building, speaking upon the
Monroe Doctrine.
From Chicago the President journeyed to Milwaukee, and then to St. Paul
and Minneapolis. At the first-named city he made a forceful address on
the trusts, giving his hearers a clear idea of how the great
corporations of to-day were brought into existence, and what may be done
to control them, and in the last-named city he spoke on the
ever-important question of tariff.
It was an eventful week, and when Sunday came the Chief Magistrate was
glad enough to take a day of rest at Sioux Falls, South Dakota. From
there he journeyed to Gardiner, Montana, one of the entrances to that
greatest of all American wonderlands, Yellowstone Park.
It was understood that President Roosevelt wished to visit the Park
without a great following of the general public, and this wish was
carried out to the letter. Mr. Roosevelt had with him the well-known
naturalist, Mr. John Burroughs, and for about two weeks he enjoyed
himself to his heart's content, visiting many of the spots of interest
and taking it easy whenever he felt so disposed. It was not a hunting
trip, although big game is plentiful enough in the Park. It was just
getting "near to nature's heart," and Mr. Roosevelt afterward declared
it to be one of the best outings he had ever experienced.
[Illustration:
CORTELYOU. PAYNE. MOODY. HAY. ROOSEVELT. HITCHCOCK. ROOT. SHAW. WILSON.
KNOX.
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT AND CABINET, 1903.]