The Navy Department has no objection to the proposed salvage operations, but the Department of State holds the view that these wrecks are public property of the United States, which may be alienated only by an act of Congress or by a convention having the force of law.
Message to the Congress Regarding Salvage of Wrecks of Spanish Battleships in Cuban Waters
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I have always regarded this language as fixing the proper measure of protection at the ascertained difference between the cost of production at home and that abroad.
If I fail to recommend the reduction of excessive duties to this extent, I shall fail in my duty to the consuming public.
It appears that a Norwegian company has applied to the Cuban Government for permission to raise these wrecks and that before considering the proposition the Cuban Government desires to receive the views of the United States in regard thereto.
In dealing with the courts, which are the cornerstone of good government, and in which not only the voters, but the nonvoters and nonresidents, have a deep interest as a security for their rights of life, liberty, and property, no matter what the future action of the State may be, it is necessary for the authority which is primarily responsible for its creation to assert in no doubtful tones the necessity for an independent and untrammeled judiciary.
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