In its foreign affairs the United States should present to the world a united front.

The very satisfactory progress made on the Panama Canal last year has continued, and there is every reason to believe that the canal will be completed as early as the 1st of July, 1913, unless something unforeseen occurs.

The duties on many classes of wool manufacture are prohibitory and greatly in excess of the difference in cost of production here and abroad.

The situation might justify me in ordering our troops to cross the border and attempt to stop the fighting, or to fire upon both combatants from the American side.

Perhaps nowhere is the need for rapid and direct mail, passenger and freight communication quite so urgent as between the United States and Latin America.

Speaking generally, the country is in a high state of prosperity.

The present system is not adequate and does not furnish the character of local control that ought to be there.

I believe such a change would be fairer to the whole force and would permanently improve the personnel of the service.

The result of his work in two or three bureaus, which, if extended to the entire Government, must occupy two or more years, has been to show much room for improvement and opportunity for substantial reductions in the cost and increased…

The declaration of London is an eminently satisfactory codification of the international maritime law, and it is hoped that its reasonableness and fairness will secure its general adoption, as well as remove one of the difficulties…

The quick transition of the Government of the Ottoman Empire from one of retrograde tendencies to a constitutional government with a Parliament and with progressive modern policies of reform and public improvement is one of the important…

To-day, more than ever before, American capital is seeking investment in foreign countries, and American products are more and more generally seeking foreign markets.

These movements of men, of capital, and of commodities bring peoples and governments closer together and so form bonds of peace and mutual dependency, as they must also naturally sometimes make passing points of friction.

A citizen himself can not by contract or otherwise divest himself of the right, nor can this Government escape the obligation, of his protection in his personal and property rights when these are unjustly infringed in a foreign country.

All these bonds will be greatly strengthened as time goes on and increased facilities, such as the great bank soon to be established in Latin America, supply the means for building up the colossal intercontinental commerce of the future.

I am happy to say that all but one of the cases which for so long vexed our relations with Venezuela have been settled within the past few months and that, under the enlightened regime now directing the Government of Venezuela, provision…

In the Far East this Government preserves unchanged its policy of supporting the principle of equality of opportunity and scrupulous respect for the integrity of the Chinese Empire, to which policy are pledged the interested Powers of both…

It is gratifying that Americans will thus take their share in this extension of these great highways of trade, and to believe that such activities will give a real impetus to our commerce and will prove a practical corollary to our…

The report shows that China is making remarkable progress and admirable efforts toward the eradication of the opium evil and that the Governments concerned have not allowed their commercial interests to interfere with a helpful cooperation…

Collateral investigations of the opium question in this country lead me to recommend that the manufacture, sale and use of opium and its derivatives in the United States should be so far as possible more rigorously controlled by…

Perhaps the most important question presented to this Administration is that of economy in expenditures and sufficiency of revenue.

In order to avoid a deficit for the ensuing fiscal year, I directed the heads of Departments in the preparation of their estimates to make them as low as possible consistent with imperative governmental necessity.

There is great room for improvement toward this end, not only by the reorganization of bureaus and departments and in the avoidance of duplication, but also in the treatment of the individual employee.

An investigation ordered by my predecessor resulted in the recommendation that the civil service he reclassified according to the kind of work, so that the work requiring most application and knowledge and ability shall receive most…

Most of the great industrial organizations, and many of the well-conducted railways of this country, are coming to the conclusion that a system of pensions for old employees, and the substitution therefor of younger and more energetic…