resent American shipping is under certain great disadvantages when
put in competition with the shipping of foreign countries. Many of the
fast foreign steamships, at a speed of fourteen knots or above, are
subsidized; and all our ships, sailing vessels and steamers alike, cargo
carriers of slow speed and mail carriers of high speed, have to meet the
fact that the original cost of building American ships is greater than
is the case abroad; that the wages paid American officers and seamen
are very much higher than those paid the officers and seamen of foreign
competing countries; and that the standard of living on our ships is
far superior to the standard of living on the ships of our commercial
rivals.

Our Government should take such action as will remedy these
inequalities. The American merchant marine should be restored to
the ocean.

The Act of March 14, 1900, intended unequivocally to establish gold as
the standard money and to maintain at a parity therewith all forms of
money medium in use with us, has been shown to be timely and judicious.
The price of our Government bonds in the world's market, when compared
with the price of similar obligations issued by other nations, is a
flattering tribute to our public credit. This condition it is evidently
desirable to maintain

In many respects the National Banking Law furnishes sufficient liberty
for the proper exercise of the banking function; but there seems to be
need of better safeguards against the deranging influence of commercial
crises and financial panics. Moreover, the currency of the country
should be made responsive to the demands of our domestic trade and
commerce.

The collections from duties on imports and internal taxes continue to
exceed the ordinary expenditures of the Government, thanks mainly to the
reduced army expenditures. The utmost care should be taken not to reduce
the revenues so that there will be any possibility of a deficit; but,
after providing against any such contingency, means should be adopted
which will bring the revenues more nearly within the limit of our actual
needs. In his report to the Congress the Secretary of the Treasury
considers all these questions at length, and I ask your attention to the
report and recommendations.

I call special attention to the need of strict economy in expenditures.
The fact that our national needs forbid us to be niggardly in providing
whatever is actually necessary to our well-being, should mak