The other chief matters dealt with in the Message are
the Venezuelan Arbitration at the Hague, the development of the Army and Navy, and the relations of Capital and Labour. The President congratulates Congress on the steady advance in building up the American Navy, and, among other re- forms, proposes the creation of a Naval General Staff, on the lines of the General Staff for the Army. He recommends the appointment of a Commission to report on what legislation is advisable for t_a merchant marine, and on the creation of a national ocean mail service. He proposes to treat both organised Capital and organised Labour alike. "Whenever either a Corporation, a Labour Union, or an individual disregards the law or acts in a spirit of arbitrary and tyrannous interference with the rights of others, then where the Federal Government has jurisdiction it will see to it that the misconduct is stopped, paying not the slightest heed to the position or powers of the Corporation, Union, or individual No man is above the law, no man is below it; nor do we ask any man's permission when we require him to obey it." It is refreshing in these days to meet with a man who knows his mind and has the courage to enforce it. As the Times correspondent well remarks, the Message is not that of a candidate for renomination, but of the President of the United States.
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