Speaker 1: Chapter fifty two of Philip Drew Administrator by Edward House.
Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain, recorded by
Speaker 1: the Progressing America Project. Chapter fifty two the Unity of
Speaker 1: the northern half of the Western Hemisphere under the New Republic.
Speaker 1: Seven years had passed since Philip Drew had assumed the
Speaker 1: administration of the Republic, seven years of serious work and
Speaker 1: heavy responsibility. His tenure of power was about to close
Speaker 1: to close. Amidst the plaudits of a triumphant democracy, a
Speaker 1: Congress and a President had just been elected, and they
Speaker 1: were soon to assume the functions of government. Four years
Speaker 1: the states had been running along smoothly and happily under
Speaker 1: their new constitutions and laws. The courts, as modified and adjusted,
Speaker 1: were meeting every expectation and had justified the change. The
Speaker 1: revenues under the new system of taxation were ample, the
Speaker 1: taxes were not oppressive, and the people had quickly learned
Speaker 1: the value of knowing how much and for what they
Speaker 1: were paying. This, perhaps more than any other thing, had
Speaker 1: awakened their interest in public affairs. The governments, both state
Speaker 1: and national, were being administered by able, well paid men
Speaker 1: who were spurred by the sense of responsibility, and by
Speaker 1: the knowledge that their constituents were alert and keenly interested
Speaker 1: in the result of their endeavors. Some of the recommendations
Speaker 1: of the many commissions had been modified and others adjusted
Speaker 1: to suit local conditions, but as a whole there was
Speaker 1: a general uniformity of statutes throughout the Union, and there
Speaker 1: was no conflict of laws between the States and the
Speaker 1: general government. By negotiations, by purchase, and by allowing other
Speaker 1: powers ample coaling stations along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts,
Speaker 1: the Bahamas, Bermuda, and the British, French and Danish West
Speaker 1: Indies were under American protection, and Old Glory was the
Speaker 1: undisputed emblem of authority. In the northern half of the
Speaker 1: Western Hemisphere. Foreign and domestic affairs were in so satisfactory
Speaker 1: a condition that the army had been reduced to two
Speaker 1: hundred thousand men, and these were broadly scattered from the
Speaker 1: Arctic seas to the canal at Panama. Since the flag
Speaker 1: was so widely flung, that number was fixed as the
Speaker 1: minimum to be maintained in reducing the army. Drew had
Speaker 1: shown his confidence in the loyalty of the people to
Speaker 1: him and their satisfaction with the government given them. Quickened
Speaker 1: by non restrictive laws, the merchant marine of the United
Speaker 1: States had increased by leaps and bounds, until its tonnage
Speaker 1: was sufficient for its own carrying trade and a part
Speaker 1: of that of other countries. The American Navy, at the
Speaker 1: close of Philip Drew's wise administration, was second only to
Speaker 1: that of England, and together the two great English speaking
Speaker 1: nations held in their keeping the peace and commercial freedom
Speaker 1: of the Seven Seas. End of Chapter fifty two