Norwich Bulletin Newspaper, March 5, 1909, Page 10

Summary Outline PRESIDENT TAFT'S. of the Main Poli-/ cies of the. New Administration. PREDECESSOR'S REFORMS ADVOCATED. No Race Feeling in the White House—Ihe United States Must Arm as Other Nations Do—Revision of the Tariff—Work of Friendship for the South— Monetary Laws Need Change—The Japanese Ques- tion—Many Other Important Matters Touched. My Fellow Citizens—Any one who takes the oath I have just taken must feel a heavy weight of responsibility. 3£ not, he has no conception of the powers and duties of the office upon which he is about to enter or he is lscking in a proper sense of the obliga- | tion which the oath imposes. The office of an inaugural addrees is to give a summary outline of the main policles of the mew administration so far as they can be anticipated. I have had the honor to be one of the ad- wisers of my distinguished predecessor and as such to hold up his bands in | the reforms Le bas initiated. I should be untrue to myself, to my promises end to the declarations of the party platform upon which I was elected to office it I did not make the mainte mance and enforcement of those re- forms & most important feature of my administration. They were directed to the suppression of the lawlessness and abuses of power of the great combina- tions of capital tnvested in rafiroads and n industrial enterprisea carrying on interstate commerce. The steps which my predecessor took and the Jegislation passed on his recommenda tion have accomplished much, have eaused a general halt fo the vicious | policies which created popular alarm and have brought about in the busi ness affected a much higher jegard for | existing law. Further Action Needed. Mo render the reforms lasting, how- gver, and to secure at the same time freedom from alarm on the part of those pursuing proper and progressive business methods further legislative and executive action are needed. Re- | llet of the raliroads from certain re- gtrictions of the anti-trust law have been urged by my predecessor and will | be urged by me. On the other bhand, the administration is pledged to legis- lation looking to & proper federal su- pervision and restriction to prevent ex- | eessive issues of bonds and stocks by eompanies owning and operating inter- state commerce railroads. Then, too, a reorganization of the de- partment of justice, of the bureau ot eorporations. in the department of com- merce and labor and of the interstate commerce commission looking to effec- tive co-operation of these mgencies'is’ needed to secure a more rapid and cer- tain enforcement of the laws affect- ing Interstate raflroads and industrial combinations, | I hope to be able to submit at the | @rst regular session of the incoming congress in December next definite suggestions in respect to the needed | amendments to the anti-trust and the | Interstate commerce law and the ehanges reguired in the executive de- | partments concerned in their enforce- | ment. “Good and Bad Trusts.” | It 18 belleved that with the changes %0 be recommended American busi- mess can be assured of that measure of stability and certainty in respect to those things that may be done and those that are prohibited, which is essential to the life and growth of all business. Such a plan must include the right of the people to avall them- selves of those methods of combining | eapital and effort deemed necessary to reach the highest degree of ecopomic efficlency, at the same time diffdrenti- ating between combinations based upoen legitimate economic reasons and those formed with the intent of creat- ing monopolies and artificially control- ling prices. The work of formulating into prac- tical shape such changes I creative work of the highest order and requires all the deltberation possible fn the in- Serval. 1 believe that the amendments to be proposed are just as necessary in the protection of legitimate business as #n the clinching of the reforms which properly bear (the name of my prede- ‘cessor. Revision of the Tariff. A matter of most pressing tmpor fance is the revigion of the tariff. In accordance with the promises of the platform upon which I was elected, 1| shall eall congress into extra uukm.' o meet on the 15th day of March, In order that consideration may be at once given to a bill revising the Ding- ley act. This should secure an ade- quate revenue and adjust the daties in such & manner as to afford to labor ' and to all industries in this country, whether of the farm, mine or factory, pretection by tariff equal to the differ- snce between the cost of production abroad and the cost of production here and have a provision which shall put Into force, upon executive determina- tion of certain facts, a higher or maxi- mum tariff against those countries whose trade policy toward us equitably requires such discrimination. It is thought that there has been such a change In conditions since the enact- ment of the Dingley act, drafted on a similarly protective principle, that the measure of the tariff above stated will permit the reduction of rates in certain | schedules and will require the ad- | vancement of few, If any. The propesal to revise the tariff made in sach an authoritstive way as to lead the business community to count upom it neeessarily haits all those hranches of business directly effocted, and as these are most Im- Barisnt.is distashs the syhole business | pected of them. A permanent im- | cordance with the béefits derived. | maintenance of #raditional f the country. T 8 fmperatively nec- essary, therefore, that a tariff bill be drawn in good faith in accordance with promises made before the elec- tion by the party in power and as promptly passed as due consideration will permit. Inheritance Tax Advecated. In the making of a tariff bill the prime motive is taxation and the se- curing thereby of a revemue. Due Jargely to the business depression | which followed the financial panic of | 1907, the revenue from customs and | other sources has decreased to such an extent that the expenditures for | the current fiscal year will exceed the | receipts by $100,000,000. It is impera- tive that such a deficit shall not eon- tinue, and the framers of the tariff bill must of course have in mind the | total revenues likely to be produced by it and so arrange the duties as to se- cure an adequate income. Shonld it be | jmpossible to do so by import dutles new kinds of taxation must be adopt ed, and among these I recommend a | graduated inheritance tax as correc’ in prineiple and as certain and easy of | collection. Government Economy Urged. The obligation on the part of those responsible for the expenditures made to carry on the gevernment to be as economical as possible and to make the burden of taxation as light as pos- { sible 1s plain and should be affirmed In | every declaration of government pol- | fey. This Is especially true when we are face to face with a heavy deflcit. But when the desire to win the popu- | Jar approval leads to the cutting off of expenditures really needed to make the government effective and to en- | able it to accomplish its proper objects the result is as muth to be condemned as the waste of government funds In unnecessary expenditure. J In the department of agriculture the use of scientific experiments on a large | scale and the spread of information derived from them for the improve- ment of general agrieulture must go on. The importance of supervising busi- ness of great railways and industrial combinations and the necessary inves- tigation and prosecution of unlawful business methods are another neces- | sary 4ax upon government which did not exist half a century ago. | Proper Forms of Expenditure. | The putting into force of laws which | shall secure the comservation of our | resources so far as they may be with- in the jurisdiction of the federal gov- ernment, including the most important work of saving and restoring our for- ests, and the great improvement of wa- | terways are all proper government functions which must invelve large expenditure if properly performed. While some of them, like the reclama- tion of arid lands, are made to pay for themselves, others are of such an indirect benefit that this eannot be ex- | provement, like the Panama ecanal, should be treated as a distinct enter- prise and should be paid for by the | proceeds of bonds, the issue of which will distribute its cost between the present and future generations in ac- It { may well be submitted to the serious consideration of congress whether the deepening and contrel of the channel of & great river system like that of the | Ohio or of the Mississippl when defi- | nite and practica! plans Yor the enter- prise have been approved amd deter- mined upon should net be proyided for in the same way. Then, too, there are expenditures of government abseiutely necessary if cur | | | cogntry Is to maintain i¢s proper piace among the natlons of the world and is | to exercise its proper influence in de fense of its own trade interests in the American policy agatust the colonization of Eu ropean moaarchies in this hemisphere and in the promoton of pesce and in- ternational morality. I refer to the cost of malntaining a preper army. & proper navy and suitable fertifications upon the maiviand of the United Btates and In its dependencies. The Army and Navy. ‘We should have an army so organ #ed and so officered as to be capable in time of emergency in co-operation with the natfonal militia and under the provisions of a proper national volunteer law rapidly to expand Into a force sufficlent to resist all probable invaslon from abroad and to furnish a respectable expeditionary force, if nec- essary, in the maintenance of our tira- ditional Ameriean poley which bears the name of President Monroe. Our fortifications are yet in a state of only partial completeness, .and the mumber of men to man them {s insuffl- clent. In a few years, however, the usual annual appropriations for our coast defenses, both on the malniand and in the depemdencies, will make them sufficient to resist all direct at- taclk, and by that time we may hope that the men to man them will be pro- vided as a necessary adjunct. ‘The distance of our shores from FEurope and Asla, of course, reduces the ne- cessity for maintalning under arms a great army, but it does not take awey | the requirement of mere prudence, that we should have an army suffi- | large and so constituted as to Akl B i, | we, of course, shall make every effort, | ability to defend our interests and as- | ghould be constantly exerted to secur- | ! tries because of race or religion. | prevent or, failing that, to punish out- | or a eity not under the control of the em- phatic way of the na modern navy cannot be impro It must be built and in existence when the emergency arises which calls for its use and operation. My distinguished predecessor has In many speeches and messages sot out with great force and striking language the necessity for maintaining a strong navy commensu- rate with the coast line, the-govern- mental resources and the foreign tradle of our nation, and I wish to reiterate all the reasons which he has presented in favor of the pdlicy of maintaining a strong navy as the best conservator of our peace with other nations and the best means of securing respect for the assertion of our rights, the defense of our interests and the exercise of our infiuence in international matters. Must Arm ae Other Nations Do. Our international policy is always to promote peace. We shall enter into any war with a full consciousness of the awful consequences that it always entails, whether successful or not, and consistent with national honor and the highest national interest, to avold a resort to arms. We favor every Instru- mentality, like that of The Hague trl- bunal and arbitration treaties' made with a view to its use in all interna- tional controversies, in order to main- tain peace and to avold war. But we should be blind to existing conditions and should allow ourselves to become foolish idealists if we did not realize | that, with all the nations of the worid armed and prepared for war, we must be ourselves in a similar condition in order to prevent other nations from taking advantage of us and of our in- sert our rights with a strong hand. In the international controversies that are likely to arise in the orient, grow- ing out of the question of the open door and other Issues, the | United States can maintain her inter- | ests intact and can secure respect for her just demands. She will not be | able to do so, however, if it is under- | stood that she never intends to back | up her assertion of right and her de—f_ fense of her interest by anything but mere verbal protest and diplomatic note., For these reasons the expenses of the army and navy and of coast de- fenses should always be considered as pomething which the government must pay for, and they should not be cut off | through mere consideration of econ- omy. Our government is able to af- ford a suitable army and a euitable navy. It may maintain them without the sltzhtest danger to the republic or the cause of free institutions, and fear of additional taxation ought not to change a proper policy in this regard. Protection For Our Citizens Abroad. The polley of the United States in | the Spanish war and since has given | it a position of influence among thel nations that it never had before and | ing to its bona fide citizens, whether | native or naturalized, respect for them as such in foreign countries. We should make every effort to prevent humiliating and degrading prohibition agalnst any of our citizens wishing temporarily to sojourn in foreign coun- The Japanese Question. The admission of Asiatic immigrants who cannet be amalgamated with our | population has been made the subject | either "of prohibitory clauses in our treaties and statutes or of strict ad- ministrative regulation secured by dip- | lomatic negotiations. 1 shucerely hope | that we may continue to minimize the evils likely to arise from such immi- gration without unnecessary friction | end by mutual concessions between gelf respecting governments. Mean- time we must take every precaution to bursts of race feeling among our peo- ple against foreigners of whatever na- tionality who have by our grant a treaty right to pursue lawful business here and to be protected against law- less assault or injury. This leads me to point out a serious @efect in Efie present federal jurisdic- tion which ought to be remedied at once. Having assured te other coun- tries by treaty the protection of our | laws for such of their subjects or eitl- zens as we permit to come within our’ jurisdiction, we now leave fo a state federal government the duty ef per- | forming our international obligations | in this respect. By proper legislatton | we may and ought to place in the | hands of the federal executive the | means of enforcing the treaty rights of } such aliens in the courts of the federal | government. It puts our guvernment | in a pusillanimous position to make | defintte engagements to protect allens | and then to excuse the failure to per- | form those engagements by an expla- | nation that the duty to keep them is in states or cities not within oun eontrol. If we would promise, we must put . ourselves In a position to perform our promise. We cannot permilt the possi- | ble faflure of justice due to local preju- dice In any state or municipal govern- ment to expose us to the risk of a war’| which might be avolded if federal | jurisdiction was asserted by suitable legislation by congress and carried out | by proper proceedings Instituted by | the executive in the courts of the na- | tional government, Monetary, Laws Need Change. One of the reforms to be carried out | during the incoming administration is a change of our monetary and banking i laws so as to secure greater elastielty | in the forms of currency available for trade and to prevent the limitations of law from operating to increase the em- barrassments of a financial panfe. The | monetary comimission lately appointed ! is giving full consideration to existing conditions and to all proposed reme- dies and will doubtless suggest one that will meet the requirements of business and of public interest. We may hope that the report will embody neither the narrow view of those who believe that the sole purpose of the new system should be to secure a large return on bankibg capital nor of these who would bhave greater expansion of currency | mith Lue rezard Lo meeviaiess for lts aad the isiands. Meantime. our gov: | the isthmus. | propose to devote all the energy possi- i 255 The cannot, . without reference to the negro race. its progress and its present condition. The thirteenth ent secured them freedom, the 2 amend- ment due process of law, protection of property and the pursuit of happi- ness, and the th amendment at- tempted to secure the negro against any deprivation of the privilege_ to immediate redefuption or uIImare se curity. There is no subject of econom- e discussion so intricate and so likely to evoke differing views and dogmatic statements as this one. The commis- sion in studying the gemeral influence of currency on business and of busi- ness on currency have wisely extend- ed thelr investigations in European banking and monetary methods. The information that they have derived from such experts as they have found abroad will undoubtedly be found helpful in the solution of the dificult problem they have in hand. Favors Postal Savings Banks. The incoming -congress should promptly fulfill the promise of the Re- publican platrorm and pass & proper postal savings bank bill. It will not be unwise or excessive paternalism. The promise to repay by the govemn- ment will furnish an inducement to savings deposits which private enter- prise cannot supply and at such & low rate of Interest as not to withdraw custom from existing banks. It will substantlally increase the funds avail- able for investment as capital in use- ful enterprises. It will furnish the absolute security which makes the proposed scheme of gevernment guar- anty of deposits so alluring without its pernicious results. Ship Subsidies Advocated. I sincerely hope that the incoming congress wiil be alive, as it should be, to the importance of our foreign trade and of .encoyraging it in every way \ | feastble. The possibility of increasing this trade in the orient, fn the Philip- pines and tn South America I8 known to every one who has given the matter attention. The direct effect of free trade between this country and the Philippines will be marked upon our sale of cottons, agricultural machinery and other manufactures. The necessi ty of the establishment of direct lines of steamers between North and South America has been brought to the at- tention of congress by my predecessor and by Mr. Root before and after his noteworthy visit to that continent, and 1 sineerely hope that congress may be induced to see the wisdom of a tenta- tive effort to establish such lines by the use of mail subsidies. The importance which' the depart- ment of agriculture and of commerce and labor may play in ridding the markets of Europe of prohibitions and discriminations against the importa- tion of our products is fully under- stood, and it is hoped that the use of the {mum and minimum feature of our tariff law to be soon passed will be effective to remove many of those restrictions. ® Lock Canal Plan Defended. The Panama capal will have a most important bearing upon the trade be- tween the eastern and the far west- ern sectlons of our country and will greatly Increase the facilities for transportation between the eastern and the western seaboard and may possibly revolutionize the transconti- nental rates with respeet to bulky mer- chandise. It will also have a most beneficial effect to increase the trade between the eastern seaboard of the United States and the western coast of South Amserica and indeed with gome of the important ports of the cast coast of South America reacbed by raill from the west coast. The work on the canal is making most sat- isfactory progress. The type of the canal as a lock canal was fixed by congress after a full consideration of the conflicting reports of the majority and minority of the consulting board and after the recommendation of the war department and the executive upon those reports. Recent suggestion that something had occurred on the {sthmus to make the lock type of the canal less feasible than it was sup- posed to be when the reports were made and the policy determined on led to a visit to the isthmus of & board of competent engineers to exam- fne the Gatun dam and locks which are the key of the lock type. The re- port of that board shows that nothing has occurred in the nature of mewly revealed evidence which should change the views once formed in the original discussion. The construction will go on under a most effective organization controlled by Colonel Goethals and his fellow army engineers asgociated with him ard will certainly be completed early in the next administration, if not before. Some type of canal must be con- structed. The lock type bas been se- lected. We are all in favor of having it built as promptly as possible. We wust not now, therefore, keep up a fire in the rear of the agents whom we have authorized to do our work on We must hold up their hands, and, speaking for the incoming | administration, 1 wish to say that I | ple and under my control to the push- fng of this work on the plans which have been adoptad and to stand behind the men who are doing faithful hara work to bring about the early comple- tion of this the greatest eonltrnmvc‘ enterprise of modern times. Free Trade With Philippines. The governments of our dependen- cles in Porto Rico and the Philippines are progressing as favorably as could be desired. The prosperity of Porto Rico continues unabated. The busl- ness eonditions In the Philippines are not all that we counld wish them to be, : but with the passage of the new tariff | bill permittiug free trade between the United States and the archipelago, with such limitations in sugar and tobacco as shall prevent injury to the domestic interests on those products, we can count on an improvement in business conditions In the Philippines | of great comtroversy during the elec- | | and the development of a mutually profitable trade between this country w8, - gy &g A £E - jeii § i | 4 i ki i i i i L § E 8 f z. 7 o 1 : H i 2 H 4 E i i i : i No Repeal of Fifteenth Of course the mere adoption § 5 & g exclude from voting whites not having education qualifications thought to be for a proper electorate. of the control of an ignorant electorate has therefore passed. With this change the interest which many of the south- ern white citizens take in the welfare of the negroes has increased. The col- ored men must base their hope on the | results of their own Industry, self re- | sympathy which they may recelve | from their white neighbors of the the suffrage as a protection and to en- foree its exercise against the prevail- ing sentiment of the south. The move- ment proved to be a failure. What re- mains is the fifteenth amendment to | the constitution and the right to have | statutes of states speeifying qualifica- | tions for electors subjected to the test | of compliance with that amendment. This is a great protection to the negro. It never will be repealed, and it never | ought to be repealed. If it had not | been passed it might be difficult now to adopt it, but with it in our funda- mental law the policy of southern leg- islation must and will tend to obey it, and so long as the statutes of the it that in the next twenty-five years If greater tmprovement in his con- dition as a productive member of so- their will, and this is their only coun- try and their only flag. They have shown themselves anxious to live for it and to dle for it. Encountering the race feellng against them, subjected at times to cruel injustice growing out of it, they may well have our profound sympathy and aid in the struggle they are making. We are charged with the sacred @uty of making their path as smooth and easy a&s we can. Axy recognition of their distinguished men, uy_mdmg to office from among their number, is properly taken as an encouragement and an appreciation of their progress, and this just policy, shall be pursued. ’ The Appointment of Negross. But it may well admit of doubt whether in case of any race an ap- pointment of one of their number to a local office in & community in whiei: the race feeling is so widespread and acute a8 to Interfere with the ease and facility with which the local govern- ment business can be done by the ap- pointee is of sufficient benefit by way of encouragement to the race to out- ‘welgh the recurremce and increase of race feeling which such an appoint- meut iz likely to engender. Therefore the exeeutive in recognizing the negro race by appointments must exercise a careful discretion net thereby to do it more harm than good. On the other hand, we must be careful not to en- ocourage the mere pretense of race feel- ing manufactured in the intevest of in- dividual political ambition. No Race Feeling In White House. Personally I bave not the slightest race prejudice or feeling, and recogni- tion of its existence only awakens in my heart a deeper sympathy for those .who have to bear it or suffer from Iit, and I question the wisdom of a policy which is likely to increase if. Mean- time, if nothing is done to prevent, a better feeling between the negroes and | | the whites in the south will continue ‘ to grow, and more and more of the ‘white people will come to realize that the future of the south Is to be much | benefited by the industrial and intel- lectual progress of the negro. The ex” ercise of political franchises by those of his race who are intelligent and well to do will be acquiesced in, and the right to vote will be withheld only from the ignorant and irresponsible of | both races. The Labor Question. There is one other matter to which T | shall refer. It was made the subject tion and ecalls fot at least a passing | reference now. ' My distinguished pred- ] ecessor has given muygh attention to sible to employees injured fn its em- ploy as an interstate railway corpora- tion is made responsible by federal law to its employees, and 1 shall be Use of Injunctions Necessary. Another labor gquestion has arisen which has awakened the most excited discussion. That is ln respect to the power of the federal courts to fssue injunctions in industrial disputes. As to that, my convictions are fixed. Take away from courts, if it could be taken away, the power to issue Injunctions in labor disputes, and it would create a privileged class among the laborers and save the lawless among their num- ber from a most needful remedy avall- | able to all men for the protection of | their business against lawless invasion. The proposition that business is not a property or pecuniary right which can be protected by equitabie injunction s utterly without foundation in prece- dent or reason. The proposition Is usually Moked with one to make the secondary boycott lawful. Such a proposition iz at variance with the American instinet and will find no support, in my judgment, when submit- téd to the American people. The sec- ondary baycott is an instrument of tyranny and ought not te be made legitimate. { The issuing of a temporary restrain- ing order without notice has in several instances been abused by its incop. siderate exercise, and to remedy this the platform upon which I was elect- ed recommends the formulation in a statute of the conditions under which such a temporary restraining order ought to fssue. A statute can and ought to be framed to embody the best modern practice and can bring the sub- | Ject so closely to the atteation of the court a3 to make abuses of the process unlikely in the future. American peo- ple, if T understand them, insist thet the authority of the courts shall be sustained and are opposed to any change in the procedure by which the powers of a court may be weakened and the fearless and -effective admin- fstration of justice be interfered with Having thus reviewed the questions Mkely to recur during my administra- tion’ and baving expressed in a sum- mary way the pesition ‘which I expect to take in vecommenditions to con- gress and in my condudt as an execu- tive, I invoke the comsiderate sym- pathy and support of nty fellow citi- wens and the aid of Almighty God In the discharge of my respansible duties. PERSONS TALKED ABOUT. Hugh Graham, publisher of the Mon- treal Star, is one of the leading citi- zens of Canada who werne honored by their sovereign during t! past year with knighthood. A Simon 8. Barr, who born in Hollidaysburg in 1840, and who is now a resident of Altoona, Pa, has the dis- tinetion of being the last survivor of the twelve active bearers at the fu- neral of Abraham Lincoln. Maria de Luz Monroy, f she lives another year, will be a leading figure at San Luis Potosi in a cellebration of the centenary of Mexico as a repub- lc. She js 118 years old and was a grownup when Hidalgo libwrated her people from the Spaniards in 1310 John Burns, president of the local governing board of Leondon, has al- ready granted fuunds up to $8,782,000 and loaned $50,000,000 at a low rate of interest for use in startiyg pubile works on 4,200 improvement schemes in order to give employmenit to the unemploved. Congressman John A, Kaliber of Boston and Miss Nellle M. MiNeil, an attractive young telephome operator living in East Boston, wers recently married at Holy Cross cathediral late Sunday, and started on the Wildnight train for Washingtor Hundreds of comgratulatory telegrams were sent to the couple to De handed them In Washington. lecting Assomblyman Jolin Lord )¢ Buffalo as United States ttorney for the westetn dis trict of N ewYork, Pr ent Rojosevelt hag given promotion & youmg man of nndoubted talent and worth, Mdr. O'Brian 1as made a good record| in the 1 * house of the Jegisiature, ving been a. steady supporter of ernor Hughes and having aiso fathgred a number of very excellent meas 3 " There is much satisfaction mmong in university, Sche- Y, r the recent election rles A, mond of that noted insti{ution as president of learning. Dr. Richmond has a’r the t fifteen years heen pastor tx Madison avenue Presbyteran eolsur: of Albany, and he !s known in ty and throughout mnorthern an eloguent and sohgiarly ci York as preacher. e Mrs. Catharine W, AoCuNedh ¥vanston, 1. said to be the woman justice of the pease in country, asionished the Society of An- thropology at a recent meeting by de- nouncing Adam as a loafer. She I.‘ clared that Eve was the mother of el the arts and sciences and by data which earried her back to the *- lithi¢c age she sought to prove .’ woman was (he originator of most the good things in the world. Wasted Energy. A woman who looked 19 years for.a missing husband displayed a doternd - nation worthy a better caute or, pers haps, a better man. ~Cintinnatl Cose- mercial Tribune. 4