Newspapers / The Roanoke Beacon and … / Dec. 9, 1910, edition 1 / Page 8
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IX OF YEAR 'hiiaiBf1' ":W " ' . ., . THE PRESEDcNT Affairs of State Ure Dealt With v at Len3gth$j ( Annual Message, . President Discusses Work ... of Tariff Board Ship Sub - sidy Js Urged. . 'WlRKgBU. PANAMA CANAL tJeedof Legislation Anticipating CorrK " .pletlop'of ' the1 Ditch Is Pointed . Out Change in Postal Rates , Parcels .Post .and Postal Savings -Economy Urged. Washington, Dec. 6. President .' Taft'8 anfa,i!4,f:i$ssageto cWprigress v contained 40,000 words, and is said to y . be the longest document of its kind .'' ever VritteV Iii-A? 4s renews .the. work of each of the administrative departments beginning with the state department: HiMc"cmsffterable ,f space . to ' the satisfactory settlement of the fisheries dispute .with' England '-' through" the medium of the 'Hague Tribunal, and recounts both the his ' tory of the fisheries dispute and the stnhHshTnnt nf th trihnnal 4 in wtmectiaaf 'mm the state depart-' ment . he tells of the important poli tical happenings of the past twelve v monTti. thrrh-ouXtbrt"mtire world, V ' ' and tEe. action oi this country In con- nection with, them, i . , .. T": ...Tariff Negotiations.-- ; ' Referrine to, the negotiation of new - , tariff, agreements President Taft ,.," "The netaxiff:4ar, in . SeBtion respecting' 'the , maximumT.and mini mum, tariffs of the Unfixed ' States, which provisions came into effect on , ,4 April ; I, 1310, imposed '-'upon us re ; Vi sponsibility of .determining prior to T.that .date whether any undue discrim . ''ination existed' against the .United " -STates and Its products in any coun- . try., of the world with which we sus- f . tained ciftdeVcial relations. t '.'In thee of several countries in Bt&ri$et fij. -Apparent undue discrimina ' tion'against' An7erican;commerce.lwere fo4nd to exist. These discriminations' were", removed by negotiation. Rrjor , to, April 1, 1910, when,;the. maximum tariff was to -come" Into operation with respect to importation's fromall those, countries in whose favar no roclama- ' tion applying the minimum tariff ghould 'be issued by the president, one J hundred and thirty-four such procla , mations were issued. ' - . "This series of- proclamations em braced the entire commercial world and henej the minimum tariff of the United -SO&eV. has been given univer-" salis?liMti6n; thus fitif yfag .itpitte 1 SiM.isi.iici.urjr vuarai'itr ut our utue relations with foreign countries. '.'Marked adyanjMt .the . com merce of the Unitea tote's, were ob tained through these tariff settle- ments. ; ' '' "The policy of -broader and closer trade relations with the Dominion of Canada which was initiated in the ad ; . Jjustment of the, maximum- anf mini- ijatm provisions of the tariff ajjtt of August, .1909, !9,. as proved. ' mutually It 'fustisis further efforts' beneficial fo-tjbe read ju$tmetrtCof ,, the commer cial 'relations J", jcountes so that their commerfe may" fauow the Channels natnrei!t6 tontfguoa's Voun- ' ' ries and be commeasurate "with"'" teady expansion of trade and indus V"'1lf;' bn both sides of the boundary " " iP;Subsidy. ' t ,.' v The .president urges such action as " he, " beliejeswill.. increase American '.tradeilJ&ad'Si:. " - ' Another instrumentality Indispen- sable toUhe unhamapered and natural development .of American commerce is merchaMfitpfei '.'All maritime and commercial nations recognize the im portance of this factor. The greatest comrafefclal -nations,-our com-petitors, Jealou6ly,P03ter kh"feirmefrr4A.t ma rine. Perhaps nowhere , is .the need por rapiJ nd direct'mall, "passenger ..... &nd. frVmiurpptt9JjitWV urgent as between tne .United States and Latla riftciffiY- '-Ve' can se'cjire In no dtUer qu?ter oft t9kf -Axifld' 'such immediate beneCtfe.;lnriend6hip"' and cominerca.-as wouViiflow from the es tablishment of.cgtf, -lin.es of'com- ' reQuiremveta or a rapmjy c-reslng 'Sppr'c?A!oif of xR'e reciprocal. cepen i 'dehe'e'of the'coufftfes -of t!iV'we?Wt 'tern a f. . i - hemisphere upon e otner s prod- licts,i sympathies a-nd assistance : .' "I alluded 'to thls.most important subject in my last annual message;' It kls often been before you and I need recnpitu!at the reasons for its rec3Tr'irfrdat!cn. Unless prompt ac-t'cnT-3 taVen the completion of the Panama canal will find this the only great commercial nation unable to avail In" international maritime busi ness of this great contribution to the means of the world's commercial in tercourse." . ' ,t .''-" Governmental. Expense. To no one ' subject 'does he. devote more space than to the expense of conducting .th.yaioua' government departments and the urgent need for economy; and in - this connection he ' says: . "Every 'effort has been made by each department chief to. reduce the estimated cost of his department for the ensuing fiscal year ending June 30, 1912. I say this In order that con gress may understand that these esti mates thps made present the smallest sum . which will maintain the depart ments, ibureaus and offices of the gov; ernment ' and meet its other obliga tions runder existing law, and that a cut of these estimates would result in embarrassing the executive branch of the government in the performance of ,'fc duties. T!jis ,remark does not appTy To'"' the river and harbor esti mates, except to those for expenses of maintenance and the meeting of obli gations under authorized contracts, nor does it apply to the public build 'ing b)il nor -tc-the navy building pro gTajnv Of course, as to these con gress fould withhold any part or all of the estimates for them without in-J terfertng with the discharge of the, or dinary 'obligations of these functions 'f, its "departments, bureaus nd of- nnai estimates for the year ending June 30, 1912, as they have been sent to the treasury on" Novem ber 29 of this year, for the ordinary expenses of the government, including those for public buildings, rivers and harbors, and the navy building pro gram, amount to $630,494,013.12. This is $52,964,887.36 less than" the ap- rropriations for the fiscal year'end ' ing June. 30, 1911. It is $16,8S3,"lB3.44 less -than' the total 'estimates, includ ing supplemental estimates submitted to congress by the treasury for.' the year 1911, and is $5,574,659.39 less than the original estimates submitted by tb33fceasury ior .1911. ' "These fiugres do not include the appropriations for the Panama canal, the policy in respect to which'pfight '9 be,, and. is, to spend as much each, year 'as can be economically and ef fectively expended in order to com plete the canal as promptly. as possi bly, and therefore, the ordinary mo tive for cutting down the expense of. the government does not apply, to ap propriations for-this purpose. "Against the estimates of expendi tures, $640,494,013.12, we have estimat ed receipts for next year $680,000,000, making a probable surplus of ordinary receipts over ordinary expenditures of about $50,000,000, or taking-" into ac count the estimates for the Panama canal, which are, 4 $56,920,847.69, and which will ultifaiate'ly be paid in bonds, it will leaver. 5a; deficit for the next year -of about- $7,000,000, if congress shall conclude to fortify the canal."' '"' The Tariff.. The President- devotes" but little space to the subject of the tariff law, and of it he says: . '. - "The schedules of the rates of' duty in the Payne tariff act have been sub jected to . a great deal of criticism, some of it just, more of it. unfounded, and to much misrepresentation ' The act' was adopted in pursuance of a declaration by the party which . is re sponsible for it that customs, bill should be a tariff for. the protection, of home industries; the measure of th,c protection to be the difference be tween the cost of prciucing the imV ported article abroad, and' the cost of producing it at home, together with such addition to that difference as m.igb.t give a reasonable profit to the tome producer.. The basis Jor the criticism of this tariff is that in re spect to a number of the schedules 'the-. declared measure was not follow ed, but a higher difference retained or inserted by way of undue discrimina tion in favor of certain industries, and manufactures. Little, if any," of the criticism of the tariff has been direct ed against, the protective principle above stated; but the main- body of thecrkicism has been based "on the. to conform to the measure fit protection was not honestly and ein-cerely-'adhered to." . v -fhe Tariff Board. ' "hetiiftent refers to the aDnoint- mentoft-afejoard of experts tp,investi- gate the cost of production of various articles 'included in the schedules of the tariff, and says: "The tariff board thus appointed and Taulbbrized has been diligent in preparing itself for the necessary in vestigations.."' , The' hope c"f those who nave advocated the' use of this board for tariff purposes is that the question of "the rate of a duty imposed shall ' become more of a business question and less of a political question, to be ascertained by experts of long train ing' and accurate knowledge.' The .halt in business and the sliock-to busi ness, due to the announce taitr that a new tariff bill is to be; prepared and Ijr"t in operatipji. jnll be avoided by toting ihJcbe'dules one Jy one as occasion snaii arise ior a cnange in the ra,tes of each, and onlyaftf a re- port' upon the 'schedule by the tariff board competent to make such report. I It is'nbt likely that the board" will be 'able d make a report during the pres ent session of congress on any .of the sc!nl'ja,tPecduse a proper examina- llOD, involves Jia euurmuus amuuai 01 'detail anii'a great deal of care; but I hope to be able at the opening. of the new congress, or at least during the session -of that congress, lo brJrjsr to itS'Vattentifim the facts" mi-eard to tlftfee'' "schedules in -the present.' tariff 'that mav f reve to nofd araendment. " Our leiana rossessipns. . "During , the. last -summer, at my request, the secretary of. war visited the Philippine islands and hat do Bcrjbed his trip in the report. He found (the islands in a state, of tran quillity and growing prosperity due largely ,to the change in the tariff laws, which has opened the markets of America to the products of the Philippines, and has opened the Phil; ippine markets to American manu-1 factures. , " i .1-4 ity and progress in Porto Rico. Panama Canal. i - "At the instance of Colonel Goeth-, als, the army engineer ' officer Jn charge of the work on the Panama canal, I have just . made a visit to the Isthmus to inspect" the work done and to consult with him on the ground as to certain problems which are likely to " arise in "the near fu ture. The progress of the work is most satisfactory. If no unexpected obstacle presents itself, 'the' canal will be completed well within the time fixed ' by Colonel Goethals, to wit, January 1, 1915," and .'within the estimate of cost, $37o,00J),000. "Among questions arising for pres- ent. solution is the deoisioh- whether' the canal shall be XortofleXi; I have already stated to the congress' that' I strongly favor fortification and I now . reiterate this opinion and ask your considejation of the subject in the" light of the report "already be fore you made by a competent board. , "Another question which arises for consideration and .possible legislation is the question "of tolls in the canal. Tffis cu&ffiSn fa 1?ec eerily affected by the probable tonnage ifrhfth will' go through the canal. i "In determining what the tolls should.be we certainly ought not' to. insist that for a good many"' years to. come they, should ajmount to enough to pay' ..the interest on the invest-' ment of $400,000,000 which the United States has made, in the construction of the. canal. We ought not to do this, first, -because the benefits to be derived i -by the United -. Stat.es from this expenditure is not to be .meas ured solely by a return upcm the in- vestmeht If it were then:'the-con-Wuction might well have 'been left to, private enterprise. ..: "My own....inij)res.5ion is. .tbat the tojlls ought not to exceed,. $1: per net ton,. -and I should recommend that within cfert'ain limits the 'president be authorized to fix the tolls of the canal and adjust them to what seems to be .commercial necessity. "I cannot close this reference, to the canal without suggesting as. a. wise amendment "to ,t,he ..interstate ' commerce law a provision prohibiting interstate commerce . railroads from owning or controlling ships engaged in the trade through the ' Panama canal. I believe such a provision may be needed to-.save to the people of the United states tne Deneuis oi the .competitipnjn, trade between the eastern and western seaboards, which this canal was constructed' t,o? secure." . Department of Justice. - ; Discussing the affairs of the de partment of Justice, the president says': . . ."... - ,'.T'. invite especial attention . to the prosecutions under, 'the' .federal law of the so-called. 'bucket- shous,' and of those schemes to defraud in which the use -of -the mail is an essential., part of the fraudulent conspiracy, prosecutions which have saved ig norant and weak members of the pub lic and are saving them hundreds of, million's pf dollars. The violations of the anti-trust law present perhaps the most important litigation before the department, and the 'number -of cases filed shows the activity of the govern ment' in enforcing that statute.' "In a special message last ' year I brought to the attention of congress the propriety and Wisdom of enacting a general law providing for. the ln corporation of industrial and other companies engaged in. interstate com merce, and I renew my recommen dation in that behalf." The crying need in the United States of cheapening the cost of liti gation by simplifying judicial proced ure and expediting final Judgment is pointed out and- action looking to cor rection, of these eylls. is, urged, v. .The- president.;, reionjmgnd. an in-, crease - in V tbe salaries ofV. federal dg'es. v'f.X '-V-"-;.. Postal Savings Banks;- . "At. its last session congress made p'rovi'sion for the establishment, . of savjngs-baiiks iy tha -poAtofflce de partment of .this government by which under, general control of trustees, con- slsting of the postmaster general, the secretary of the treasury and the at torney general, the system could be begun in a few cities and towns, and enlarged to cover within 4ts opera-; tions as many cities and towns and as. large a part of the country as seemed wise. The initiation and establish ment of such a system has required a great deal of study op the part of the expertsiin'the postomce and treas ury departments, but a system .has now been devised which is believed to be mor.economical and simpler in its operation than any ' similar system abroark,.-. Arrangements have been per- fGte-d so that sayings banks will be. opened in some 'cities and towns on the 1st of January, and there will be a gradual extension of tJie benefits of the plan to the rest of the country." J'Jb is gratifying," says, the president, "that , the reduction , in the., postal deficit has been accomplished without any curtailment of postal facilities. On the contrary, the service has been greatly extended during the year In all its branches." . t-Second-Class Mail. "In my last annual message I in vited the attention of -congress to thfe inadequacy oi lue-pgai taie imposeu upon second-class miil raatter- in so far as that includes .magazines,, and showed by figures prepared by e'xperts of the postofRce department that the i government was rendering a service to the m&gaetaes, costing many mil lions in excess of the compensation ipkid. An answer ' t s J attempted to ; this by the representatives . of 1 t!he magazines, and a. reply vwas filed to this answer by the postofflce depart-' ment. The utter inadequacy of the answer consld.srdjfu the light of the 'reply-of the' pstbfflc'e department. I ktfcink must ;'iAust8ypjea)j,'-rt any fair- minaea persojj -. Wiietner tne answer was all that could be. said in behalf of the magazines" is another question. I agree that the question'is one of fact; tut I insist that if' the. fact is as. the experts of the postofflce department show, that we are 'furnishing" to the owners of magazines 'a .service worth millions more .than they pay. for it, then Justice requires that the rate should be increased. The increase in the receipts of the department result ing from, this change may be devoted to increasing the usefulness of the de partment in, establishing a parcels post ami- in reducing the cost of first class poqtage to one cent. It bas been said by jte' postmaster general that a fair adjustiqent.migt .be. made under .which .th , .advertising ; part ' of the jyagazine stratum De cnargeak ior, at a .different and higber rate f rem that of the reading "matter! This:vwould re lieve manyusef ul "t'niagazihes 1 that are -not circulated at a profit',' and would 'riot shut" fhem'pu't. tr6n.the use of "the malls by a5" prohibitory rate. ' ..wVith resf ect'to lie parcels post, I respectfully recommend its adoption Ltai alUtf ral deMrwy routes, and that 11 Dounds- the International limit-be (tirade tffe,&imi,t"p 'carriage In such Abolish Navy Yards. ? V The president -calls attention to cer tain reforms (urgl by the secretary of fixe' navy which he , recommends for adoption-a&d continues: '. " ' "The ' estimates of the navy depart ment are $5,000,000 less than the ap prdpriatfo'ns for the.same purpose last year aid -included In this is the build: ing .program oithe same-'juaount as that submitted for your consideration last' yearr It is merely' carrying put the; naafgrbuilding two'-feafesIiips a year, with a few needt auxiliary ves sels. I earnestly hope that this pro gram wili be adopted. "The 'secretary of the navy has given personal examination to every' nayafeyjurd, ,and hasstudled the uses of the navy yards with reference to the necessities ..of our fleet With a fleet' considerably less . than half the .size of that of the British navy, we ,haye, shipyards .more than 'double the nuiaber tfitfd there are several of these shipyards' exp'eritt? eJyeq'ufpp'ed with modern machinery,which, after inves tigart k jthe secretary of the navy be lieves to be. entirely useless for naval purposes-, Ija sks authority to aban don certain of them and to move thjeir machinery to other places, where it ca'n "jeynade 6t u$et" . " ' "The" complete success of our coun try in arctic exploration should not re: main-if.unnotl.ced .Ifii. f uaparalleled achievement of Pearjin reaching the nortli pble April 6, 190ft, approved by critical ,examination of 'the most ex pert sclentists'.'ihasvadded to :the dis tinction of-ourrna!yy,.to which he be-, icngs ' and 'reflects credit .upon ;his country. I recommend 'fitting refcogni tion . by con'etss of . the.great achieve ment of Robert ' Edwfn. Peary." "Conservation. . "The subject of the conservation of the" public domain has commanded the attention of .the, jieople within the last two or4thf4ee years... : ' ' ,?There Is no "need f or ' fa'dkal re form, in the methods of disposing of what are really agricultural lands. The I present laws "have worked well. The enlarge'd homestead law has encpur- aged the successful farming df lands In the semi-arid regions-. is, ; . "Iwihing can be more- im'pprtant in the matter of conservation than, .the voider. caUed attention tothe necessity for a halt in the waste of our resources. - "In the present-forest reserves there are -lafirwhiehare not properly for est, anJ,;which ought -.to bebject to homestead entry. 'This has caiifsed ' some lot&.frritation. ;We',5ife1 fcare- fully eliminating sucb.ilands.froto for est reserves or... where their . elimin? tlon is not practical iisang tnemj edt'ry under theftret homesteadl act. "Congress ought to trust the.!xecu- I tive .to ..use tne power oi .reservation only withrespect .to land" most valu able for forest. purpuses..,Ji$nrin,(R.be. present administration, , 62,250,000 acres .'of '.land- ' 'largely 'non-timbered, ,have been excluded ..from forest 're- serves, ana a.duujuu acres .oi , iana prfncipalfy- valued for forest purposes' have been, IruTludedria'taresfc reserves, making a reducygn in lowest, reserves o'f non-timber'e' land' amounting to 2-,750,000 acres." .i Coal Lands. "The next subject, and one most- im portant for four- consideration, is; the disposition of the coal lands in th. Urtited States-and Alaska. At;h'e bV- ginning of this., administration there were withdrab' f rom pntry or pur p'oes of claHiiffcation 17S67.,0p0 acres. Since that time there have'een with drawnf'b'y " my order from entry. . for classification 78,977,745 acres, making a total withdrawal of 96,844,745 acres'. Meantime" ef the acres -thus 'with drawn 1,061,889 ' have been classified and "found not to contain.' coal and Have been, restored to 'agricultural e'n try, and 4,726,091 acres have been classified as coal lands-?whife93,239 thus increasing the classified "coal lands to 10,429372 acres"'4- "Under the laws providing for te disposal of. coal. lancls-,ln-t-tee -Ujited' i states, the minimum wice CJ which treatment of ourjest lands.- It was probably th 'r'ut'hlesV destruction 'of foi-eVls in'the Ml'der.''stayte,s that first zctig remain -withdravh-- -Tz-orli "entry and await elassifiefti'dn.' '-..In 'adStion tJST.OOO acres h$v& bel&'flajd'ed; as, coal lands 'wlttfoWnricvr' withdrawal; lands are permitted to be sold li $19 an acre;' but -the secretary, of the inW terior has the power to fix a-jnaxmum price and to sell at tliAt price." ; . , 'As one-third of all the coil supply' is heidbythe government," it? f'eejs1 .wisethat ;it should retain suclt eon trol offer the mining and . the saSe as the-relation of lessor to lessee- fur nishes. - ' . . ' 1 ( .' '' "The secretary of the interior thinks there are difficulties in the way of leasing public coal lands,' which ob jections he has set forth ia his re port, the force of which I freely -.concede. I entirely approve his stating at length in his report of the objec tions In order that the whole subject may be presented to congress, but after a" full consideration,. for the rea sons t have" given, above, I favof a leasing system and recommend It" Water Power Sitesv "Prior to..March 4, 1909,. there had been, jon the recommendation of the reclamation service, withdrawn from agricultural entry, because theywere regarded as useful for. power' sites which ought not to be disposed of as agricultural lands, tracts amounting to about -4,000,000 acres. The .with drawals were hastily made and in cluded , a. great deal of land that was not useful for power sites. They were intended to include the power sites .on 29 rivers in 9 states. Since that time 3,475,442. acres have been re stored for settlement of the original 4,000,000 because they- do not con tain power sites; and meantime, new withdrawals have been ."made which, witn otner restorations oasea upon field' examination, result in withdraw- als at present, effective Of- 1,218,356 acres on vacant public land and 202, 197 acres on entered public land, or a total of 1,420,553 cres. These with drawals made from time to time cover all the power sites included in the first withdrawals and many more, on 161 rivers and in 12 states. The dis position of these power "bites involves one of the most difficult questions pre sented in' carrying out practical con servation. .. . ' "The . subject is one that calls for new legislation. It has" been thought that there "-ivas danger "of combination to obtain possession -of all the power sites and to unite them under one control. Whatever the evidence ' of this, or lack of it, at present we have had enough experience to know that combination would be profitable, and the control of a great number of . pow er at will within certain sections. . '; "However this may be, it is the plain duty of the government to see to it that in the utilization and devel- opment of all this immense amount of water power, conditions shall be imposed that will prevent extortion ate charges, which' are the usual ac companiment of monopoly. "The question of conservation is not a partisan, one, and I sincerely hope that even in the short time of the present session consideration may be given to those questions which have now been much discussed, and that action may be taken upon them." Alaska. j - "With reference to the government of Alaska, I have nothing to add to the recommendations I made in my list message-on the subject. .1 am "convinced! that the migratory charac ter of the population, its unequal dis tribution, and its smallness of num ber, which the new census shows to be; about 50,000, in relation to the enormous expanse of the territory, iake it altogether impracticable to 'give to those vpeople who are in fkjka today and may not be there a year hence, the power to elect, a leg islature to govern 'an immense ter ritory to which' they have relation so little permanent." ... yV' , ;.- " Pensions. " 'r "The uniform policy of the govern ment in the matter of granting pen sions to those gallant and devoted men who fought to save the life of the nation in the perilous days of the great civil war," has always (been of the most liberal character. Those' men are now .rapidly passing .away. The best obtainable official statistic ; show that they are dying at the rate of something over jthree thousand a month, and, in view of their-' advanc ing years, this rate must inevitably in proportion, rapidly increase. To the man who risked everything , on the field of battle to save the ""nation in the hour, pf its. .direst need we owe a debt which has not been and should not be , .computed! in a begrudging or parsimonious spirit," ,j :. Bureau of Corporations. Referring to the report of the com missioner of corporations, the presi dent says: , ""The ' commissioner ' finds " a" concii tlottin the ownership of the standing timber of the United States other than the government timber that calls for serious attention. The direct in vestigation made by the commissioner covered an area which contains 80 per cent, of .the privately-owned tim- befl.-M": county ' ' "IjirftfJtsno.v'that one half of the frmDeVSn'Hhis'' aVea, is owned by 200 . individuals and corporations; that 14 per cent, is owned by these corporations, and that there is very extetfsive" inter-ownership of stock, jas .well. as. other circumstances, all pointing, to friendly relations ' among those who own a majority of this tim ber, a relationship. Which might lead to-a combination for the maintenance of a price that would be very detri mental ' to '' the public interest, and :would "create the necessity of remov ing all tariff obstacles to the free im portations of lumber from other coun-, tftts." ' ' , - ' Bureau of Labor. ' ' a "The commissioner of labor hag been actively engaged in composing the dif-' ""ferences- between employers and em ployees engaged ' in interstate trans portationunder the Erdman act, Joint ly with the chairman of ,the interstate commerce commission. . "I cannot speak in too high terms of the success of the two officers in con ciliation and settlement of controver sies which, but for their interposition. would have resulted disastrously to an interests. ..",..' Civil Service Commission. ' "The civil service commission has continued its useful duties during the year. The necessity for the mainte nance of theN provisions of the civil service law was never greater than to day. Officers responsible for the pol icy of the administration, and their Immediate personal assistants or depu ties, should not be. included within the classified .eetvJce, but , id my judg ment, public opinion has advanced to the point here it would support a bill providing a secure tenure aunng em clency for all purely administrative officials. I entertain the profound con viction that it. would greatly !d the cause of efficient and economical gov ernment and of better politics- if con gress could enact a bill providing thats the executive shall have the power to include in the classified service all local offices under the treasury depart ment, the department of Justice, the postofflce department, the interior de partment and the department of com merce and labor, - appointments to which now require the confirmation of. the senate.) and. the! unon suck'v classification' the advice ffhd consent of the senate shall cease to be re quired in such appointments. By their .certainty of tenure, dependent on good service, and by their freedom from the necessity for political activ ity, these local officers wquld be in duced to" become more effipient public servants. ' "' Economy, and Efficiency. "The increase in the activities and in the annual expenditure's .of the fed eral government has' been so rapid and so great that the time has come l 1. tl. - e A activities in new directions' until we have tested the economy find efficiency with which the government of today is being carried on. The responsibility rests upon the head, of the admlnistra- .tlu He is held accountable hy the public, and. properly so. Despite the unselfish and patriotic efforts of the heads of . departments and others charged with responsibility pf govern ment, there'.has grown up in' this coun- .... ..t4-tn 4V..1. 1 4 ' government are too great. ..,Tho fun damental reason for the existence un detected of waste, duplication, and bad management is the lack of prompt, ao ' curate Information. ; "I have requested the head. of each department to appoint committees on economy and efficiency in order to se cure full co-operation in the movement by'1 the employees of the government themselves. " . "I urge the continuance of the ap nrooriation of $100,000 requested for the fiscal year 1912.., 'AJy. experience' lead? me to believe that while government methods are much criticized, the bad results if we do have bad results are not due to a lack of zeal or willingness on the part of the civil servants." -' . Interstate Commerce. "There has not.been time to test the benefit and utility of the amendments to the interstate commerce law con tained in the act approved June 18, 1910. The law as enacted did not con tain all the features which I recom mended. It did not specifically de nounce as unlawful the purchase by one of " two ' parallel and competing rb'ads-of the stock of the other. -Nor did it subject to the restraining influ ence of the Interstate Commerce com mission, the power of corporations en gaged in operating interstate railroads to issue new stock and bonds; nor did it authorize- the making of temporary agfee"ments between railroads limited to 30 days, fixing the Bame rates for traffic between the same places. "I do not press the consideration of any of these objects upon congress at this session. ' The interstate, commerce commis sion has' recommended appropriations for the purpose of enabling itto enter upon a valuation of all railroads. This has always been within the jurisdlo- site funds have been wantirfg.'- Statis tics to the value of each railroad would" be valuable for many purposes, espr daily if ..we ultimately enact any lin -itations upon the power of the inter state railroads to , issue stocks and bonds, as I hope we may.' "For the protection of our own people and the preservation of our credit in foreign ' trade, . I urgb upon congress the immediate enactment of a law under which one who, dn good faith, advances money or credjt upon a bill of lading issued by a common carrier upon an Interstate or foreign shipment can hold. the carrier' liable for the value of the goods described in the bill at the valuation specified iu the bill, at least to the extent of the advances made in reliance upon it "I further recommend that a punish ment of fine and Imprisonment be Im posed upon railroad agents and ship pers for fraud or misrepresentation in connection with the issue of bills of lading issued upon interstate (and for .elgn shipments.- " " "Except as" above, I do not'- recom mend any amendment to the Interstate commerce law as it stands. I do not now recommend any amendment to the- anti-trust law. In other words. It seems to me that the existing leisla tion with reference to the regulation of corporations and the restraint of "their business has reached a . point where we can stop for a while and'wit ness the, effect of the vigorous exect tion of the laws of -the statute books in restraining the abuses which cer tainly did exist and which roused thl public to demand reform."
The Roanoke Beacon and Washington County News (Plymouth, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Dec. 9, 1910, edition 1
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