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About The Loup City northwestern. (Loup City, Neb.) 189?-1917 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 6, 1906)
THE PRESIDENT'S MIL MESSAGE TO MAKERS Recommends Legislation on New and Important Subjects. INCOME-INHERITANCE TAX — He Believes Such Laws Would Curb Growth of Fortunes to Dan gerous Proportions. Hla Views on Negro Question—Asks for Currency Reform, and Shipping Bill—Would Make Citizens of Japs —Many Other Important Subjects Discussed. Washington, Dec. J.—President Roose velt's message to the second session of the Fifty-ninth congress deals with a number of new and Important subjects, chief of which is the government prose cution of the trusts, the abuse, of Injunc tions in labor troubles, the negro ques tion, the preaching of class hatred between capital and labor, additional legis lation for the control of large corpora tions, a federal Inheritance and Income tax law and currency reform. The message opens with a statement of what the last congress left unfinished, and of this he says: ‘‘I again recommend a law prohibiting all corporations from contributing to the campaign expenses of any party. Such a bill has already past one house of con gress. Let individuals contribute as they desire; but let us prohibit In effective fashion all corporations from making contributions for any political purpose, directly or Indirectly. “Another bill which has Just past one house of the congress and which is ur gently necessary should be enacted into law is that conferring upon the govern ment the right of appeal in criminal cases on questions of law. This right exists in many of the states; it exists in the District of Columbia by act of the congress. It iB of course not proposed that in any case a verdict for the de fendant on the merits should be set aside. Recently in one district where the government had indicted certain per sons for conspiracy in connection with rebates, the court sustained the defend ant’s demurrer; while in another Juris diction an Indictment for conspiracy to obtain rebates has been sustained by the court, convictions obtained under it, and two defendants sentenced to impris onment. The two cases referred to may not be In real conflict with each other, but it is unfortunate that there should even be an apparent conflict. At pres ent there Is no way by which the gov ernment can cause such a conflict, when It occurs, to be solved by an appeal to a higher court: and the wheels of Justice are blocked without any real decision of the question. I can not too strongly urge the passage of the bill in question. A failure to pass will result in seriously hampering the government in its effort to obtain Justice, especially against wealthy Individuals or corporations who do wrong; and may also prevent the government from obtaining Justice for wageworkers who are not themselves able effectively to contest a case where the Judgment of an inferior court has been against them. I have specifically In view a recent decision by a district Judge leaving railway employees with out remedy for violation of a certain so called labor statute. It seems an absurd ity to permit a single district judge, against what may be the Judgment of the immense majority of his colleagues on the bench, to declare a law solemnly enacted by the congress to be "uncon stitutional," and then to deny to the government the right to have the su preme court definitely decide the ques tion.” Evasion by Technicalities. "In connection with this matter, I would like to call attention to the very unsat isfactory state of our criminal law, re sulting in large part from the hab't of setting aside the judgments of inferior courts on technicalities absolutely un connected with the merits of the case, and where there is no attempt to show that there has been any failure of sub stantial Justice. It would be well to en act a law providing something to the effect that: "No Judgment shall be set aside or new trial granted in any cause, civil or crim inal, on the ground of misdirection of the Jury or the improper admission or re jection of evidence, or for error as to any matter of pleading or procedure unless. In the opinion of the court to which the application is made, after an examina tion of the entire cause, it shall affirma tively appear that the error complained ,oi has resulted in a miscarriage of Justice ’’ Injunctions. On the subject of the abolition of in junctions in labor disputes, he says: “In my last message I suggested the en actment of a law In connection with the issuance of injunctions, attention hav ing been sharply drawn to the matter by the demand that the right of apply ing injunctions in labor cases should be wholly abolished. It is at least doubtful whether a taw abolishing altogether the use of Injunctions In such cases would stand the test of the courts; in which case of course the legislation would be ineffective. Moreover, I believe it would be wrong altogether to prohibit the use of Injunctions. It is criminal to permit sympathy with criminals to weaken our hands in upholding the law; and If men seek to destroy life or property by mob violence there should be no impairment of the power of the courts to deal with them In the most summary and effective way possible. But so far as possible the abuse of the power should be provided against by some such law as I advocated last year. “In this matter of injunctions there is lodged in the hands of the Judiciary a necessary power which is nevertheless subject to the possibility of grave abuse It is a power that should be exercised with extreme care and should be sub ject to the jealous scrutiny of all men, and condemnation should be meted out as much to the judge who fails to use it boidlv when necessarv ns tn tho who uses It wantonly or oppressively Of course, a Judge strong enough to be fit for his office will enjoin any resort to violence or intimidation, especially by conspiracy, no matter what his opinion may be of the rights of the original quar rel. There must be no hesitation in dealing with disorder. But there must likewise be no such abuse of the in junctive power as is Implied in forbidding laboring men to strive for their own bet terment in peaceful and lawful ways nor must the Injunction be used merely to aid some big corporation In carrying out schemes for its own aggrandizement It must be remembered that a prelim inary Injunction In a labor case, if granted without adequate proof (even when authority can be found to support the conclusions of law on which It Is founded), may often settle the dispute between the parties; and therefore if Improperly granted may do Irreparable wrong. Yet there are many judges who assume a matter-of-fact course granting of a preliminary Injunction to be the ordinary and proper Judicial disposition of such cases; and there have undoubt edly been flagrant wrongs committed by judges In connection with labor dis putes even within the last few years, altho I think much less often than in former years. Such Judges by their un wise action Immensely strengthen the hasgf of those who are striving entirely before and after election. I President Buchanan Had Had All tha Visitors Ha Wanted. President Buchanan’s home still ytsnda in the outskirts of Lancaster, Pa. Buchanan was a dose friend «f Abraham N. Cassel. He was presi dent of the turnpike company which •wned a read leading from Lancaster past the Buchanan residence. paring the campaign which gave Pennsylvania her only president this turnpike prospered on the tolls of to do away with the power of injunction; and therefore such careless use of the injunctive process tends to threaten Its very existence, for If the American peo ple ever become convinced that this process is habitually abused, whether in matters affecting labor or in matters af fecting corporations, it will be well-nigh impossible to prevent Its abolition.” The Negro Problem. The negro problem is given considera ble attention, after (ailing attention to the fact that no section of the country is free from faults, and that no section has occasion to Jeer at the shortcomings of any other section; he turns to the sub ject of lynchings, an 3 especially as ap plied to the negro of the south. He says the greatest existing cause for mob law is the perpetration by the blacks of the crime of rape, a crime which he terms evon worse than murder. He quotes the admonitions to the white people spoken by Gov. Candler, of Georgia, some years ago. and by Gov. Jcllxs, of Alabama, re cently, and then says: "Every colored man should realize that the worst enemy of his race is the negro criminal, and above all the ne gro criminal who commits the dread ful crime of rape; and it should be felt as in the highest degree an offense against the whole country, and against the colored race In particular, for a colored man to fail to help the officers of the law in huntrng down with all possible earnestness and zeal every such Infamous offender. Moreover, in my Judgment, the crime of rape should always be punished with death, as is tlie case with murder; assault with in tent to commit rape should be made a capital crime, at least in the discretion of the court; and provision should be made by which the punishment may follow immediately upon the heels of the offense; while the trial should be so conducted that the victim need not be wantonly shamed while giving tes timony, and that the least possible publicity shall be given to the details. The members of the white race on the other hand should understand that every lynching represents by Just so much a loosening of the bands of civ ilization; that the spirit of lynching inevitably throws Into prominence in the community all the foul and evil creatures who dwell therein. No man can take part in the torture of a hu man being without having his own moral nature permanently lowered. Every lynching means just so much moral deterioration in all the children who have any knowledge of it. and therefore just so much additional trouble for the next generation of Americans. "Let justice be both sure and swift; but let it be Justice under the law. and not the wild and crooked savagery of a mob. Need for Negro Education. "There is another matter which has a direct bearing upon this matter of lynching and of the brutal crime which sometimes calls it forth and at other times merely furnishes the excuse for its existence. It is out of the question for our people as a whole permanently to rise by treading down any of their own number. Even those who them selves for the moment profit by such maltreatment of their fellows will in the long run also suffer. No more shortsighted policy can be imagined than, in the fancied interest of one class, to prevent the education of an other class. The free public school, the chance for each boy or girl to get a good elementary education, lies at the foundation of our whole political situ ation. In every community the poor est citizens, those who need the schools most, would be deprived of them if they only received school facilities proportionately to the taxes they paid. This is as true of one portion of our country as of another. It is as true for the negro as for the white man. The white man, if he is wise, will de cline to allow the negroes In a mass to grow to manhood and womanhood without education. Unquestionably ed ucation such as is obtained in our pub lic schools does not do everything to wards making a man a good citizen; but it does much. The lowest and most brutal criminals, those for instance who commit the crime of rape, are in the great majority men who have had either no education or very litle; just as they are almost Invariably men who own no property; for the man who puts money by out of his earnings, like the man who acquires education is usually lifted above mere brutal criminality. Of ccurse the best type of education for the colored man. ta ken as a whole. Is; such education as is conferred in schools like Hampton and Tuskegee; where the boys and girls, the young men and young wo men. are trained industrially as well as in the ordinary public school branches. The graduates of these schools turn out well in the great ma jority of cases, and hardly any of them become criminals, while what little criminality there Is never takes the form of that brutal violence which in vites lynch law. Every graduate of these schools—and for the matter of that every oher colored man or wo man—who leads a life so useful and honorable as to win the good will and respect of those whites whose neigh bor he or she is, thereby helps the whole colored race as it can be helped in no other way; for next to the negro himself, the man who can do most to help the negro is his white neighbor who lives near him; and our steady effort should be to better the relations between the two. Great tho the bene fit of these schools has been to their colored pupils and to the colored peo ple, it may well be questioned whether the benefit has not been at least as great to the white people among whom these colored pupils live after they graduate." Capital and Labor. On the subject of capital and labor the president takes the agitators of class hatred to task and says "to preach hatred to the rich man. as such, . . . to seek to mislead and inflame to mad ness honest men whose lives are hard and who have not the kind of mental training which will permit them to ap preciate the danger In the doctrines preached is to commit a crime against the body politic and to be false to every worthy principle and tradition of Amer ican national life." Continuing on this subject he says: “The plain people who think—the mechanics, farmers, merchants, work ers with head or hand, the men to whom American traditions are dear, who love their country and try to act decently by their neighbors, owe it to themselves to remember that the most damaging blow that can be given pop ular government is to elect an un worthy and sinister agitator on a platform of violence and hypocrisy. Whenever such an issue is raised in this country nothing can be gained by flinching from it, for in such case dem ocracy is Itself on trial, popular self government under republican forms Is itself on trial. The triumph of the mob is Just as evil a thing as the tri umph of the plutocracy, and to have escaped one danger avails nothing whatever If we sucuumb to the other. In the end the honest man,whether rich or poor, who earns his own living and tries to deal Justly by his fellows, has as much to fear from the insincere and unworthy demagog, promising much and performing nothing, or else performing nothing but evil, who would set on the mob to plunder the rich, as from the crafty corruptionist, who, for his c^wn ends, would permit the common poople to be exploited by Lntt very wvaiinj. u wo over ivi inia government fail Into the hands of men of either of these two classes, we shall show ourselves false to America's past. Moreover, the demagog and corrup tionist often work hand In hand. There are at this moment wealthy reaction aries of such obtuse morality that they regard the public servant who prose cutes them when they violate the law. or who seeks to make them bear their proper share of the public burdens, as being even more objectionable than the violent agitator who hounds on the mob to plunder the rich. There la nothing to choose between such a re actionary and such an agitator; funda mentally they are alike in their selfish disregard of the rights of others: and it Is natural that they should Join In opposition to any movement of which the aim Is fearlessly to do exact and even Justice to all.*' Railroad Employees' Hours. He asks for the passing of the bill lim iting the number of hours of employment of railroad employes, and classes the measure as a very moderate one. He says the aim of all should be to steadily reduce the number of hours the callers who dully thronged to the candidate’s home. “Abe,’’ said Buchanan one day, “can’t you abolish the tolls, or give a special rate, for all these people? I want to encourage them to come— want ’em all to coma.” • Mr. Cassel promised to consult his directors, and a concession was granted. After election came the office seek ers, and the home of the president elect was compassed about like n be leagured camp. Meeting him, Bu chanan again entreated the road owner: _ of labor, with aa a goal the general In troduction of an eight-hour day, but in sists that on the Isthmus of Panama the conditions are so different from what they are here that the Introduction of an eignt-hour day on the canal would be absurd, and continues, “Just about as ab surd as It is, so far as the isthmus Is concerned, where white labor cannot be employed, to bother as to whether the work is done by alien black men or alien yellow men.” Invettigation of Disputes. He urges the enactment of a drastic child labor law for the District of Co lumbia and the territories, and a federal Investigation of the subject of child and female labor throughout the country. He reviews the work of the commission appointed to investigate labor conditions In the coal fields of Pennsylvania in 1902, and refers to the wish of the commission "that the state and federal governments should provide the machinery for what may be called the compulsory Investiga tion of controversies between employers and employes when they arise.” After referring to the fact that a bill has al ready been introduced to this end he says: "Many of these strikes and lockouts would not have occurred had the parties to the dispute been required to appear before an unprejudiced body representing the nation and, face to face, state the reasons for their contention. In most instances the dispute would doubtless be found to be due to a misunderstanding by each of the other’s rights, aggravated by an unwillingness of either party to ac cept as true the statements of the other as to the Justice or Injustice of the mat ters In dispute. The exercise of a Ju dicial spirit by a disinterested body representing the federal government, such as would be provided by a commis sion on conciliation and arbitration would tend to create an atmosphere of friendliness and conciliation between con tending parties; and the giving each side an equal opportunity to present fully its ease in the presence of the other would prevent many disputes from developing into serious strikes or lockouts, and in other cases, would enable the commis sion to persuade the opposing parties to come to terms. "In this age of great corporate and la bor combinations, neither employers nor employees should be left completely at the mercy of the stronger party to a dis pute, regardless of the righteousness of their respective claims. The proposed measure would be in the line of securing recognition of the fact that In many strikes the public has itself an interest which cannot wisely be disregarded; an Interest not merely of general conven ience, for the question of a Just and proper public policy must also be con sidered. In all legislation of this kind it is well to advance cautiously, testing each step by the actual results; the step proposed can surely be safely taken, for the decisions of the commission would not bind the parties in legal fashion, and yet would give a chance for public opin ion to exert its full force for the right.” Control of Corporations. A considerable portion of the message is devoted to the subject of federal con trol of corporations in what he refers to the passage at the last session of the rate, meat inspection and food laws, and says that all of these have already justi fied their enactment, but recommends the amendment of the meat inspection law so as to put dates on the labels of meat products, and also to place the cost of inspection on the packers rather than on the government. Continuing on this subject of the control of corporations by the federal government he says: “It cannot too often be repeated that ex perience has conclusively shown the im possibility of securing by the actions of nearly half a hundred different state legislatures anything but ineffective chaos in the way of dealing with the great corporations which do not operate exclusively within the limits of any one state. In some method, whether by a national license law or in other fashion, we must exercise, and that at an early date, a far more complete control than at present over these great corpora tions—a control that will among other things prevent the evils of excessive overcapitalization, and that will compel the disclosure* by each big corporation of its stockholders and of its properties and business whether owned cflrectly or thru subsidiary or affiliated corporations. This will tend to put a stop to the secur ing of inordinate profits by favored individuals at the expense whether of the general public, the stockholders, or the wageworkers. Our effort should be not so much to prevent consolidation as such, but so to supervise and control it as to see that it results in no harm to the people. The reactionary or ultracon ssrvative apologists for tne misuse of wealth assail the effort to secure such control as a step toward socialism. As a matter of fact It is these reactionaries and ultraconservatives who are them selves most potent in increasing socialis tic feeling. One of the most efficient methods of averting the consequences of a dangerous agitation, which Is 80 per cent, wrong, is to remedy the 20 per cent, of evil as to which the agitation is well founded. The best way to avert the very undesirable move for the governmental ownership of railways is to secure by the governmen, on behalf of the people as a whole such adequate control and regulation of the great interstate com mon carriers as will do away with the evils which give rise to the agitation avnlnst them. So the Droper antidote to the dangerous and wicked agitation against the men of wealth as such iB to secure by proper legislation and execu tive action the abolition of the grave abuses which actually do obtain In con nection with the business use of wealth under our present system—or rather no system—of failure to exercise any ade quate control at all. Some persons speak as If the exercise of such governmental control would do away with the freedom of Individual Initiative and dwarf indi vidual effort. This Is not a fact. It would be a veritable calamity to fail to put a premium upon Individual Initiative, Individual capacity, and effort; upon the energy, character and foresight which it Is so Important to encourage In the individual. But as a matter of fact the deadening and degrading effect of pure soclallam, and especially of Its extreme form communism, and the destruction of Individual character which they would bring about, are in part achieved by the wholly unregulated competition which results In a single Individual or corpor ation rising at the expense of all others until his or Its rise effectually checks all competition and reduces former competi tors to a position of utter Inferiority and subordination. "In enacting and enforcing such legis lation as this congress already has to Its credit, we are working on a coherent plan, with tho steady endeavor to secure the needed reform by the Joint action of the moderate men, the plain men who do not wish anything hysterical or dangerous, but who do intend to deal in resolute commonsense fashion with the real and great evils of the present system. The reactionaries and the vio lent extremists show symptoms of Join ing hands against us. Both assert, for Instance, that If logical, we should go to government ownership of railroads and the like; the reactionaries, because on such an issue they think the people would stand with them, while the ex tremists care rather to preach discontent and agitation than to achieve solid re sults. As a matter of fact, our position is as remote from that of the bourbon reactionary as from that of the Imprac ticable or sinister visionary. We hold that the government should not conduct the business of the nation, but that it should exercise such supervision as will Insure Its being conducted In the inter est of the nation. Our aim Is, so far as may be, to secure, for all decent, hard working men, equality of opportunity and equality of burden. Combinations Are Necessary. "The actual working of our laws has shown that the efTort to prohibit all com bination. good or bad, is noxious where it is not ineffective. Combination of capital like combination of labor is a necessary element of our present Indus trial system. It Is not possible completely to prevent it; and if it were possible, such complete prevention would do dam age to the body politic. What we need is not vainly to prevent all combination, but to secure such rigorous and adequate control and supervision of the combina tions as to prevent their injuring the public, or existing in such form as inev itably to threaten injury—for the mere fact that a combination has secured practically complete control of a neces sary of life would under any circum stances Bhow that such combination was to be presumed to be adverse to the pub lic Interest. It Is unfortunate that our present laws should forbid all combina tions. Instead of sharply discriminating between those combinations which do evil. Rebates, for instance, are as often 1 due to the pressure of bis shippers (as "Cassel," he said, “for heaven's sake keep ’em away! Can’t you build toll gatea clear up to the aky so they can’t climb orerT”—Saturday Evening Post Impure Part of Ice. The center of a cake of artificial ice la generally opaque, while the part first froaen—the outalde—is generally clear. Aa water freegea slowly, all the impurities are pushed away from the part first freeling. The central opaque part contains all the Impuri ties, even the bacteria which may be la the water. was shown In the investigation of the Standard Oil company and as has been shown since by the Investigation of the tobacco and sugar trusts) as to the initi ative of big railroads. Often railroads would like to combine for the purpose of preventing a big shipper from maintain ing improper advantages at the expense of small snippers and of the general pub lic. Such a combination, instead of being forbidden by law, should be favored. In other words, it should be permitted to railroads to make agreements, provided these agreements were sanctioned by the interstate commerce commission and were published. With these two condi tions complied with it Is impossible to see what harm such a combination could do to the public at large. It is a public evil to have on the statute books a law ir capable of full enforcement because both" Judges and Juries realise that its full enforcement would destroy the busi ness of the country; for the result Is-to make decent railroad men violators of the law against their will, and to put a premium on the behavior of the wilful wrongdoers. Such a result in turn tends to throw the decent man and the wilful wrongdoer into close association, and in the end to drag down the former to the latter's level: for the man who becomes a lawbreaker in one way unhappily tends to lose all respect for law and to be willing to break it In many ways. No more scathing condemnation could be visited upon a law than Is contained in the words of the Interstate commerce commission when. In commenting upon the fact that the numerous Joint traffic associations do technically violate the law, they say: "The decision of the United States supreme court In the Transmissieslppi case and the Joint Traffic association case has produced no practical effect upon the railway opera tions of the country. Such associations, in fact, exist now as they did before those decisions, and with the same gen eral effect. In justice to all parties, we ought probably to add that it is difficult to see how our interstate railways could be operated with due regard to the Inter est of the shipper and the railway without concerted action of the kind af forded thru these associations." This means that the law as construed by the supreme court is such that the business of the country cannot be con ducted without breaking it. I recommend that you give careful and early consider ation to this subject, and if you And the opinion of the Interstate commerce com mission JustiAed. that you amend the law so as to obviate the evil disclosed. Inheritance and Income Tax. It was expected that the president would refer ia some way to his belief in the necessity for the curbing of enor mous fortunes, and he has done so by recommending legislation for both in come and an Inheritance tax. He be lieves the government should impose a graduated inheritance tax. and, if possi ble, a graduated income tax. He says: “I am well aware that such a subject as this need3 long and careful study in order that the people may become famil iar with what is proposed to be done, may clearly see the necessity of proceed ing with wisdom and self-restraint, and may make up their minds just how far they are willing to go in the matter; while only trained legislators can work out the project in necessary detail. But I feel that in the near future our nation al legislators should enact a law provid ing for a graduated inheritance tax by whicli a steadily increasing rate of duty should be put upon all moneys or other valuables coming by gift, bequest, or devise to any individual or corporation. It may be well to make the tax heavy in proportion as the individual benefited is remote of kin. In any event, in nay judgment the pro rata of the tax should Increase very heavily with the increase of the amount left to any one individual after a certain point has been reached. It is most desirable to encourage thrift and ambition, and a potent source of thrift and ambition is the desire on the part of the breadwinner to leave his chil dren well off. This object can be attained by making the tax very small on moder ate amounts of property left; because the prime object should be to put a con stantly Increasing burden on the inher itance of those swollen fortunes which it is certainly of no benefit to this coun try to perpetuate. There can be no question of the eth ical propriety of the government thus de termining the conditions upon which any gift or inheritance should be received. Elxactly how far the inheritance tax would, as an Incident, have the effect of limiting the transmission by devise or gift of the enormous fortunes in question It is not necessary at present to discuss. It is wise that progress in this direction should be gradual. At first a permanent national inheritance tax, while it might be more substantial than any such tax has hitherto been, need not approximate, cither in amount or in the extent of the Increase by graduation, to what such a tax should ultimately be. Inheritance Tax Constitutional. ‘‘This species of tax has again and again been Imposed, altho only temporarily, by the national government. It was first imposed by the act of July 6. 1797, when the makers of the Constitution were alive and at the head of affairs. It was a graduated tax: tho small in amount, the rate was increased with the amount left to any Individual, exceptions being made in the case of certain close kin. A similar tax was again imposed by the act of July 1, 1S62; a minimum sum of U,000 in personal property being excepted from taxation, the tax then becoming progressive according to the remoteness of kin. The war-revenue act of June 13. 1898, provided for an inheritance tax on any sum exceeding the value of $10,000, the rate of tax Increasing both In accord ance with the amounts left and in ac cordance with the legatee’s remoteness of kin. The supreme court has held that the succession tax imposed at the time of the civil war was not a direct tax but an Impose of excise which was both con stitutional and valid. More recently the court, In an opinion delivered by Mr. Justice White, which contained an ex ceedingly able and elaborate discussion of the powers of the congress to Impose death duties, sustained the constitution ality of the inheritance tax feature of the war-revenue act of 1898. Is Income Tax Constitutional? "In its incidents, and apart from the main purpose of raising revenue, an income tax stands on an entirely differ ent footing from an Inheritance tax, be cause it Involves no question of the per petuation of fortunes swollen to an un healthy sixe. The question is In Its essence a question of the proper adjust ment of burdenB to benefits. As the law now stands it is undoubtedly diffi cult to devise a national Income tax which shall be constitutional. But whether It Is absolutely impossible Is an other question; and if possible It Is most certainly desirable. The first purely in come tax law was past by the congress in 1861, but the most Important law deal ing with the subject was that of 1894. This the court held to be unconstitu tional. . "The question is undoubtedly very in tricate, delicate: and troublesome. The decision of the court was only reached by one majority. It is the law of the land, and, of course, is excepted as such and loyally obeyed by all good clttxens. Nevertheless, the hesitation evidently felt by the court as a whole in coming to a conclusion, when considered to gether with the previous decisions on the subject, may perhaps Indicate the possibility of devising a constitutional income-tax law which shall substan tially acccompllsh the results aimed at. The difficulty of amending the con stitution Is so great that only real ne cessity can Justify a resort thereto. Every effort should be made In dealing with this subject as with the subject of the proper control by the national government over the use of corporate wealth In Interstate business, to devise legislation which without such action shall attain the desired end; but Jf this fails, there will ultimately be no al ternative to a constitutional amend ment" , „ ^ . . , He makes a strong plea for technical and industrial education for the masses, and while the federal government can do but little in this line, he asks that schools of this character be established in the District of Columbia as an ex ample to the various states. Agricultural Interests. He appeals for every encouragement that the congress can give to the agri cultural interests of the country. He points to the good that Is being done by the various forms of grange organisa tions. and says: "Several factors must cooperate in the improvement of the farmer's condition. He must have the chance to be educated In the widest possible sense—in the sense which keeps ever in view the Intimate DIG UP SKULL OF AN AUROCHS. Bones of Progenitor of Buffalo Found Benoafh Bod of Missouri River. Pierre, S. D.—At a depth of more than 20 feet the workers in caisson No. 1. on the new bridge, found a number of hones and an immense skull of a buffalo. The skull was per fect, but the outside horn had disap peared, leaving It to measure 34 inches from stub to stub of the inside horn formation. The find was In a bed of gravel and relationship between the theory of edu cation and the facts of life. In all education we should widen our aims. It is a good thing to produce a certain num ber of trained scholars and students'; but the education superintended by the state must seek rather to produce a hun dred good citizens than merely one scholar, and it must be turned now and then from the class book to the study of the great book of nature itself. This Is especially true of the farmer, as has been pointed out again and again by all observers most competent to pass prac tical judgment on the problems of our country life. All students now realize that education must seek to train the executive powers of young people and to confer more real significance upon the phrase “dignity of labor," and to pre pare the pupils so that In addition to each developing in the highest degree hie individual capacity for work, they may together help create a right public opinion, and show in many ways social and cooperative spirit. Organization has become necessary In the business world and it has accomplished much for good in the world of labor. It is no less neces sary for farmers. Such a movement as the grange movement is good in itself and is capable of a well-nigh infinite fur ther extension for good so long as It is kept to Its own legitimate business. The benefits to be derived by the association of farmers for mutual advantage are partly economic and partly sociological. "Moreover, while in the long run volun tary effort will prove more efficacious than government assistance, while the farmers must primarily do most for themselves, yet the government can also do much. The department of agriculture has broken new ground in many direc tions, and year by year it finds how it can improve its methods and develop fresh usefulness. Its constant effort is to give the governmental assistance in the most effective way; that Is, thru as sociations of farmers rather than to or thru Individual farmers. It is also striv ing to coordinate its work with the agri cultural departments of the several states, and so far as its own work is educational, to coordinate it with the work of other educational authorities. Agricultural education is necessarily based upon general education, but our agricultural educational institutions are wisely specializing themselves, making their course relate to the actual teaching of the agricultural and kindred sciences to young country people or young city people who wish to live in the country. "Great progress has already been made among farmers by the creation of farmers’ institutes, of dairy associa tions, of breeders’ associations, horti cultural associations, and the like. A striking example of how the govern ment and the farmers can cooperate is shown in connection with the menace offered to the cotton growers of the southern states by the advance of the boll weevil. The department is doing all it can to organize the farmers in the threatened districts, just as it has been doing all it can to organize them In aid of its work to eradicate the cat tle fever tick in the south. The depart ment can and will cooperate with all such associations, and it must have their help if its own work is to be done in the most efficient style." He urges the extension of the irriga tion and forest preservation system, and asks for an appropriation for building a memorial theater at Arlington. Marriage and Divorce. as a means ot bringing about national regulation of marriage and divorce he suggests a constitutional amendment, and says it is not safe to leave these ques tions to be dealt with by the various states. Continuing on this subject he say s: When home ties are loosened; when men and women cease to regard a worthy family life, with all its duties fully performed, and all its responsi bilities lived up to. as the life best worth living; then evil days for the commonwealth are at hand. There are regions in our land, and classes of our population, where the birth rate has sunk below the death rate. Surely it should need no demonstration to show that wilful sterility is. from the standpoint of the nation, from me standpoint of the human race, the one sin for which the penalty Is national death, race death; a sin for which there is no atonement; a sin which is the more dreadful exactly in propor tion as the men and women guilty thereof are in other respects. In char acter. and bodily and mental powers, those whom for the sake of the state it would be well to see the fathers and mothers of many healthy children, well brought up In homes made happy by their presence. No man. no woman, can shirk the primary duties of life, whether for love of ease and pleasure, or for any other cause, and retain his or her self-respect. The president asks for the enactment into law of a shipping hill that will place American interests on the seas on a par with those of other countries, and urges especially that something be done that will establish direct steamship commu nication with South American ports. Currency Reform. Amendments to the present currency laws are asked for, and after showing that present laws are inadequate because of the wide fluctuation of interest charges, he says: "The mere statement of these facts shows that our present system is seri ously defective. There is need of a change. Unfortunately, however, many of the proposed changes must be ruled from consideration because they are complicated, are not easy of compre hension. and tend to disturb existing rights and interests. We must also rule out any plan which would ma terially impair the value of the United States two per cent, bonds now pledged to secure circulation, the issue of which was made under conditions pe culiarly creditable to the treasury. I do not press any special plan. Various plans have recently been proposed by expert committees of bankers. Among the plans which are possibly feasible and which certainly should receive vour consideration Is that repeatedly brought to your attention by the pres ent secretary of the treasury, the es sential features of which have been approved by many prominent bankers ' and business men. According to this plan national banks should be per mitted to issue a specified proportion of their capital in notes of a given kind, the issue to be taxed at so high a rate as to drive the notes back when not wanted in legitimate trade. This plan would not permit the issue of currency to give banks additional profits, but to meet the emergency pre sented by times of stringency. Need of Automatic System. "I do not say that this is the right system. I only advance it to empha size my belief that there is need for fhe adoption of some system which shall be automatic and open to all sound banks, so as to avoid all pos sibility of discrimination and favorit ism. Such a plan would tend to pre vent the spasms of high money and speculation which now obtain in the New York market; for .at present there is too much currency at certain seasons of the year, and its accumu lation at New York tempts bankers to lend it at low rates for speculative purposes; whereas at other times when the crops are blng moved there is urgent need for a large but temporary Increase in the currency supply. It must never be forgotten that this question concerns business men gen erally quite as much as bankers; es pecially is this true of stockmen, farmers and business men in the west; for at present at certain seasons of the year the difference in interest rates between the east and the west is from six to ten per cent., whereas in Canada the corresponding difference is out iwo per win. Any plan must, oi course, guard the interests of west ern and southern bankers as carefully as it guards the interests of New York or Chicago bankers; and must be drawn from the standpoints of the farmer and the merchant no less than from the standpoints of the city banker and the country banker. The law should be amended so as to specifically to provide that the funds de rived from customs duties may be treat ed by the secretary of the treasury as he treats funds obtained under the In ternal revenue laws. There should be a considerable increase In bills of small denominations. Permission should be given banks, if necessary under settled restrictions, to retire their circulation to a larger amount than (3,000,000 a month.” He again asks for free trade with this country for the Philippines and in the same connection reviews the work done by this country in the islands, and says "if we have erred in the Philippines it has been in oroceeding too rapidly in bowlders, and the bones moat bare lain there for years, as the river bank baa long extended far out beyond where the sinking Is going on. In years gone by the channel of the stream was probably at that point, and the bones were swept to the bot tom with the gravel and stones, re maining there to be covered by the accretion with a change in the chan nel. The skull la a peculiar one, showing a dome between the boras, while tbe average buffalo skull Is almost straight. Tbe specimen has been plaesd on the direction of granting a large meas ure of self-government.” American citizenship should be con ferred on the citizens of Porto Rico. The harbor of San Juan in Porto Rico should be dredged and improved. The expenses of the federal court of Porto Rico should be met from the federal treasury. The administration of the af fairs of Porto Rico, together with those of the Philippines, Hawaii and our other insular possessions, should all be direct ed under one executive department; by preference the department of state or the department of war. Naturalization of Japs. President Roosevelt scores San Fran cisco and other Pacific coast cities for their treatment of the Japanese, and makes the following recommendations: Our nation fronts on the Pacific, Just as It fronts on the Atlantic. We hope to play a constantly growing part in the great ocean of the orient. Wc wish, as we ought to wish, for a great commercial development in our deal ings with Asia: and it is out of the question that we should permanently have such development unless we free ly and gladly extend to other nations the same measure of Justice and good treatment which we expect to receive in return. It is only a very small body of our citizens that act badly. Where the federal government has power it will deal summarily with any such. Where the several states have power I earnestly ask that they also deal wisely and promptly with such con duct. or else this small body of wrong doers may bring shame upon the great mass of their Innocent and right thinking fellows—that is. upon our nation as a whole. Good manners should be an International no less than an individual attribute. I ask fair treatment for the Japanese as I would ask fair treatment for Germans or Englishmen, Frenchmen, Russians oi Italians. I ask it as due to humanity and civilization. I ask it as due to ourselves because we must act up rightly toward all men. “I recommend to the congress that an act be passed specifically provdlng for the naturalization of Japanese who come here intending to become American cit izens. One of the great embarrassments attending the performance of our in ternational obligations is the fact that the statutes of the United States gov ernment are entirely inadequate. They fail to give to the national government sufficiently ample power, through United States courts and by the use of the army and navy, to protect aliens in the rights secured to them under solemn treaties which are the law of the land. I therefore earnestly recommend that the criminal and civil statutes of the United States be so amended and added to as to enable the president, acting for the United States government, which Is responsible in our international rela tions, to enforce the rights of aliens un der treaties. Even as the law now Is Muiiit'uiifipi can uc uuiic uy me xeueiiii government toward this end, and In the matter now before me affecting the Jap anese, everything that it is in my power to do will be done, and all -of the forces, military and eivtf, of the United States which I may lawfully employ will be so employed. There should, however, be no particle of doubt as to the power of the national government completely to perform and enforce its own obligations to other nations. The mob of a single city may at any time perform acts of lawless violence against some class of foreigners which would plunge us into war. The city by Itself would be power less to make defense against the for eign power thus assaulted, and if inde pendent of this government it would never venture to perform or permit the performance of the acts complained of. The entire power and the whole duty to protect the offending city or the offend ing community lies in the hands of the United States government. It is un thinkable that we should continue a pol icy under which a given locality may be allowed to commit a crime against a friendly nation, and the United States government limited, not to preventing the commission of the crime, but. in the last resort, to defending the people who have committed it against the conse quences of their own wrongdoing." Cuban Intervention. The rebellion in Cuba and the inci dents leading up to the establishment of the provisional government is reviewed, and the president says: “When the election has been held and the new government inaugurated in peaceful and orderly fashion of the provi sional government will come to an end. I take this opportunity of expressing upon behalf of the American people, with all possible solemnity, our most earnest hope that the people of Cuba will realize the imperative need of pre serving justice and keeping order In the island. The United States wishes noth ing of Cuba except that it shall prosper morally and materially, and wishes noth ing of the Cubans save that they shall be able to preserve order among them selves and therefore to preserve their independence. If the elections become a farce, and if the insurrectionary habit becomes confirmed In the island, it Is ab JJUiuicij Util. in me i|urniiuii inai, mu island should continue independent; and the United States, which has assumed the sponsorship before the civilized world for Cuba’s career as a nation, would again have to intervene and to see that the government was managed in such orderly fashion as to secure the safety of life and property. The path to be trodden by those who exercise self-gov ernment is always hard, and we should have every charity and patience with the Cubans as they tread this difficult parth. I have the utmost sympathy with, and regard for. them; but I most earnestly adjure them solemnly to weigh their re sponsibilities and to see that when their new government is started it shall run smoothly, and with freedom from fla grant denial of right on the one hand, and from insurrectionary disturbances on the other." Considerable space is devoted to the International conference of American re publics and the visit of Secretary Root to South America, and points to the fact that our efforts in behalf of the nations of that country are appreciated by them. On the subject of the Panama canal he promises a special message in the near future. The Army and Navy. The message closes with a plea for the maintenance of the navy at its pres ent standard, to do which he says would mean the building of one battleship each year. Of the present efficiency of the army and navy he says: "The readiness and efficiency of both the army and navy in dealing with the re cent sudden crisis in Cuba illustrates afresh their value to the nation. This readiness and efficiency would have been very much less had It not been for the existence of the general staff in the army and the general board in the navy; both are essential to the proper development and use of our military forces afloat and ashore. The troops that were sent to Cuba were handled flawlessly. It was the swiftest mobilization and dispatch of troops over sea ever accomplished by our government. The expedition landed completely equipped and ready for im mediate service, several of its organisa tions hardly remaining in Havana over night before splitting up into detach ments and going to their several posts. It was a fine demonstration of the valor and efficiency of the general staff. Sim ilarly, it was owing in large part to the general board that the navy was able at the outset to meet the Cuban crisis with such Instant efficiency; ship after ship appearing on the shortest notice at any threatened point, while the marine corps in particular performed indispens able service. The army and navy war colleges are of Incalculable value to the two services, and they cooperate with constantly increasing efficiency and im portance. “The congress has most wisely provided for a national board for the promotion of rifle practise. Excellent results have already come from this law, but it does not go far enough. Our regular army is so small that in any great war we should have to trust mainly to vol unteers; and in such event these volun teers should already know how to shoot; for if a soldier has the fighting edge, and ability to take care of himself in the open, his efficiency on the line of battle is almost directly proportionate to excellence In marksmanship. We should establish shooting galleries In all the large public and military schools, should maintain national target ranges In differ ent parts of the country, and should In every way encourage the formation of rifle clubs thruout all parts of the land. The little republic of Switzerland offers us an excellent example In all matters connected with building up an efficient Citi”“ ““THEODORE ROOSEVELT." exhibition where it is attracting a great deal of attention. It is claimed by some that, on account of its size and shape, It is a skull of an aurochs, a larger animal and a progenitor of the buffalo, instead of the buffalo itself, in which case it has been burled in the satnds of the Missouri for many hundreds of years. Easy. Little Karl (explaining the use of the telephone)—See, uncle, it is very simple. You put the receiver to your ear with one hand, and with the other you say what you want to. FOR THE HOME MAKER. Right Way to Live Comfortably on Limited Income. The increased cost of living all over this country, especially in the large cities, has not been accompanied by a similar rise in the income for most wage earners, and the already busy housemother finds additional responsi bility in contriving to make ends meet. How to live comfortably, lay by a little against the day of need, and at the same time live honestly in the sight of all men to one's own con science, is a problem that it takes brains to solve. In the majority of homes—praise be!—the husband is still, by the laws of nature, therefore divine appointment, wage earner; but upon the woman rests the equal or greater responsibility of making the bjst possible use of the funds handed over to her for disbursement. With the same amount of money to draw upon, one woman who is a good man ager may evolve a comfortable, homey home for her family, while another, without taking proper thought for her part of the housekeeping preposition, has everything running at "sixes and sevens.” in managing well on a limited in come there are several "don’ts” worth memorizing: Don’t go in debt; never spend a dol lar until you have it in hand. Don’t waste; it is the little leaks that count more than the big outlays. Don’t pattern your living after some one whose income is twice yours. They don’t pay your bills. Don’t be afraid of “what the neigh bors will say.” Be sure you are right, then go ahead. Don’t lose sight of the true propor tion of things. Good food values there must be; ditto warm clothing, com fortable bedding, tools to work with; but never mind the silks and satins that oft “put out the kitchen fire” nor indulge “In ruffles when wanting a skirt.” Don’t think if you are a young housekeeper that you mus'. begin where your mother left off. Don’t shirk. “When industry goes out of the door, poverty comes in at the window.” CARE IN BOILING RICE. Things to Remember if You Would Get the Best Results. Never set rice to cook in cold water, or you wiil have a thick, mushy dish, most unpleasant to the sight and equally so to the taste. Always use boiling water. Boil rap idly from the time you cover the pot until you take it off. Constant motion of water, allowing each grain to swell to three times its size, prevents stick ing together. Do not stir from the moment it be gins to boil, for it will be noticed that when first rice is put into the water, the water will cease boiling until the rice is heated. Stir occasionally dur ing this period to keep front sinking to the bottom and burning, but do not touch with a spoon, fork or anything once it has commenced boiling. Follow implicitly the directions about setting in oven and allowing rice "to sweat,” as the old Creoles say. You will then have a dish that is not only very beautiful and tempting to the sight, but most delectable to the taste. Plants in Living Room. In the living room the air is gen eraliy very dry, because we keep it at such a high temperature that mois ture is burned out of it. Plants will not do well in a dry air. Those who love plants and desire to grow them will therefore try to counteract the evil effect of dry air by taking steps to impart a necessary degree of mois Jure to it. They will shower their plants. They will keep water evap orating constantly on stove or regis tetr. Plants like fresh air, and fail to flourish in rooms where the proper proportion of oxygen is not found. The plant owner will arrange for ven tilation, and the admission of as much pure air as her pets need. By work ing all along this line she will have her efforts crowned with success, while those who do not study their plants and their needs and trj to make unfavorable condition; favora ble will fail with them.—From the Winter Window Garden, in the Home Magazine. Preserved Tomatoeii. '. Pour boiling water over firm, ripe tomatoes, then slip off the skins. To every pound of the tomatoes allow a pound granulated sugar. Pack the tomatoes in layers with the sugar and let stand over night. In the morning drain off the sirup and boil, skimming frequently. Add the tomatoes to the sirup and simmer 20 minutes. Take up, spread on platters and set in the sunshine while the sirup is allowed to boil down thick. Shortly before reach ing the consistency required, add lem on Juice to the sirup in the proportion of a half cup to every sevea pounds sugar. Pack the tomatoes carefully in Jars, taking care not to break them, cover with the boiling sirup and seal. Cutting a Fern. Boston ferns that have Brown so large and luxuriant as to permit divid lng into smaller plants may have cut tings taken away from the roots with out damage to the plant, if carefully done. If transplanted to the right soil and kept under proper conditions the cutting should root well and devel op into a healthy plant. A fern does not need hot: and in cessant sunshine. Two of ihe finest Boston ferns known to the writer spend the entire winter In windows where scarcely a sunbeam falls, though there is plenty of light. A little sun, however, does them no barm and a moist atmosphere is es sential. Creamed Oysters. Cook a quart of oysters in their own liquor until plump. Drain, strain ithe liquor and add enough milk to (make three cups. Btir together six tablsspoonfuls buttsr and tan table spoonfuls flour, and stir gradually into the hot liquid. Season with a tea spoonful of salt, a saltspoonful pep per and celery salt to taste. Add the 'oysters and as soon ns heated pour ion slices of toast