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About The Falls City tribune. (Falls City, Neb.) 1904-191? | View Entire Issue (Dec. 9, 1910)
REMO Bf Affairs of State Are Dealt With at Length in Annual Message. BUT LITTLE ABOUT TARIFF ! _______ President Discusses Work of Tariff Board—Ship Sub* sidy Is Urged. I - | ■WORK ON PANAMA CANAL i ______ Need of Legislation Anticipating Com pletion of the Ditch Is Pointed Out—Change In Postal Rates— Parcels Post and Postal Savings—Economy Urged. Washington, Dec. C President Taft’s huiiuhI message to congress contained 40,000 words, and is said to be the longest document of lln kind ever written. In it he reviews the work of each of the administrative departments beginning with the state department. He devotes comdderable 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 establishment of the tribunal. la connection with the state depart ment he tells of the Important poli tical happenings of the past twelve months throughout the entire world, and the action of this country In oon aectlou with them. Tariff Negotiations. Referring to the negotlatlou of new tariff agraeassnta President Taft my “Tha now tariff law, la 8actlon S, respecting tha maximum and mini mum tariffs of tha United States, which provisions came Into effect on April 1, 1910, Imposed upon ua re sponsibility of determining prior to that date whether any undue discrim ination axlated against the United States and its products In any coun try of the world with which we bus talned commercial relations “In the rase of several countries in stances of apparent undue discrimina tion against American commerce were found to exist These discriminations were removed by negotiation. Prior to April I, 1910, when the maximum tariff was to come into operation with respect to Importations from all those (ounirica In whos - favor no proclama tion applying the r.'lniniutn tariff •ho ’<1 be If ed It the president, one hum' id and thirty four s..ch procla mations were issue i. ■’T! ic series of proclamations cm hrn< t d the entire ommercia! world nrd It n ( • lie mint:.urn tariff of the 1 r.lt( d Slates Iih« be n given unlver fr! ■ • 'cation. th;t < unifying to tho tat'-' 'itcry e'en ter of our trade n . is tint ion- a countries “Mi “• »•<! advar *e to tee com rer . . ' the t tried States were ob ’ l tough these tariff settle t " der and cloaer 1 1 ' • e Pomlulon of '•lint to ad '- 'cp m and mint* mi t.i pi. i. tie tariff act of Argi t. linn. It. proved nitit'.mily benci clal it Ji.su’ies further efforts for t < r* adjustment of the commer cial relations of the two countries so that t! eir commerce may fellow the channels natural to contiguous cottn trie: and be commensurate with the steady expansion of trade and indua try on both sides of the boundary line " snip Subsidy. The presidt nt urges such action as he believes will increase American trade abroad, and says. “Another instrumentality indispen sable to the unhamapered and natural development of American commerce Is merchant marine. All maritime and commercial nations recognize the Im portance of this factor The greatest commercial nations, our competitors, Jsalo isly foster their merchant mu rlne Perhaps nowhere is the need for rapid and direct mall, passenger and freight communication quite so urgent as between the United States end Latin America. We can secure in no other quarter of the world such Immediate benefits in friendship and commerce as would flow from the es tablishment of direct lines of com munlcatlon with the countries of Latin America adequate to meet the requirements of a rapidly increasing appreciation of the reciprocal depen dence of the countries of the western hemisphere upon each other's prod ucts, sympathies and assistance. "I alluded to this most important subject In my last annual message; it has often been before you and I need not rechpltulate the reasons for its recommendation. Unless prompt ac tion be taken the completion of the Panama canal will find tl Is the onlv great commercial nation unab'e to avail in International maritime busi ness of this great contribution t- the means of the world’s commercial in tercourse." Governmental Expense. To no one subject does he devote more space than to the expense of conducting the various government departments and the urgent need for economy, and In this connection he says: "Every effort has heen 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 thus made present the smallest sum which will maintain the depart ments. bureaus and ofllees of the gov eminent and meet Its other obllga dons under existing law. and that a cut of these estimates would result In embarrassing the executive branch of the government In the performance of Its duties This remark does not ■ PPly to the river and harbor esti mates, except to those for expenses of maintenance and the meeting of obli gations under authorised contracts, nor does It apply to the public build ing bill nor to the navy building pro gram Of courae, aa to these con gress could withhold any part or all of the estimates for them without In terfering with the discharge of the or dinary obligations of these functions of Its departments, bureaus and of flees "The Anal 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 $030,494,013.12 This is $52.964,887.36 less than the ap propriations for the fiscal year end ing June 30, 1911. It Is $16,883,163 44 less than the total estimates, Includ lug supplemental estimates submitted to congress by the treasury for the year 1911. and is $5,674,659.39 less than the original estimates submitted by the treasury for 1911. "These flugres do not Include the appropriations for the Panama canal, the policy In reapect to which ought to be, and la, to spend as much each year as can be economically and ef fectively expended In order to com plate the canal aa promptly as possl ble, and therefore, the ordinary mo tive for cutting down the expense of the government does not apply to ap propriations *or this purpose. AgBiuai me numMM or expendi tures. $640,4*4,011 II, we hare estimat ed receipts for next year $680,000,000. making a probable surplus of ordinary receipts over ordinary expenditures of about $60,000,000. or taking Into ac count the estimates for the Panama canal which are $66.*20.847 6*. and which will ultimately be paid In bonds, it will leave a 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 he a tariff for thw protection of home Industries, the measure of the protection to he the difference be tween-the cost <i( producing the im ported article r-broad and the cost of producing it at home, together with such addition to that difference as might give a tea.-,enable profit lo tin home producer. The basis for the criticism of this tariff is that In re spent to ti number of the schedules the declared ncj-ure was not follow ed. hut a higher difference retained or Inserted by way of undue dlserlmina lion in favor of cm tain industries and manuiactures. Little, If any, of tb< criticism of the ta iff lias been direct ed against the protective principlt above stated: but the main body oi the criticism has been hased on the attempt to conform to the measure of protection was not honestly and sin Purely adhered to." The Tariff Board. The president refers to the appoint Kftrnt of n board of experts to invest! gate the cost of production of various articles included In the schedules of the tariff, and says: "The tariff board thus appointed and authorized has been diligent in preparing itself for the necessary In vestigatlons. The hope of those who have 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 shock to busi ness, due to the announcement that a new tariff bill is to be prepared and put In operation will be avoided by treating the schedules one by one as occasion shall arise for a change tn the rates of each, and only after a re port upon the schedule by the tariff board competent to make such report. It Is not likely that the board will be able to make a report during the pres ent session of congress on any of the schedules, because a proper examina tion Involves an enormous amount of detail and a great deal of care; but I hope to be able at the opening of the new corgresB, or at least during the session of that congress, to bring to Its attention the facts In regard to those schedules in the present tariff that m- prove to need amendment.” Our Island Possessions. •'Dur !'j the last summer, at my request, e secretary of war visited the Philippine Islands and *--is de scribed his trip In the report. He found the islands in a state of tran quillity and growing prosperity, dun 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 factures. "The year has been one of prosper ity and progress in Porto Uico. Panama Canal. "At the instance of Colonel Goeth als, the army engineer officer in 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 roost satisfactory, if no unexpected obstacle presents Itself, the canal I will be completed well within the time fixed by Colonel Goethals, to wlt, January 1, 1916, and within the estimate of cost, $375,000,000. "Among questions arising for pres ent solution is the decision whether the canal shall be fortified. 1 have already stated to the congress that I strongly favor fortification and 1 now reiterate this opinion and ask your consideration 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. This question Is necessarily affected by the probable tonnage which will go through the canal. "In determining what the tolls should he we certainly ought not to insist that for a good many years to come they should amount to enough to pay the Interest on the Invest ment of $100,000,000 which the United States has made in the construction of the canal. VVe ought not to do this, first, because the benefits to be derived by the United Stales fron this expenditure is not to be meas ured solely by a return upon the in vestment. If It were then the con struction might well have been leti to private enterprise. My own Impression is that tin tolls ought not to exceed $1 per ne ton, and I should recommend tha within certain limits the president b authorized to fix the tolls of the cana and adjust them to what aeema U be commercial necessity. '1 cannot close this reference to the canal without suggesting a* a wise amendment to tbo Interstate commerce law a provision prohibiting Interstate commerce railroads from owning or controlling ship# engaged In the trade through the Panama canal. I believe suah a provision may be needed to save to the people of the United States the benefits of the competition In trade between the eastern and western seaboards which thin canal was constructed to secure.” Department ef Justice. Discussing the affaire of the de partment of Justice, the president says: "1 Invite especial attention to the prosecutions under the federal law of the so-called 'bucket shops,' and of those schemes to defraud In which the use of the mall Is an essential part of the fraudulent conspiracy, prosecutions which have saved Ig norant and weak members of the pub 11c and are saving them hundreds of millions of dollars. The violations ot the anti trust, law present perhaps the most Important litigation before the department, and the number of cas'’s 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 ptoviding for the in corporation of industrial and other companies engage I in Interstate com merce. and I renew my recommen dation in that behalf." Thp 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 evils is urged The president recommends an in crease in the salaries of federal judges. Postal Savings Banks. "At Its last session congress made p revision for the establishment of savings banks by the postoffice de partment of this government by which under general control of trustees, con slating of the postmaster general, the secretary of the treasury and the at torney genera), the system could be begun In a few cities and towns, and , enlarged to cover within Its opera i tions as many cities and towns and as large a part of the country as seemed wise. The initiation and establish i ment of such a system has required a | great deal of study on the part of I the experts in the postoffice and treas ury departments, but a system has ] now been devised which is believed to be more economical and simpler in Its operation than any similar system abroad. Arrangements have been per fected so that savings banks will he opened In some cities and townB on the 1st of January, and there will be a gradual extension of the bejieflta of the plan to the rest of the country." "It la 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.” Second-Class Mall. "In my last annual message I In vited the attention of congress to the Inadequacy of the postal rate Imposed upon second-class mall matter In so ; far as that Includes magazines, and showed by figures prepared by experts of the postoffice department that the government was rendering a service I ' I to the magazine:- costing many mil lions in excess of the compensation laid. An answer was attempted to this by the representatives of the magazine s, and a reply was filed to this answer by the postofllce depart ment. The utter inadequacy of the answer, considered in the light of the reply of the postofllce department, 1 think must must appeal to any fair minded person. Whether the answer was all that could be said in bthalf of the magazines Is another question. I agree that the question is one of fact; but I insist that if the fact is as the experts of the postofllce 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 and in reducing the cost of flrst class postage to one cent. It has been said by the postmaster general that a fair adjustment might be made under which the advertising part of the magazine should he charged for at a different and higher rate from that of the reading matter. This would re lieve many useful magazines that are not circulated at a profit, and would not shut then* out from the use of the malls by a prohibitory rate. "With respect to the parcels post, I respectfully recommend its adoption on all rural delivery routes, and that 11 pounds—tlm intornatlon *1 limit—be made the 11mIt of carriage In such post.” Abolish Navy Yards. The president calls attention to cer tain reforms urged by the secretary of the navy which he recommends for adoption, and continues: “The estimates of the navy depart ment are $5,000,000 less than the ap proprlallons for the same purpose last year, and included in this is the build ing program of the same amount as that submitted for your consideration last year. It Is merely carrying out the plan of building two battleships a year, with a few needed auxiliary ves sels. 1 earnestly hope that this pro gram will be adopted. "The secretary of the navy has given personal examination to every navy yard, and has studied the uses of the navy yards with reference to the necessities of our fleet. With a fleet considerably leas than half the ■Iso of that of the British navy, wo havo shipyards more than doublo the number, and there are several of those shipyards expensively equipped with modern machinery, which, after Inves tigation the secretary of the navy be lieves to be entirely useless for naval purposes He asks authority to aban don certain of them and to nseve their machinery to other places, whore II can bo made of use." "The complete success ef our coun try In arctic exploration should not re main unnoticed. The unparalleled achievement of Peary In reaching the north pole, April 6, 1909, approved by critical examination of the most ex pert scientists, has added to the die Unction of our navy, to which he be longs, and reflects credit upon his country. I recommend fitting recognl tion by congress of the great achieve ment of Robert Kdwln Peary." Conservation. "The subject of the conservation of the public domain has commanded the attention of the people within the last two or three years. “There is no need for radical re form in the methods of disposing of what are really agricultural lands. The present laws have worked well. The enlarged homestead law has encour aged the successtul farming of lands In the veml-arld regions. "Mjthlug can be more important In the matter of conservation than the treatment of our forest lands. It was probably the ruthless destruction of forests in the older states that first, called attention to the necessity lor a halt in the waste of our resources "In the present forest reserves there are lands which are not properly for est, and which ought to be subject to homestead entry. This has caused some local Irritation. We are care fully eliminating such lands from for est reserves or where their elimina tion Is not practical listing them for entry under the forest homestead act. "Congress ought to trust the execu- i Live to use the power of reservation j only with respect to land most valu- , able for forest purposes. During the present administration. 62,250,000 \ acres of land largely non-timbered, j have been excluded from forest re- ' serves, and 3,500,000 acres of land principally valued for forest purposes have been Included In forest reserves, making a reduction in forest reserves of non-timbered land amounting to 2,750,000 acres." Coat Lands. "The next subject, and one most Im portant for your consideration, is tbe disposition of the coal lands in the United States and Alaska. At the be ginning of this administration there were withdrawn from entry for pur poses of classification 17,8(7,000 acres. Since that time there have been with drawn by my order from entry for classification 78,977,745 acres, making a total withdrawal of 96,844,746 acres Meantime of the acres thus with drawn 1,061,889 have been classified and found not to contain coal and1 have been restored to agricultural en try, and 4,726,091 acres have been classified as coal lands; while 7,993,239 acres remain withdrawn from entry and await classification. In addition 337,000 acres have been classified as coal lands without prior withdrawal, thus Increasing the classified coal lands to 10,429,372 acres. “Under the laws providing for the disposal of coal lands In the United States, the minimum price at which '• nd‘ r.-e permitted to be sold Is $10 u.u ucio, but the abcretary of the in cr.ur u tae power to fix a maximum price and to sell at that price “As one-third ot all the coal supply Is hc-id by the government, it seems wise that it should retain such con ioi over the mining and the sale as the relation of lessor to lessee fur nishes. "The secretary of the interior thinks there are difficulties in ihe way of • ■asing public coal lands, which ob jections he has bet forth in his re port, the loree of which 1 freely con cede. i tmireiy approve his stating at length in his report of the objec tions in order that the whole subject may be presented to congress, but alter a full consideration, for the rea sons 1 have given above, I favor a leasing system and recommend it" Water Power Sites. “Prior to March 4, 1909, there had been, on the recommendation of the reclamation service, withdrawn from agricultural entry, because they were regarded as uselul for power sites which ought not to be disposed of as agricultural lands, tracts amounting to about 4,00u,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 6ites; and meantime, new withdrawals have been made which, with other restorations based upon held examination, result in withdraw als at present effective of 1,218,356 acres on vacant public land and 2u2, 197 acres on entered public land, or a total of 1,420,553 acres. These with drawals made from time to time cover all the power sites included in the first withdrawals and many more, on 151 rivers and in 12 states. The dis position of these power sites 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 haB been thought that there was danger of combination to obtain possession of all the power ■Ites 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 «r at will within certain sections. "However this may be, It is the plain duty of the government to see te It that In the utilisation and devel opment of all this Immense amount of water power, conditions shall be Imposed that will prevent extortion mte chargee, which are the usual ao companlment of monopoly. "Tho question of conservation Is not s partisan one, and 1 sincerely hope thst even In the short time of the present session consideration may be given to those questions which hnve now been much discussed, and that action may be taken npon them." Alaska. “With reference 10 the government of Alaska, 1 have nothing to add to the recommendations I made In my last 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, make it altogether impracticable to give to those people who are In Alaska 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 llttie permanent.” pensions. "The uniform policy of the govern ment in the matter of granting pen sions to those gallant and devoted men who lought to save the life of | the nation In the perilous days of the; great civil war, has always been of! the most liberal character. Those1 men are now rapidly passing away 1 The best obtainable official statistics \ show that they are dying at the rate of something over three 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 of its direst need we owe a debt which has not been and should not be computed in a begrudging or parsimonious spirit." Bureau of Corporations. Referring to the report of the com missioner of corporations, the presi dent says: "The commissioner finds a condi tion in 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 tlm- j her of the country. "His report shows that one half of the timber In this area Is owned by 200 individuals aad corporations; that 14 per cent, is owned by these corporations, and that there Is very extensive tnter-ownershlp of stock, as 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 tries.” Bureau of Labor. “The commissioner of labor has been actively engaged In composing the dif ferences between employers and em ployees engaged in Interstate trans I pcrtaiion, under the Drdman act. Joint ly with the chairman of the interstate commerce commission. "I cannot speak in too high terms of th*- success of the two officers in con ciliation and settlement of controver sies which, but for their interposition, would have resulted disastrously to all interests. Civil Service Commission. "The civil service commission has continued its useful duties during the year. The necessity for the mainte nance of the provisions of the civil Pi i vice 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 service, but In my Judg uient, public opinion has advanced to the point where it would support a bill providing a secure tenure during effi ciency for all purely administrative officials. I entertain the profound con viction that it would greatly aid the cause of efficient and economical gov ernment and of better politics If con gress could enact a bill providing that 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 postoffice department, the Interior de partment and the department of com merce and labor, appointments t« which now require the confirmation of the senate, and that upon such classification the advice and 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 would be irv duced to become more efficient public servants. Economy and Efficiency. “The increase In the activities and In the annual expenditures of the fed eral government has been so rapid and so great that the time has come to check the expansion of government activities in new directions until we have tested the economy and efficiency with which the government of today is being carried on. The responsibility rests upon the head of the administra tion. He is held accountable by the public, and properly so. Despite tbs unselfish and patriotic efforts of th* heads of departments and other* charged with responsibility of govern ment, there has grown up in this coun try a conviction that the expenses ot government are too great. The ft)a damental reason for the existence Un detected of waste, duplication, and bad management Is the lack of prompt, a» curate Information. "I have requested the head of eaek department to appoint committees on economy and efficiency In order to ee cure full co-operation In the movement by the employees of the government themselves. '1 urge the continuance of the ap proprlation of $100,000 requested for the fiscal year 1912. "My experience leads me to betlcv* that while government methods arc much criticized, th^.,bad results—if wc do have bad results—are not due to a lack of zeal or willingness on the pari of the civil servants." Interstate Commerce. "There has not been time to test the benefit and utility of the amendment* 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 1 recom mended. It did not. specifically de nounce as unlawful the purchase by one of two parallel and competing roads of the stock of the other. Nor did it subject to the restraining influ once of (he 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 agreements between railroads limited to 30 days, fixing the same rates for traffic between the same places. “I do not press the consideration ot any of these objects upon congress at this session. "The Interstate commerce commis sion has recommended appropriations for the purpose of enabling it to enter upon a valuation of al! railroads. This has always been within the Jurisdic tion of the commission, but the requi site funds have been wanting. Statis tics to the value of each railroad would be valuable for many purposes, espe cially if we ultimately enact any lim 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 urge upon congress the Immediate enactment of a law under which one who, In good faith, advances money or credit 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 In 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 eign 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 legisla 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 execu tlon of the laws of the statute books in restraining the abuses which cer tainly did exist and which roused the public to demand reform.” **
