Mexico weekly ledger., 1885-12-17
THE PRESIDENTS MESSAGE.

THE PRESIDENTS MESSAGE.
President Cleveland has. in accord
lnce with the requirements Of tile
constitution. delivered his first an
lual message to congress, which ap-
peared III last weeks LEDGER. The
document was looked for by the
country with 10 little anxiety as it
was to be the first official ~utterance
by the head OF the great party SO
long out of power; and it In no way
by one jot CT title reflects discredit
upon the judgment and wisdom Of
the party of the people which stands
responsible for having placed its
author in the executive chair. As a
specimen of literature it is pure in
dicti0n, rhetorical, yet simple, plain
and concise. 1t is diguifed and dis
closes an exceeding familiarity with
affairs of state and q trust and conf
dence in the honesty. wisdom and
patriotism of the people. There are
displayed by him none of the wiles
of the demagogue. He says what he
means and means what he says. 1t
is too lengthy aad exhaustive to re-
view in extenso in one short newspa-
per article, hence we can revert to
only a few of the many subjects so
ably treated by him.
His treatment of the Kelly Ease
with the Acknowledgements govern
mcnt shows that we have a president
able to maintain the dignity of the
nation abroad. keep pure the precepts
of the constitution and resent the
insults and innovations offered by a
foreign power. Yet we hear with
qualification the announcement that
our relations with all foreign powers
continue amicable.
His remarks upon the questions of
transportation and taxation, while
brief and moderate, show that he is
in sympathy with the poor and labor
ing classes, and that all legislation in
behalf Of these operates for the bene-
fit of the whole people.
His expressions in favor of the re-
auctions of the tariff are wholly in
accord with the doctrine of the Dem
ocratic party. While having in mind
the prevention Of any injury to capt
tai and labor he says a certain reduc-
ton should be made i'll the revenue
''derived from a tax upon the i'm
ported necessaries of life" and SO
there would be a decrease III the
cost of living to every family in the
land and would be given ''to the
people in every humble home alarger
measure of the rewards of frugal in
dustry."
Tariff reduction is the question
which most Immediately affects the
Interests of the people at large. But
on that kindred question, that of
transportation, which Immediately
affects the interests of every farmer
in the west, he says:
Transportation is a factor in the
| cost of commodities scarcely second
to hal of their production, and
weighs as heavily upon their con-
sumner. Our existence already has
proven the great Importance Of hay
ing the competition between land car
riage and water carriage fully devet-
oped, each acting as protection to the
public against the tendencies of mo-
nopoly, which is inherent in the con-
solldation of wealth and power i'll the
hands Of vast corporations"
If the president IS as serious in
these expressions as the people have
a right TO believe he is, then they
viii have no trouble for the next
three years in fixing the responsible
ity for the failure to reduce the tariff,
make the proper appropriations for
our western rivers and create such
Legislation as will afford the public
protection from the entertainments
and oppression of the monopolies.