The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1889-12-14
The Presidents Message.

the following from the Registers edi-
torial gives a discussion of all the
points it contains:
The American public have been
looking forward to this first annual
message of President Harrison an
ticipating that in it he would declare
the policy of his administration.
They did not expect much from Mr..
Harrison, but they looked for the
declaration of some sort of policy.
He has declared none, nor made
any approach to specific recommen-
dation on any of the important sub
iects that are of vital interest to the
American people. He might as well
have relegated his task to his pri-
vate secretary-indeed, "Lige" Hal
ford would doubtless have made a
much more important document of it.
The whole affair is grand "strad-
die" The President takes great
pains to get on all sides Of every
question. The more important the
question the less he has to say about
it and the more he straddles it.
On the subject of the tariff, now
pre-eminent before the people he
makes this remarkable statement:
81 recommend a division of our
tariff law, both in its administrative
feature and in the schedules. The
need of the former is generally con-
coded and agreement upon the evils
and inconvenience to be remedied
will probably not be difficult n
but the protective principle should
be maintained"
This is the substance of his as
tonishingly brief remarks about the
tariff. 1t would hardly have been
possible to get more completely
on all sides of this subject, which is
the most important that will come
before the present Congress. Like
the mother who gave her daughter
permission to swim, but laid the in.
junction not to go near the water
Mr.. Harrison recommends Tariff Re
form, but does not want the high
tariff disturbed in the operation. In
the same timid and bcwildered way
he hesitatingly remarks that "The
removal of the internal tax on to
bacco would relieve an important
agricultural product from burden, ,
and that eff safe provision against
fraud can be devised the removal oil
the tax upon spirits used in the arts
and in manufactures would also offel
an unobjectionable method of redu
cling the surplus. In other words
he is not exactly sure whether free
whisky and tobacco would be goo6
thing to advocate or not, but he il
heartily and sincerely for or against
it as the case may turn out. HI
possibly forgets that Quay elected
him on free whisky and tobacco
and Chinese tariff platform.
Getting off of the tariff question al
hastily as he would off hot griddl'
he boldly asserts that the bullion
value of our silver dollar is but sew
enty-two cents and declares that "w,
should not tread the dangerous edg'
of such peril" meaning free coin
age, but, fearing that this might b.
taken as some sort of declaration
of policy, he hastens to add that g.
have been able to give only-a hast,
examination, owing to the press o
other matters to the subject, bu
1.-THE general plan suggested by hin
the Secretary of the Treasury
seems to satisfy the purpose to con
! tinue the use of silver in connection
with our currency and at the sam
time to obviate the danger of whicl
l have spoken"
He does recommend, however, ant
due credit should be given therefor
that the silver certificates be issuet
only upon the bullion value of tn
silver, and he counsels against tn
: proposition to extend the limit 0
silver coinage to 100000 pc
month. In this President Harrison
is right. The fewer seventy-tw
cent "dollars" we have in circulation
the better.
He devotes just ten lines to rec
ommending "the restraint of thos
combinations of capital commonl
called trusts" by some sort of FEEDER
al legislation, though what sort Q
legislation he does not know, O
at least, does not venture to indicate
: possibly from fear of offending hi
Secretary of State, Mr.. Blaine, VIII
! declared trusts were private al
fairs"
Of our grossly inefficient and mis-
managed postal service he has thi
, succinct and definite recommends
q ton to offer:
g "The plan suggested of supervi'
ion of the postoffices and separat
districts that shall involve instrut
/. tion and suggestions and a rating {
t the efficiency of the postmaster
would, l have no doubt, greatly in
+ prove the service"
r He carefully refrains from any a
e fusion to what every body knows 18th
a real secret of our bad postal seryic
e namely, Headsman Clarkson's wor
e in removing by wholesale tried an
: efficient servants and putting in thei
: places men whose sole recommal
il dation was party "work." He mel
: tions his delay of President Clev'
!. lands order placing the railway ma
a service under the civil service rule
: to allow Clarkson time to fire out a
r the Democratic clerks, but he blam