The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1901-11-15
President Roosevelt to Make Inn.
portant Recommendations to
Congress in His Message.
PROTECTION FOR INVESTORS INTERESTS
Will Ask for Legislation Which VIII
Comuel Trust. to Change Their At
titude Towards Public, and to
Make known Facts as to Intrinsic
Value Of Their Securities.

dent Roosevelt will take strong
grounds in favor of legislation to
compel trusts and vast industrial
combinations to change their atti-
tude toward the public, says WASH
ington dispatch to the New York
Herald.
Mr.. Roosevelt desires to safeguard
the interests of investors by requlr-
ing great corporations like the Unit
ed States Steel corporation, that do
an interstate business, to make
known facts as to the intrinsic value
of their securities. He may also adj
wise congress to pass laws that will
protect employees in their right to or
ganize, and he is expected to favor
an amendment to the Sherman anti
trust law that will enable the de-
partment of justice to get evidence
of the existence of a monopoly with
out employing detective methods.
Safeguard Against Fraud.
"Publicity'' is to be the watchword
of Mr.. Roosevelt on this important
question. He win recommend that
congress pass law that will guaran-
tee the public against fraud and
enable investors to know exactly
what they are buying when they
purchase individual stocks. This will
appeal with strong force to thou
sands who have been led into maxi
ing investments in securities only to
discover that they have been de-
ceived by financial freebooters and
that the stocks they have acquired
ore not worth the value of old paper.
Just how congress can carry out
the presidents wishes is a question
that is not yet clear. One member
of the cabinet has suggested that a
provision be made in the statutes i'm
posing heavy internal revenue tax
on corporations that do not disclose
facts the public are entitled to know.
and RENTING the tax in the case of
each corporation that gives to invest
ors the proper information.
The president will declare that
many trusts and combinations have
been so created that are now so man
aged as to be decidedly injurious to
the interests of the people. He takes
the ground that while q good trust
may be good thing, a bad trust is
exceedingly bad thing. The presi-
dents paragraph on this subject as
now written does not mince matters.
It asserts that the trust question is
a serious one, which must be dealt
with intelligently and fearlessly,
either by the states or by the federal
government or by both.
May Reduce Revenues.
Washington, Nov. IL. - The next
congress will be confronted with the
necessity of reducing the revenues by
$130,OOo,0o0 year, in order to avoid
a surplus that will invite reckless ap-
preparations. Secretary Gage recent
ly made an estimate of the govern
ment receipts and expenditures,
which predicted surplus for the
year of $s0,0O0,O00. The tremendous
flow of money which has since start
ed has compelled him to add $50,000,-
900 to this estimate. Very early in
the session the ways and means COM
mittee will probably bring in bill
materially reducing the internal rev.
enue war taxes. The purchase of
bonds absorbs only a few millions of
dollars at the most and there seems
to be less and less disposition to sell
bonds. The reduction in the war rev.
enues by the latest congress was
much less than estimated. The in
creased business of the country
showed itself in the increased returns
from internal taxation. If all the
war taxes, except those on beer and
tobacco, were to be abolished a re-
duction estimated from $8,OO0,O0O to
$15,000,0OO would be effected. That
is almost certain to be done, in any
event, and an attempt will be made
also to abolish the extra taxes ON
beer and tobacco, or to modify them
materially. The tax on beer next
year will bring in a revenue of moro
than $2O,000,0O0 and the tax on t4
bacco about the same amount.
Want New Department. I
Washington, Nov. IL. 49, Elliott
Durand, Laverne w. Noyes and sew
eral other Chicagoans, representing
the National Business league, Mon
day presented to the president a
memorial urging him to recommend
in his message to congress the estab-
lishment of a department of COM
merce and industries and also the re-
organization of the consular service
on civil service basis. n
Representative Boutell, of Illinois,
Monday arranged for future con-
ference with the president on the
subject of the abrogation of .the
treaty of 1917 with Great Britain in
which the building of war vessels on
the great lakes is inhibited. Mr.. Bou-
tell is much interested in this SUBJ
ject. He says there are a dozen or
more shipyards on the great lakes,
and that the antiquated treaty Of
1917 prevents them from sharing the
work of building smaller vessels of
the navy with the seaboard shipyards. ,
Given Long Sentence,