The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1901-12-06

pO1Cy OF reciprocity VIII De III COnneCtlOI"
| with those of our productions which no
| longer require all of the support once
needed to establish them upon n sound
basis and with those others where either
| because of natural or Of economic causes
| we are beyond the reach of successful
| competition.
ask the attention Of the senate to the
| reciprocity treaties laid before 1t by my
| predecessor.
Merchant Marine.
The condition of the American merchant
marine is such as to call for Immediate
| remedial action by the congress. 1t is dis
| creditable t. us as n nation that our
| merchant marine should be utterly insig-
nifcant in comparison with that of other
| nations which we overtop in other forms
of business. We should not longer submit
to conditions under which only a trifling
| portion of our great commerce Is carried
in our own ships. To remedy this state of
J things would not merely serve to build
| up our shipping interests, but IL would
also result in benefit to all who are inter-
ested in the permanent establishment Of
| wider market for American products and
would provide an auxiliary force for the
navy. Ships work for their own countries
| Just as railroads work for their terminal
| points. Shipping lines, IL established to
the principal countries with which we
have dealings, would be of political as
well as commercial benefit. From every
| standpoint IL is unwise for the United
| States to continue to rely upon the ships
| of competing nations for the distribution
| of our goods. 1t should be made advan-
| taReous to carry American goods in
| American built ships.
| At present American shipping is under
certain great disadvantages when put in
| competition with the shipping of foreign
| countries. Many of the fast foreign
| steamships, at a speed OF fourteen knots
| or above, are subsidized, and all our
ships, sailing vessels and steamers alike,
cargo carriers of slow speed and mail
| carriers of high speed. have to meet the
| fact that the original cost Of building
| American ships is greater than is the
case abroad, that the wages paid Ameri-
| can officers and seamen are very much
| higher than those paid the officers and
seamen Of foreign competing countries
! and that the standard OF living on our
! ships is far superior to the standard OF
| living on the Bhips OF our commercial RE
walls.
Our government should take such action
as will remedy these inequalities. The
| American merchant marine should be re-
| stored to the ocean.
Financial.
The act of March IA. 1900. intended un-
equivocally to establish gold as the stand
ard money and to maintain at a parity
| Herewith all forms Of money medium In
use with US, has been shown TO be timely
and judicious. The price of our govern
compared with the price of similar obli-
cations issued by other nations is a fat
tering tribute to our public credit This
condition 1t is evidently desirable to main
tain.
In many respects the national banlini
law furnishes sufficient liberty for the
proper exercise OF the banking function,
but there seems to be need of better safe
guards against the deranging influence OF
commercial crises and financial panics
Moreover, the currency of the country
should be made responsive to the demands
OF our domestic trade and commerce.
The collections from duties on imports
and internal taxes continue to exceed thu
ordinary expenditures of the government.
thanks mainly to the reduced army ex-
penditures. The utmost care should be
taken not to reduce the revenues so that
there will be any possibility of deficit,
but after providing against any such con-
tingency means should be adopted which
will bring the revenues more nearly with
in the limit of our actual needs. In his re-
port to the congress the secretary of the
treasury considers all these questions at
length, and 1 ask your attention to the re-
port and recomm mendations.
/ call special attention to the need of
strict economy in expenditures. The fact
that our national needs forbid us to be
niggardly in providing whatever ia actu-
ally necessary to our well being should
make us doubly careful to husband our
national resources as each Of us husbands
his private resources by scrupulous avoid
ance Of anything like wasteful or reckless
expenditure. Only by avoidance of spend
ing money on what is needless or unjusti-
fable can we legitimately keep our in
come to the point required to meet our
needs that are genuine.
The Interstate Commerce. Law.
In 1887 measure was enacted for tho
regulation of interstate railways COM
g..t
act. The cardinal provisions of that act
We're that railway rates should be just
and reasonable and that all shippers, To-
callties and commodities should be ac-
corded equal treatment. commission
was created and endowed with what wero
supposed to be the necessary powers to
execute the provisions of this act.
That law was largely an experiment.
Experience has shown the wisdom OF its
purposes, but has also shown possibly
that some of its requirements are wrong,
certainly that the means devised for the
enforcement of its provisions are defec-
tive. Those who complain of the manage
ment of the railways allege that estab-
lished rates are not maintained, that re-
bates and similar devices are habitualiy
resorted to. that these preferences arc
usually in favor OF the large shipper, that
they drive out of business the smaller
competitor that while many rates are too
low many others are excessive and that
| gross preferences are maze aHeCtlng DOtn
localities and commodities. Upon the 9TH
er hand, the railways assert that the law
by its very terms tends to produce many
of these Illegal practices by depriving car
riers of that right of concerted action
which they claim is necessary to estab-
lish and maintain nondscriminating rates.
The act should be amended. The rail-
way is a public servant Its rates should
be Just to and open to all shippers alike.
The government should see to It that
within It's jurisdiction this is SO and
should provide a speedy. inexpensive and
effective remedy to that end. At the same
time 1t must not be forgotten that our
railways are the arteries through which,
the commercial lifeblood of this nation
flows. Nothing could be more foolish than
the enactment of legislation which would