The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1901-12-10
PRESIDENT ROOsEvEIT's MESSAGE.

reality, however, the newspaper
man g troubles come from an entirely
different direction 1t is easy enough
TO find matter to fill up the difficult
work lies in deciding what TO leave
out. We are reminded of this inst
now by our efforts to give PROGRESS
I'VE FARMER readers in four or five
columns the gist of president Roose-
velt's twenty column message. But
this by the way. The message is
longer than the average one of it's
kind, but more readable, we think.
1t is not dull, and yet there is in it
nothing to suggest the recklessness
or jingoism of which Roosevelt has
been so often accused. In fact, we
find one of our contemporaries that
only a few weeks ago referred to
President Roosevelt as a "wild man"
now complaining that his message is
too tame and uncertain in tone.
The message begins, as vas to have
been expected, with a feeling tribute
TO the late President KoKinley and
an appeal for anti anarchist legisla-
ton. For our part, we have little
faith in the ability of Congress TO
suppress anarchy by statute. As the
Worlds Work says: cit is a kind
of social insanity that it is hard t"
deal with till it take form in some
definite act, and seems TO flourish
quite as we'll under the ban, in
Europe, for instance, as it has done
in free America. We believe that the
exclusion of vicious, low grade i'm
migrants from our shores, as the
President recommends further on,
will do more to destroy anarchy
than any law for the suppression of
anarchist meetings and anarchist
newspapers.
Mr. Roosevelt approaches the trust
problem very cautiously, not with
80 much sincerity and boldness as
was evidenced in his talk on trusts
in his Minneapolis speech a few days
before his elevation so the Presi
dency. But his recommendations,
as far as he goes-gOvernment in
spection and supervision of the great
corporations engaged in Interstate
business-are good. We should like
TO see them adopted. Two sentences
of his section on trusts are worth re.
Numbering:
'EIt should be as much the aim o.
those who seek for social betterment
to rid the business world of crimes
of cunning as TO rid the entire body
polite of crimes of violence. Great
corporations exist only because they
are created and safeguarded by our
institutions and it is therefore our
right and our duty to see that they
wnrk in harmony with these institu-
tons
The creation of a new cabinet
uff 81, to be known as the Depart
ment of Commerce and Industries, is
advocated. This idea seems to have
become popular during the past few
months, and we suppose that it will
Oe adopted by Congress.
We have already referred to the
recommended ons looking to the re-
s~triction of immigration, and in line
with these ia the suggestion that the
Chinese exclusion laws ten year
limit, which expires next May, should
be- at once extended. This also we
regard as wise.
But along with the high sounding
eulpgies of the late President Nc
Kinley, it is very noticeable that the
d 'ctrine TO the advocacy of which
his last public speech was devoted,
ls now in but soant favor. We re.
fer, of course, to reciprocity. In this
matter President Mckinley seems TO
have been for once in advance of the
time, for We believe that reciprocity
will grow steadily in popular favor,
although President Roosevelt has
evidently weakened in the face of
the present opposition to all inter
ference with existing tariff laws.
OF the entire address the yelled
advocacy of the ship subsidy bill is,
in our opinion, the Notwithstanding.
As we see it-and we are sure that
in this opinion we are supported by
practically all the independent edi-
tors and public men in the country
the ship subsidy bill is class legisla-
ton, special privilege, of the most
vicious sort. What if our merchant
~. /