The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1902-12-04
PRESIDENTS MESSAGE.
Head of the Government Submits
His Second Hessage to
Congress.
IN IT MANY POINTS COVERED QUIETLY
He Handles the Trust Evil Energetically
Giving 1t the Place of Honor In the
State Paper. Tariff, Reciprocity With
Cuba and Internal Affairs Treated.

lHSno presenting no specially striking
features, but covering in a quiet way
a large number of topics, chiefly those
upon which the President has fire.
quently in the past expressed his
views. There is no one subject that
is central in the message, or the treat
ment of which will in peculiar meas
ure arrest the attention of Congress
or of the nation.
Possibly an exception should be
made to this statement, in the matter
of the trust question. This is given
the place of honor in the message, be-
ing taken up Immediately after the
close of the general remarks with
which the message opens. The Pres
ident urges that the evils, actual and
potential, of the trust system demand
the attention of Congress, and he
takes the position asserted by Attor-
ney General Knox in his Pittsburg
speech that the powers conferred on
that body by the Constitution have
not been exhausted in existing legis-
lation. Under it's power to regulate
Interstate commerce, the President
declares, Congress can enact "a wise
and reasonable law to the end that
the trust evils should be eradicated."
More explicitly reaffirming Mr.. Knox's
opinion, the President says:
believe that monopolies, under
determinations which prevent or
cripple competition, fraudulent over
capitalization and other evils in trust
organizations and practices which in
| juriously affect Interstate trade can
be prevented under the power of Con-
gress to regulate commerce with for
eign nations and among the several
States" through regulations and re-
quirements operating directly upon
such commerce, the instrumentalities
thereof and those engaged therein.
And he adds to this reassertion of
his own conviction, expressed in his
campaign speeches of last summer,
that if the purpose should prove i'm
possible of accomplishment by such a
law as can be made under the Consti-
tuition as it stands, "then assuredly
we should not shrink from amending
the Constitution so as to secure, be-
You'd peradventure, the power
sought" So far as these generalities
go, therefore, the President insists,
as explicitly as could be desired by
anyone, upon all necessary action in
the premises.
In regard to the tariff, the chief
points in the Presidents recommends
tions are plea for reciprocity treat
les and the suggestion of a tariff COM
mission, to be composed of business
experts, whose duty it should be to
recommend action by the Congress;
after a debate and scientific examina-
ton of the various schedules as they
are affected by the changed and
| changing conditions The sugges-
ton of commission is, however,
made without emphasis; and in the
present temper of the Republican
leaders, as manifested in a number of
recent utterances, there is no reason
to suppose that the mild hint of the
President will result in bringing The
question of a tariff-revision commits
sion within the field of practical poll
tics. The Presidents recommends
ton that anthracite coal be put ac-
tually where it now is nominally, on
the free list is one little measure of
tariff reform that there ought to be
no difficulty in putting through.
The President strongly urges recip-
rocity with Cuba, both on the ground
of national duty and on that of ma
tional interest; failure to institute
proper economic relations with the
island he characteristics as "a short
sighted and mischievous policy" To
our government of Porto Rico he re-
fers as IAN example of all that is best
in insular administration In dis
cussing conditions in the Philippines,
the President justly puts in the fore
front the statement that with the
late insurrectionary Filipinos the war
has entirely ceased" and he points
out with equally just satisfaction the
fact that there now remain only about
fifteen thousand soldiers in the is
lands. He gives unstinted:praise to
the army and to the civil authorities
in the Philippines.
Many other subjects are touched
upon in the message, and definite re-
concentrations are made upon a
number of them. Amongithese may
be mentioned the favoring of some
provision for increasing the elasticity
of our banking currency; the recon-