The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1902-12-05
FREsID1TT'S MESSAGE.
Continued from the LIST page.


ara other evils in trust organizations and
practices which injuriously affect inter
state trade can be prevented under the
I power of the congress to regulate com
/ merce with foreign nations and among
the several states through regulations
and requirements operating directly upon
I such commerce. the instrumentalities
I thereof and those engaged therein.
/ earnestly recommend this subject to the
/ consideration of the congress with a view
/ TO the passage of a law reasonable in its
/ provisions and effective in its operations.
! upon which the questions can be finally
/ .djudcated that now raise doubts as to
/ he necessity Of constitutional amend
| nent. Ii it prove impossible to accom-
| plish the purposes above set forth 10y such
/ a law, then assuredlN we should not
shrink from amending the constitution
/ as to secure beyond peradventUre the
I power sought
The congress has not heretofore mad
any Appropriation for the better enforce
mtnt OF the antitrust law as il nov
stands Very much has been done by t.a
/ department Of Justice In securing the en-
forccment of this law. but much more
/ could be done If congress would make q
special appropriation for this purpose. to
be expended under the direction of the
attorney general
One proposition advocated has been the
reduction Of the tarlt as means OF
reaching the evils of the trusts which fail
within the category nave described
Not merely would this be wholly inelivc-
.
such a direction would mean the aban-
donment Of all intelligent attempt TO do
away with these evils Many of the lar
/ geSt corporations. many of those which
! should certainly be included in any proper
scheme of regulation would not he af-
fectci in the slightest degree by n change
in the tariff. save as such change inter-
fered with the general proSperiy of The
country. The only relation Of the tariff
TO big corporations as a whole is that the
tarln makes manufactures profitable. and
sod no in
effect simply to make manufactures I'M
profitable. To remove the tariff as a
punitive measure directed against trusts
would inevitably result in ruin to the
weaker competitors who are struggling
against them. our aim should be not by
unWiSe tariff changes to give foreign prod
ucts the advantage over domestic prod
ucts. but by proper regulation TO give do
nestle competition fair chance, and
this end cannot be reached by any tariff
changes which would affect unfaVorably
all domestic competitors. good and bad
alike. The question of regulation of the
trusts stands apart from the question of
tariff revision.
Stability OF economic policy must al
ways be the prime economic need of this
country. This stability should not be fos
silization. The country has acqueSced
in the wisdom of the protective tariff
principle. 1t is exceedingly undesirable
that this system should be destroyed or
that there should be violent and radical
changes therein. our past experience
eIlbNS Nlltl great prosperity Ill llls NOuI-
try has always come undera protective tar
if and that the country cannot prosper
under ttful tariff changes at short inter-
walls. Moreover if the tariff laws as a
whole work well and if business has pros
pered under them and is prospecting. it is
better to endure for time slight incon-
veniences and Inequalities in some sched-
uleS than to upset business by too quick
and too radical changes. 1t is most ear
neStly to be wished that we could treat
the tariff from the standpoint solely of
our business needs 1t is perhaps. too
much to hope that partisanShip may be
entirely excluded from consideration OF
the subject, but a least it can be made
secondary to the business interests of the
Country-that is. to the interests of our
people as a whole. PROFESSIONALLY these
business interests will best be served if
together with tiXity of principle as re-
CARDS the tariff combine a system
which will permit us from time to time to
make the necessary reapplicatiOn of the
principle TO the shifting national needs.
We must take scrupulous care that the
reappllcdtlon shall be made in such way
that it will not amount to a dislocation of
our system, the mere threat of which, not
to speak of the performance, would pro
duce paralysis in the business energies
of the community The first conSidera-
ton in making these changes would, of
course, be TO preserve the principle which
undcrlics our whole tariff SYStem-that is,
the principle of putting American bust
ness interests at least on full equality
with interests abroad and of always al
lowing sufficient rate of duty to more
than cover the difference between the
labor cost here and abroad. The well be-
ils OF the WdSeM olHeI, me 'he wen pe-
ms ~ lhe tIllel VI me sui sHouIu We
t a. Ii, ri Uur
he ~, cb.',,,o da.Licb vii iao,ar1iza ~ =
standard of comfort. the standard of
wages of the American wageworkcr
one way in which the reimbursement
sought can be reached is by reciprocity
treaties. 1t IS greatly to be desired that
such treaties may be adopted They can
De USED Wluen our markets ana TO give
greal0 neId LOT the acIlNltieS OF our
p,Iuueeas oI 'iie U,ie r"i,u' ai,u ol tae
~ ,oniu " ~ ,. Sii''pe
i, i7i u 80 -, 49, ~,
@ a,,Io ~ ~ ~ ~ o',Oir ~
~" - I i,P - u i II ~ ~, 80 LII ~, y, r 49,
az ~ nf Soad adcnniisbad
~ ~ r inI1i 800 81 th d
mo troafios ana If tbeTo seer, 10 he no
Vibrant for The endeavor 70 avecnte o+ho
ers 90. 10 ap,end The ne,,diDe troatios CO
tb9t tbeV cnn he ratifed tber tbe ssp9e
end 70 sac,,rs recinronitU ebo',ld ha rnat
nv direct iegie1atiop
'NVhare,,ar fba tariff conditions ora s,cb
,o+ i, o,@,, ~ o,,,t ~ a.
go 80 81 - r. IItIjootior ~ ~,
o,.0 ~, a. ~
reCiprOcl'y iued' tHeH 1t Sdn pe Iilue out-
IlSul ny lo"eliilS VI uutltS vi gwen
product II possible, such change should
be made only after the fullest considera-
tion by practical experts, who should APP
prOach the subject from a business stand
point having in view both the particular
interests affected and the commercial well
beine of the peonle as a whole The ma
cbinerv for providinr such careful inves-
tir,atinn 90, reoiiiy Ia S,,nrIind rba ~
a.. $3.50. Ia ~ &C.
sEutiNe uepai ti,ient nd i3 't!i eaus a. 10
1lsPosai lhelhouS Oh colIectihS iacts anu
nsurSS' anu IL tiie coiistess ueSiies auGi-
tional consideration TO that which VIII be
given the subject by Its own committees.
then n commission of business experts can
recommend action by the congress after
a deliberate and scientific examination of