Daily Kennebec journal., 1905-12-06
THE MESSAGE.
continued from Page Fouro

;,sirance business mas outBroWH
tne agni,ude the possibility of ade-
III state supervision. the Congress
qu,, corefllly consider whether fur
,oaislation can be had. What is
"a ohoye applies with equal force to
,a,nal and benevolent organizations
si,b contract for life insurance.
THE REVENUES.
,,nara is more need of stability than
-. tho attempt to attain an ideal per-
eactfon in the methods of raising reVe-
,a. and the shock and strain to the
,nsiness world certain to attend any
serious change in these methods
.snder such change inadvisable unless
.or crave reason. 1t is not possible 10
iov down any general rule by whlch
60 determine the moment when the
rcasons for will outweigh the reasons
ooainst such u change. Much must
Io,.nd not merely on the needs, but
rho desires. Of the people as
hole. for needs and desires are not
,acessarily identical. OF course no
1honoe can be made on lines beneficial
"a or desired by, one section or one
rata only. There must be something
Iite general agreement among the
citizans Of the several states, as rep
resented in the Congress, that the
change is needed and desired in the
interest of the people as a whole; ana
there should then be sincere. intelli-
c.nt and disinterested effort to make
II in such shape as will combine. so
far as possible, the maximum of good
70 the people at large with the mini
mum of necessary disregard for the
snacial interests of localities Of classes.
Rut in time of peace the revenue must
on the average, taking series OF
years together, equal the expenditures
nr else the revenues must be increased.
Iast wear there was a deficit. Unless
our expenditures can be kept within
tho revenues then our revenue laws
must be readjusted. 1t is as yet too
early to attempt to outline what shape
such a readjustment should take, for
it is as yet too early to say whether
there will be need for it. 1t should be
considered whether 1t is not desirable
that the tariff laws should provide for
applying as against or in favor of any
other nation maximum and minimum
tariff rates established by the Con-
eress. so as to secure certain reciproc-
ity of treatment between other nations
and ourselves. Having in view even
larger considerations of policy than
those of a purely economic nature, II
would. in my judgment. be well to en-
deavor to bring about closer CONNER
cial connections with the other peoples
of this continent. | am happy to be
able to announce to you that Russia
now treats us on the mOst-favored- ma
ton basis.
ECONOMY IN EXPENDITURES.
j earnestly recommend to the Con-
gress the need of economy and to TINS
end of rigid scrutiny of appropria-
tions. AS examples merely, call your
attention to one or two specific mat
ters. All unnecessary offices should
b.. abolished The Commissioner of
the General Land Office recommends
the abolishment of the office of receiv-
-r of public moneys for United States
land Offices. This will effect Il saving
Of about IA quarter of million dol
lars n year AS the business of the
Nation grows it is inevitable that
there should be from time to time
legitimate increase in the number of
officials, and this fact renders it all
the more important that when offices
become unnecessary they should be
abolished. In the public printing also
large saving of public money can
be made There Is a constantly grow
ing tendency to publish masses of un-
important information. 1t is probably
not unfair TO gay that many tens of
thousands of volumes are published at
which no human being ever looks and
for which there Is no real demand
whatever.
Yet in speaking of economy, l must
IN no wis,. be understood as advocat-
ing the false economy which is in the
end the worst extravaganza. To cut
down on the navy. for instance, would
hr n crime against the Nation. To fail
10 push forward all work on the Pan
anna canal would be as great folly.
CURRENCY.
In my Message of December 2, 1902,
To the Congress | said:
"Interest rates are potent factor
in business activity, and i'm order that
these rates may be equalized to meet
the varying needs of the seasons and
of wid,,ly separated communities. and
Ia prevent the reoccurrence of financial
stringcncies which injuriously affect Ii
gtimate business. ii is necessary that
there should be an element of
Elasticity i'll our monetary system.
Banks are the natural servants of COM
meice. and upon them should be plac-
'd. as far as practical. the burden
of furnishing and maintaining a cir
culation adequate to supply the needs
of our diversified industries and of
our domestic and foreign commerce;
:Iud the issue of this should be so reg
ulated that a sufficient supply should
bc always available for the business
interests of the country"
Every consideration of prudence de-
mands the addition of the element of
elasticity to our currency system. The
evil does not consist in an inadequate
volume of money. but in the rigidity
"f this volume, which does not re-
Siond as il should to the varying needs
"i communities and of seasons. In
,lation must be avoided: but some pro-
vision should be made that will insure
larger volume of money during the
fall and winter months than in the less