The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-12-06

happy to be able to announce to you that Russia now treats us on the most favored-nation basis.
 Economy In Expenditures.
 I earnestly recommend to the Congress | the need of economy and to this end of a rigid scrutiny of appropriations. As examples merely, l call your attention ] 10 one or two specific matters. All un- | necessary offices should be abolished. The l commissioner of the general land office l recommends the abolishment of the of- 1 flee of receiver of public moneys for Unit ! ed States land offices, Thls will effect n saving of about a quarter of n million 1 dollars year. As the business of the na- ] ton grows 1t Is inevitable that there | should be from time to time a legitl- 1 mate increase in the number of officials l and this fact renders 1t all the more [ important that when offices become un- necessary they should be abolished. In | the public printing also a large saving ! of public money can be made. There 1 is & constantly growing tendency to pub fish masses of unimportant information. 1 It is probably not unfair to say 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 wise be understood as advocating the false economy which is in the end the worst extravagance To cut down on the navy, for instance, would be crime against the nation. To fail to push for ward all work on the Panama canal would be as great a folly
 Currency.
 In my message of December 2. 1902, to the Congress, I said
 | Interest rates are a potent factor in | business activity, and in order that these ra tes may be capitalized to meet the vary ing needs of the seasons and of widely | separated communities, and to prevent ! the recurrence of financial stringencies which injuriously affect legitimate busi- ness. 1t is necessary that there should 1 be an element of elasticity in our none ! tary system. Banks are the natural ser wants of commerce, and upon them should | be placed, as far as practicable. the bur l den of furnishing and maintaining cir 1 culation adequate to supply the needs of our diversified industries and of our domestic and foreign commerce; and the issue of this should be so regulated that a sufficient supply should be always 1 available for the business interests or 1 the country.
 l Every consideration of prudence de- mands the addition of the element or l elasticity to our currency system. The 1 evil does not consist in an inadequate vol l une of money, but in the rigidity Of tnls volume, which does not respond as 1t | should to the varying needs Of eommun- l ities and of seasons Imitation must De ] avoided: but some provision should be i made that will insure larger volume or money during the fall and winter months l than in the less active seasons or the year: so that the currency Will contract I against speculation. and Will expaho io. ! the needs of legitimate business. Al present the treasury department is ae 1 regularly recurring intervals obliged, Tn the interest of the business world-that | is, in the interests of the American pub | lic-to try to avert financial crises py l providing a remedy which should be pro- vided by congressional action
 Business Methods in Departments.
 At various times l have instituted in l yestigations into the organization ant l conduct of the business of the eXecutlV' | departments While none Of these III | auiries have yet progressed lar enougi | to warrant final conclusions, they nav l already confirmed and emphasized th | general impression that the organization | of the departments Is often lauity II principle and wasteful in results, whil | many of their business methods are anti | reason why our executive governments | machinery should be at least as well plan | ned economical and efficient as the Des machinery of the great business orgahl2a tions which at present is not the case To make it so Is a task of complex detal and essentially executive in it's nature probably no legislative body, no matte how wise and able, could undertake l with reasonable prospect of success kxnt ha aGu this subject with a view to provide b. legislation for the transfer, distribution consolidation, and assignment of dutie and executive organizations or parts of or ganizations, and for the changes in bus mess methods, within or between the seV eral departments, that will best promot the economy, efficiency and high char acter of the government work
 Federal Elections.
 l In my last annual message l said;
 "rhe power of the government to pro tect the integrity of the elections Of II
 own officials Is inherent and has beel recognized and affirmed by repeated de cIarations of the supreme court. Ther is no enemy of the government nor dangerous and none so insidious as tn
 corruption of the electorate. No on defends or excuses corruption and would seem to follow that none woul
 
 oppose vigorous measures to eradicate Il l recommend the enactment of law al
 rected against bribery and corruption l federal elections The details of such
 law may be safely left to the wise dlscrt ton of the Congress. but 1t should go a
 far as under the constitution 1t is pos sible to go, and should Include sever penalties against him who gives or rt ceives d brlbe intended to influence hi act or opinion as an elector; and provis ions for the publication not only of the eS penditures for communications and election of all candidates, but also of all contribu
 tions received and expenditures made b political committees
 | desire to repeat this recommendation
 In political campaigns in a country a
 large and populous ours it is inevitab
 that there should be much expense of a
 entirely legitimate kind. This, of course
 means that many contributions and som of them of large size, must be mad
 and, as a matter of fact, in any big pol