The Norfolk weekly news-journal., 1905-12-08
THE PRESIDENT5S MESSAGE.

THE PRESIDENT5S MESSAGE.
The presidents message is decidedly
Roosevetan. 1t goes straight to the
heart of each of the questions which
are of Importance in the United States
today-and he has taken up lot of
questions. In twenty-seven columns,
aggregating perhaps $4,000 words,
President Roosevelt addresses himself
to the congress that has just convened,
and recommends their action upon
number of vital subjects
Perhaps this is the most important
presidents message that has been de-
livered in many year; certainly it
is one which has been awaited by the
people of the United States as eagerly
as any which has been sent to con-
gress in a decade. And it is not dis
appointing. 1t is not surprising, Ell
ly reassuring.
The views of the president on all
topics of vital importance were too
we'll known in advance, to allow many
surprises to be sprung in the mes.
sage. To read it is but to find, in
clearcut, definite language, the ideas
that we all knew beforehand to be
possessed by Mr.. Roosevelt.
Regarding the trusts-and by this
it is well known that President Roose-
welt refers to the beef trust and other
trusts of that type-no definite remedy
for the evils existing today, is suggest
ed. Until the national government
obtains in some manner which the
wisdom of congress may suggest prop
er control over the big corporations en-
gagged in interstate commerce, it will
be impossible to deal adequately with
these evils" says the message. All of
which is a significant admissian that
the law as it now stands, and by
which the so-called beef trust mag
mates were recently let off after being
indicted, is insufficient to do anything.
says, that good effect will be felt in
a moral way as result of the expos
ing of the beef men, yet the evil has
not been remedied and can not be.
How to break up the evils of the COM
binations called trusts-and this af.
fects the very life of every person in
the country-is still perplexing prob
lem, left to the wisdom of congress.
The railway rate question, of course,
is one of prominence just now, though
the views of the president are no new
thing to the country. He favors Civ
ing to the interstate commerce com
mission power. when they have
heard complaints of railroad rate
and have investigated, to fix then and
there a maximum rate that can be
charged by the railroad, and that rate
shall go into effect and remain in eff
feet until it is reviewed by the courts,
If the railroad wishes to appeal AS
it now stands, the interstate COM
merce commission may render a judg-
ment, but that judgment is in no way
binding on the railroads and there
may be years of delay in the courts
before justice is secured.
1t is predicted by politicians that in
1908 one of the paramount issues will
be the government ownership of rail
roads. Bryan is abroad studying that
question now. President Roosevelt
comes out fatty against this. He
says he believes in the government
ownership of only those things which
can not be controlled by private inter
nsts. And he further says that 1t is
in order to make government owner
ship useless, and to protect the honest
railroad men and the honest shippers,
that Re desires a railway rate regu!a.
tiCn by interstate commerce commits
'io; ors, giving justice to small cities
and hig cities, the big sh."D q IN,
small. President Roosevelt expresses
no V s'ility toward railway T" ests-
cot he makes 1t poirt ? cplaIn