The Boise citizen. (Boise, Idaho) 1906-1910, 1906-12-07
The Message

The presidents message is UNIQUE.
even for him, in many respects. After
wading through his dreary and thread
bare lectures for some fifteen to eight
cen columes the impression is that it is
undoubtedly a third-term campaign doc
ument, says the Lewiston Tribune. 1t
seems to get on all sides of everything
and to cast an anchor to the winward
wherever there is a chance for a little
popularity. He has apparently tried to
be very very good, but after doing the
best he could he gets natural again and
gives expression to his real sentiments
without disguise or thought of the CON
sequences. There is no third-termism
in the hnality and ensemble of the mes
sage. For some years now the president
has industriously side-stepped the ship
subsidy proposition, but this time he
boldly advocates the grant as per the
recommendation of the merchant ma
rine committee, which in substances pro-
poses to tax the people in order to give
their money over to the steel trust and
shipping barons. Flexible money, or
granting the power to banks to issue
and retire lawful circulating medium at
their pleasure thus giving them domin-
ion over all property values, has also
previously been avoided by him, but now
1t receives his complete endorsement
and support The president goes even
further and recommends the depositing
of the customs receipts in banks, which
would practically abolish the treasury.
as there would then be no receipts. the
internal revenues now going direct
ly into the banks. The presidents hys
terra over the japanese is little less than
amusing Referring to the California
law-"To shut them out from the pub
lie schools is wicked absurdity,D quoth
he, and "in the matter now before me
affecting the Japanese, everything that
is in my power to do will be done, and
all the forces, military and civil, of the
United States which | may lawfully en-
ploy will be SO employed" The chances
are he will find he cannot lawfully en-
ploy one single soldier or gun of the
people of the United States to change
or suppress the laws of a sovereign
state, and if he attempts to do so un-
lawfully the chances again are that he
will hear something drop that he ought
to have heard long ago. Outside of
these spasms perhaps the most import
ant part of the message is the omis-
sion of any mention of the tariff. This
question is generally considered to be
the most serious problem in American
political life and the president has moth
ing to say upon it although he has col
umns for South America, The Hague.
international morality, seals and race
suicide. The trusts and corporations
are extensively dealth with and again
the president attempts to distinguish
between good" and bad combinations
in violation of law The plain man
well knows though that we can make
no progress toward redemption of ar
bitrary classifcations for licensing trusts
that fill our own pockets while outlaw
ing trusts that fill the other fellows
pockets. Despite the encouraging
steps toward prosecuting Standard
Oil and other huge monopolies the
administration neglects to explain why,
if they are guilty of the grave criminal
offenses with which they stand charged,
they have not been criminaliy proceed
ed against according to law. OF course
the president and his advisers have
some reasons for the adoption of the
soft and inocuous method and their
reasons may be perfectly sound, but
they have not been given to the public
and they ought to be given TO the pub
lie.