Mexico Missouri message. (Mexico, Audrain County, Mo.) 1899-1918, 1907-06-20

The inability Of the railroads OF sac
United States 20 meet the demands
upon them has drawn public attention
forcibly TO tho uao OF our waterways
for transportation. But Il ~ obvious
that this 10 only ono OF their many
uses, and that a planned and orderly
development IL Impossible except by
taking Into account all the services
they are capable OF rendering. IL was
upon this ground that the inland wa
terways commission was recently APP
pointed. Their duty IL TO propose q
comprehensive plan for the improve
ment and utilization OF those great
waterways which arc the great poten-
tial highways Of the country. Their
duty In also to bring together the
points OF view OF all users OF streamA
and TO submit general plan for the
development and conservation Of tina
vast natural resources of the water
ways OF the United bates Clearly II
In impossible for the waterways COM
mission to accomplish. ita great task
without considering the relation OF
streams TO the conservation and use OF
all other natural resources. and have
asked that II do 30. Here. then. for the
hrst time. the orderly development and
planned conservative use Of all our
natural resources IL presented as a
single problem. One by one the indi-
FAaANA NAAhh VA NAlH kTNHh RIoNtftn haNA
already been undertaken. one by one
In practical fashion the methods OF
dealing with them were worked out.
National irrigation has proved itself
success by its actual working. Again,
actual experience has shown that the
national forests will fuihll the larger
purpose for which they were created.
All who have thoughtfully studied the
subject have come to see that the uolu-
ton OF tho public ihndA question lies
with the home maker, with the settler
who lives on his land and that gov
eminent control of the mineral fuels
and the public grazing lands n neces-
sary and inevitable. Each OF these
conclusions represented a movement
OF vast Importance which would confer
large Dement'S upon the nation, but
which stood by itself. They are con-
nected together into one great tunda-
mental problem---that of the con-
servation of all our natural resources.
Upon the wise solution OF this. much
OF our future obviously depends. Even
such questions AZ the regulation OF
railway rates and the control OF COR
pOrationS are In reality subsidiary to
the primal problem Of the preservation
In the interests OF the whole people OF
the resources that nature has given us.
II we fail 60 solve this problem. no
skill In solving the others will In the
end avail US very greatly.
Now an to the matter Of taxation
Most great civilized countries have an
income tax and an Inheritance tax
In my judgment both should be part
OF our system of federal taxation.
speak difhdently about the income tar
because one scheme for an income taS
was declared unconstitutional by the
supreme court by a ave to four vote
and In addition 10 IL a difiicult tax "a
administer In its practical workings
and great care would have 20 be eSer'
cised to see that IL was not evaded
by the very man whom IL Is most Do
sirable to have taxed. for ~ so evadeC
| II would of course he worse than nd
tax at all. as the least desirable OF al
| taxes In the tax which bears heavily
/ upon the honest as compared with th'
| dishonest man. Nevertheless. a gradu
ated income tax OF the proper typ
would be n desirable permanent fea
ture OF federal taxation, and I still
| hope that one may be devised which tn
supreme court will declare eonstitu
| tlonal.