The Monticellonian., 1907-12-05

NadIAud lAle E1AAtaEbiit#HiS dttttItilAt iN but two per cent. Any plan must. of course guard the interests of western and southern bankers as carefully as it guards the interests of New York or Chicago bankers, and must be drawn from the standpoints of the farmer and the merchant no less than from the standpoints of the city banker and the country banker"
 Repeats Recommendations.
 The president continues:
 "I again urge on the congress the need of immediate attention to this matter. We need a greater elasticity in our currency. provided. of course. that we recognize the even greater need of a safe and secure currency. There must always be tine most rigid examination by the national authori- ties. Provision should be made for an emergency currency. The emergency issue should. of course, be made with an effective guaranty, and upon eondi- tions carefully prescribed by the gov ernment Such emergency issue must be based on adequate securities ap- proved by the government, and must be issued under heavy tax. This would permit currency being issued when the demand for 1t was urgent. while securing it's retirement as the demand fell off. It is worth inyesti- gating to determine whether officers and directors of national banks should ever be allowed to loan to themselves. Trust companies should be subject to the same supervision as banks; legisla- ton to this effect should be enacted for the District of Columbia and the terri tories"
 Not Time for Tariff Discussion.
 On the subject of the tariff the presi- dent declares himself in favor of post poning all consideration of the ques- ton until after the presidential elec- ton. He says:
 This country is definitely committed to the protective system and any effort to uprost it could not but cause wide spread industrial disaster. In other words, the principle of the present tar fir law could not with wisdom be changed But in country of such phenomenal growth as ours it is prob ably well that every dozen years or so the tariff laws should be carefully scrutinized so as to see that no ex- eessive or improper benefits are con ferred thereby. that proper revenue. is provided, and that our foreign trade is encouraged There must always be as a minimum tariff which will not only allow for the collection of an ample revenue but which will at least make good the difference in cost of produc tion here and abroad; that is. the diff ference in the labor cost here and abroad, for the well-being of the wage worker must ever be a cardinal point of American policy. The sole consider ation should be to see that the sum total of changes represent the public good. This means that the subject can not with wisdom be dealt with in the year preceding a presidential election. because a matter of fact experience has conclusiVely shown that at such a time 1t is impossible to get men to
 
 public good. In my judgment the wise time to deal with the matter is immedi ately after such election"
 Income and Inheritance Tax.
 There has been no change in the mind of the president concerning the advisability of an income tax and an inheritance tax. In the message he says
 When our tax Jaws are revised the question of an income tax and an in- heritance tax should receive the care ful attention of oHr legislators. In my judgment both of these taxes should be part of our system of federal taxation. l speak diHidently about the income tax becs use one scheme for an income tax was declared unconstitutional by the supreme court; while in addition it is a difficult tax to administer in its prac- ttca1 working. Nevertheless grad uated income tax of the proper type would be desirable feature of federal taxation, and it is to be hoped that one may be devised which the supreme court will declare constitutional The inheritance tax, however is both a far better method of taxation. and far more important for the purpose of having the fortunes of the country bear in proportion to their increase in size a corresponding increase and burden of taxation. The government has the ab- solute right to decide as to the terms upon which a man shall receive the be- quest or devise from another and this point in the devoiution of property is especially appropriate for the imposi- tion of tax
 Due Enforcement of Law.
 On the matter of the impartial en- forcement of the laws the messag says:
 "A few years ago there was loud complaint that the law could not be in voked against wealthy offenders There is no such complaint now The course of the department of justice during the last few years has been such as to make it evident that no man stands above the law. that no corporation is so wealthy that it cannot be held to account Everything that can be done under the existing law and with the existing state of public opinion. which so profoundly influences both the courts and juries. has been done But the laws themselves need strengthen ing in more than one important point. they should be made more definite so that no honest man can be led unwit- tingly to break them. and so that the real wrongdoer can be readily punished
 The two great evils in the execution Of our criminal laws to-day are senti- mentally and technically. For the lat ter the remedy must come from the hands of the legislatures. the courts and the lawyers. The other must de- pend for its cure upon the gradual growth of sound public opinion which shall insist that regard for the law and the demands of reason shall control all other influences and emotions in the jury box. Both of these evils must be removed or public discontent with the criminal law will continue"
 Use of Injunctions.
 Referring to the question of the use and abuse of injunetions the president de- clares:
 Instances of abuse in the granting of injunctions in labor disputes continue to occur and the resentment in the minds of those who feel that their rights are being invaded and their liberty of action and of speech unwarrantably restrained continues to grow. Much of the attack on the use of the process of injunction is wholly without warrant but I am con strained to express the belief that for some of it there is warrant This uues- ton is becoming more and more of prime importance. and unless the courts will themselves deal with it in effective man ner. 1t is certain ultimately to demand some sort of legislative action. I earnest ly commend to the attention of the con gress this matter, so that some way may be devised which will limit the abuse of injunctions and protect those rights which from time to time it unwarrantably in- vades"
 Among the recommendations made in the message are for federal inspection of railroads. the establishment of an em- ployers' liability act, and for the exten-