New-York tribune., 1907-12-04
THE PRESIDENTS MESSAGE.

The Presidents message TO Congress contains
no political other surprises In general II
reiterateS views which have become ianullar
as the I:isis of Mr.. Roosevelts programm" "f
reconstrictive and progressive i"-'siatl"h-
Along all lines of political activity he has n"eh
claracteristicay A creator and renoNatoT' SUI
restinr new ideas and new developments of
old ideas and reluctant to accept conditions a>
they are merely because they exist and no one
has vet earnestly sought to better them The
President is bv nature refOrmer, and his poll
cies are grounded oil the belief that the people
of the United States with greater political and
social opportunities than those OF any oth'r
country. are destined To work ont for fDeh-
selves-and incidentally for the benefit OF tn"
rest of mankind-a better and more rational
social and political order.
The message of yesterday differed little IN
spirit and substance from The many speeches
addresses and messages which the President has
written and delivered in the last two or three
years. Its vital idea is tLat the nation must
project itself against the abuses arising from
an excessive application Of tlr Jefersonian
theory of unrcgulated individualism To lf;
the Individual indulge his own initiative without
restraint aE;i without much regard to the effects
Of his activity The community was long held
l,v the individualist. EGiSSrc fdirC school {" ~
the height of political and economical wisdom
Things will always right and regulate them
selves was the axiom of that school But this
axiom. good euouch for the simpler world OF
our fathers has been found defective when ap-
piiag To our modern intensified aud cOmpli-
Gated economical and political system. The i'll
Iiyi,iIlal has become through the artificial slim
miation of corporate organization. colossus.
and the djSused power of the state has had +"
be invoked more to defend the Interests "i
the community
Behind practically all of the Presidents rec
concentrations stands the realization that regu-
lation by the community and for the community
is the s1lrest means of curing the evils which
have sprung from too great an effacemeDt of
the state and too great eXaltation Of the
freedom of the Individual This conception
counts for his suggestions to the regulation
of railroads and trusts. the enforcement on the
employer of enlarged liability. the imposition
of income and Inheritance taxes the establish
ment OF an eigbt-bOur day for labor and the
MANY other curbs sought 70 be put on ultra
individualistic activity. in many of these ideas
the President is undoubtedly ahead of the aver
age thought of the day. and especially ahead OF
it as II is reflected in the two houses of Con
gress It is unlikely that Congress at this ses-
sion will undertake to put into effect any con-
siderable part Of the Presidents programme. As
we pointed out yesterday, the approach of a
Presidential campaign is generally construed
by Congress as a warning signal against radi-
cal or extensive legislation The majority in
each branch will be strongly inclined to do only
the urgent routine work of the session and then
force an early adjournment. We can expect
perhaps. as certainly hope, that helpful
currency bill will pass. but beyond that Con
gress viii probably remain quiesceDt- This
temporary non-acTion will not however. impair
the vitality of the Presidents re-enunciated
policies. Those policies so closely concerns the
future of the nation that they will have TO be
dealt with later. They are for to
morrow well for to-day. and their i'm
pOrtancc Will necessarily compel attention, even
though in passing on them the American people
may be expected to show the patience. caution
and deiberation which have usually character
lied their treatment of fundamental problems
Of government