The Mena weekly star., 1908-03-26

ing or Wood Puip on Free List at Once Advocated-other important Suggestions.
 Washington, Mar 26.--A special message from the president was read in both houses of congress soon after convening Wednesday and In both 1t was closely followed. In the house the declaration that the time had come for a revision of the tariff elicited handclapping on the part of the Dem ocratic members. Democratic approv- al also was given by way of pounding desks, to the suggestion that congress | could with advantage forthwith re- move the tariff on wood pulp, with corresponding reduction upon paper made from wood pulp.
 The Republicans waited and con l fined the applause to the message as a whole. In the senate the message was received without comment of any kind. His former recommendations are l renewed regarding a child-labor law and the re-enactment of an employers liability law drawn to conform to re. cent decisions of the supreme court. He also urges action along the line of former recommendations concerning injunctions in labor disputes. Atten- tion Is again called to the urgent need of amending the interstate commerce law.
 Regarding the amendments to the sherman antitrust law the president says in part:
 "In addition to the reasons I have already urged on your attention, it has now become important that there should be an amendment of the anti trust law, because of the uncertainty as to how this law affects combinations among labor men and farmers, if the combination has any tendency to re- strict interstate commerce. All of these combinations, if and while exist ing for and engaged in the promotion of innocent and proper purposes, should be recognized as legal ''In the modern industrial world com binations are absolutely necessary; they are necessary among business men, they are necessary among labor ing men, they are becoming more and more necessary among farmers. Some of these combinations are among the most powerful of all instruments for wrongdoing. Others offer the only ef- fective way of meeting actual business needs. It Is misohievous and unwhole- some to keep upon the statute books unmodifled a law, like the antitrust law, which, while in practice only par tially effective against vicious com binations, has nevertheless in theory been construed so as sweepingly to prohibit every combination for the transaction of modern business. Some real good has resulted from this law. But the time has come when 1t is i'm perative to modify it. Such modified. tion Is urgently needed for the sake of the business men of the country, for the sake of the wage-workers and for the sake of the farmers. The congress can not afford to leave 1t on the sta ute books in its present shape"
 After touching on the financial ques- tion and urging the establishment of postal savings banks, Mir. Roosevelt has this to say of tariff revision:
 "The time has come when we should prepare for revision of the tariff. This should be, and indeed must be, preceded by careful investigation. It is peculiarly the province of the con gress and not of the president and in- deed peculiarly the province of the house of representatives, to originate a tariff bill and to determine upon it's terms; and this I fully realize. Yet it seems to me that before the close of this session provision should be made for collecting full material which will enable the congress elected next fall to act immediately after it comes into existence"
 'I am of the opinion, however, that one change in the tariff could with ad- vantage be made forthwith. Our for ests need every protection, and one method of protecting them would be to put upon the free list wood pulp, with corresponding reduction upon paper made from wood pulp, when
 
 not put an export duty upon them"
 After reiterating his former recon mendation for permanent waterways commission the president concludes;
 Numerous bills granting water-pow- CT rights on nayigable streams have been introduced None of them give the government the right to make a reasonable charge for the valuable privileges so grapted. in spite of the fact that these water-power privileges are equivalent to many thousands of acres of the best coal lands for their production of power. Nor is any def nite time limit set, as should always be done in such cases. I shall be obliged hereafter, in accordance with the pol icy stated in a recent message, to veto any water-power bill which does not provide for a time limit and for the right of the president or of the secre- tary concerned to fix and collect such charge as he may find to be just and ,oaenpabfa fn aaah caGa"