The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-12-09
Senator's and Representa- tiyes Pay Little At- tention to Reading in the Two Houses of Voluminous Docu- ment- Galleries Filled With Visitors.


 Fwashington. Dec. s.---Interest in both
 Houses of Congress esntered today in
 the Presidents message.
 Senator AldHch, on behalf of the
 Senate Committee. and Representative
 Payne, of the House Committee. ap-
 pointed to notify the President that the
 two bodies were in session, informed
 their respective Houses that they had
 performed their duty ana each report
 ed that the President had responded to
 tleir notification with a statement that
 he would immeaistefy submit q mes-
 fsecretarx Laits followed close upon
 the heels of the two committees, ap-
 p4aring first In .thv Senate and then in
 the House.
 HThe re6dins of the message began
 of an hour after he Senate had con
 vened, and in the House few min
 utes laters The galleries of both
 Houses were nIled and Alpost all the seats of Sehatofs and Members were
 occupied by their5 owners. All of them
 were supplied with printed copies of the message which contained forty four printed pages with an elaborate appendix acoompanie5 by numerous H. lustratiops showing the results of the
 work ofEthe Forestry Bdreau.
 Senators and Members gave compar- atively little attention to the reading
 o9 the message at tne desk, but most of them immediately husied them ssives with the printed. copies before them in which much interest was man. ifested. r ,~e,
 The fuIi text of the nessSge follows: TO the Senate and House of Represent
 atives:
 The fnanciaI standing of the Na- ei9n at the present time is excellent, add the financial management of the NAtion's interests by the Government during the last seven years has shown tHe most satisfactory results. But our currency system iss imperfect. and 1t Is earnestly to9be hoped that the Cur reflcy Commission will be able to pro- pose thoroughly good system which VIII do away with the existing de-
 During the period from July l. 1901, toi September 80, 1908. there vas an increase in the amount of money in crease in the per capita during this period was s706. Within this time there were several ogcanions when it was necessary for. the Treasury De- demptions of United States bOnds: by lncreasing deposits in national banks; by stimulating additional issues of national bank notes, and by faeilitat- ing Expectations from abroad of gold. Our imperfect eufrshey system has se @ aasf asSssss5 sSs s5SstaS sRS distuFRancs in the fsll Of fsoI im- dR6ry methods ok S Fslist ,lsh,a BY the sr- ma- fHg baisnes in the Treasury had been rsHueed 9o Approximately S5,00O, ,000: Cibaring house associations throughout fhb country had been obliged to resort fof the expedient@ of issuing clearing house certificates, to be used as money. Tn this emergency fl was determined to invite sub bscriptions for S50,000,000- Panama Canal bonds. and &100,000,0O0 Der cent. certificates of indebtedness authorized by the act of June 13 1SsS. It was proposed to re-deposit Tn sne national banks the proceeds of theses fsslles. and to permit their use as basis for additional Circulating notes of national banks. The moral eme?t o this procedure e Tss ,ss.s so onlS gs@ si4ssI ekD of the Panama Canal bonds and Si6, ,4Ss. 800 of the. certificates of innebt-- \ parinr the period from July l. 1901. l to September 30, 1908, the balance be- l tween the net ordinary receipts and | the net ordinary expenses of the Gov years isos, 1908, 1906 and 1907. and a defcit in the years 1so4, lSOS, lSVe ana a fractional part of the fiscal year 1909 The net result was surplus ok of3 the Government during this period, based upon these differences between receipts and exp enditures, resulted in sana net or TsdSssTTH ths Tnited States from ssss.. lli,0AO to ss97.25s,9s0. notwithstand. ing that there had been two sales of Panana Canal sopas sas ssn ana s n 1.sns of per cent. certificates of indebted. ness under the act of June ls. 1898. amounting to &15.436,b00. sRefundlng Siilder the act of March 14. 1900. re- suited iii the conversion into per cent. consots of 1930' of s200, sos,4
 bonds sssnTS T sShsr sstfs s fh the asSua interest charge resulted from these op'
 n shert. during the seven years and H>pius of nearly one hundred millions of receipts over expenditures, reduction ! of the interest bearing debt by ninety expense of the Panama Canal. and a i A saving of nearly nine millions on the < annual interest charge. This is an ex- Oeedingly satisfactory showing. esPe- \ this period the nation has never hss- < itated to undertake any expenditure that it regarded as necessary. There ! have been no new taxes and no in- R crease of taxes; on the contrary some I taxes have been taken of: there has z been a reduction of taxation.
 Corporations.
 As regards the great corporations N engaged in interstate business. and | S esnecially the railroads. can only i rereat what have already again and & ahain said in my messages to the Con- 8 rregs | believe that under the inter sgate cIauSe of the Consultation the ! limited States has complete and para 8 mount right to control all agencies of < interstate commerce, and believe that < the National Government alone can x exercise. this right with wisdom and sns p o es S SSt9 usecs sS secure se 4 great corporations which are the most S Important factors fin modern business. I4 beIieve that it is worse than folly E tu attenap. to prohibit all 1onabina. rions as is done By the sherman anti trust law because such Q law can. be I enforced only impeFfectly and une- qualiyy and It's enforcement works al- E most as much hardship as good. strongiy advocate that instead of an $ unyv wise effort to prohibtt all combina- tions there shall be substituted a law which shall expressly permif eombina- I tIons which are in the interest of the public but shall at the same time give 4 10 some agency of the National Gov ernment full power of control and suR pervision over them. One Of the chief S features of this control should be se- 8 curing entire publicity in all matters which the public has right to know, and furthermore, the power, not by Judicial but by executive action. to prevent or put stop to every form of Improper fayoritism or other wrong
 The railways of the country should be pdt completely under the InteFstate 4 Conimerce. ComTnission and removed from the domain of the antitrust law