Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1908-12-11
Presidents Message.
TO TIE Senate and House OF Reprcsc:,
tatiVeS

the present time la excellent ana th'
financial management "a the nations In
Seyen years has shown the most 5atsIac-
cory results. But Our currency system Is
Imperfect, and 1t Is ehtnesay 70 oe no sPtll
% 20 f Do away ' RfS tie e4stIns
se Dssng ne ps ss tas9p T Sa an
In the amount of money IN circulation of
$500 9s1, 1883. This incrsase IN the per capita l
during this period was $7.O6. Within th!s
time there were several occasions when 1t
was necessary for the treasury department
to come to the relief OF the money m Gart
by purchases or redemptions of United States
bonds; by increasing deposits In natlohili
banks; by stimulating additional issues OF
national bank notes and by faeita ting mn in1-
perfect currency system has made these
proceedings necessary, and they We're e.
fectiye, until the monetary disturbance thu 1n
difficulty Of ordinary methods OF releI. ny
the middle of November the available work
duced to approximately $4,000, OOO Clearing
house associations throughout the country
had been obliged to. resort to the expeuletht
of Issuing clearing MOUSE qbf eargencT IT was
determined to invite subscriptions for 800
100000 Panama canal bonds, and $l0o,Ooo,-
600 three per cent. certificates of 1ndebted-
ness authorized by the act of June 49, 1898;
It was proposed to redeposit in the natlonal
banks the proceeds of these issues, ana TO
Circulating notes of national banks. Inc
moral effect of this procedure was SO great
that it was necessary to issue only $z4'oo55aa'
$50 Of the Panama canal bonds ana S1o,4oo'-
800 of the certificates of indebtedness
During the period from July l, leQl TO
September 80, 1908, the balance nc, betW "rd1
nary expenses of the government snoWed "a a
surplus in the four years 1902, 1908, . l9oo
and 1907, and a deficit in the years 1874
1905, 1905 and a fractional part of the
dscal year 1909. The net result was a sur
plus of sos, 283, 413.54 The financial opera
tons of the government during TINS perloo'
based upon these differences between re-
ceipts and expenditures, resulted In a net
reduction of the interest-bearing debt or the
United States from $685., 141, 04O to $S9l ,2o3,~
900, Notwithstanding that there had been
two sales of Panama canal bonds amount
ing In the aggregate to SOD, 63l 49, ana an
issue of three per cent. certlhcates OF On IN
ydebtedness under the act of June l3, 1898,
amounting to $50, 436, 500 Refundlng opera
itons Of the treasury department. under the
act of March IA, 1900, resulted in the con
version into two per cent consois OF 1880
of $500, 800, 400 bonds bearing higher rates
of interest. decrease of $S,691 900 IN the
annual interest charge resulted from these
operations
In short. during the seven years and three
months there has been net surplus OF
nearly one hundred millions of receipts over
expenditures, a reduction Of the INTEREST
bearing debt by ninety millions. in spite
canal, and a saving of nearly nine millions
on the annual interest charge. This Is an
exceedingly satisfactory showing, especially
in view of the fact that during this period
the nation has never hesitated to undertake
any expenditure that it regarded as neces,
sary. There have been no new taxes ana no
increases of taxes on the contrary some
taxes have been taken off; there has been
reduction Of taxation.
Corporations.
As regards the great corporations engaged
In interstate business and especially the
railroads | can only repeat what l have
a AGAIN
sages to the Congress. | believe that under the
interstate clause of the Constitution the
right to control all agencies of interstate
commerce, and I believe that the national
government alone can exercise this right
with wisdom and effectiveness so as both
to secure justice from, and to do justice to,
the great corporations which nre the most
important factors in modern business pushes
tempt to prohibit all combinations as is
done by the Sherman antitrust law, be-
cause such law can be enforced only imper-
fectly and unequally, and its enforcement
works almost as much hardship as good.
I strongly advocate that instead of an unwise
effort to prohibit all combinations, there
shall be substituted a law which shall ex-
pressly permit combinations which are in
the interest of the public, but shall at the
Eional government full power of control and
supervision over them. One of the chief
features of this control should be securing
public has a right to know, and further
more. the power not by judicial but by
executive action, to prevent or put stop
to every form of improper faVor1tlSm OF
other wrongdoing.
The railways of the country should be
put completely under the interstate COM
Inerce commission and removed from the
domain of the antitrust law The power
of the commission should be made thor
oughgoing, so that it could exercise COM
plete supervision and control over the issue
OF securities as well as over the raising
and lowering of rates. AS regards rates.
at least, this power should be summary
The power to investigate the financial op-
,erations and accounts of the railways has
been one of the most valuable features in
recent legislation. Power to make comb1-
nations and traffic agreements should be
explicitly conferred upon the railroads, the
permission of the commission being first
gained and the combination or agreement
being published in all it's details. In the
interest of the public the representatives
of the public should have complete power
to see that the railroads do their duty by
the public, and as a matter of course this
power should also be exercised so as to
see that no injustice is done to the rail-
the shippers all have interests that must be
guarded. 1t is to the interest of all of them
that no swindling stock speculation should
be allowed, and that there should be no
Improper issuance of securities. The guild
ing intelligences necessary for the success
6uI building and successful management OF
railroads should receive ample remunera-
tion; but no man should be allowed to
make money in connection with railroads
out of fraudulent over-capitaltzation and
kindred stock gambling performances; there
tnust be no defrauding of investors, oppres-
6ien of the farmers and business men who
ship freight, or callous disregard of the
flights and needs of the employees. In ad-
Sftion to this the interests of the share
holders, of the employees, and Of the ship
pers should Ill be guarded as against one
another. To give any one of them undue
and Improper consideration is to do IN
justice to the others. Rates must be made
as low as is compatible with giving proper
10 oil fhp milo of no roll
from the highest to the lowest, and proper
returns to the shareholders; but they must
not, for instance, be reduced in such fash
ion as to necesSitate a cut in the wages of
the employees or the abolition Of the prop
er and legitimate profits of honest share
holders.
Telegraph and telephone companies en-
gagged in interstate business should be put
under the jurisdiction of the interstate
commerce commission.
1t is very earnestly to be wished that
our people, through their representatives