The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1909-12-10
MESSAGE READ
TO CONGRESS
Needed Legislation Outlined by
President Taft.
WORKINGS OF TARIFF ACT
Maximum and Minimum Clause Dis
cussed-Practability of Postal Saw
inqs Banks Considered to Be
Beyond Question.

JILL ~ ASSc.o
president to congress may be sum-
married. as follows:
The relations of the United States
to all foreign governments, with the
exception of the unfortunate embroil-
ment with Nicaragua, are declared
satisfactory. That our friendly rela-
tons with Mexico have been cement
ed by the recent meeting of the pres
idents of the two republics is evil
denced by the following passage In
the message:
NY meeting with President Diaz and
the greeting exchanged on both Ameri-
can and Mexican soil served, 1 hope, to
signalize the close and cordial relations
which so well bind together this republic
and the great republic Immediately to the
south. between which there Is so vast q
network Of material interests.
A system providing for the pension
ing of civil servants Is favored.
The message makes mention that
criminal prosecutions against I'M
worthy government officers in con-
nection with sugar trust custom house
frauds are going forward.
The message says:
I regret to refer to the fact of the dis
covery of extensive frauds in the collec-
ton of the customs revenue at New York
city, in which a number Of the subor-
dinate employees in the weighing and
other departments were directly con-
cerned. and in which the benefciaries
were the American Sugar Refining Com
pany and others. The frauds consisted
In the payment of duty on underweights
IF cr1oar The UnVprnmanf has recovered
from the American Sugar Refining Com
pany all that 1t is shown to have been de-
frauded Of. The sum was received in full
of the amount due, which might have
been recovered by civil suit against the
beneficiary of the fraud, but there was
an express reservation in the contract OF
settlement by which the settlement should
not interfere with. or prevent the GRIM
inal prosecution of everyone who was
found to be subject to the same.
Criminal prosecutions are now proceed
ing against a number of the government
officers. The treasury department and the
department Of justice are eXerting every
effort to discover all the wrongdoers. in
Guiding the officers and employees Of the
companies who may have been privy to
the fraud. 1t would seem to me that an
investigation Of the frauds by congress at
present, pending the probing by the treas
ury department and the department OF
JUSTICE, as pTOpOSou, might ny giving III
munity and otherwise prove an embar-
rassment in securing conviction of the
guilty parties.
On the question of the tarih the
president treasures the country as to
possibility of tariff wal over the max
imum and minimum clause in the
bill. He asks the people to have con-
fdence that the chief executive will
t~actfully carry out the provisions of
the measure.
Quoting the plank of the platform
on which the Republican candidate
was elected, the message declares the
intention of the administration to up
hold every principle of law, but con,
dennis the issuance of hasty injunc.
tons.
Deficit in the postoffice department,
the president declares, is due to the
undercharging Of secOnd-class mail
matter, he being of the opinion that
such matter does not pay its due
share toward expenses.
The president continues:
The deficit every year in the post
office department is largely caused by
the low rate of postage of 1 cent a
pound charged OF ~sec0nd-class mail
matter, which includes not only news
papers but magazines and miscellan-
eous periodicals. The actual loss
growing out of the transmission OF
this s~econd-class mail matter at l cent
a pound amount to about 500. 000, 600
a year. The average cost Of the trans
portation Of this matter is more than
8 cents a pound.
1t appears that the average distance
over which spa are delivered
to their customers is 291 miles, while
the average haul Of magazines is 1,o4S.
and of miscellaneous periodicals 1,12S
miles. Thus, the average haul OF the
magazine is three and One-half times
and that OF the miscellaneous period
ical nearly four times the haul of the
daily newspaper, yet all OF them pay
the same postage rate of l cent a
pound. The statistics of 1907 show
that second-class mail matter consti-
tuted 63.91 per cent of the weight OF
all the mail, and yielded only 5.19 per
cent Of the revenue.
The figures given are startling. and
show the payment by the government
Of an enormous subsidy to the news
papers, magazines and periodicals, and
congress may well consider whether
radlcal steps SnOulQ not De taken TO
the deficit in the post-ofice de-
partment caused by this discrepancy
between the actual cost Of transporta-
ton and the compensation exacted
therefor.
A great saving might be made,
amounting to much more than half OF
the loss. by imposing upon magazines
and periodicals a higher rate of post
age. They are much heavier than
newspapers, and contain a much higher
proportion Of advertising to reading
matter, and the average distance OF
their transportation is three and q half
times as great.
The immediate institution of postal
savings banks is recommended.
An earnest recommendation is made
for, the passage of a ship subsidy bill.
With the urging of legislation look
ing to the conservation of our national
resources, the message concludes:
II urgently recommend to congress
that a law be passed requiring hat can
didates in elections Of members Of the
house of representatives and committees
in charge of their candidacy and am
paign file in a proper Office of the United
States government a statement Of tho
received and of the expen- |
ditures incurred in the campai1n for such |