The Washington herald., 1909-03-05
FRIDAY. MARCH ). 1903.
Mr. Tsft's Inaugural Address

administration so far as that may be
done al the moment. He makes Il
Derfectly plain that there is 10 be no
break with the Roosevelt regime He Is
committed TO a Federalistic programme
Il regulative legislation affecting inter
state commerce and industrial enterprises
doing an interstate business; 10 the main
tenanee Of our naval and military efi-
cheney; 10 comprehensive schemes Of in
ternaI improvement; 10 the conservation
Z our natural resources. and 10 a liberal
scale OF governmental expenditure. Mr.
Taft Is no more a laissez faire statesman
than his predecessor, and he frankly
avows his belief that modern govern
ments can and should do more for the
general welfare Of the people than was
accounted safe or possible a few decades
1go.
Our new President promises 10 work
ut d plan Of Federal regulation Of inter
tate business that Viii not run counter
D economic progress or countenance arbi- I
trary artificial monopoIies substantially /
on the lines laid down by Mr.. Roosevelt. 1
The tariff. however. viii take precedence /
IF all other legislative matters. for the
questions Of revenue and taxation loom
large al the very outse. Of the new adj
ministration. Mr.. Taft faces the neces- /
sijy Of higher taxation frankly. New
lmposts will have 10 be borne by the peo- I
pie If the present scale Of governmental
expenditures is 10 De maintained. No
tariff bin can be framed. al least no pro- +
rective tariff bin. that viii yield the
requisite income 1Ir Taft. therefore. /
rocommends an inheritance Tax. a recon-
mendation that Is familiar enough. but
which Is bound to arouse heated contr0-
ve-sy. Mr- Roosevelt. it VIII be remem-
bered. was for a graduated Inheritance
tax as an economic device for reducing
swollen fortunes. His successor. favors
IL as a revenue measure simply. though
doubtless alive 10 its other economic pos
sibiliries- Il remains 10 be seen what
Congress. and particularly the Senate. .
~iIl think of this method Of raising gov I
ernmentsI revenues.
As 70 tariff revision proper. the new
President reiterates his familiar views.
which are far in advance Of those gen
orally entertained at the Capitol. Re
vision downward he evidently ex7ects in
most Of the schedules. with a view not
only Of cutting out overpr0tection. bus /
also Of increasing the revenues from i'm +
pOrtatious- Moreover Mr. Taft is aware
of the Importance Of removing some Of /
the tariff barriers 20 foreign trade, which I
no hopes may he possible through the OF
Grafton Of maximum and minimum rates /
If duty We judge there win be general /
commeHdation OF 1Ir. Tafts liberal In /
depreciation Of the protective theory. an I
Interpretation which It may be hoped VIII /
commend itself TO the legislative branch. !
where a more thorough indoctri1ation 4
into the necessity and meaning Of real!
tariff revision is badly wanted. If NJ. /
Taft shall succeed in converting Congress
% his way Of thinking on the tariff ques-
ton. he VIII have achieved a notable ad- 4
miniStrative triumph, more in fact, than .
most observers Of the tariff situation now (
expect 10 be accomplished
A1r- Taft continues 10 show his so1fcf- /
tude for the good viii Of the South. The
fifteenth amendment must stand as fix
ing an ideal Of poItcat. conditions. that
.T- D
but however that may he. the Federal +
government has no disposition 10 inter
fere with the domestic concerns Of the
States The appointment Of negroes to
office over tie protest Of the communities
they must serve he considers a question
able method Of encouraging the coIored \
people in their progress. and likely 10
foment rather than 10 mitigate racial
feeling His declaration on this point
foreshadows complete abandonment Of the
former policy Of his party respecting
Southern Federal patronage. Neverthe-
less. The new deal VIII be 10 the advan-
tage Of the colored people. who have 80
reason to feel that the door Of oppor-
tunity is being closed 10 them. since Mr..
Taft avows his purpose of finding other
means Of recognizing their more talented
leaders
We feel that the main purposes indi-
Gated in Mr.. Taffs inaugural address viii
meet with favor the country over. We miss
the pungent flavor, the clarion call TO
Righteousness. that marked so many Of
Mr- Roosevelt's state papers; yet the
Rooseveltian ideal is there. the pathway
TO our national future that Roosevelt
blazed- a sane and conservative paper
many viii call it, ignoring the many con
troversial points It contains. the rough
legislative road the programme so moder-
ately outlined must travel before IT is
embodied in statutory law. But the essen
tial thing IS that Mr.. Taft has elected to n
so the Rooseveltian way; to adopt for
ward and progressive programme. Reac-
tiOnaries viii find nothing 10 encourage
them in the spoken word; they must de-