The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1909-12-09


three and half times as great
The total deficit for the last fiscal year
In the post office department amounted TO
S17.50O. 600. The branches of its business
which il did at q loss were the second
class mail service. in which the loss as
already said was $63, 000. zoo. and the free
rural delivery, in which the loss was S2S,-
100000. Those losses were in part offset
by the profits of the letter postage and
other sources of income 1t would seem
wise to reduce the loss upon second class
mail matter, at least to the extent of pre-
venting a deficit i'm the total operations of
the post office department.
The second subject worthy of mention
in the postoffice department is the real
necessity and entire practicabiity of eS-
tablishing postal savings banks The sue
cessful party at the last election declared
in favor of postal savings banks, and al
though the proposition finds opponents in
many parts of the country. / am con-
WINGED that the people desire such banks.
and am sure that when the banks are
furnished they will be productive of the
utmost good / believe them to be neces-
sary in order to offer a proper induce
ment to thrift and saving to great many
people of small means who do not now
have banking facilities and to whom
such a system would offer an opportunity
for the accumulation of capital. They
Will furnish a satisfactory substitute,
based on sound principle and actual sue
cessful trial in nearly all the countries
ment guarantee of deposits now being
adopted in several western states. which
with Difference to those who advocate it
seems to me to have in it the seeds OF
decentralization to conservative banking
and certain financial disaster.
Recommend dis Ship Subsidy.
Following the course of my distin-
guished predecessor. l earnestly recon-
mend to Congress the consideration and
passage of a ship subsidy BILL looking to
the establishment of lines between our
Atlantic SeabOard and the eastern coast
of South America, as well as lines from
the west coast of the United States to
South America, China, Japan and the
Philippines.
Interior Department..
The successful party in the last cleo
ton in its national platform declared in
favor of the admission as separate states
of New Mexico and Arizona, and l rec
ommend that legislation appropriate to
this end be adopted.
A Governor for Alaska.
With respect to the territory of Alas
ka, L recommend legislation which shall
provide for the appointment by the Pres
ioent OF a governor and also an executive
council. the members of which shall dur
ing their term of Office reside in the ter
ritory, and which shall have legislative
powers sufficient to enable ii to give to
the territory local laws adapted to it's
present growth.
Conservation of National Rcsources.
In several departments there is pre-
scented the necessity for legislation look
ing to the further conservation of our
national resources. and the subject is one
of such Importance as to require q more
detailed and extended discussion than can
be entered upon in this communication
For that reason | shall take an early
opportunity TO send a special message to
Congress on the subject of the improve
Of
nation and irrigation of arid. semi-arid
and swamp lands; upon the preservation
of our forests and the reforesting of suit
able areas; upon the Reconsideration of
the public domain with view of sep
arating from agricultural settlement min
eral. coal and phosphate lands and sites
belonging TO the government bordering
on streams suitable for the utilization of
water power.
Department of Agriculture.
l commend to your careful considera-
ton the report Of the secretary of agri-
culture as showing the immense sphere
of usefulness which that department now
fills and the wonderful addition to the
wealth of the nation made by the farmers
of this country in the crops of the cur
rent year.
The .sWhite Slave" Trade.
1 greatly regret to have TO say that
the Investigations made I'm the bureau
of immigration and other sources of in
formation lead to the view that there is
urgent necessity for additional legislation
and greater executive activity TO sup
press.
Bureau of Health.
The opportunities offered for useful re-
search ami the spread of useful infor-
nation in regard to the cultivation of
the soil and the breeding of stock and the
solution of many of the intricate prob
lens in progressive agriculture have dem
ON q "a wisdom
department Similar reasons. of equal
force. can be given for the establishment
of bureau of health that shall not only
exercise the police jurisdiction of the fed
eral government respecting quarantine.
but which shall also afford an opportuni-
ty for investigation and research by COM
petent experts into questions OF health
affecting the whole country. or import
ant sections thereof questions which, in
the absence of federal governmental work,
are not likely to be promptly solved.
The Civil Service Commission.
The work of the United States civil
service commission has been performed
to the general satisfaction of the execu-
tive officers with whom the commission
has been brought into official communi-
cation.
Recommendations have been made by
my predecessors that Congress appropri-
ate sufficient sum TO pay the balance
about SO per cent-of the amounts due
depositors i'm the Freedmans Savings and
Trust Company / renew this recommen-
dation.
fermentation Semf-CentenninI.
The year 1918 will mark the fiftieth
anniv ersary of the issuance of the Eman-
cipation Proclamation granting freedom
to the negroes 1t seems fitting that this
event should be properly celebrated. Al
ready a movement has been started by
prominent negroes. encouraged by prom
inent white people and the press.
In Conclusion.
have thus in message compressed
as much as the subjects will permit, re-
ferred to many of the legislative needs
of the country with the exceptions al
ready noted. Speaking generally, the
country is in a high state of prosperity.
There is every reason to believe that we
are on the eve of n substantial business
EXPANSION, and we have just garnered a
harvest unexampled i'm the market value
of our agricultural products. The hlgn
prices which such products bring mean
great prosperity for the farming COM
munity. but on the other hand they mean
n very considerably increased burden upon
those classes i'm the community whose
yearly compensation does not expand
with the Improvement in business and the
general prosperity. Various reasons are
given for the high prices. The proper
tomato increase in the output OF gold,
which to-day is the chief medium OF eX-
change and is in some respects measure
of value, furnishes substantial eXplana-
ton OF at least part of the Increase in
prices. The increase in population ana
the more expensive mode of living of the
people which have not been accompanied
by a proportionate increase i'm acreage
production, may furnish further rea-
son. 1t is well to note that the increase
i'm the cost of living is not confined 10 this
country, but prevails the world over, ana
that those who would charge increases in
prices TO the existing protective tariff
must meet the fact that the rise in prices
has taken place almost wholly in those
nroducts of the factory and farm in re-
spect to which there has been either no
increase i'm the tariff or i'm many instances
a very considerable reduction.
VIM. III. TAFT.