The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-12-08

enL department., ana Oh Dne IrSSl0Pnlld
office, II the amount OF matter car
ried absolutely free were made to pay
postage, the Department would be re-
| lieved OF its deficit AT once. But oven
then there would be no particular ad
vantage to the public, because the de-
partments and the members Of Con
gress paying postage would recouT
| themselves by appropriations for neces'
sary purchases Of stamps, So 1T would
merely amount to taking money out of
one pocket and putting it into another
which is hardly worth while, and by
not doing it wo save the labor of max
ing the transfer.
The President is strong in urging pos
tai savings banks, but it is not likely
that the present Congress Will do any
thing about this. 1t was noted when
the postal savings bill was being dis
cussed in the Senate at the last session
of Congress that there seemed to be in
supcrablo practical obstacles in the way
of establishing such savings banks. The
Postoffice Department would require
those who considered the estimates
were staggered and various PROPOSE
tions were made to eliminate either
tins or that, to pay interest but once
n year to depositors, and in other ways
to ease up in the way Of clerical and
other labor, 1t was seen that it would
be proposition not Of adding n few
clerks here and there but Of adding
them by the thousands throughout the
country, and the members Of Congress
drew back appalled, at the tremendous
additions to the clerical force that the
postal savings banks would entail.
The President recommends forcibly
and sharply the granting of ship sub
sides in consonance with the speeches
he made on the coast during his recent
tour Here, also, he will probably fail,
because, although he is quite right
about it, there is an apparently over
whelming opposition to any plan for
ship subsidies. All admit that the
American merchant marine ought to be
It could be re-establshed
by subsidies. 1t could be
by allowing reduction
in the tariff on goods imported in
American ships, but this would lead
to foreign complications, and would
same thing as subsidy. The opposi-
tion to subsidies is able to defeat them,
but is not able to propose anything that
will restore the American merchant
marine.
The President calls attention to the
fact that the admission of New Mexico
and Arizona as states was promised in
the Republican platfrom last year and
he urges that this promise be kept.
With reference to the government of
Alaska, he recommends the appoint
ment of legislative commission to
enact such local legislation as is neces-
sary. Right there, however, he will
find decided opposition among the con-
titutional lawyers. When a legislative
commission was urged n good many
years ago for Utah as the best solution
of the troubles here, the best constitu-
tional lawyers in Congress, including
Senator Edmunds, said there were
grave constitutional questions involved
in the creation of such n commission,
and the weight of opinion was that it
would be unconstitutional TO thus ap-
point local legislative body If the
same constitutional opinion still gov
erns In Congress, there Will be no legis.
lative commission for Alaska, and that
great region will be left as it is now,
without the proper attention Of gov
agencies; because it is out
Of the question for Congress to legis
late direct for a Territory so remote
and SO little known to the most of the
members.
The President recommends the ap-
pointment of Bureau Of Public Health,
and gives strong reasons in support
He makes no recommendation of n
Bureau Of Mines, however, which the
American Mining Congress in its re-
cent session in Goldfield so strongly
recommended. Neither does he recon-
mend Bureau Of Public Works to
take charge among other things OF i'm
provements Of the Mississippi river and
its tributaries, although he is very
strongly in favor Of the improvement
Of navigation on those streams.
Closing his message, the President
the country upon the high
state Of prosperity that the people are
now enjoying, upon the substantial bust
ness expansion that is upon the coun.
try, and IS enthusiastic upon the out
look for the future.
The message as whole is a good
business document, but by no means
as strong as the people would have been
glad to see come from the White House.
HE DIDN'T TELL THE STORY.
OF the sermon deIiyornd by EIJo-