The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-03-26
Confined From Page One.)

| country to do for revenue? The Treas
ury must have about $3.50. 000. 900 a
| year more. The coffee tax would be
unpopular. The Democrats would seize
| upon it as an issue. But some of the
States would fight the inheritance tax.
| as an eneroachment upon their taxing
prerogatives.
Strangely enough that old subject of
| tariff contentiOn-sugar-is not figur-
| ing in the great tariff hubbub of the
present moment. 1t used TO be the
| piece de resistance But the upper
/ most question is how to get revenue,
and the experts are convinced that the
sugar duties of the Dingley law are
fixed just about right for getting a
maximum of revenue. That is the
| chief reason why there has been no
chewing the rag over sugar. Some
| of the big canning factories, East and
West, have asked for lower sugar du-
/ ties, but apparently they have made
no impression upon Congress-
| 1t would be very easy to clap a
higher tax upon whisky, but there,
again, the experts in internal revenue
matters say that the country is now
| ScttiuS d Oh revenue from
whisky. If they tax it any more, the
moonshiners will become active, which
means that in the aggregate the cost
| of collecting the whisky taxes will
rise enormously and that the net pro-
eeeds to the government will not be
materially increased. The tax on beer
| can be raised. There is no such thing
as moonshining in the brewery bust
ness, and larger beer tax would sure
| ly yield additional revenue. But the
/ trouble there is that the saloonkeeper
will find ways of curtailing the ca
! pacity of a schooner and the thirsty
citizen with an educated foot at the
| public bar will tholler''
So the brows of a lot of statesmen
on the Hill are furrowed. Not but
| what there are ways of raising money
| plenty of ways. But all the ordi-
nary methods of taxation have been
well-nigh exhausted. With all its great
military establishments. this has be
| come billion dollar-a year govern
ment. The people like to see the
money fly. They applaud at the Unit
ed States making such a fine show.
Now, however, the bills must be paid,
and apparently it is going to be inn
| possible to pay them without impos-
ing taxes such as have hitherto been
imposed only in time of war.
| Uncle Sam himself is beginning to
| feel the hard times He will not eur
| tail The country will not let him,
| but he must have the money. Hence
| the great TODD about taxing coffee,
tea and beer or anything else that can
! yield the Treasury an honest dollar.
President Taft is facing new cendi-
! ton. He now has a Congress on his
hands. 1t is nothing new, of course, as
| far as other Presidents have been con
tcerned. But Congress has been SUI
preme test to many a President. 1t
was to Cleveland, to Harrison and to
Roosevelt. Congress has made Presi-
| dents pass many a sleepless night. 1t
/ may, or may not, give President Taft
insomnia before the spring and summer
are over
The incoming Congress is a problem
| to it's leaders. They have been wrest-
ling days and nights over its program.
| Little wonder that it should give a
new President quite as much worry.
| For he is the party leader. as well as
| the President. The country, in the
! long run, holds him responsible. It may
| blame the Speaker. 1t may blame the
! Senate Constituencies may blame
| their respective members of the House
| in certain instances. But after the
man at the crossroads has argued il all
out, if Congress displeases him, he puts
i, the blame upon the man in the White
| House. Ditto, the credit, if Congress
| enacts the laws that please him.
President Taft is playing a strong
hand thus far. To be sure he has had
no legislative experience. He never
! even served as member of any minor
| legislative body. In that regard he IS
in the same class with Cleveland. Har-
rison had been a United States Senator
| from Indiana for six years. Garfield
! was a veteran in the House, as Nc
Kinley had been. Mckinley got along
splendidly with Congress, but every
congressman felt as though Mckinley
was one of his own elan. There is
much of the clan in your average SEN
ator and average member. He likes
| men who speak the language of his
tribe Cleveland did not speak the
congressional dialect; neither did
Roosevelt, although in his younger days
he had been member of the New
York legislature.
But President Taft has had more ex-
perience with Congress than either
Cleveland or Roosevelt had mad. He
has 'sworked bills through the Senate
and through the House. All in all he
has had very good preparatory train
ing.
The conferences and parleys that
precede every important session OF
Congress call for much tact and much
resourcefulness on the part of Presl-
dent. Mr. Taft has been going through
that ordeal during the last ten days.
| He has stood it very satisfactorily, at
least from the standpoint of the men
who rule at the Capitol. He has refused
to treat with insurgents, who, of course
are a small minority. He has shown
great firmness in adhering to his views,
but at the same time has been eour-
teous and considerable of Republican
congressman with whom he found him.
self at odds. And on the whole these
insurgents. most of whom are Western
men. entertain nothing but good Will
for him.
Mr.. Taft has been laboring assidu-