The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-02-16
rkFrs INHERITANCE.

appal even big man like himself. The crhm matter is not really joke or trifie. and the prospscts nov are that it will be left for the new ad- ministration to tackle and settle. Rooseveit's obstinate persistence in trying to force upon the city and peo-,, pie of Charleston a man they do not want could not be explained fit were any man but Roosevelt He has 90 pertinaciously insisted on making his own will and desire the sole guide of his oficiai acts that he fails to see why putting a negro into an important ofnce in Charleston should give of- fense and evidently cannot understand why people there or in Congress cp- pose any of his acts. His idea is that all should accept what he offers them and make no complaint.
 Mir. Taft, in various speeches and interviews while in the South has let it be understood that it win not be his policy to appoint men to places In this section without regard to the wishes of the people. We do not know that he has said in SO many words that he will not appoint negroes to responsible positions in the South but he has left that impression. If he names crum to De collector of the port of Charleston he win assuredly weaken the good opinion the South ern people now have of him. and if he refuses to appoint him he will offend the colored voters and their white ad- herents and packers. It Is ticklish proposition for the new President.
 Then there is the whole weight of the canal proposition to fall on him. with all its diflculties and compiica- tfons. It is hardly to be doubted that MT. Roosevelt expected to see the canal completed during his term. With no knowledge of the immense work to be done, or how 1t should be done, or of the engineering difficulties to be encountered and overcome, he has gone blunderingly along in his buli-headed way and Anade a mess of it. No com- potent authority can now tell whether the work can be successfully com pleted under the lock plan now being attempted. or whether that will be abandoned and the sea-ievel plan take its place. No one can even approxi- mate the cost of the work or when | it will be completed. President Roose- welt gave out in the early stages of the work that it would not cost more than one hundred and fifty million dollars, but now there are estimates which place the cost as high as half e billion and even that may be ex- ceeded. Mir. Taft has given consider able attention to the job but he will find that he has inherited an elephant.
 Then there is the problem of finding way to get rid of the dehcit and to make the governments income ex- ceed or even equal its expenses. The deficit for the present fiscal year will amount to one hundred and twenty i've million dollars. at a moderate esti- mate, and it Is constantly growing. Under the Roosevelt regime the army and navy have been put on the Euro pean basis, and now the proposition is to spend fifty or sixty million dol- lars on new battleships to meet the extravagant ideas of statesmen who seem never to ask themselves where the money is to come from. Their idea is to make appropriations and leave 1t to others to provide the means. %
 The fact is that under Roosevelt's reign-and we use the term advisedly- the whole idea seems to7have been to do everything on e big scale. with out regard to expenses. The material result is a big and increasing deficit which Mir. Taft must find awaiting him and no present way to overcome 1t. Roosevelt advises an income tax. and other Republicans are advising an increased tariff on the necessities of life. Neither of these remedies will be popular, and 1t is doubtful if the new incumbent will endorse either. As now appears, the next administration will be forced to make another bond Issue in order to meet expenses, un- less there is a decided increase in business and revenue, or unless Mfr. Taft can find a way to lop off useless expenses and prevent extravagant ap. propriations.
 In short. MT. Taft will find con- fronting him some problems which will require a firm hand and wise states manship. or his administration will be a failure. We do not remember that any other President has bequeathed to his successor such serious problems as Mir. Taft will inherit, and unless he takes a firm stand and can have the assistance of Congress he will find 1t difficult, if not impossible to over come the obstacles he must encounter. Let US hope that the next administra- ton will be widely different from the present.
 WE SOON FORGET.