The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1909-12-11
MESSAGE READ
TO CONGRESS
Needed Legislation Outlined by
President Taft.
WORKINGS OF TARIFF ACT
Maximum and Minimum Clause Dis
cUssed-PractabiIity of Postal Saw
ings Banks Considered TO Be
Beyond Question.

Washington.-The message OF the
president to congress may be sum-
married as follows:
The relations of the United States
to all foreign governments, with the
exception of the unfortunate embroil-
ment with Nicaragua, are declared
satisfactory. That our friendly rela-
tions with Mexico have been cement
ed py the recent meeting of the pres
idents of the two republics is evil
denced by the following passage in
the message:
Ny meeting with President DIaz and
the greeting exchanged on both Ameri-
can and Mexican soil served, L hope. to
signaiize the close and cordial relations
which so wen bind together this republic
and the great republic Immediately to the
south. between which there is vast
network of material interests
A system providing for the pension
ing of civil servants is favored.
The message makes mention that
criminal prosecutions against I'M
worthy government officers in con-
nection with sugar trust custom house
frauds are going forward.
The message says:
I regret TO refer TO the fact of the dis
covery OF extensive frauds in the cOllec-
ton of the customs revenue at New York
city. in which number of the subor-
dinate employees in the weighing and
other departments were directly con-
cerned. and in which the henefciaries
were the American Sugar Refining Com
pany and others. The frauds consisted
In the payment OF duty on underweights
of sugar. The government has recovered
from the American Sugar Refining Com
pany all that ii is shown to have been de-
la
OF the amount due. which might have
been recovered by civil SUIT against the
beneficiary of the fraud, but there
an express reservation in the contract OF
settlement by which the settlement should
not interfere with, prevent the Grim
inal prosecution of everyone who was
found to be subject to the same.
On the question of the tariff the
president treasures the country as to
possibility of tariff war over the max
imum and minimum clause in the
bill. He asks the people to have con-
fidence that the chief executive will
tactfully carry out the provisions Of
the measure.
Quoting the plank of the platform
on which the Republican candidate
was elected, the message declares the
intention of the administration to up
hold every principle of law but con-
dennis the issuance of hasty injunc-
tons
Deficit in the postoGice department,
the president declares, is due to the
undercharging of second-class mail
matter, he being OF the opinion that
such matter does not pay it's due
share toward expenses.
The president continues:
office department is largely caused by
the low rate Of postage of I cent q
pound charged second class mail
matter. which includes not only news
papers but magazines and miscellan-
eous periodicals. The actual loss
growing out of the transmission of
this second-class mail matter at l cent
pound amounts to about S63 900 900
! year. The average cost of the trans
portation of THIS matter is more than
! cents a pound.
1t appears that the average distance
! over which newspape are delivered
| to their customers is -291 miles. while
| the average haul of ma gaines is 1.049
| and of miscellaneous periodicals LIPS
/ miles. Thus. the average haul of the
! ma gazine is three and one-half times
| and that of the miscellaneous period
/ ical nearly four times the haul of the
! daily newspaper. yet all of them pay
the same postage rate of 1 cent a
pound The statistics of 1907 show
I liltl SeCOnu class mail matter consul
! tuted 63.91 per cent OF the weight of
| all the mail. and yielded only 5.19 per
! cent of the revenue.
The figures given are startling and
show the payment by the government
OF an enormous subsidy to the news
! papers. magazines and periodicals. and
congress may well consider whether
| radical steps should not be taken to
reduce the deficit in the office de-
! partment caused by this discrepancy
between the actual cost of transporta .
ton and the compensation exacted
| therefor.
great saving might be made.
amounting to much more than half of
the loss. by imposing upon magazines
and periodicals a higher rate OF post
age.
The immediate institution Of postal
savings banks is recommended
An earnest recommendation is made
for the passage of ship subsidy bill.
With the urging of legislation look
ing to the conservation of our national
resources, the message concludes:
Il urgently recommend to congress
that a law be passed requiring that can
didates In elections OF members of the
house OF representatives and committees
in charge of their candidacy and cam
paign file in proper Office OF the United
States government a statement oe the
contributions received and OF the expen-
ditures incurred in the campaign for such
elections and that similar legislation be
enacted in respect to all other elections
which are constitutionally within tho con-
troll OF congress-