Omaha daily bee., 1909-03-05
President Taft's Message.


pushed to their logical conclusion by
the new administration. The opening
paragraph OF his inaugural address,
the mere preliminary v~erbiage,
contains the declaration:
have had the honor to be one OF the
advisers Of my distinguished predecessor,
and as such, to hold up his hands in the
he has initiated. I should be UNI
true to myself. to my promises and to the
declarations Of the party platform upon
which I was elected TO office n | did not
make the maintenance and enforcement Of
those reforms a most important feature
Of my administration. They were directed
to the suppression OF the lawlessness and
abuses of power OF the great combination
OF capital invested in railroads and in in
enterprises carrying on interstate
commerce.
Had President Taft concluded his
address with that statement
the country would have been content
to leave the rest in his hands. The
demanded the reforms urged
by MIR. Roosevelt. Many of them have
been accomplished or put in the way
of accomplishment, and President
assurance that there shall be
turning back from the program
serves as full and significant notice to
the opponents of the Roosevelt re-
forms and comes as a welcome assur-
ance to their supporters and cham
pions. President Taft goes further
and pledges himself and his admins
to further legislation designed
to make the reforms inaugurated by
his predecessor even more effective
and lasting. To this end he promises
recommendations to the congress in
regular session In December looking to
the amendment of the antitrust law,
the enlargement Of the scope of the In
~terstate Commerce commission and
other changes looking to cooperation
of the various government agencies for
the purpose of securing a more rapid
enforcement Of the laws relating to
trusts and to enterprises connected
with interstate m
On the subject of tariff revision, to
be made the special order of business
for the extra session to be convened
on March is. the president is specific
and direct in his urgent recommends
ton that the Dingley schedules should
be radically overhauled to meet the
changed business and industrial condi-
NtAza He dArIarno In 20 unr ~ n N
imum and minimum tariff which shall
adjust the duties in such manner "as
to afford to labor and to all industries
in this country, whether of the farm,
mine or factory. protection by tariff
equal to the cost of production abroad
and the cost of protection here" This
in essence. will give the American
manufactures and producer the pro-
lection needed against foreign compe.
tition, maintaining the high standard
of American wages and, at the same
time, making foreign competition pos
sible when combinations or trusts at
tempt to control the output in any line
for the purpose of advancing prices
to their own enrichment and the hurt
of the consumer. None but a f~actioui
free trader will find fault with Presi
dent Taft's recommendations on tn,
tariff.
Extended reference to Presiden
Taft's position on other matters be
fore congress and the people. is un
necessary. He favors a strong, com
pact and effective standing arm,
nucleus, a navy commensurate will
the nations needs and position In tn,
worlds affairs, an intelligent policy O
conservation of forests and natural re
sources, a foreign policy ~favoring uni
versal peace, but demanding individual
respect, the enlargement Of the fed
eral jurisdiction to the enforcement O
treaty obligations within the states,
reform of the monetary system. tn
adoption of a postal savings system
the prosecution of work on the Pan
anna canal and the advancement of al
enterprises designed for the ultimat
improvement Of the conditions of tn
whole people.
President Taft takes occasion To "a
to the south, In his inaugural messag,
what he has said in numerous ad
dresses since his election last Noyen
Der. He offers every encourageme
to the southern people to begin votin
and thinking Independently. losin
sectional and race prejudice and tai
ing an active and potential part In M
tional affairs. He warns them at IN
same time that the fifteenth amen
ment never will be repealed and this
the negro question must be solved b
education and natural developmer
and not by law-defying methods.
On the labor question Preside,
Taft reiterates his position taken as
candidate and emphasizes the necel
sity OF UNFOLDING the existing laws an
passing n new ones that may !
needed to protect laborers in the
rights, without creating a privilege
class.
! Altogether the message is one
CONFIRMING raa 0onpan