Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1909-03-10

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k!Griff bill must of course have in
mind the total revenues likely to be
produced by It, and so arrange the
duties as to secure an adequate in
come. Should it be impossible to do
so by import duties, new kinds of
Taxation must be adopted, and among
these I recommend a graduated in
herltance. tax, as correct in principle
and as certain and easy of collec-
ton.
The obligation on the part Of those
responsible for the expenditures
made to carry on the government, to
be as economical as possible, and to
bake the burden of taxation as light
as possible, is plain and should be
affirmed in every declaration of gov
ernment policy. This is especially
true when We are face to face with a
heavy deficit. But when the desire
to win the popular approval leads to
the cutting off Of expenditures
really needed to make the govern
ment effective, and to enable it to
accomplish its proper objects, the re-
suit is as much to be condemned as
the waste of government funds in un-
necessary expenditure. The scope of
modern government in what it can
and ought to accomplish for its peo-
pie has widened far beyond the prin-
ciples laid down by the old laissez
faire school of political writers, and
this widening has met popular
approval
In the Department Of Agriculture.
the rse of snientif'c ovrar;-,- cn'-
on large scale, and the spread Of
! information derived from incul tur
.he improvement Of general agricul-
ture, must so on.
The Importance of supervising
business of great railways and indus
trial combinations. and the necessary
investigation and prosecution of
unlawful business methods, are an
other necessary tax upon government
which did not exist half century
ago.
Conservation Of Our Resources.
The putting into force of laws
which shall secure the conservation
of our resources, so far as they may
be within the jurisdiction of the
Federal Government, including the
most important work of saving and
restoring our forests, and the great
improvement Of waterways, are all
proper government functions which
must involve large expenditures if
properly performed. While some Of
them, like the reclamation Of arid
lands, are made to pay for them
selves, others are of such an indirect
benefit that this cannot be expect
ed Of them. "A permanent improve
ment, like The Panama Canal, should
be treated as distinct enterprise,
and should be paid for by the, pro
ceeds Of bonds, the issue of which
will distribute its cost between the
present and future generations in
accordance with the benefits derived.
It may we'll be submitted to the
serious consideration Of Congress
whether the deepening and control of
the channel Of a great river system,
like that Of the Ohio or of the Mis-
sissippi, when definite and practical
plans for the enterprise have been
approved and determined upon,
should not be provided for in. the
same way.
The Army and the Navy.
Then, too, there are expenditures
Of government absolutely necessary
if our country is to maintain its
proper place among the nations Of
the world, and is to exercise its pro-
per influence in defense Of its own
trade interests, in the maintenance
of traditional American policy
against the colonization of European
monarchies in this hemisphere, and
in the promotion Of peace and inter-
national morality. I refer to the cost
of maintaining o proper Army, a
proper Navy and suitable fortifica-
tions upon the mainland Of the Unit
ed States and in its dependencies.
We should have an Army so or
ganized, and so officered as to be cap
able in time of emergency, in CO.
operation with the National Militia,
and under the provisions of a proper
national volunteer law, rapidly to ex-
pand into force sufficient to resist
all probable invasion from abroad
and to furnish a respectable ezpedi-
tionary force, if necessary, in the
maintenance Of cur traditional Amer
lean policy which bears the narne of
President Monroe.
Our Notifications are yet in a state
Of only partial completeness, and the
number of men to man them is in
sufficient In few years, however,
the usual appropriations for our
coast defenses both on the mainland
and in che dependencies, will make
them sufficient to resist all direct
attack. and by that time we may
hope that the men to man them will
be provided as unnecessary adjunct.
{ What has been said Of the Army
may be affirmed in even more
emphatic way of the Navy. A modern
navy cannot be improyised. tt must
be built and in existence when the