The Carlisle independent., 1909-12-09

that this power was reposed in the presi- ] dent with the hope that the maximum du- | ties might never be applied in any case, | but that the power to apply them would | enable the president and the state depart | ment through friendly negotiation to se- l cure the elimination from the laws and the practice under them of any foreign ! country of that which Is unduly discrim- | inatory No one is seeking q tariff war 1 or a condition in which the spirit of re- l taliation shall be aroused.
 The new tariff law enables me to ap- ! point q tariff board to assist me in con- nection with the department of state in l the administration of the minimum and l maximum clause of the act and also to | assist officers of the government in the | administration of the entire law. An ex- animation of the law and understand | ing of the nature of the facts which | should be considered in discharg- l ing the functions imposed upon the execu- l tive show that l have the power to direct l the tariff board to make 6 cornprehensive ! glossary and encyclopedia of the terms used and articles embraced in the tariff l law, and to secure information as to the cost of production of such goods in this l country and the cost of their production l in foreign countries. I have therefore ap- pointed q tariff board consisting of three l members and have directed them to per form all the duties above described This work will perhaps take two or three years, and I ask from congress a continu- 1 ing annual appropriation equal to that al- ready made for it's prosecution. I believe l that the work of this board will be of prime utility and importance whenever | congress shall deem it wise again to re- | adjust the customs duties If the facts l secured by the tariff board are of such a 1 character as to show generally that the | rates of duties imposed by the present tariff law .are excessive under the prin- ciples of protection as described in the | platform of the successful party at the | late election. I shall not hesitate to in- | vite the attention of congress to this fact | and to the necessity for action predicated | thereon. Nothing. however halts busi- | ness and interferes with the course of 1 prosperity so much as the threatened re- | vision of the tariff. and until the facts are at hand after careful and deliberate in- | vestigation, upon which such revision can | properly be undertaken, 1t seems to me unwise to attempt it. The amount of mis- | information that creeps into arguments pro and con in respect to tariff rates is | such as to require the kind of nvestiga- | ton that I have directed the tariff board | to make, an investigation undertaken by | it wholly without respect to the effect which the facts may have in calling for readjustment of the rates of duty.
 War Department.
 In the interest of immediate economy and because of the prospect of a deficit, 1 have required a reduction in the esti- mates of the war department for the coming fiscal year. which brings the to- tai estimates down to an amount forty
 five millions less than the corresponding estimates for last year. This could only be accomplished by cutting off new projects and suspending for the period of one year all progress in military mat ters. For the same reason l have direct ed that the army shall not be recruited up to it's present authorized strength. These measures can hardly be more than temporary-to last until our revenues are in better condition and until the whole question of the eXpedency of adopting definite military policy can be submitted to congress, for I am sure that the inter ests of the military establishment are se- | riously in need of careful consideration by | congress The laws regulating the organ ization of our armed forces in the event of war need to be revised in order that | the organization can be modified | to produce force which would be more l consistently apportioned throughout it's | numerous branches. To explain the cir | cumstances upon which this opinion is | based would necessitate a lengthy discus sion and I postpone it until the first con | venient opportunity shall arise to send to 1 congress a special message upon this sub | ject.
 Of the changes recommended by the secretary of war, the president NoPONioiiy LII SCS IhC PdoodSC Ol d bill that will permit the elimination of the less efficient officers. He concurs in the opinion of the military and naval joint board in favor of making an ex- tensive naval base at Pearl Harbor, near Honolulu, and not in the Philip pines.
 The Navy.
 l bo of haft | its voyage around the world, in more eff ficient condition than when it started. was | a noteworthy event of interest alike to | our citizens and the naval authorities of the world Besides the beneficial and far | reaching effect our personal and dip | lomatic relations in the countries | which the fleet visited, the marked sue l cess of the ships in steaming around the world in all weathers on schedule time has increased respect for our navy and has added to our national prestige.
 Early in the coming session a compre- l hensive plan for the reorganization of the | officers of all corps of the navy will be | presented to congress and I hope it will | meet with action suited to its urgency
 Owing to the necessity for economy in | expenditures. I have directed the curtail- ment of recommendations for naval ap- | propriations so that they are thirty-eight | millions less than the corresponding es- | inmates of last year, and the request for | new naval constructor IS limited to two l first-class battleships and one repair yes | sel
 MT. Taft urges upon congress that the naval observatory be dedicated to science under control of some emi- nent astronomer.
 Expedition in Legal Procedure.
 The deplorable delays in the admins- tration of civil and criminal law have ceived the attention of committees of the | American Bar association and of many | state bar associations, well the con sidered thought of judges and jurists. In my judgment change in judicial pro- cedure, with view to reducing it's ex- | pense to private litigants in civil cases and facilitating the dispatch of business and final decision in both civil and crim- inal cases constitutes the greatest need in our American institutions. I do not doubt for one moment that much of the 1 lawless violence and cruelty exhibited in lynchings Is directly due to the uncer- tainties and injustice growing out of the delays in trials, judgments and the exc l cutions thereof by our courts. Of course these remarks apply quite as we'll to the administration of justice in state courts