The Mena weekly star., 1909-03-11

WaSnlngtOD, March 4. 4.--OW1ng to sever. snow storm raging in the city the inauguration of President Elect Taft was held in the senate chamber. Presi- dent Taft's inaugural address delivered after he had taken the oath of office, was as follows:
 My Fellow Citizens: Any one who takes the oath have just taken must feel heavy weight of responsibility. If not, he has no conception of the powers and duties of the office upon which he is about to enter, or he is lacking in proper sense of the obli- gation which the oath imposes.
 The office of an inaugural address Is to give summary outline of the main policies of the, new administra- ton, so far as they can be anticipated. have had the ho.or to be one of the advisers of my distinguished prede- cessor, and as such, to hold up his hands in the reforms he has initiated. should be untrue to myself to my. promises and to the declarations of the party platform upon which I am elected to office, If I did not make the maintenance and enforcement of those reforms most important feature of my administration. They were di- rected to the suppression of the law lessness and abuses of power of the great combinations of capital invested in railroads and in industrial enter prises carrying on interstate com merce. The steps which my predeces- sor took and the legislation passed on his recommendation have accom- plished much. have caused a general halt in the vicious policies which ere ated popular alarm, and have brought about in the business affected, a much higher regard for existing law. m
 To render the reforms lasting, how ever, and to secure at the same time freedom from alarm on the part of those pursuing proper and progress siye business methods, further legisla- tive and executive action are needed Relief of the railroads from certain re- etrictions of the antitrust law have been urged by my predecessor and will be urged by me. On the other hand, the Administration is pledged to legis- lation looking to proper federal su- pervision and restriction to prevent ex- cessive issues of bonds and stocks by companies owning and operating inter state commerce railroads.
 Then, too, reorganization of the department of justice, of the bureau of Corporations in the department of commerce and labor, and of the inter state commerce commission. looking to effective cooperation of these agencies, is needed to secure more rapid and certain enforcement of the laws affecting interstate railroads and Industrial combinations.
 hope to be able to submit, at the first regular session of the incoming congress, in December next, definite suggestions in respect to the needed amendments to the antitrust and the changes required in the executive de- partments concerned in their enforce ment.
 It Is believed that with the changes to be recommended, American busi- ness can be assured of that measure of liability and certainty in respect to those things that may be done and those that are prohibited, which Is es- sential to the life and growth of all business. Such plan must include the right of the people to avail them selves of those methods of combining capital and effort deemed necessary to reach the highest degree of econom- icr Efficiency. at the same time diff ferentiating between combinations based upon legitimate economic req sons and those formed with the intent of creating monopolies and artihcially controlling prices.
 The work of formulating into prac- tical shape such changes is creative work of the highest order, and re- Quires all the deliberation possible in the Interval. l believe that the amend ments to be proposed are just as nee essary in the protection of legitimate business as in the clinching of the re- forms which properly bear the name of my predecessor.
 Extra Session for March IS.
 A matter of most pressing impor- tance is the revision of the tariff In accordance with the promises of the platform upon which I was edected, l shall call congress into extra session, to meet on the fifteenth day of March. in order that consideration may be at once given to bill revising the Ding ley act. This should secure an ade- Quate revenue and adjust the duties in such a manner as to afford to labor and 10 all industries in this country, whether of the farm, mine or factory. protection by tarifr equal to the diff ference between the cost of produc- ton abroad and the cost of production here. and have a provision which shall put into force, upon executive determination of certain facts, a high CT or maximum tariff against those countries whose trade policy toward us eQuitably requires such discrimi- nation. It Is thought that there has been such change in conditions since the Enactment of the Dingley act, drafted on a similarly protective prin- ..a t1 tn,