The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-03-19

down the thrcats of unwilling congress
| men and unwilling senators.
But this is government of party.
We will never get ahead without
parties How are you going to give
expression to the varying views of
ninety millions of people and put
them into the form of legislation to
be agreed upon by majority of your
representatives and your senators un-
less you organize parties to select
those representatives and senators
and agree within the party to Subor-
dinate your less material predictions
and opinions in favor of certain fun
damental principles of Improvement
in order to advance which, you are
willing to sacrifice all less important
matters.
Therefore, you have to have what
is known on the football field as team
work and the party has to get togeth-
er-the extremes on one side and the
extremes on the other-and both
must sacrifice something of their in
dividual views and get the thing
through and that is what I am hope
full our congress will do.
His First Year.
"It is now something more than
a year ago that the present admin
istration began. We had promised to
revise the tariff and we did so. The
operation of that law during the sew
en- months it has been in existence has
I.
A comparison with the preceding law
shows the new law to be a good re-
venue producer, shows a reduced per-
centage in rates of duty and an in
creased percentage of articles on the
free list
Business has increased and pros
perity is here Conditions are all
that could be hoped for, according to
the measure of the business man.
How long this condition will last:
I,.0 Ta< l.
construction to be put on the anti
trust law, will not be known until we
have the decision and learn what
real effect the decision will have.
I'VE have been trying to cut down
expenses at Washington. The esti-
mates for the next fiscal year are $48,-
100000 less than the appropriations
for the current year. In the navy we
cut down $10,000,000 but saved
enough to continue the policy of two
ton of the Panama canal. That was
one of the dearest policies of my pred
ecessor-the one he thought perhaps
the most of-and / would have felt
the keenest regret to have departed
from it on the first year of my ad-
ministration
"I would like now to direct your
attention to the legislation which 1
hope to get at this session of con-
gress.
First and most important, are the
amendments to the interstate COM
merce act"
The president then went into a de-
tailed explanation of the bill, which
he said he felt was not generally un-
derstood. He explained the necessity
of a commerce court to hear appeals
from the interstate commerce com
mission. First of all. it would expe-
dite matters. he asserted.
Disgrace to Civilization.
''The one thing said the president,
(which disgraces our civilization today
is the delays of civil and criminal JUS
favor of the man with longest purse.
Hence, they work in favor of the rail-
roads rather than the shipper. The
commerce court, by avoiding the con-
venient delays of the past, will be a
long step toward that regulation of
railroads which we have been look
ing for"
Coming to that provision of law
which has been the subject of recent
attack in the house-to prevent rail
roads already owning SO per cent of
the stock in another road from pur-
chasing th4 remaining shares-Mr.
Taft said:
Some gentlemen seem to think that
this gives the railroads too much lee
way.
.'As matter of fact. it was inserted
to give the minority stockholders a
market. If a railroad already owns 5 0
per cent of the stock, it is in control.
The house committee has stricken out
this provision. but my impression is
that after full consideration it will be
found advisable to give this oppor-
tunity to the minority stockholders to
market their holdings and that the
people least interested in the provision
are the railroad companies
From the railroad bill, the president
passed to the postal savings bank
measure.
In the end he predicted that instead
of hurting the banking business, it
discussed the so-called anti-fnjunction
BILL
Tired of Special Interests.
''That. too," he said, presents some
aspects that would be discouraging to
a person less optimistic than am
Our friend Gompers anC the Ameri-
can Federation of Labor are opposed
to the bill because they do not think
it goes far enough. Our friend Van
C1eve and the Manufacturers associ-
alton are opposed to it because they
say it will hamstring the courts and
prevent them from giving needed re-
lief.
ST am tired" fairly shouted the pres
ident amid a storm of cheers, "of con-
whether or not a thing ought to go
through. I am in favor of consulting
every interest to see what it's argument
may. be anc want to give Justice to ev-
is right. If it Is right we can con-
vince the people that it is right and
they will be with u.s.
In speaking of the conservation meas
ures, the president said he hoped at
least that congress at this session
would adopt the bill which gives the
president specific authority to with
draw lands from public entry until such
time as congress can adopt law for a
proper disposition Of the valuable re-
sources of the land. After the bill is
pa ssed, the president said he hoped the