The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1911-01-18
TAFT'S NEW YEAR MESSAGE:
HE WANTS PEACE, BUT
MALEFACTORS MUST REFORM

to the Commissioner of Internal Re
venue, with his little matter of 1000
indictments a year against men who
have endeavored to evade or beat the
internal revenue law. Nor is it a
joke to the Attorney General, with his
long and growing list of prosecutions
for violation of all sorts of Federal
statutes, from the antitrust laws
down. 1t is no laughing matter with
the secretary of the Treasury, with the
immense and constant frauds against
the customs to be followed up and
punished.
1t is no mere pleasantly with the
Postmaster General in his persistent
and unremitting crusade against
frauds in the postal service. The De-
partment of the Interior has its num-
erous cases also, and the Department
of Agriculture is always busy in the
courts prosecuting men for violation
of one or other of the laws it has to
administer 1t is true that a con-
siderable number of these prosecu-
tons arise from the apparently pre-
valent view that it is not wrong to de-
fraud the government, Secretary
says of this that ut is prob
able that the initial trouble lies in the
lack of a specific and detailed prohibit
ton in the Ten Commandments
against stealing from the govern
ment."
I'VE know as a matter of knowl-
edge" says Secretary MacVeagh,
that certain people, who couldn't
even be imagined as trespassers upon
private property, cannot see much
wrong in taking any government pos
session that is loose enough to be car
ried away"
Does Not Mean a Crusade.
Neither the President nor any of his
Cabinet members speaks of the move.
ments of this Administration for the
enforcement of law as crusade" nor
do they regard it as such. How much
it has accomplished is well known and
it is not the purpose here to set forth
statistics to show the great number of
persons brought into court in the eff
fort to compel them to obey the law.
But it is the belief of members of the
administration that the steady pursuit
of the course laid down must in the
end gain the desired object and force
public recognition of the individual
application of the law to everybody
alike.
There was Crusade" in the Roose-
welt administration. In the opinion
of the President and members of his
administration, it was largely success
full, too, 1t was aimed at awakening
the people to the necessity of devoting
more time and attention to the indi-
viduality of their representatives in
Congress and in Legislatures, and to
the performance of those representa-
tives in their offices. At the same
time Mr.. Roosevelt was working for
more legislation.
He believed such additional laws ne
cessary to obtain the benefits aimed
at. Mr.. Taft believed that also. Those
laws were enacted, at least in large
part, and in the first year of this adj
ministration such additional laws as
were considered essential were enact
ed. Now If he can obtain a general
public recognition of these laws the
President will regard his administra-
ton as having been fairly successful.
Moreover, he regards as the best
agent in obtaining such general re-
cognition the steady and quiet enforce
ment of the laws The work Of the