The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1912-12-06
General Message to
Congress Submitted
To-day. by President
Communication Dealt With Every Department Of the Gevera
ment Except State Department
Much Of the Legislation Which Taft Had Previously Urged
Upon Congress Again Recommended
Taft Is Strongly Against the independence Of Phlppnes-De
nounced Scheme Of One BattIeship Year

Washington, Dec. S.-The second
message of the president was
lengthy document.
President Taft will make no further
effort to have congress reduce the
tariff. In a general message to
congress, submitted today, the presi-
dent clearly indicated his intention or
leaving further tariff revision to MT
Wilson and the congress just elected
Now that a new congress has been
elected on a platform Of tariff for rev.
enue only, rather than protective
tariff and is to revise the tariff on that
basis" said the president, ''it is need
less for me to occupy the time of con-
greSs with arguments or recommends :
tions in favor of a protective tarlff.
This message, the second submit
! ted by the president since the pres
| ent session began, will be his last OF
a general character. 1t dealt with
every department of the government
except the state department, recon-
mended much of the legislation which
Mr.. Taft previously had urged upon
| the attention Of congress, and took up
, and discussed at length several SUD-
jects comparatively new.
Mr.. Taft came out strongly against
| independence for the Philippines pro-
posed, he said, in a bill now before
congress. He deprecated the new
policy of one battleship year in
stead of two. and indorsed again the
scheme Of currency reform proposed
| by the national monetary commission.
| Conservation was lightly touched,
| the president recommending the
amendment of bills now before con-
gress so that water power companies,
which dam navigabIe rivers viii con-
RVfE, to -. he ,r,TaN f,f
streams.
He declared that-Ro radical change
in the Sherman antitrust law was
Ineeded and. praised the supreme court
for its recently announced changes in
rules of equity procedure. In this con
nection the president asked congress
to pass legislation which would al
low the supreme court to formulate
| rules of procedure under the common
! law in federal courts and predicted
that such action would facilitate jus
tice in those courts and reduce the
| cost of litigation to the public.
| The Panama canal was dismissed
in a few words, the president proph-
esying it's opening in the latter halt
| to declare that congress should re-
ward the work of Colonel Goethals by
an appointment as major general
with the provision that he become
chief of engineers when the term oi
the present incumbent expires. Ht
made only brief reference to the dis
pute with Great Britain over the Pan.
anna canal act and said that when a
| formal protest was lodged against
that act it would be taken up by th'
United States.
The army the president discussed :;
some. length. He praised the ARM
legislation of the, last congress, lu,
said that provision should be made by
Elaw SO that the. nations foreign regi-
ments may always be maintained up
on a war footing; and he urged the
passage of the pending militia-pay
bill, designed to make service in the
militia more enticing, and showed that
the home army will be nothing more
than skeleton" until congress pro-
vides that it be concentrated in fewer
pests than are now maintained. He
urged also the passage of another bill
now before congress, designed to raise
quickly a volunteer army in case oi
war.
One of the striking arguments oi
the message was that proposing aut-
onomy for the Philippines at once