The Pleasantville press., 1912-10-23

dent Roosevelt. 1t was believed in
capable Of enforcement and, although
the supreme court had declared the law
constitutional. a succession of attorneys
general had declared it unconstitution-
al. Meanwhile the evil growth which
this statute was intended to check had
gone beyond the point Of popular toler-
ance. Mr.. Taft selected as his attorney
general man of great intellectual
force and strong convictions, who, in
rspite of the fact that he had had for
clients mostly large corporations, be-
lieved with President Taft that the
Sherman act could and should be en-
forced, and that it afforded a sufficient
remedy fol the economic evils of the
day. The result of the activity Of these
two has been that twenty-five civil
suits have been brought and forty-ive
criminal indictments found under the
have been dissolved and competition is
being restored to the business of the
country.
Responsive to general demand for
the revision of the tariff, the Payne
law was prepared and passed by con
gress and signed by the president. AS
proved by the table prepared by the
bureau Of statistics and recently pub
lished in these columns the Payne bill
substantially reduced the import du
ties and also provided larger revenue
than any of its predecessors. In order
to avoid the disturbance to business in
volved in any general revision of the
tariff the president urged upon con-
gress the advisability of establishing
tariff board whose members might de-
vote all their time to investigating for
eign trade and recommend to congress
from time to time such changes in the
tariff as might best protect and de-
velop American trade This board was
finally appointed and did excellent
work, but was forced out of existence
by Democratic representatives.
President Taft has devoted great
deal of attention to promoting the So
cial welfare of the people. He has
urged upon congress the enactment of
the employers liability and workmen's
compensation law which was prepared
by commission appointed by him. but
congress has not yet taken the desired
action He has caused the establish
ment of a bureau of mines and the
abolition of the peonage system in the
southern states. He has established a
postal savings bank system, and par
cells post system will soon be inaugu-
rated as result Of his persistent ad-
vocacy.
President Taft has done much to pro
mote friendly relations with foreign
peoples, but at the same time has con-
sistently upheld the dignity Of this ma
tion He abrogated the treaty with
Russia when that country refused to
acknowledge American passports is
sued to Jewish citizens. A new treaty
has been arranged with Japan which
prevents the competition of Japanese
with our workingmen. Treaties OF
general arbitration have also been ne
gotiated with Great Britain and France
In the line of administration the
presidents record is very bright. All
the efforts Of the Democrats in con
gress could not discover any cause for
legitimate criticism nor any economies
which could be made which had not
already been pointed out by the eff
cheney commission appointed by the
president. For the first time in our
history the postoffice has become self
sustaining, and throughout every de
partment there has been a marked in
crease of efficiency.
Other accomplishments of President
Taft's administration include the rapid
work upon the Panama canal, the pas
sage of a corporation tax law, yielding
$3O,0O0,O00 revenue annually; the sub
mission of an income tax amendment
to the constitution to the states fol
ratification, carrying out an enlarge
ment of conservation and irrigation:
close collection of import duties and
the punishment of many smugglers-
creation of court of commerce to re
view the findings of the interstate com
merce commission, court of customs
appeals established and Arizona and
New Mexico admitted to statehood.
Throughout the constant activities OF
the last four years there has never
been a personal note in the reports OF
the presidents doings. He has been
content to 60 his way. accomplishing
the work at hand without demanding
admiration therefor. AS has been said
Of him, he is not an advertiser. If it
were not for the reports which the
laws require very little would be
known by the public of his work ex-
cept that the government is running
with unusual smoothness.
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