The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1916-12-06

proposition but the justi6ablc safe
guarding by society of the necessary
! processes Of its very life. There is
nothing arbitrary or unjust in it un-
less it be arbitrary and unjustly done,
1t can and should be done with full
scrupulous regard for the interests
and liberties of all concerned as well
as for the permanent interests of So
ciety itself
Three matters Of capital Importance
await the action Of the Senate which
have already been acted upon by the
House Of Representatives the bin
which seeks to extend greater freedom
Of combination to those engaged in
promoting the foreign commerce Of
the country than is now thought by
some to be legal under the terms Of
the laws against monopoly; the bill
proposing a more thorough and sys-
tematic regulation Of the expenditure
Of money in elections, commonly call
ed the Corrupt Practices Act. I need
not offer my advice that these meas
uras be enacted into law Their ur-
gently lies in the manifest ctrcum-
stances which render their adoption at
this time not only opportune but nee
essary. Even delay would seriously
leopard the interests Of the country
and Of the government.
Immediate passage Of the bill to
regulate the expenditure Of money in
elections may deem to be less neces-
sary than the imme Late enactment
Of the other measures to which re-
fer; because at least two years will
elapse before another election in
which federal offices are TO be filed;
but it would greatly relieve the public
mind if this important matter were
dealt with while the circumstances
and the dangers to the public morals
of the present method Of obtaining
and spending campaign funds stand
clear under recent observation and the
methods Of expenditure can be frank
ly studied in the light Of present ex-
perience; and a delay would have the
further very serious disadvantage Of
postponing action until it might be
thought to be in the mind Of those who
urged it. Action can be taken now
with facts for guidance and without
suspician Of partisan purpose,
/ shall not argue at length the de-
sirability Of giving freer hand in the
matter Of combined and concerted ef-
fort 10 those who shall undertake the
essential enterprise Of building up our
export trade, That enterprise will
presently will Immediately assume,
has indeed already, a magnitude un-
precedented in our experience. We
have not the necessary iE5trmmentaii-
ties for its prosecution; it is deemed
to be doubtful whether they could be
created upon an adequate scale under
our present. law We should clear
away all legal obstacles and create
a basis Of undJubted law for I which
viii give freedom without pernitting
unregulated license. Thcthing must
be donenow, because the opportunity
is here and may escape Us if we hesi-
tate or delay.
The argument for the proposed
amendments Of the organic law Of
Porto Rico is brief and conclusive.
The present laws governing the Is
land and regulating the rights and
privileges Of its people are not just.
We have created expectations Of ex-
tended privilege which we have not
satisfied. There is uneasiness among
the people Of the Island and even
suspicion doubt with regard 10 our
intentions concerning them Which tae
adoption Of the pending measure
would happily remove. We DO not
doubt what we w,Sh to DO 10 any es-