Semi-Weekly Founded! Wayne County Organ 1908 Wecklv Founded. 1844 of the . , REPUBLICAN PARTY 66th YEAR. HONESDALE, WAYNE 00 PA., FRIDAY, MARCH 5, 1909, ' q- , TAFT'S INAUGURAL ADDRE Outlines Policy of Administration, PRAISE FOR ROOSEVELT Speech Begins With Advocacy of Predecessor's Reforms. MANY QUESTIONS TOUGHED, incoming President's Ideas on Trusts and Other Matters. My Fellow Citizens Any one who takes the onth I have just taken must feel u heavy weight of responsibility. If not, lie has no conception of tho powers and duties of the office upon which he is about to enter or he la lacking in a proper sense of the obliga tion which tho oath Imposes. The ofllce of an Inaugural address Is to give n summary outline of the main policies of the new administration so fur us they can be anticipated. I have had the honor to be one of tho ad visers of ray distinguished predecessor nud as such io hold lip lila blinds in the reforms he has initiated. I should lie untrue to myself, to my promises and to the declarations of the party platform upon which I was elected to office If I did not muke tho malute nance nud enforcement of those re forms n most Important feature of my administration. They were directed to the suppression of the lawlessness and abuses of power of the great combina tions of capital invested in railroads and In Industrial enterprises carrying on luterstato commerce. The steps which my predecessor took nud the legislation passed on his rcconinienda tlon have accomplished much, have caused a general halt in the vicious policies which created popular alarm and have brought about in tho busl noss affected a much higher regard for existing law. Further Action Needed. To render the reforms lasting, how ever, and to secure at the same time freedom from alariu on the part of those pursuing proper and progressive business methods further legislative uud executive action are needed. Re lief of the railroads from certain re strictions of the nntl-trust law have been urged by my predecessor and will be urged by me. On the other hand, the administration Is pledged to legis lation looking to n proper federal su pervision and restriction to prevent ex cessive Issues of bonds nud stocks by companies owning and operating Inter state commerce railroads. Then, too, a reorganization of the de partment of justice, of the bureau of corporations in the department of com merce and labor and of the interstate commerce commission looking to effec tive co-oporatlon of these agencies Is needed to secure a more rapid and cer tain enforcement of the laws affect ing lnterstnte railroads and lndustrlnl combinations. I hope to be able to submit at the first regular session of tho incoming congress in December nest definite suggestions In respect to the needed amendments to the anti-trust and the interstate commerce law and tho changes required in the executive de partments concerned In their enforce ment. "Good and Bad Trusts." It Is believed that with the changes to bo recommended American busi ness can bo assured of that measure of stability nud certainty in respect to those things that may be done and those that arc prohibited, which is esscntlul to the life and growth of all business. Such a plan must lncludo tho right of the people to nvall them selves of those methods of combining capital and effort deemed necessary to reach tho highest degree of economic efficiency, at the same tlino differenti ating between combinations based upon legitimate economic reasons and those formed with tho intent Of creat ing monopolies and artificially control ling prices. The work of formulating' Into prac tical shape such changes Is creative work of the highest order and requires nil the deliberation possible in the in terval. 1 believe that the amendments to be proposed are just as necessary in the protection of legitimate business as in the clinching of the reforms which properly bear tho name of my prede cessor. Revision of the Tariff. A matter of most pressing Impor tance Is the revision of tho tariff. In accordance with the promises of the platform upon which I was elected, 1 hall call congress Into extra session, to meet on the lGth day of March, in order that consideration may be at once given to n bill revising the Ding ley net. This should sccuro an ade quate revenue and adjust the duties In Ruch a manner as to afford to labor nnd to nil Industries In this country, whether of the farm, mine or factory, protection by tnrlff equal to the differ ence between the cost of production abroad and the cost of production hero and have a provision which shall put Into force, upon executive dctcrmlnn tloifof certain facts, n higher or maxi mum tariff against those countries whose trade policy toward us equitably requires such discrimination, it Is thought that there has been such a change In conditions since the enact ment of the DIngley net, drafted on a similarly protective principle, that the measure of the tariff above stated will permit the reduction of rates In certnln schedules and will requiro the ad vancement of few, If any. The proposal to revise the tariff made in such an authoritative way as to lead the business community to count upon It necessarily halts all those brunches of business directly affected, and as these are most Im portant It disturbs the whole business of the country. It Is Imperatively nec essary, therefore, that a tariff bill be drawn In good faith In accordance with promises made before the elec tion by 'the party In power and as promptly passed as due consideration will permit. Inheritance Tax Advocated. In the making of n tariff bill the prime motive Is taxation and the se curing thereby of n revenue. Due largely to the business depression which followed the financial panic of HK7, the revenuo from customs and other sources has decreased to such on extent that the expenditures for the current fiscal year will exceed tho receipts by $100,000,000. It Is Impera tive that such n deficit shall not con tinue, and the framers of the tariff bill must of course have In mind the total revenues likely to bo produced by It and so arrange the duties as to se cure nn ndequato Income. Should It be Impossible to do so by import duties new kinds of taxation must bo adopt ed, and among these I recommend (t graduated Inheritance tax ns correc' In principle and ns certain nnd ensy of collection. Government Economy Urged. The obligation on tho part of those responsible for the expenditures made to carry on the government to bo as economical as possible and to muke the burden of taxation ns light as pos Mhle Is plain und should be affirmed In every declaration of government pol icy. This Is especially truo when we are face to face with a heavy deficit. Hut when tho desire to win the popu lar approval lends to the cutting off of expenditures really needed to make the government effective nnd to en able It to accomplish Its proper objects the result Is as much to be condemned us tho waste of government funds in unnecessary expenditure. Jn the department of agriculture the use of scientific experiments on a largo scale and the sprend of Information derived from them for the improve ment of general agriculture must go on. The importance of supervising busi ness of great railways and Industrial combinations nnd the necessary Inves tigation and prosecution of unlawful business methods nro another neces sary tnx upon government which did not exist half a century ago. Proper Forme of Expenditure. The putting into forco of laws which shnll secure tho conservation of our resources so fur ns they may be with in the jurisdiction of the federal gov ernment, Including tho most Important work of saving and restoring our for ests, und the great Improvement of wa terways are all proper government functions which must Involve largo expenditure If properly performed. Wbllo some of them, like the reclama tion of arid lauds, aro made to pay for themselves, others nro of such nn Indirect benefit thnt this cannot bo ex pected of them. A permanent im provement, like tho ranamn canal, should bo treated as n dUtlnct enter prise and should be paid for by the proceeds of bonds, the lssuo of which will dlstrlbuto Its cost between the present and future generations hi ac cordance with tho benefits derived. It may well fee submitted to the serious consideration of congress whether tho deepening und control of tho channel of a great river system Ilko that of tho Ohio or of tho Mississippi when defi nite and practical plans for tho enter prise bavo beon approved and deter mined upon should not bo provided for in the same way. Then, too, there nro expenditures of government absolutely necessary if our country is to maintain its proper place among the nations of tho world and Is to exercise Its proper influence in de fense of Its own trade Interests in tho maintenance of traditlonnl American policy against the colonization of Eu ropean monarchies in this bemlsphero and In the promotion of penco and In ternational morality. I refer to tho cost of maintaining n proper army, a proper navy and suitable fortifications upon the malnlnnd of the United Stntes and In Its. dependencies. , Tho Army and Navy. Wo should have nn army so organ ized and so officered as to bo capable In time of emergency In co-operation with the national militia and under I he provisions of n proper national volunteer law rapidly to expand into n forco sufficient to resist nil probablo Invasion from abroad and to furnish a respectable expeditionary force, if nec essary, In tho maintenance of our tra ditional American policy which bears Hip nuine of President Monroe. Our fortlflcntlons nre yet in a state jf only partial completeness, and the number of men to man them is insuffi cient. In a few years, however, the usunl annual appropriations for our coast defenses, botli on the mainland and In tho dependencies, will make them sufficient to resist nil direct at tack, and by that time we may hope that the men to man them will bo pro vided as n necessary adjunct. The distance of our shores from Europe nnd Asln, of course, reduces the ne cessity for maintaining under arms a great army, but It does not take away the requirement of mere prudence, thnt we should have an army suffi ciently largo and so constituted ns to form n nucleus out of which n suitable forco con quickly grow. What has been said of the army inuy bo affirmed in even a more em phatlc way of the navy. A modern navy cannot be Improvised. It must bo built nnd in existence when the emergency arises which calls for its use and operation. My distinguished predecessor hns In many speeches and messages set out with great forco and striking language the necessity for maintaining a strong navy commensu rate with the coast line, the govern mental resources and thu foreign tfiitie of our nation, nnd I wish to reiterate all tho reasons which he has presented In favor of the policy of maintaining a strong navy as the best conservator of our peaco with other nations and tho best means of securing respect for tho assertion of our rights, tho defense of our Interests and the exercise of our Influence In international mutters. Must Arm as Other Nations Do. Our International policy Is always to promote peace. Wo shall enter Into nny war with a full consciousness of the awful consequences that it always entails, whether successful or not, and we, of course, shall make every effort, consistent with national honor nnd the highest national interest, to avoid a resort to arms. We favor every instru mentality, like that of Tho Hague tri bunal and arbitration treutles made with n view to its use in nil interna tional controversies, in order to main tain penco and to avoid war. But wo should bo blind tocxistlng conditions and should allow ourselves to become foolish Idealists if we did not realize that, with all the nations of the world. armed nud prepared for 'war, wo must bo ourselves In n similar condition In order to prevent other nations from taking advantage of us and of our in ability to defend our Interests nnd as sert our rights with a strong hand. In the International controversies that nro likely to ariso in tho orient, grow ing out of tho question of tho open door and other Issues, the United States can maintain her Inter ests intact and can secure respect for her just demands. She will not be able to do so, however, if it is under stood thnt she never intends to back up her assertion of right nnd her de fense of her Interest by anything but mere verbal protest and diplomatic note. For these reasons tho expenses of the army and navy and of const de fenses should nlwoys bo considered as something which the government must pay for, and they should not be cut off through mere consideration of econ omy. Our government is able to af ford a suitable army and a suitable nnvy. It may maintain them without the slightest danger to tho republic or the cause of free institutions, and fear of additional taxation ought not to change a proper policy In this regard. Protection For Our Cltlxens Abroad. Tho policy of the United States in the Spanish war and since hns given it a posltlou of Influence among tho nations that It never had before and should bo constantly exerted to secur ing to Us bona fide citizens, whether native or naturalized, respect for them as such In foreign countries. Wo should make every effort to prevent humiliating and degrading prohibition against any of our citizens wishing temporarily to sojourn In foreign coun tries becnuso of raco or religion. The Japanese Question. The admission of Asiatic Immigrants who cannot be amalgamated with our population has been mado tho subject either of prohibitory clauses in our treaties and statutes or of strict ad ministrative regulation secured by dip lomatic negotiations. I sincerely hope that wo may continue to minimize the evils likely to arise from such immi gration without unnecessary friction and by mutual concessions between self respecting governments. Mean tlmo wo must take every precaution to prevent or, falling that, to punish out bursts of rnco feeling among our peo ple against foreigners of whntever na tionality who have by our grant a treaty right to pursuo lawful business hero nnd to be protected against law less assault or Injury. This leads me to point out n serious defect In the present federal jurisdic tion which ought to be remedied nt once. Having assured to other coun tries by treaty the protection of our laws for such of their subjects or citi zens ns we permit to come within our Jurisdiction, we now lenve to n stato or n city not under tho control of the federal government the duty of per forming our international obligations in this respect. By proper legislation we may and ought to place In tho hands of tho federal executive tho means of enforcing the treaty rights of such aliens in the courts, of the federal government. It puts our government ti: a pusillanimous position to make deimlto engagements to protect aliens and then to excuse the failure to per form those engagements by on expla nation that the duty to keep them Is In stntes or cities not within our control. If we would promise, we must put ourselves In a position to perform our promise. We cannot permit the possi ble failure of justice due to local preju dice in any stato or municipal govern ment to expose us to the risk of n war which might be avoided If federal jurisdiction was asserted by suitable legislation by congress and carried out by proper proceedings instituted by the executive in the courts of the na tional government. Monetary Laws Need Change. One of tho reforms to bo curried out during the Incoming administration Is. n change of our monetary and banking laws so ns to secure greater elasticity In the forms of currency available for trade and to prevent the limitations of lnw from operating to Increase the em barrassments of a financial panic. The monetary commission lately appointed is giving full consideration to existing conditions and to all proposed reme dies and will doubtless suggest one thnt will meet the requirements of business and of public Interest. We may hope that the report will embody neither the narrow view of thoso who believe that the solo purpose of the now system should be to secure a largo return on banking capital nor of those who would have greater expansion of currency with little regard to provisions for Its lmmedlnte redemption or ultimate se curity. There is no subject of econom ic discussion so intricate nnd so likely to evoke differing views nnd dogmatic statements ns this one. The commis sion in studying tho general Influence of currency on business and of busi ness on currency have wisely extend ed their investigations in European banking and mouetary methods. Tho Information that they have derived from such experts as they have found abroad will undoubtedly be found helpful In the solution of the difficult problem they have In hand. Favors Postal Savings Banks. The Incoming congress should promptly fulfill the promise of tho Re publican platform and pass a proper postal savings bank bill. It will not bo unwise or excessive paternalism. Tho promise to repay by the govern ment will furnish an inducement to savings deposits which prlvato enter prise cannot supply and nt such a low rate of interest ns not to withdraw custom from existing banks. It will substantially Increase tho funds avail able for Investment as capital In use ful enterprises. It will furnish the absolute security which makes tho proposed scheme of government guar anty of deposits so alluring without Its pernicious results. Ship Subsidies Advocated. I sincerely hope that the incoming congress will be nllvo, as it should be, to tho lmportanco of our foreign trado and of encouraging it In every way feasible. Tho possibility of increasing this trade in tho orient, In the Philip pines nnd In South America is known to every one who has given tho matter attention. Tho direct effect of freo trade between this country nnd the Philippines will bo marked upon our sale of cottons, agricultural machinery nnd other manufactures. The necessi ty of the establishment of direct lines of Btcamers between North and South America has been brought to tho at tention of congress by my predecessor and by Mr. Root before and after his noteworthy visit to that continent, and I sincerely hope that congress may be induced to seo tho wisdom of a tenta tive effort to establish such Hues by tho use of mall subsidies. The importance which the depart ment of agriculture and of commerce and labor may play in ridding tho markets of Europe of prohibitions and discriminations against the importa tion of our products is fully under stood, and it is hoped that tho use of tho maximum and minimum feature of our tariff law to bo soon passed will be effective to remove many of thoso restrictions. Lock Canal Plan Defended. Tho Panama canal will havo a most Important bearing upon tho trade bo tween the eastern and the far west ern sections of our country and will greatly increase the facilities for transportation between the eastern I and the western seaboard and may 1 possibly revolutionize the transconti nental rates with respect to bulky mer , chandlse. It will also have a most , beneficial effect to increase the trade between the eastern seaboard of tho United States and tho western coast of South America and indeed with some of the Important ports of the east coast of South America reached by rail from tho west coast. Tho work on the canal Is making most sat isfactory progress. The typo of tho canal as n lock canal was fixed by congress after a full consideration of the conflicting reports of the majority and minority of the consulting board nnd after the recommendation of tho war department and the executive upon those reports. Recent suggestion that something had occurred on the Isthmus to make tho lock type of the canal less feasible than it was sup posed to be when the reports were made and the policy determined on led to a vfolt to the Isthmus of a board of competent engineers to exam ine the (latun dam and locks which ure the key of the lock type. The re port of that board shows that nothing has occurred in tho nature of newly revealed evidence which should chango the views once formed in tho original discussion. The construction will go on under n most effective organization controlled by Colonel Gocthals nnd his fellow army engineers associated with hlni and will certaluly bo completed early In the next administration, if not before. .Some type of canal must bo con structed. The lock typo has been se lected. We are all in favor of having It built as promptly as possible. We must not now, therefore, keep up a fire In tho rear of the agents whom wo have authorized to do our work on the Isthmus. We must hold up their hinds, and, speaking for the Incoming administration, I wish to say that I propose to devote all the energy possi ble and under my control to the push ing of this work on the nlans which. have Ijecn adopted nnd to stand behind' tho men who are doing faithful hard work to bring about the early comple tion of this the greatest constructive enterprise of modern times. Free Trade With Philippines. Tho governments of our dependen cies In Porto Rico nnd tho Philippines aro progressing as favorably as could be desired. The prosperity of Porto Rleo continues unabated. The busi ness conditions in the Philippines nro not all that we could wish them to be, but with tlm passage of the now tariff bill permitting free trade between the United Stntes and the archipelago, with such limitations lu sugar and tobacco us shall prevent injury to tho domestic Interests on thoso products, wo can couut on an Improvement in business conditions in the Philippines nnd the development of a mutually profitable trade between this country nnd the Islands. Meantime our gov ernment In each dependency Is uphold ing the traditions of civil liberty and Increasing popular control, which might be expected under Amerlcau auspices. The work which we aro doing there redounds to our credit ns a nation. Words of Friendship For the South. I look forwnrd with hope to increas ing the nlrendy good feeling between the south and tho other sections of the country. My chief purpose Is not to effect a change lu the electoral vote of the southern states. That Is n second ary consideration. What I look for l ward to Is an increase in the tolerance j of political views of all kinds and their ndvocacy throughout the south I nnd the existence of n respectable po litical opposition in every state even more than than this, to an Increased feeling on the pnrt of all the people in the south that this government Is their government nnd that its officers In their stntes arc their officers. The Negro Question. The consideration of this question cannot, however, be complete and full without reference to the negro race, its progress and Its present condition. The thirteenth amendment secured them freedom, tho fourteenth amend ment due process of lnw, protection of property nnd the pursuit of happi ness, and the fifteenth nmendmcnt at tempted to secure the negro against nny deprivation of tho prlvllego to vote because ho was a negro. Tho thirteenth nnd fourteenth amend ments bnvo been generally enforced nnd havo secured the objects for which they wero intended. Whilo tho fif teenth nmendmcnt has not been gener ally observed lu the past, It ought to be observed, and the tendency of southern legislation today Is toward tho enactment of electoral qualifica tions which shnll square with that amendment. No Repeal of Fifteenth Amendment. Of course the mere adoption of a constitutional lnw Is only one step In tho right direction. It must bo fairly uud Justly enforced as well. In time ( both will como. Hence it is clear to all that the domination of an Ignorant, Irresponsible element can be prevent ed by constitutional laws which shall exclude from voting both negroes and whites not having education or other qualifications thought to be necessary for a proper electorate. The danger of tho control of an Ignorant electorate has therefore passed. With this change the interest which many of tho south ern whlto citizens take in the welfare of the negroes hits Increased. The col ored men must base their hope on the results of their own industry, self re straint, thrift and business success as well as upon tho aid and comfort and sympathy which they may receive from their white neighbors of the south. There was a tlmo when north erners who sympathized with the ne gro in his necessary struggle for bet tor conditions sought to give to him tho suffrage as a protection and to en force Its exercise against the prevail ing sentiment of the south. The move ment proved to be a failure. What re mains Is the fifteenth amendment to the constitution and tho right to have statutes of Btatos specifying qualifica tions for electors subjected to the test of compliance with that amendment This Is a great protection to the negro. It never will be repealed, and it never ought to be repealed. If It had not been passed it might be difficult now to adopt it, but with it in our funda mental law the policy of southern leg islation must and will tend to obey It, and so long as the statutes of the states meet the test of this amend ment nnd are not otherwise in con flict with tho constitution nnd laws of the United States It Is not the disposi tion or within tho province of the fed eral government to Interfere with tho regulation by southern states of their domestic affairs. "Negro Is Now American." There is In the south n stronger feel ing than ever among the intelligent, well to do and Influential element in favor of the industrial education of tho negro nnd the encouragement of the raco to make themselves useful members of the community. Tho progress which the negro has made in the last flftyyears from slavery, when Its statistics are reviewed, Is marvel ous, and it furnishes every reason to hope that In the next twenty-five years a still greater improvement in his con dition as a productive member of so ciety, on tho farm and In the shop nnd in other occupations, may come. The negroes are now Americans. Their ancestors came here years ago agalnstl their will, nnd this is their only conn try und their only flog. They have shown themselves anxious to live for It nnd to dlo for It. Encountering tho! rnco feeling against them, subjected at limes to cruel injustice growing out of It, they may well have our profound sympathy and aid in the struggle they are making. We are charged with th sacred duty of making their path as-' smooth and easy as we can. Any recognition of their distinguished men,' any appointment to office from among their number, is properly taken as an encouragement and an appreciation of their progress, nnd this just policy shall be pursued. The Appointment of Negroes. But It may well admit of doubt whether lu case of nny race an ap pointment of one of their number to a local office In a community in which the race feeling Is so widespread nnd acute ns to Interfere with the ease and facility with which the local govern ment business enn be done by tho ap pointee Is of sufficient benefit by way of encouragement to the raco to out weigh the recurrence nnd Increase of race feeling which such nn appoint ment Is likely to engender. Therefore tho executive in recognizing tho negro rnco by nppolntmcnts must exercise a careful discretion not thereby to do it more harm thau good. On tho other hand, wo must be careful not to en courage the mere pretense of race feel lug manufactured in the interest of In dividual political ambition. No Raco Feeling In White House. Personally I havo not tho slightest race prejudice or feeling, nnd recogni tion of Us exlstenco only awakens in my heart a deeper sympathy for those who have to bear It or suffer from It, and I question tho wisdom of u policy which Is likely to increase it. Mean time, if nothing Is dono to prevent, a better feeling between the negroes and the whites In the south will continue to grow, and moro and more of the whlto peoplo will como to realize that the future of tho south is to be much benefited by tho Industrial and Intel lectunl progress of tho negro. Tho ex crclso of political franchises by those of his race who are Intelligent and well to do will bo ucqulesced In, and the right to voto will be withheld only from tho Ignorant nnd Irresponsible of both races. Continued on 2d pace, I Longing For Spring. My heart Is sick, my spirit racked With winter's heavy woe. I'm longing more to have It o'er, I count the minutes go. My very being yearns for spring. ' I fairly weep and beg To have a tew potatoes new; Also a recent egg. New York Press.
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