Page:The Presidents of the United States, 1789-1914, v. IV.djvu/218

178 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS having made an elaborate report on wool and woolens, another bill was passed, which was vetoed in turn because its provisions were inconsistent with the findings of the report. Meanwhile, a bill had been framed covering the cotton schedule, which met the same fate as the wool bills, and for like reasons, with the additional objection that it had been so hastily drawn that some of its provisions were practically unworkable. Thus bill after bill was put through in pursuance of the tactical plan of the opposition to force the president s hand. In spite of these vicissitudes, President Taft was able to get much that he asked for. Included in the catalogue of legislation enacted during his term were laws creating a commerce court, to expedite the decision of appeals from rulings of the interstate commerce commission; establishing a postal savings system and a parcels post; sub mitting to the states a constitutional amendment empowering congress to impose an income tax; compelling publicity of campaign contributions in national and congressional elections; authorizing withdrawals of land from the public domain by executive order, a long step forward in the con servation movement; establishing a department of labor separate from the department of commerce; providing for the organization of a bureau of mines and a children s bureau, both designed for the im provement of labor conditions as to safety, health