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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 9, 1908)
tui; aioicxix;- okkcjomax, Wednesday, wvemueh v, ivos. PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT'S ANNUAL MESSAGE 12 vfT- ..-'v.'-"-. :. .. .V WASHINGTON", Dec. 8. President Roosevelt's message was tranpmltted to both houses of Concress today. The message follows: To the Senate and Home of Representa tive.: The financial standing of the Nation a th present time Is excellent, and the flnun n.i nnmrnt of the Nation's Interest! by the Government during- tne last seven vesrs has shown the most satinariory re .11. K..t nur nirrtnrr ystera Is Imoer f-cl. and It Is earnestly to be hoped that the Currency Commission win oe on nmMi a thoroughly good system whlc will rio uir with the eslstlna- defects. nurin the Deri-id from July 1. t c.ni.mhrr :w. tl.ere was an increase in the .mount of money In circulation of r.rni nni .a9. The Increase In the per raplt ri.irlnr this neriod was S7.0&. Within this rim. thr. were severs! occasions when I was necessary for the Treasury Department to come to the relief of the money market by purchases or redemptions of 1'nilrd f tales bonds: by im-rcaaine: apoens ,n niuumi banks: by stimulating; additional Issues of National bank notes, and by f c-illlatln imMinitlnm from abroad of cold. Ou Imperfect currency system h nisde these proceJlnas necessary, sna tney r.ers ii r.cilv. until the monetary disturbance In th Fall of 197 Immensely Increased the difficulty of ordinary methods of rel.-r. Bv the middle of November the mailable working; balance In the Treasury ba.l been reduced to appronraately ...ixm'i. i ier-lna-bouse associalt-ins th;-oush.-ur in coutl trv had been ohli.-d to resort to the ex pedient of Issulns clcsnnithouse ccrtin- csles. to l-e tisea as monc. in t"i r enir It arss detc-miiied to Ir.vlte nii.scrlp- tli-n ffit- lMIMt- IVimma t'snsl bonds, nil l0.O.H.lv .1 per cent certirk-ales of Indebtedness authorised by tlie act f June IX l.V It proposed to re-depK.;.t In the' National hanks the proceeds of these lssos. and 10 rtcrmlt their use as a basis for additional circulattna notes of National banks. The moral effect of this procedure was so great thai It was necessary to Iwue onlv 24.mi.l0 of the Panama Canal bonds and $l5.4:i6.."i'd of the certificates of in debtedness. Net Surplus In Srre Years. Purine the pert d from July 1. 1001. t September Jo. IMS. - the balance between the net ordinary receipts and the net ordi nary expenses of the Government showed a surplus In the four years ll2. ll'OS, It"" and 19o". and a deficit In the three years 1SMI4. li05, iwis and a fractional part of the fiscal ver 1tX. The net result was a surplus of Sim.2s3.41tl . '.4. The financial operations of th Government during this period, based upon these cllllerenoes Deisfwi receitts and expenditures, resulted In a net reduction of the Interest -bearinr debt of the 1 nlted States from !". Hl.Ot.i to -:.".3.P9U. notwithstanding that there had been two sa.les of Panama Cnnal bonds amounting- In the aggregate to f.Y.&U.VM. and an Issue of 3 per cent certificates of Indebtedness nnder the act of June 13, I1S. amounting to 15.43i..VH). Refunding operations of the Treasury Department tinder the act, of March 14. IPoO. resulted In the conversion Into 2 per cent consols of 1M0 of -.'Oti.3iy.4(0 bonds bearing higher rates of interest. A d-crease of $s.i-S7.l."6 In the annual Intereet charge resulted from these operations. In short, during the seven years and three months there has been a net surplus of nearly $100,000,000 of receipts over ex penditures, a reduction of the interest bearing debt by f 'J0.ooo.000. In spite of the extraordinary expense of the Panama Canal, and a saving of nearly $!O00.l00 on the annual interest charge. This Is an exceedingly satisfactory showing, especially In view of the fact that during this pericd the Nation has never hesitated to under take any expenditure that it regarded as necessary. There have been no new taxes snd no Increases of taxes: on the contrary some taxes hsve been taken off: there has been a reduction of taxation. Only Federal Control Effective. Aii regard th great corporation en raged In Interstate business, and especially thw railroads, I can only repeat vhat I hav already again and again snld In my meFftaRea to tha Congress. I bellve that under the Interstate clause of the Const l t ut ton the iTnited States has complete and paramount riffht to control all agencies of imeratMe commerce, and X believe that the National Government alone can exer cise thl right with wisdom and effective ness so as both to secure Justice from, and to do Justice to, the great corporations which are the most important actors in modern business I believe that It i worse than folly to attempt to prohibit all com binations as is done by the Sherman .anti trust law. because such a law can ti cn-fr.r-ec only imperfectly and unequally, and Its enforcement works almost as murh hard ship as good. I strongly advocate that Instead of an unwise effort to prohibit all combination, there shall be substituted a law which shall expressly permit combina tions which are la the Interest of the pub lic but shall at the same time give to some agency of the National Government full nower of control and supervision over them. One of the chief feat urea of this control should be securing entire publicity in all matters which the public has a right to know, and furthermore, the power, not by judicial but by executive action, to pre vent or put a at or to every form of im proper lavontism or other wrongdoing. Regulation of Railroads. The rjit ways of the country should be put completely under the Interstate Com merce Commission and removed from the domain of the antl-!rist law. The power or tne i ommission should be made thor oughgoing, sn that it could .exercise com plete supervision and control over tha Issue of securities as well as over the raising ii a lowering or rates. as regards rates, at least, this power should be summary. The power to Investigate the financial ope rations and accounts of the railways his neen one or the most valuable features in recent legislation. Power to make com binations and traffic agreements should be explicitly conferred upon the railroads, the permission of the Commission belns Brat gained and the combination or agreement being published in all Its details la the Interest of the public the representatives t the public should have complete power to tee that the railroads J6 thir duty T the public, and as a matter of course this power should also be exercised go as, to ae that no injustice Is done to th9 rail roads. The shareholders, the employes and the shippers all have interests that must guarded. It is to the interest of all of Thm that no swindling stock specula tion should be allowed, and that there should h no Improper issuance of ' securi ties. The guiding intelligences necessary . for the successful building and successful management of railroads should receive ample remuneration; but no man should be allowe.i to make money in connection with railroads out of fraudulent over-capitalization and kindred stcck-gamblirg per formances; there must be no defrauding of .Investors, oppression of the fanners and business men who ship freight, or callous Wisrea-ard of the richts and needs of the employes. In nddftiot to thlfc the Interests of the shareholders, of the employes, and . of the shippers should all be guarded as against one another. To give any one of them onriufl and- Improper consideration is to do Injustice to the others. Hates must be made as low as t compatible with giv ing proper returns to all the employee of tlje railroad, from the highest to the low est, and proper returns to the shareholders; but they must not. for example, be reduced In auch fashion as to necessitate a cut In tiia wages of the employes or the abolition of the proper and legltimata profits of hon est sharhoUlrs. Telegraph and telephone companies en gaged in Interstate business should be put under the Jurisdiction of tile Interstate Commerce Commission. Protect High I f All Alike. It is very earnestly to he --iFhed that our people, through tneir representatives, snould a.t in this matter. It is " hard to say whether most damage to th country at large would come from entire fnilure on the part of the public to supervise and e.mtroi the actions iT tho jcTJai corpor ations, or from the cxercie of the neces ary governmental power in a way which would do injustice aud wrong to the cor poratiens. Both -he preachers of an un restricted individualism, and the preachers of an oppression which would deny to able men of business the Just reward of their Initiative and business sagantv, are advo cating policies that would be fraughL-with the gravest harm to the whole country. To permit eery law lesj capitalist, tverv law defying corporation, to take any action, no matter how Iniquitous, in the effort to se cure an improper profit and to build up privilege, would be ruinous to the Republic and wou'd mark the abandonment of the effort to secure In the Industrial world the spirit- of democratic fair-dealing. On the other hand, to attack these wrongs In thit spirit of demsgogy which can see wrong only when rommitt-'d by the man of wealth, and is dumb and blind in the presence of wrong committed ait a i net mn of prop erty or by men of no property, U exactly Hi IVrmit combinations in public interest, but under National control. t Put rnilroaJs completely under Interstate Commerce Commission and remove them from domain of anti trust law. Give Commission control of issue of securities by railroads. Allow railroads to combine and make traffic agreements with permission of Commission. FOR BENEFIT OF LABOR. P. it retcffrwpli and telephone companies under supervision of Commission. Provide employers liability for Injuries; to workmen sustained by Government employes and employes of corporations In interstate commerce. Citve Government workmen half holidaysMn Summer. Kxtend operation of elierht-hour laws. v , 1oubIe salaries of Federal Judges. Ih away with delays in administration of justice. Limit power of injunction exercised by courts and require bearing on temporary injunctions within cer tain period. Provide asrainst deforestation and for preservation of all natural resources. x IMPROVE INLAND WATJ3R1VA YS. Pro Me for improvement of inland waterways according to system, instead of haphazard methods, and create permanent commission for purpose. Place National parks under control of Forest Service, with superintendent and corps of scouts or rangrers for each. Kxtlnftulsh system of Indian agents. Allow secret service to be employed in any branch of public service. POSTAL SAVIA'GS BAKS " v KstaUllsh postal savings banks. Kstabllslr local parcels post on rural routes. Increase appropriations for National Bureau of Education. Place Census Bureau under civil service law and remove geographical requirements, -as to employes. Concentrate all bureaus dealing with public health in one department. Place Public Printer under control of Secretary of Commerce and Labor; Soldiers' Homes under War Iepnrtment. and all independent commislons and bureaus under appropriate departments. Admit Arizona and New Mexico hs separate states. FEDERAL CONTROL OF FISHERIES. Put fisheries in insterstate waters, like Columbia River, under Federal control. Extend interstate game laws to include fish. Put Alaska seals under control of Fisheries Bureau. Grant mall subsidies to steamer lines V South America, Asia, the Philippines and Australia. Improve Hawaiian harbors; amend coastwise shipping laws -relating to Hawaii; modify alien contract labor law applying to Islands: f'rtify Peari Harbor to make It impregnable and increase garrison. Confer American citizenship on Porto Ricans. IMPROVE ARMY AXD XAVV. Amn.d lws for promotion of Army officers, so that seniority alone snail not rule, and incompetents may be retired. Reorganize cavalry. Establish general service corps. Create extra officers so that some may be assigned to training militia without depleting regular service. Provide plan for organizing volunteers in time of war, and to promote rifle practice among civilians. For the Navy Provide four battleships, additional destroyers and collier?; change General Board Into General Staff; provide promotion by merit; provide two hospitals; graduate midshipmen as ensigns. as evil, as corruptly to defenj the wronjr doins; of men of wealth. The war we wiiice mut be waged against misconduct, aratuat wronfrdoins; herever it is found; end w e must stand heartily for the rljrht of every decent man. whether he be a m:in of groat wealth or & man who earns his livelihood as a wageworker or a tiller of the soil. Enrmien at Both Kstrcmes. It is to the interest of all of us that there should be a premium put upon individual Initiative and Individual rapacity, and an ample rward for the great directing intel ligences alone competent to manage the great business operations of today. It Is well to keep in mind that exactly as the anarchist is the worst enemy of liberty and the reactionary the worst enemy of order. so the men who defend the rights of prop erty have most to fear from the wrong doers of great wealth, and the men who are cnampioninjr popular rights have most to fear from the demagogues who In the name of popular rights would do wrono; to and oppress honest business men, honest men of wealth; for the success of either type of wrongdoer necessarily Invites a violent reaction against the cause the wrong doer nominally upholds. Jn point of danger tne nation there Is nothing to choose between on the ope hand the corruptionist. the nribe-glver. the bribe-taker, the man who employs his gret talent to swindle his fellow cltisens on a large scale, and, on the other hand, the preacher of class hatred. the man who. whether from Ignorance or from willingness to sacrifice his country to his ambition, persuades well-meaning but wrong-headed men to try to destroy the ln- truments upon whirh our prosperity mainly rests. T-et each croup of men beware of nd guard aeainst the . shortcomings to which that group is Itself most llahie. Too often we see the business community In epirlt of unhealthy class consciousness d plore the effort to hold to account under he law tit wealthy men who In their management of great corporations, whether railroads, ntreet railways, or other industrial nterprises, have behaved In a way that revolts the conscience of the plain, decent people. ucn an attituae cannot be con demned too severely, for men of property noma recognize that they Jeopardize the ighta or property when they fail heartily to join In the effort to do away wlth abuses of wealth. -On the other hand, those who advocate proper control on behalf or th public, through the state, of these great corporations, and of the wealth engaged on giant scale in business operations, must ever keep In mind that unless they do scrupulous luHfce to the corporation, tin- less they permit ample profit, and cordially encourage capable men of business so long as they act with honesty, they are striking at the root of our National well-being; for in the long run under the mere pressure of material distress, the people as a whole would probably g-o back o the reign of an unrestricted individualism rather than submit to a control by the state so drastic and so foolish, conceived in a spirit of such unreasonable and narrow hostility to wealth, as to prevent business operations from be ing profitable, and therefore to bring ruin upon the entire business community, and ultimately upon the entire body of citizen. Only Nation Can Control Traits. The opposition to Government control of these -great corporations makes its most effective efTort in the shape of an appeal to the old doctrine of states' rights. Of course there are many sincere men who now believe In unrestricted Individualism In business. Just as there were formerly many sincere men who believed in slavery that is. in th unrestricted right of an individual to own another Individual. These men do not by themse!ves have great weight, however. The effective fight against adequate Gov ernment control end supervision of individ ual, and especially corporate, wealth en gaged in interstate business Is chiefly done under cover: and especially under cover of an appeal to states' rights. It Is not at all infrequent to read In the same speech, a denunciation of predatory wealth fos tered by special privilege and defiant of both the public welfare and law of the land, and a denunciation of centralization in the central Government of the power to deal with this centralized and organized wealth. Of course, the policy set forth In such twin denunciations amounts to absolutety nothing. for the first half Is nullified by the second half. The chfef reason, among the many sound and compelling reasons, that led to the formation of the National Gov ernment was the absolute need that the Union, and not the several states, should deal with Interstate and foreign commerce; and the power to deal with interstate com merce was granted absolutely and plenarily to the central Government and was exer cised completely as regards the only In struments of interstate commerce known In those days the waterways, the high roads, as well as the partnerships of indi- ' viduals who then conducted all of what I business there was. Interstate commerce la now chiefly conducted by railroads; and the great corporation has supplanted tha mass of small partnerships or individuals. The proposal to make the National Gov ernment supreme over, and therefore to five It complete control over, the railroads nd other instruments of Interstate com merce Is merely a proposal to,rarry out to the letter one of the prime purposes If not the prime purpose for which the Con stitution was founded. It does not repre sent centralisation. It represents merely the acknowledgement of the patent fact ' that centralization has already come in busi ness, if this irresponsible outride business power is to be controlled in the interest of the general public It can only be controlled in one way; by giving adequate power of control to the one sovereignty capable of exercising such power the National Gov ernment. Forty or 50 separate state govern ments cannot exercise that power over cor porations doing business in most or all of them; first, because they absolutely lack the authority to deal with Interstate business in any form ; and second, because of the In evitable conflict of authority sure to arise In the efTort to enforce different kinds of state regulation, often inconsistent with one another and sometimes oppressive In them selves. Such divided authority cannot reg ulate commerce with wisdom and effect. The central Government is the only power which, without oppression, can nevertheless thoroughly and adequately control and su pervise the large corporations. To abandon the effort for National control means to abandon the effort for all adequate control and yet to render likely continual hursts of action by state legislature, which can not achieve the purpose sought for, but which can du a great deal of damage to PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT'S RECOMMENDATIONS the corporation without conferring any real benefit on the public. Knn Trusts in Public Interest. I believe that the more farsighted cor porations are themselves coming to recog nize the unwisdom of the violent hostility they have displayed during the last few years to regulation and control by the Na tional Government of combinations engaged- In interstate business. The truth is tjiat we who believe In this movement of assert ing and exercising a genuine control. In the public interest, over these great cor porations have to contend against two sets of enemies, who. though nominally opposed to one another, are really allies In prevent ing a proper solution of the problem. There re, first, the bifc corporation men. and the extreme 'Individualists among business men. who genuinely believe in utterly un regulated buslness that is, in the reign of plutocracy ; and, second, the men who. being blind to the economic movements of the day, believe In a movement of repres sion rather than of regulation of corpora tions, and who denounce both the power of the railroads and the exercise of the Federal power which alone can really control the railroads. Those who believe in efficient Na tional control, on the other hand, do not in the least object to combinations; do not In the least object to concentration in busi ness administration. On the contrary, they favor both, with the all-important proviso that there shall be such publicity about their workings, and such thorough-going control ove them, as to insure their being In the interest, and not against the interest, of the general public. We do not object to tho concentration of wealth and ad ministrntlon; but we do believe In the dis tribution of the wealth In profits tq .the real owners, and In securing to the public the full benefit of the concentrated adminis tration. We believe that with concentration In administration there can come both the advantage of a large ownership and of a more equitable distribution of pronts, ana at the same time a better service to the commonwealth. We believe that the ad ministration should be for the benefit of the many, and that greed and rascality, practiced on a large scale, shouia ne pun ished as relentlessly as If practiced on i small scale. We do not for a moment believe that the nroblem will be solved bv any short and easy met hod. The solution will come only bv nressinv various concurrent remedies. Pome of these remedies must He outside the domain of all government. Pome must lie outside the domain of the Federal Gov ernment. But there I legislation which the Federal Government alone can enact and which is absolutely vital in order to secure the attainment of our purpose. Many laws are needed. There should be regulation by the National Government of the great in tretate corporations, including a simple meihort of account keening, nuiiiicity. super vision of tlie issue of securities, abolition of rebates and f special privileges. mere should bc short time franchises for all cor norations engaged In public business; in eluding the corporations which get power from water ria-hts. 1 liere SIlOUiQ De i tlonal as well as state guardianship of mines and forests. The labor legislation herein after referred to should concurrently be en acted into law. Ve AU Power Nation Una. To accomplish this, means, of course, i certain increase In the use of not the creation of power, by the central Gov eminent. The power already exists; It does not have to be created; the only question Is whether it shall be used or left ldl and meanwhile the corporations over which the power ought to be exercised will not remain Idle. I-et those .who oniect to tnu Increase in the use of the only power avail able, the National power, he frank, and admit openly that they pVopose to abandon any effort to control the great business cor porations and to exercise super vudon over the accumulation and distribution of wealth. for such supervision and control can only come through this particular kind of in crease of power. We no more believe In that empiricism which demands absolutely unrestrained individualism than we do In that empiricism which clamors for a dead ening socialism which would destroy , all individual initiative ana wouia ruin tne country with a completeness that not even an unrestrained Individualism itself could achieve. The danger to American democracy lies not In the least In the concentration of administrative power In responsible and accountable hands. It lies In having the power insufficiently concentrated, so that no one can be held responsible to the people for Its use. Concentrated power Is palpable, visible, responsible, easily reached, quickly held to account. Power scattered through many administrators, many legislators, many men who work behind and through legislators and administrators, is Impalp able, is unseen, Is Irresponsible, cannot be reached, cannot be held to account. Dem ocracy Is In peril wherever the administra tion of political power is scattered among a variety of men who work in secret, whose very names are unknown to the common people, it is not in peril from any man who derives authority from the people, who exercises it. In sight of the people, and who is from time to time compelled to give an account of its exercise to the people. ;lve Iibor Larger Share. There are many matters affecting labor and the status of the wage worker to which I should like to draw your attention, but an exhaustive discussion of the prob lem in all its aspects Is not now necessary. This administration is nearing its end; and. moreover.- under our form of govern ment t he solution of the problem depends upon the action of the states as much as upon the action of the Nation. Nevertheless, there are certain considerations which I wish to set before you, because I hope that our people will more and more keep them in mind. A blind and Ignorant re sistance to every effort for the reform of abuses and for the readjustment of society to modern industrial conditions represents not true conservatism but an incitement to the wildest radicalism ; for wise radicalism and wise conservatism go hand in hand, one bent on progress, the other bent on seeing that no change Is made unless in the right direction. I believe In a steady effort, or perhaps It would be more accurate to say in steady efforts In many different direc tions, to bring about a condition of affairs under which the men who work with ha ad or with brain, the laborers, the superintend ents, the men who produce for the market and the men who find a market foe the articles produced, shall own a far greater share than at present vof the wealth they produce, and be enabled to Invest it in the tools and instruments by which all work La carried, on. As far as possible, I hope to see a frank recognition of the advantages conferred by machinery, organization, and division of labor, accompanied by an effort to bring about a larger share in the owner- shin hy wageworker of railway, mill and factory. In farming, this simply mean; that we wish to see the farmer own h own land; we do cot wish to see th farms so large that they become the prop erty of absentee landlords who farm them by tenants, nor yet so small tnat 11 farmer becomes like a European peasan Again, the depositors In our savings bank; now number over one-tenth of our entire population. These are all capitalists, wh through the savings banks loan their mone to the workers that is. In many cases to themselves to carry on their various in dustrfes. The more we increase their num ber, the more we introduce the principle; of co-operation into our industry. Every increase In the number of small stock holders In corporations ia a good thing for the same reasons; and where the employes are the stockholders the result Is par ticularly good. Very much of this move ment must be outside of anything that can be accomplished by legislation; but legisla tion can do a good deal. Postal savings banks will make it easy for the poores to keep thein sayings in absolute safety. The regulation of the National highway must be such that they shall serve ill people with equal justice. Corporate finances must be supervised so as to make it far safer than at present for the man small means to Invest his money In stocks. There must be prohibition of child labor, diminution of woman labor, shortening of hours of all mechanical labor; stock water ing should be prohibited, and stock gamb ling so far as is possible discouraged. There should be a progressive inheritance tax on large fortunes. Industrial education should i be encouraged. As far as possible we should lighten the burden of taxation on the small man. We should put a premium upon thrift, hard work, and business en crgy ; but these qualities cease to be the main factors in accumulating a fortune long before that fortune reaches a poin where it would be seriously affected by any Inheritance tax such as I propose. It eminently right that the Nation should fix the terms upon which the great fortunes are inherited. They rarely do good and they often do harm to those who inheri them in their entirety. Ktnployers UabUity Ijiws. The above is the merest sketch, hardly even a sketch in outline, of the reforms for which we should work. But there is one ma iter with which the Congress should deal at this session. There should no longer be any paltering with the question of tak ing care of the wage workers who, under our present Industrial system become killed crippled or worn out as part of the reg ular incidents of a given business. The majority of wage workers must have their rights secured for them by state action but the .National Government should legls late in thoroughgoing and far-reaching fashion not only for all employes of tho National Government, but for all persons engaged in Interstate commerce. The ob ject sought for could be achieved measurable degree, as far as those killed or crippled are concerned, by proper em ployers liability laws. As far as concerns those who have been worn out. I call your attention to the fact that definite ateps toward providing old-age pensions have been taken in many of our private In dustries. These may be indefinitely ex tended through voluntary association and contributory schemes, or through the agency of savings banks, as under the recent Mas sachusetts plan. To strengthen these prac tical measures should be our Immediate duty; it Is not at present necessary to con sider the larger and more general Govern mental schentes that most European govern ments have found themselves obliged to Orir present system, or rather no system works dreadful wrong, and is of benefit to only one class of people the lawyers When a workman Is injured what he needs is not an expensive and doubUul lawsuit, but the certainty of relief through Im mediate administrative action. The num ber of accidents which result in the death or crippling of wage workers In the Union at large is simply appalling; in a very few years It runs up a total far In excess ot the aggregate of the dead and wounded In any modern war. No academic theory about "freedom of contract or "consti tutional liberty of contract" should be per mitted to Interfere with this and similar movements. Progress in civilization has everywhere meant a limitation and regula tion of contract. I call your especial at tentlon to the bulletin of the Bureau of j-jmlmii m iiiuu gives u, aitiiumeui. ol inw methods of treating the unemployed in European countries, as this Is a subject which in Germany, for Instance, is treated In connection with making provision for worn out and crippled workmen. Comppensate Federal Employes. Pending a thoroughgoing investigation and action there is" certain legislation which should be enacted at once. The law, passed at tne last session of Congress, granting compensation to certain classes of employes of the Government, should be extended to include all employes of the Government and should be made more liberal In Its trms. There is no good ground for the distinction made in the law between those engaged In hazardous occupations and those not so engaged. If & man Is injured or killed in line of work. It was hazardous in his case. Whether 1 per cent or 10 per cent of those following a given occupation actu ally suffer injury or death ought not to have any bearing on the cjuestion of their receiving compensation. It is a grim loIc which says to an injured employe or to the dependents of tone killed that he or they are entitled to no compensation because very fow people other than he have been injured or km lea in that occupation. Perhaps one of the most striking omissions In the law Is that It does not embrace peace officer and others whose lives may be sacriflceu in enforcing; the laws of the United States. The terms of the act providing compensa tion snouia oe raaae more liberal than in the present act. A year's compensation la not adequate for a wageearners family In the event of his death by accident In the course of bis employment. And in the event of death occurring, say, 10 or 11 ontTis after the accident, the family would only receive as compensation the equivalent of one or two months earnings. In thru respect the generosity of the United States ; towards its employes compares most -ua favorably with that of every country in f I Europe even the poorest. I The terms of the act are also a. hard- snip in prohibiting payment in cases wnore the accident Is in any way due to the negli gence of the employe. It Is Inevitable that daily familiarity with danger will lead men to take chances that can be construed Into ntffliirence. So well Is this recognized I that in practically all countries in the civll- I Ized world exceDt the United States, only a great degree of negligence acts as a bar to securing compensation. Probably in no other reppect Is our legislation, both v.aie 7 entire civilized world as in the matter of I liability and compensation for accidents In I industry- It is humiliating that at Euro- T pean International congresses on accidents 4 the United States should be singled out as the most belated among the nations in re spect to employers uaointy legislation. This Government Is itself a large employer of labor, and In Its dealings with its em ployes it should set a standard in this coun try, which would place It on a par with the mot progressive countries in Eurone. The laws of the United States in this re- V I RTect n nd the laws of Furooenn mnrrin have been summarized in a recent bulletin of the Bureau of Iabor. arid no American who reads this summary can fall to be struck by the great contrast between our practices and theirs a contrast not In any sense to our credit. Liability In Washington City. The Congress should without further de lay pass a model employers' liability law for the Iistrict of Columbia. The em ployers" liability act recently declared un ennst 1 1 ntlonn 1. on account rtf annarnntlv In. T I eluding In Its provisions employes encaged f I in IntraRtafp r0 mm a a a Knca t I engaged in Interstate commerce, hns been held by the local courts to be still in effect so far as its provisions apply to the Dis trict of Columbia. There should be no ambiguity on this point. If there is any doubt on the subject, the law should be re-enacted with special reference to the District of Columbia. This act. however, applies only to employes of common car riers. In all other occupations the lia bility law of the District is the old com mon law. The severity and Injustice of the common law in this matter has been In some degree or another modified in the majority of our states, and the only juris diction under the exclusive control of the Congress should be ahead and not behind the states of the Union in this respect. A comprehensive employers liability law should be passed for the District of Colum bia. I renew my recommendation made In previous message that half-holidays be granted during Summer to all wage work ers in Government employ. I also renew my recommendation that the principle of the eight-hour day should as rapidly and as far as practicable! be ex tended to the entire work being carried on by the Government; the present law should be amended to embrace contracts on those public works which the present wording of tne act seems to exciuae. Judge' Salaries Law's Delays. I most earnestly urge upon the Congress tho duty of Increasing the totally inada quate salaries' now given to our Judges. On the whole there is no body of public servants wno do as valuable work, nor whose moneyed reward" is so inadequate compared to their work. Beginning with the Supreme Court the Judges should have their salaries doubled. It is not befitting the dignity of the Nation that its most honored public servants should be tald sums so small compared to what they would earn in private life that the performance or public service by them implies an ex ceedingly heavy pecuniary sacrifice. It is earnestly to be desired that some method should be devised for doing away with the long delays which now obtain in the administration of justice and which operate witn peculiar severity against ne sons of small means, and favor only the very criminals whom it is most desirable to punish. These long delays In the final decisions of cases make in the aggregate a crying evil; and a remedy should be de vised. Much of this intolerable deltiy Is one io improper regard paid to techni calities wnicn are a mere hindrance to justice. In some noted recent cases this over-regara for technicalities has resulted In a striking denial of justice, and flagrant wrong to the body politic. Labor's Exorbitant Demands. At the last election certain leaders of organized labor made a violent and sweep ing attack upon the entire Judiciary of the country, an attack couched In such terms as to Include the most upright, honest and broad-minded judges, no loss than those of narrower mind and more restricted out look. It was the kind of attack admirably fitted to prevent any successful attempt to reform abuses of the Judiciary, because it gave the champions of the unjust judge their eagerly desired opportunity to shin their 'ground into a championship of just judges who were unjustly assailed. Last year, before the House committee on the Judiciary, these same labor leaders formu lated their demands, specifying the bill that contained them, refusing all compromise. stating they wished the principle of that bill or nothing. They insistod on a pro vision that In a labor dispute no iniunction- should issue except to protect a property right, and specifically provided that tha right to carry on business should not be construed as a property right: and in a eecond provision their bill made legal in a labor dispute any act or agreement by or between two or more persons that would not have been unlawful If done by a sin pit. person. In other words, this bill legalized blacklisting and boycotting in every form, legalizing, for instance, those forms of the secondary boycott which the anthracite coal strike commission so unreservedly con demned, while the right to carry on a busi ness was explicitly taken out from under that protection which the law throws over property. The demand was made that there should be trial by Jury in contempt cases, thereby most seriously impairing the au thority of the courts. All this represented course of policy which, if carried out. would mean the enthronement of class privilege "in Ils crudest and most brutal form, and the destruction of one of the most essential functions of the Judiciary In all civilized lands. Lesson of Gonipers Defeat. The violence of the crusade for this legis lation, and its complete failure, illustrate two truths which it to essential our people should learn. In the first place, they ought to teach the workingman; the laborer, the wageworker, that by demanding what Is Im proper and Impossible he plays into the hands of his foes. Such a crude and vicious at tack upon the courts, even if It were tem porarily successful, would inevitably In the end cause a violent reaction end would band the great mass of citizen together, forcing them to aland by all the Judges, competent and incompetent alike, Tather than to see th wheels of justice stopped. A movement of this kind can ultimately result in nothing, but damage to those In whose behalf it is nomi nally undertaken. This is a most healthy truth, which it is wise for all our neonle to learn. Any movement baeed -on that class hatred which ax, times assumes the name of class consciousness" is certain ultimately to fail, and if it temporarily succeeds, to do far-reaching damage. "Class consciousness,' where It is merely another name for the odi ous vlco of claas selfishness. Is equally nox ious whether In an employers association or In a workingmen's association. The move- ment In question was one in which the ap- pea l was made to all work In gmen to vote primarily not as American citizens, but as Individuals of a certain class in society. Such an appeal in the first place revolts the more high-minded and far-sighted among the per sons to whom it Is addressed, and In the eecond place tends to arouse a strong antag onism among ail other classes of citizens, whom it therefore tends to unite against the very organization on whose behalf it Is is sued. The result Is therefore unfortunate from every standpoint. This healthy truth. by the way. will be learned by the socialists If they ever succeed in e.ttablUihing In this country an important National party ba.ed on such class consciousness and selfish class interest. The wage workers, the wrlcingmen, the laboring men of the country by the way in which they repudiated tlie effort to get them to cast their votes in response to an ppeal to clstss hatred, have emphasized their sound patriotism and Americanism. The whole country has cause to feel pride- In this attitude of sturdy Independence. In this un co m prom ieing. Insistence upon acting simply as good c itlzens. as good A merica ns. w i th out regard to fancied and Improper class interests. Such an attitude is an object-lesson in good citizenship to the entire Nation. Judge Who Do Most Wrong. But the extreme reactionaries, the per sons who blind themselves to the wrongs now' and then committed by the courts ou laboring men, should also think seriously as to what such a movement as this portends. The judges who have- shown themselves hie and willing effectively to cnecK tne cii3- onest activity ot the very ncn man wno works iniquity by the mismanagement of corporations, who have shown themselves alert- to- -do- Justice to th wagworker and t . ' - : - t- '"'f "i( -J Heilig Theater, NOEDSCA The Queen of Song NORDICA The King of Pianos STEIN WAY Sherman Following Is a List of the Retail PORTLAND. OUEGOX TACOMA. WASHINGTON SEATTLE, WASHINGTON NORTH YAKIMA, WASHINGTON BOISE. IDAHO OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA FRESNO, CALIFORNIA AND OTHER Sympathetic with the needs of tho mass of our people, so that the dweller in the tene ment houses, the man who practices a dangerous trade, the man who is crushed by excessive hours of labor, feel that their needs are understood by the courts the.e judges are the real bulwark of the court a, these judges, the judges of the stamp of the President-elect, who have been fearless In opposing labor when it has gone wrong, but fearless aleo In holding to strict account corporations that work . iniquity, and far sighted in seeing that the workingman gets his rights, are the men of all others to whom -we owe it that the appeal for stu n violent and mistaken legislation has fallen on deaf ears, that the agitation for its passage proved to be without substantial basis. The courts are jeoparded primarily by the action of those Federal and state judges who show inability or unwillingness to put a stop to the wrongdoing of very rich men under modern Industrial conditions, and inability or unwillingness to give relief to men of small means or waguworkors wno are crushed down by these modern In dustrial conditions; who. In other words, fan to understand and apply the needed reme dies for the new wrongs produced by the new and highly complex social and Indus trial civilization which has crown up in the last half century. Judges Lag Behind Progress. "The rapid changes in our social and in dustrial life which have attended this rapid growth have made it necessary that, ia applying to concrete cases the great rule of right laid down in our Constitution, there should be a full understanding and appre ciation of the new conditions to which the rules are to be applied. What would have been an infringement upon, liberty halt a century ago may be the necessary safeguard of liberty today. What would have been an Injury to property then may be necessary to the enjoyment of property now. Every judicial decision involves two terms one. an interpretation of the law; the other the understanding or tne I act to wnicn it is to be applied. The great mass of our judicial officers are I believe alive to these changes of conditions which so materially affect the performance of their judicial duties'. Our Judicial system is sound and effective at Core, and it remain, and must ever be ninln- I SPOKANE, PORTLAND and SEATTLE RAILWAY S TIIR NOHTH BASK HO W.'' g Connecting at Spokane 1U1 g I THE ORIENTAL LIMITED 1 1 THE SWELL GREAT B Compartment - Oh.ervnllon - far. Cars. Hay Coaches LEAVES HORTI.ASU S INLAND EMPIRE EXPRESS "THE DAT- LIGHT TRAIN"' FOR PASCO, WAT-LA WALLA, SPOKANE - AND 1NTER11KDI- ATE POINTS; PARLOR -CAR, DININO- H CAR AND ALL MODERN EQUIPMENT. Leave Dully. 9:1.'. A. M., Eleventh and Hoyt - Street Depot. S 'PICKETS, SLKKPING AND PARLOR-CAR RESERVATIONS. II H. PRKSOX, V. F. Jt"T. A.. S J.33 Third Street,. Portland, Oregon. aaflMMiiiw f -i- ,v Tomorrow Night & Go Houses of Sherman, clay & Company: S PO K A NE. W AST f 1 NG TO X E LL1 NG H A M . W A Sill NG TON E V E R ETT, WASH I N G TON W K N A T("ll V. W ASHIN'ITO N SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA CALIFORNIA CITIES tained. hi tlie mfeguard of tho prJn-ij!.'i of liberty and justice u hUii stiind at the foundation of American institutions; f-T. u Burke finely said, when liberty and Jutl-- are separated, nelt her is p.- fe. There are. Ju'wcvcr. some nie rubers of the judicial body who have laired behind in t.ieh- undersiand ine of t he? g refit and vital charges in the ho.ly politic, w hi.e mlndtt have nevt r been opened to the new nppMcut ions of the nii prlni-jples made necessary by tlie new con ditions. JudK'.-s of this stamp do Insl fng harm by their decision bee a use they con vince (-nor men In need of protection that the eourt.s of t l:e land at i profound !y 1r n -r-ant of and out of sympathy wi'h their need?, and profound I y indlif' ient or ht le to any promised remedy. To uch men it srenis a cruel mockery to have any court decide acafnut them on the ground that it desire to preserve "liberty' in a purely technical form, by withholding liberty In any real and constructive seiifc. It i desirable that the legislative body .vhonld posscms", and v herever necfspjiry exerciye, the power to determine whether in a given case employers and employes are not on an e-iiiid footing, jo that the necevUies of tho latter corn n-' I theni to submit to such exactions ns to hours and conditions of labor n. unduly to tax their strength; and only mischief can result win n such determination s upset on the ground that there must be no "interference with the liberty to contract" often a merely Rcfldcuiic "liberty. the exercise of which, Is the negation of real liberty. Decisions Which Nullify liberty. There are certain decisions by various courts which have been exceedingly detiinuntal to the rightH of wageworkers. This is true of ai! the decisions that decide that men and women are. by the t'oiu-t ttutior.. "guaranteed their liberty" to contract to enter a danger ous occupation, or to work an undesirable or improper number of hours, or to work in unhealthy surroundings; ami therefore can not recover damages when maimed In that occupation, and can not bs forbidden to work what the legislature decides is an excessive number of hours, or to carry on tlie work under conditions w hleh the legislature de cides to be unhealthy. Tho most dfngerous occupation are often tho poorest psid and those where tlie hours of work are longest: and in many cass thw who go into them are driven iy necessity so great that they hove nraetlcallv no alternntive. iweismrs sueh as tho,.e flPud'-il ntve nnHlfr t1. OIirilEU TRAI.V. Standard and Tourlut and UiuiuK-l nr. 1)111. V, 5::i." ! SI'CIloB- Mlav THE NEW ROUTE EAST will