The Oregon daily journal., December 08, 1908, Page 12, Image 12

THE OREGON DAILY JOURNAL, PORTLAND, .TUESDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 8, 1903.
PRESIDENT SENDS ANNUA
TO CONGRESS
11 ; t . - 1 - 11 1 - ' f:- - :.r.
Destruction of Forest a National Calam
ity Inland Waterways and Nation-
Executive Deals With Questions of Leg
islation; Decries injudicious Attacks
on Courts Temporary Injunctions
ai Parks uetense ot Policies In
corporated in Panama Canal System
of Construction.
Frequently an Injustice Improper
Use of Corporations.
12
L MESSAGE
United Press Lesied Wire.)
Washington. Dec. 8, President
;" Roosevelt's message, sent to con-
To the Senate and House of Ilepre
sentatives The financial standing of
. the nation at the present time Is excel
lent, and the financial management of
f the nation's Interests by the .governr
merit during the last seven years has
shown the most satisfactory results.
But our currency system Is lmperfert,
and it is earnestly to be hoped that the
currency commission will be able .to
propose a thoroughly gooi system
which will do away with the existing
defects. . , .
i During- the period from July 1, 1901.
to September 80, 1908, there was an in-
MVAaaA In ha ammint flf TTinneV in CiTCU-
latton of $902,891,899. The Increase in
the per capita during this period was
$7.06. Within this time there were
several occasions when It was neces
sary for the treasury department to
coma to the relief ot the money market
by purchases or redemptions of United
States bonds; by increasing deposits in
national banks; , by stimulating addi
' tlonal issues of national bank notes.
' and by facilitating importations from
abroad of gold. Our imperfect cur
rency system ba made these proceed'
Ings necessary, and they were effective
' until the monetary disturbance in the
fall of 1907 Immensely increased the
' ' difficulty of ordinary methods of re
lief. By the middle of November the
available working balance in the treas
ury had been reduced to approximately
$5,000,000. Clearing house associations
throughout the country had been obliged
to resort to the expedient of issuing
-clearing house certificates, to be used
as money. In this emergency It was de
termined to invite subscriptions for
' $50,000,000 Panama canal bonds, and
$100,000,000 1 per cent certificates of
Indebtedness authorised by the act of
June 1$, 1898. It was proposed to re
deposit In the. national banks the" pro
ceeds of these issues, and to permit
their use as a basis for additional cir
culating notes of national banks. The
moral effect of this procedure was so
great that It was necessary to issue
' only $24,681,980 of the Panama canal
bonds and $15,436,500 of the certifi
cates of indebtedness.
. During the period from July 1. 1901.
to September 30. 1908. the balance be
tween the net ordinary receipts and the
net ordinary expenses of the govern
ment showed, a surplus in the four
years 1902. 1903, 190S and 1907. and a
deficit in, the years 190. 1905. 1908 and
" ft fractional part of the fiscal year 1909.
The net result was a surplus of $99.
83,413.64. The financial operations of
the government during this period,
based upon these differences between
receipts and expenditures, resulted In a
net reduction of tne interest oeanng uoui
of the United tSates from $987;141,040 to
$897,263,990. notwithstanding that
there had been two sales of Panama
canal bonds amounting in tne assicsaw
to $64,631,980, and an Issue of 3 per
cent certificates of indebtedness under
the act or June ia, isa, amuunims
$18,438,600. Refunding operations of
the treasury department under the act
of March 14. 1900. resulted in the con
version into t per cent consols of 1930
of $200,309,400 bonds bearing higher
rates of interest. A decrease of $8,687,-
966 in the annual interest charge re
i . -1 tViaa nnoratlnnt.
in finr. during the seven years and
three months there has been a net sur
i plus of nearly $100,000,000 of receipts
over expenditures, a reduction of the In
terest bearing debt of $90,000,000. in
spite of the extraordinary expense of
the Panama canal, and ft raving of near
ly $90,000,000 on the innual interest
charge. This la an exceedingly satis
factory showing, especially In-view of
the fact that during this penoa ie
nation has never hesitated to undertake
any expenditure that it regarded as
necessary. There have been no new
taxes and no Increase of taxes, on the
contrary some taxes ,,Y
oir; tn ere nas oeeo a. muunmu
Hon.
Corporation.
As regards the great corporations en
gaged in interstate business, and es
pecially the railroads, I can only re
peat what I have already again and
'. again said in my messages to the con
gress. I believe that under the inter
state clause of the constitution the
United States has complete and para
mount right to control all agencies of
Interstate commerce, ana i uoc
the national government alone can exer
cise this right with wisdom and ef
fectiveness so as both to secure Justice
from, and to do Justice to, the great
corporations wmen ro wio
portant factors in modern business. I
believe that It Is worse than folly to
attempt to prohibit all combinations as
18 done Dy tne eneriumi un-""
i ,. h a law ran be enforced
only imperfectly and unequally, and Its
r enforcement worm Bmni
hardship as good. I strongly advocate
that Instead of an unwise effort to pro
hibit all combinations, there shall be
, i.hatit.itnri a law which shall express
ly permit combinations which are in the
Interest of the public, but shall at the
' same time give to some agency of the
national government full power of con
trol and supervision over them. One or
the chief features of this control
should be securing entire publicity in
all matters wnicn tne puouc nas a niu
to know, and furthermore, the power,
not by Judicial but by executive action,
to prevent or put a stop to every form
f Improper favoritism or other wrong
doing. Croreralxur Railways.
' rt. nllwivi of the country should
1 put completely under the Interstate
commerce coiQmiivii uu ni""cu
from the domain of the anti-trust law
The power of the commission? should
be made thoroughgoing, so that It could
exercise complete supervision and con
trol over the issue of securities as well
s over the raising and lowering of
rates. As regards rates, at least, this
power should be summary. The power
to Investigate the financial operations
and accounts of the railways has been
one of the moat valuable features in
recent legislation. Power to make com
binations and traffio agreements thould
be explicitly conferred upon the rail
roads, t ire permission of the commis
sion being first gained and the combi
nation r agreement being published in
all its details. In, the interest of the
publio the representatives of the public
I. 1.4 h.tu Amnlpi Mwer to see that
the railroads do their duty by the pub
lic, and as a matter of course this
power should also exercised so as to
see that no Injustice is done to the
railroads. The shareholders, the em
ployes and the shipper" all have inter- j
lf that must be guarded. It Is to the
Interest of all of them that no swind
ling stock speculation should be allowed,
and that there should be no Improper
Issuance of securities.-' The guiding in
telligences necessary for the successful
building and successful management of
railroads should receive ample remu
neration; but no man should be allowed
t mulia mnnpv in eonnectlon with rail
roads o tt of fraudulent over capitalisa
tion and kindred stock gambling per
r.iiioaiices: there must bt no defrauding
of investor, oppression of the farmers
aii'1 bultsii nun who ship, freight, or
i-o l"iis disregard of the rights And
I . of the employe.
In ,i,lttn to it I tli Interest ot:
t'o '..i-''!nidr, of the employes, and!
of the shippers should all be guarded
against one another. To give any one
oi mem umiue ana improper considera
tion is to oo injustice to the others.
Kate SEust Be low.
Rates must be made as low as Is
compatible with giving proper returns
to axi tne employes or tne railroad,
from the highest to the lowest, and
.proper returns to the shareholders; but
they must not, for instance, be reduced
in sucn tasnion as to necessitate a cut
In the wages of the employes or the
abolition of the proper and legitimate
pronts or nonest shareholders.
Telegraph and telephone companies
engaged in Interstate business should
be put under the Jurisdiction of the
Interstate commerce commission.
It is very earnestly to be wished that
our people, through their representa
tives, should act in. this matter. It is
hard to say whether most damage to
the country at large would come from
entire failure on the Dart of the nubile
to supervise and control the actions of
tne great corporations. Or from the
exercise of the necessary governmental
power in a way which would do injustice
and wrong to the corporations. Both
the preachers of an unrestricted indi
vidualism, and tho preachers of an op
pression which would deny to able men
of business the Just reward of their
initiative and business sagacity, are
advocating policies that would be
fraught with the gravest harm to the
whole country. To permit every lawless
capitalist, every law defying corpora-
nun, io lass any action, no matter now
Iniquitous, In the effort to secure an
improper profit a 60, to build up privilege,
would be ruinous to the remibllc and
would mark the abandonment of the ef
fort to secure in the industrial world
tne spirit of democratic fair dealing.
On the other hand, to attack these
wrongs In that spirit of demagogy which
can see wrong drrly when committed by
the man of wealth, and is dumb and
blind in the presence of wrong com
mitted against men of property or by
men of no property, is exactly as evil as
corruptly to defend the wrong doing of
men ui weaitn. ine war we wage must
be waged against misconduct, against
wrongdoing wherever It is found: and
we must stand heartily for the rights
of every decent man, whether he be a
man of great wealth or a man who
earns his livelihood as a wmaworker or
a tiuer ot tne sou.
Beward for Ooropateno.
It l to the Interest of all of ua that
there should be a premium put upon
Individual Initiative and individual ca
pacity, and an ample reward for the
great directing intelligences alona com
petent to manage the great business
operations vrt today, it Is well to keep
In mind that exactly as the anarchist
Is the worn enemy of liberty and the
reactionary the worst enemv of or.lar.
so the men who defend the rights of
property nave most to rear from the
wrongdoers of great wealth, and the
men wno are cnamplonlng popular rights
have most to fear from thA flema vnviiA.
who in the name of popular rights would
oo wrong to ana oppress honest bus!
ness men, honest men of wealth; for
the success of either type of wrongdoer
ncueesarii.v invites a violent reaction
against the cause the wrongoer nomi
nally upholds. In point of danger to
m nation mere is notning to choose
between on the one hand the corrup
tlonlst, the bribe giver, the bribe taker,
the man who employs his great talent to
swindle his fellow citizens on a large
scale, and, on the other hand, the
preacher of class hatred, the man who,
whether from ignorance ,or from will
ingness to sacrifice his country to his
ambition, persuades well meaning but
wrong headed men to try to destroy the
instruments upon wnicn our prosperity
mainly rests. Let each group of men
beware of and guard aeainet the ahnrt-
comings to which that group i Itself
must uaoie.
Too often we see the business com
munity in a spirit of unhealthy class
consciousness deplore ,the effort to hold
to account under the law the wealthy
men who in their management of great
corporations, whether railroads, street
railways, or other industrial enterprises,
have behaved in a way that revolts the
conscience of the plain, decent people.
Such an attitude cannot be condemned
too severely, for men of property should
recognize that they Jeopardise the rights
of property when they fall heartily to
Join in the effort to do away with the
abuses of wealth. (
On the other hand, those who advo
cate proper control on behalf of the
public, through the state, of these great
corporations, and of the wealth engaged
on a giant scale in business operations.
must ever keep In mind that unless they
u scrupulous justice to tne corporation,
unless they permit ample profit, and
cordially encourage capable men of busi
ness so long as they act with honesty,
they are striking at the root of our na
tional well being; for in the long run,
under the mere pressure of material dis
tress, the people an a whole would prob
ably go bark to the reign of an unre
stricted individualism rather than sub
mit to a control bv the state so draatlc
and so foolish, conceived in a spirit of
sucn unreasonable anrt narrow hostility
to wealth, as to prevent business opera
tions from being profitable, and there
fore to bring ruin upon the entire busi
ness community, nnd ultimately upon
the entire body of citizens.
Government Control.
The opposition to government prtntrnl
of these great corporations makes its
most effective effort In the shape of an
appeal to the oi l doctrine of states'
rights. Of course there are many sin
cere men who now believe In un
restricted Individualism in business, Just
a iu?ie wfib lorrawiy many, sincere
nen who believed in slaverv that r 'in
the unrestricted right of an individual
to own another individual. Them man
do not by themselves have great weight
however. The effective fight against
adequate government control and super
vision of indildual. and esneciallv of
corporate, wealth engaged in Interstate
business is chiefly done under cover;
fnd esperially under coveriof an appeal
r slates' rights. It is not at all Infre
quent to read In the same speech a de
nunfclation of predatory wealth fostered
by special piivilege and defiant of both
the public welfare and law of the land.
and a denunciation of centralization in
the central government of the Dower to
deal with this centralised and organized
weaitn. ji course tne policy set forth
In such twin denunciations amounts to
absolutely nothing, for the first half Is
nullified by the second half. The chief
reason, among the many sound and compelling-
reasons, that led to the forma
tion of the national government, was the
absolute need that the union, and not
the several states, should deal with
nterstate and foreign commerce: and
the power to deal with Interstate com
merce was granted absolutely and
plenari'.y to the central government and
was exercised completely as regard the
only Instruments of Interstate commerce
known In those days the waterways,
the high roads, as well a the partner
ships of individuals who then conducted
all of what business there was.
Government Baprems,
Interstate commerce ia now chiefly
conducted by railroads;' and the 'great
rurporation. ns supplanted tne mass
of small partnerships or individuals.
The proposal to make the) national gov
ernment supreme over, and therefore to
give It complete control over, the rail
road and other Instruments of inter
state commerce 1 merely a proposal to
rarry out to the letter en of the prim
purpose.. If not the prime purpose, for
President Theodore
which the constitution was founded. It
does not represent centralization. It
represents merely the acknowledgment
of the patent fact that centralization
nas already come in business, if this
irresponsible outside business power is
to oe cop trouea in the interest of the
general publio it can only be controlled
in one way: bv a-ivlnar adeauate Dower
of control to the one sovereignty ca-
f able of exercising uch power the na
lonal government. Forty or 50 sepa
rate state governments cannot exercise
that power over corporations doing busi
ness In most or all of them; first, be
cause they absolutely lack the authority
to deal with interstate business in any
form; and, second, because of the inevi
table conflict of authority sure to arise
In the effort to enforce different kinds of
state regulation, often inconsistent with
one another and sometimes oppressive
In themselves. Such divided authority
cannot regulate commerce with wisdom
and effect. The central government Is
tne only power which, without opnres
elon, can nevertheless thoroughly and
adequately control and supervise the
large corporations. To abandon the ef
fort for national control means to aban
don the effort for all adeauate control
and yet to render likely continual bursts
or action by state legislatures, which
cannot achieve the purpose sought for,
but which can do a great deal of damage
to tne corporation without conferring
any real neneni on tne putinc
i oeneve tnat tne more tarslghted cor
porations are themselves coming to rec
ognize the unwisdom of the violent hos
tility they have dlsDlaved durine the
last rew years to regulation and control
by the national government of combina
tion encased in Interstate business.
The truth is that we who believe in this
movement of asserting and exercising a
genuine control, in tne puonc interest.
over these great corporations have to
contend against two sets of enemies.
wno, tnougn nominally opposed to one
another, are really allies in preventing
a proper solution or tne promem. There
are, firt, the big corporation men, and
in extreme individualists among busi
ness men, who genuinely believe In ut
terly unregulated business that Is. in
the rslgn of plutocraoy; and, second,
the men who, being blind to the eco
nomic movements of the day, believe in
a movement of repression rather than
of regulation of corporations, and who
denounce both the power of the rail
roads and the exercise of the federal
power which alone can really control
the railroads.
JTo Objection to Combine.
Those who believe in efficient national
control, on the other hand, do not in
the least object to combinations; do not
in the least object to concentration in
business administration. On the con
trary, thev favor both, with the all Im
portant proviso that there shall be such
publicity about their workings, and such
thoroughgoing control over them, as to
Insure their being In the interest, and
not against the interest, of the general
public We do not object to the con
centration of wealth and administration;
but we do believe in the distribution of
wealth in pronts to the real owners, and
in securing to the public the full bene
fit of tho concentrated administration.
We believe that with concentration in
administration there can com both the
advantage of a larger ownership and -of
a more equitaoie distribution of profits,
and at the same time a better service
to the commonwealth. We believe that
the administration should be for the
oenent of the many; and that greed and
rascality, practiced on a larsre scale.
should be punished as relentlessly as if
pracueea on a email scale.
We do not for a moment believe that
the problem will be solved by any short
..a easy metnon. The solution will
come only by pressing various concur
rent remedies. Some of these remedies
must ue outsiae tne domain of all gov
ernment. Some must lie outside the do
main of the federal government. But
there 1 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 regu
lation by the national government of
the great Interstate corporations, Includ
ing a simple method of account keeping
publicity, supervision of the issue of
securltl, abolition of rebates and of
special privileges. There should be
short tlm franchises for all corpora
tions engaged In public busin. in
cluding the corporations which get
power from water rights. There should
be ' national as well as state iriiari.n.
hip ot mines and forests. The labor
legislation hereinafter referred to should
concurrently!) enacted into law.
' ZacrsM of TJse. .
- To accomplish thi. means of course
a certain increase in th us of-not
the creation of power, by the central
government. Th power already exists;
Roosevelt, "Vho Sent His Message to
it does not have to be created; the only
question is whether It shall be used or
left idle and meanwhile the corpora
tions over which the power ought to be
exercised will not remain Idle. Let those
who object to this increase in the use
of the Only power available, the national
power,, be frank, and admit openly that
they propose to abondon any effort to
control the great business corporations
and to exercise supervision over the ac
cumulation and distribution of wealth;
for such supervision and control
can only come through this particular
kind of Increase of power. We no more
believe In that empiricism which de
mands absolutely unrestrained Individ
ualism than we do in that empiricism
which clamors for a deadening socialism
which would destroy All Individual Ini
tiative and would ruin the country with
a completeness that not even an unre
strained Individualism Itself could
achieve. The danger to American dem
ocracy ilea not in the least in the con
centration of administrative power In
responsible and accountable hands. It
lies In having th power insufficiently
concentrated, so that no on can be held
responsible- to the people for Us 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
legislator ana administrators, is im
palpable, is unseen. Is irresponsible,
cannot be reached, cannot be held to ac
count. Democracy is in peril wherever
the administration of political power is
scattered among a variety of men who
work in secret, whose very names are
unknown to the common people. It 1
not in peril from any man who derives
authority from the people, who exercises
it la sight of the people, and who is
from time to time compelled to give an
account oi Its exercise to tne people.
Labor.
There ara many matter affecting
iaoor ana tne. status oi in wage-worker
to which I should like to draw your
attention, but an exhaustive discussion
of the problem in all it aspects is not
now necessary. This administration is
nearlng it end: and. moreover, under
our iorm or government me solution
of the problem depends upon the ac
tion of the states as much as upon the
action of the nation. Nevertheless, there
are certain considerations wmch I wish
to set before you, because I hope that
our people will more and more keep
mem in mina. A puna ana larnorant 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 tne wildest radicalism;
for wise radicalism and wise conserva
tism go hand in hand, on bent on prog
ress, the other bent on seeing that no
cnange is made unless In th right di
rection. I believe in a steady effort.
or perhaps It would be more accurate.
to say in steady efforts in many dif
ferent directions, to bring about a
condition of affairs under which the
men who work with hand or with brain,
the laborers, the superintendent, the
men who produce for the market and
the men who find a market for the
articles produced, shall own a far great
er share than at present of the wealth
tney produce, and be enabled to Invest
It In the tools and Instruments by which
an worn is carried on.
Frank Recognition.
As far as Dossible I hon tn ham a
frank recognition of the advantage con
ferred by machinery, organisation, and
division of labor, accompanied bv an ef
fort to bring about a larger share in
tne ownersmp oy wage-worker of rail
way, mill, and factory. In farming,
this simply means that we wish to see
the farmer .own hi own land; wa do
not wisn to see tne iarm so large that
they become the property of absentee
landlords who farm them by tenants.
nor yet so smaii u tne rarmer De
comes like a European peasant -Again,
the depositors in our savings banks
now number over on tenth of our en
tire population. These ara all capital
ists, who through the savings banks
roan their money to th worker that
Is, In many cases to - themselves to
carry on their various. Industries. The
more we Increase their number, the
mora we Introduce the Dflneinles nf m.
operation into our industry. Every In
crease in th number of amall stock
holders in corporation l a good thing,
for the same reasons: and where the
employe are th stockholder the) re
sult is particularly good. Very much
of this movement must b' outside of
anything that, can be accomplished by
legislation; but legislation can do a good
deal. Postal savings bank will make
It easy for the poorest to keep tthelr
savings In absolute safety. The regu
lation of the national highway must
be) such that they, shall srv all peo
ple with equal Justlca ( .
corporate financesrnust be super
Congress Today.
vised so as to make It far safer than
at present for thf man of small means
to invest hie mofiev in stocks. There
must be prohibition of child labor,
diminution of woman labor, shortening
of hours of all mechanical labor, stock
watering should pe prohibited, and stock
gambling so far as Is possible discour
aged. There should be a progressive
Inheritance tax on large fortunes. In
dustrial education should be encouraged.
As far as possible we should lighten
the burden of ' taxation on the Bmal)
man. We should put a premium upon
thrift, hard work, and business energy;
but these qualities ceasa to be the mam
factors in accumulating a fortune long
before that fortune reaches a point
where it would be seriously affected
by any inheritance tax such as I pro
pose. It Is eminently right that the
nation should fix the terns upon which
the rreat fortunes are Inherited. They
rarely do good and they often do harm
to those who Inherit them In their en
tirety. The above is the merest sketch, hard
ly even a sketch In outline, of the re
forms for which we should work. But
there is one matter with which the
congress should deal at this session.
There should no longer be any paltering
with the question of .taking care of the
wage-workers who, under our present
Industrial system, become killed, crip
pled, or worn out as part of the regular
incidents of a given business. The ma
jority of wage-workers must have their
rights secured for them by state ac
tion; but th national government should
legislate in thorouah-arolna and far-
reaching fashion not only for all em
ployes or tne national government, but
for all persons encased In Interstate com
merce. The object sought for could ba
acnievea to a measurable degree, as far
a those killed or crinnlnd rta crtnrArnari
by proper employers' liability laws. As
tar as concerns tnose wno nave been
worn out, I call your attention to tho
fact that definite step toward provid
ing old age pensions have been taken
in many of our private industries. These
may be Indefinitely extended through
voluntary association add contributory
scnemes, or tnrougn tne agency of sav
ings bank, as under the recent Mas
sachusetts plan. To .strengthen these
practical measures snouia do our imme
diate duty; It is not at present neces
sary to consider the lareer and more
general governmental schemes that most
European governments have found them
selves omiged to adopt.
uur present system, or rather no sys
tem, work dreadful wrnne. nnil U nf
benefit to only on class of people the
lawyers. When a workman la injured
what he needs Is not an expensive and
doubtful lawsuit, but the certainty of
relief through Immediate administrative
action. The number of accidents which
result in the death or crippling of wage
workers in the Union at large, is sim
ply appalling; In a very few years It
runs up a total far in excess of the
aggregate of th dead and wounded in
any modern war. No academic theory
about "freedom of contract" or "con
stitutional liberty to contract," should
be permitted to interfere with this and
similar movements. Progress in civil
ization ha everywhere meant a limit
ation and regulation of contract. I call
your esDactal attention to the bulletin
of the oureau of labor - which gives a
latemeni or tne metnoas or treating
the unemployed in European -countries.
as mis is a suDjeci wnicn in uermany.
lor instance, is treated m connection
witn matting provision lor worn out and
crippiea worgmen.
Weed Legislation. -
Pendinsr a thoroueh-eoina- Invalida
tion ana action mere is certain legisla
tion which should be enacted at once.
The law, passed at the last session of
the congress, granting compensation to
certain classes of employes of the gov
ernment, should be extended to include
an employe of the government and
should be made mora liberal In It
term. There Is no good ground for the
distinction made in the law between
those engaged in hazardous occUDatlons
and those not so engaged. If a man is
injured or killed in any line of work,
it was hazardous In his case. Whether
1 per cent or 10 Der cent of thnne, fol
lowing a given occupation actually sut
ler injury or aeatn ougnt not to have
any bearing on the question of their
receiving compensation, it is a erim
loglo which says to an injured emninva
or vO the dependents of one killed that
he or they are entitled to no compensa
tion because very few people other than
he have been injured or killed In that
occupation. Perhaps on of the moat
striking omissions in th law Is that it
does not embrac peace officers and
other whose Uvea may tie sacrificed in
enforcing the law of thi United States.
The term, of the act providing compen
sation should be mad more liberal
than In the present act. A year com
pensation is not adequate for a wage
earner's .family in tne event of bis death
by accident in the course of his employ
ment. And in the event of death n.
curing, say, 10 or 11 months af tef the
accident the famllv would only receive
as compensation th equivalent of on
or two months' earnings. In this re
spect the generosltv of the. United State
towards us employe compare most un
favorably with that of every country In
Europe-r-even th poorest.
Term ot Act.
Th term of th act ara also a hard
ship in prohibiting payment In eases
where the accident is In any way due to
th negligence of the amolov. It is in
evitable that dally familiarity with
danger will lead man to take chance
that can be .construed into negligence.
So well Is this recognized that In prao-
iicaiiy ail countries in tn civuizea
world, except the United States, only a
great degree of negligence acts as a bar
to securing compensation. Probably In
no other respect is our legislation, both
state and national, so far behind prac
tically the entire civilised world a iu
the matter of liability and compensa
tion for accidents in Industry. It t
humiliating thar at European Interna
tional congresses on accidents the
United- State should be singled out a
the most belated among the nations ' in
respect to employers' liability legisla
tion. This government is itself a large
employer of labor, and in it dealing
with its employes it should set ft stand
ard In this country which would place
It on a par with the most progressiva
countries In Europe. The laws of the
United States In thl respect and th
laws of European countries have been
summarized in a recent bulletin oi tn
bureau of labor, and no American who
reads this summary can fail to be struck
by th great contrast between our prao
tlces and theirs a contrast not In aoy
sense to our credit. v
The congress should without further
delay pass a model employers' liability
law for the District of Columbia Th
employer' liability act recently de
clared unconstitutional, on account of
apparently Including In it provision
employes engaged In Intrastate com
merce as well as those engaged In inter
state commerce, has been held by th
local courts to be still In effect so far
as Its provisions apply to th District
of Columbia. There should b no am
biguity on thi point. If there is any
doubt on the subject, the law should be
reenacted with special reference to th
District of Columbia: This act, how
ever, applies only to employes of com
mon carriers. In all other occupation
the liability law of the district 1 the
old common law. The severity and In
justice of the common law in this mat
ter has been In some degree or another
modified In the majority of our states,
and the only Jurisdiction under the ex
clusive control of the congress should
be ahead and not behind the stttes of
the union in this respect. A comprehen
sive employers' liability law should b
passed for the District of Columbia.
I renew my recommendation made in
a previous message that half holiday
be granted during the summer to all
wage workers In government employ.
I also renew my recommendation that
the principle of the eight hour day
should as rapidly and as far a prac
ticable be extenaea to ine entire worn
being carried on by the government; the
jresent liw should be amended to era
race contracts on those public works
which the present wording of the act
seems to exclude.
The Court.
I most earnestly urge upon the con
gress the duty of increasing the totally
inadequate salaries now given to our
judges, un tne wnoie inert is no uji
of public servant who do as valuable
work, nor whose moneyed reward is so
Inadequate compared to tneir worn, be
ginning witn ine supreme coon wu
Judges should have their alaries dou
Plea. 11 is not oentting uu uiiunj "
ik. notion that Ita most honored publii
servants should be paid sums so small
compared to what they would earn in
private lire mat tne periunnauvo k.
public service by them implies an ex
oen.llna-lv heavv Decuniary sacrifice.
It is earnestly to be desired that some
method should be devised for doing
away with the long delays whlcn now
nhti n In the administration oi justice.
and which operate with peculiar severity
against persons of small means, and
favor only the very criminals whom It Is
most desirame to puniBn. iwm ium
delays in the final decisions of case
make In the aggregate a crying evil:
and a remedy should be devised. Much
of this Intolerable delay Is due to Im
proper regard paid to technicalities
which are a mere hindrance to Justice.
In some noted recent cases this over
regard for tecnnicanties uu reauncu in
a striking denial of Justice, and flagrant
wrong to tne Doay pontic
Attack on Judiciary.
At tho iat aiaAtlnn certain leaders o
organized labor mad a violent and
sweeping attack upon the ntlr Judi
ciary of the country. n attack couched
in sucn terms as to inciuu u
unrlarht. ' honest and broad, minded
Judges, no less than thos of narrower
mind snd more restricted outlook. It
was the kind of attack admirably fitted
to prevent any successful attempt to
reform abuses of the Judiciary, bocausa
It gave the champions of the unjust
Judge their eagerly desired opportunity
to shift their ground Into a champion
ship of Just Judge who were unjustly
assailed. Last year, before th house
committee on the Judiciary, these same
labor leaders formuiatea tneir aenmnas,
.n.Aifvinr thA hill that contained them,
refusing all compromise,- stating they
wished the principle of that bill or
nothing. They insisted on a provision
that In a labor dispute no Injunction
should Issue except to protect a property
right, and specifically provided that the
wltrht tn fnrrv nn business Should not be
contsrued as a property right; and In a
second provision ineir uiu
In a labor dispute any act or agreement
by or between two or more-person that
would not have been unlawful If don
by a single person. In otner woras, tni
bill legalized blacklisting and boycotting
in every iorm, legauzuiH. iuavm,
those forms of the secondary boycott
which the anthracite coal strike com
mission so unreservedly condemned;
while the right to arry on a business
wa explicitly taken out from under
that protection wnicn m uw imu-
over property. The demand was made
.that there should be trial by Jury In
contempt cases, thereby most seriously
impairing the authority of the court.
All thl represented a course of policy
which. If carried out. would mean the
enthronement of class privilege In. It
crudest and most Drutai iorm. ana tn
destruction of one of the most essential
functions of the judiciary in all civilised
lands. - - .
Violence of Crusad. .
The violence of the crusade for thi
legislation, and It complete failure,
illustrate two truth which it la essen
tial our people should learn. In -the
first place, they ought" to teach the
worklngman, the laborer, th wagework
er, that by demanding what Is improper
andTmpossiDjo ne pij iuw un ummi
of his foea ' Such a crude and vlolou
attack upon th court, even if it were
temporarily successful, would in
avitabiv in th end cause a violent re
action and would band the great mass
of citizens togetner, forcing worn io
Ktanri bv all the ludgea. competent and
incompetent ftllke, rather than to see
the wheels of Justice stopped. A move
ment of this kind can ultimately result
in nothing but damage to . those in whose
behalf it is aomlnallynndertakeni-Jrhis
Is a roost healthy truth, which it IS wise
for all our people to learn. Any move
ment based on that class hatred which
at time assumes the name of "class
consciousness" is certain ultimately to
fall, and If It temporarily succeeds, to
do far reaching damage. "Class con
sciousness," where it is merely another
nam for the odious vice of class self
ishness, is equally noxious whether In
an employer's association or in a work
lngman's association. The movement
In question waa one in which the ap
peal was. mad to all workingmen to
vote primarily, not a American citizens,
but a individual of a certain class in
society. Such an appeal in the first
place revolts th more high minded and
far sighted among the persons to whom
It Is addressed, and In th aecond place
tend to arouse a strong antagonism
among all other classes of citizens,
whom it therefore tends to unite against
the very organisation on whose behalf
it is Issued. The result! therefore un.
fortunate from every standpoint. This
healthy truth, bv the way, will be
learned by the Socialists If they ever
succeed in establishing in this country
an Important national party based on
such class consciousness and selfish
clsss interest.
Th wageworkers, th workingmen,
the laboring men of the country by the
wav in which thev remidin.tri tha nffnrt
to get them to cast their votes in re
sponse to an appeal to class hatred, have
emphasized their sound patriotism and
Americanism. The whole country has
cause to feel pride in this attitude of
Sturdy independence, in this uncompro
mising Insistence upon acting simply as
food citizens, as good Americans, with
ut regard to fancied and Improper
class interests. Such an attitude is an
object lesson in good citizenship to the
entire nation.
Blinded to Wrong.
But th extreme reactionaries, the per
sons who blind themselves to the wrongs
now and then committed by the courts
on laboring men. should also think se
riously as to what such a movement as
this oortends. The Judges who have
shown themselves able and wllMng ef
fectively to check the dishonest activity
of th very rich man who works In
iquity by the mismanagement of corporations,-
who have shown themselves
alert to do Justice to the wage-worker,
and sympathetic with the needs of the
mas of our people, so that the dweller
tn the tenement houses, the man who
practice a dangerous trade, the mun
who is crushed by excessive hours of
labor, feel that their needs arc under
stood by the courts these Judges are
the real bulwark of the courts; these
Judges, the Judges of the stamp of the
f resident elect, who have been fearless
n opposing labor whan it has gone
wrong, but fearless also In holding to
strict account corporations that work
Iniquity, and tar-slghted in seeing that
the worklngman gets his rights, are
the men of all others to whom we owl
it that the appeal for such 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 these federal and stato
Judge who show Inability or unwilling
ness to put a stop tn the wrongdoing of
very rich men under modern industrial
conditions, and inability or unwilling
ness to give relief to men of small means
or wage-workers who are crushed down
by these modern Industrial conditions;
who. In other words, fail to understand
and apply the needed remedies for tin
new wrongs produced by the new and
highly comnlex social and Industrial
civilization which has grown up in the
last half century.
The rapid changes in our social Rnd
industrial life which hnve attended this
rapid growth have made it , necessary
that, in applying to concrete case tho
great rule of right laid down In our
constitution, there should he a full un
derstanding and appreciation of the new
conditions to which the rules are to bo
applied, what would have been an in
fringement upon liberty half a century
ago may be the necessary safeguaul
of liberty today. What would have
been an injury to property th jiny be
necessary to the enjoyment or propeciv
now. Every Judicial decision invnlve's
two terms one, an interpretation of the
law; the other, the understanding of tha
facts to which it Is to be applied.
Alive to Conditions.
The great mass of our Judicial of
ficer are I believe alive to these
changes of conditions which so mater
ially affect the performance of their
Judicial duties. Our Judicial system
Is sound and effective at core, and it
remain, and must ever be maintained.
as th safeguard of those principles of
llbertv and Justice which stand at the
foundation of American Institutions;
for, a Burke finely said, when llbertv
and justice are separated, nolther ia
safe. There are, however, some mem
bers of the Judicial body who have
lagged behind In their understanding of
these great and vital changes in tho
body politic, whose minds have never
been opened to the new applications of
tna oia principles made necessary nv
the new conditions. Juds-es of this
stamo do lasting harm by their deci
sions, because thev convince Door men
In need of protection that the courts of
the land are profoundly ignorant of and
out of sympathy with their nee.ds, and
profoundly Indifferent or hostile to any
proposed remedy. To such men it seems
a cruel mockery to have any court de
cide against them on the ground that
It desires to preserve "liberty" In a
purely technical form, by withholding
liberty in any real and constructive
sensa It Is desirable that the lcelsla-
tlv body should possess, and wherever
necessary exercise, the power to deter
mine whether in a given caso employ,
ers and employes are not on an equal
footing, so -that the necessities of the
latter compel them to suhmlt tn such
exaction as to hours and conditions of
labor a unduly to tax their strength;
and only mischief can result when such
determination Is upset on the ground
that there must be no "interference with
the liberty to contract" often a mere
ly academic "liberty," the exercise of
which- is the negation of real liberty.
Court Decisions.
There are certain decisions -bv va
rious courts which have been exceed
ingly detrimental to the rights of wage
workers. This Is true of all the deci
sions that decide that men and women
are, by the constitution, "guaranteed
their liberty" to contract to enter a
dangerous occupation, or tn work an
undesirable or improper number of
nours, or io worn in unneaitnv sur
roundings: and therefore cannot re
cover damages when maimed In that
occupation, and cannot be forbidden to
work what the leeislature decides Is
an excessive number of hours, or to
carry on the work under conditions
which the legislature decides to be un- '
healthy. The most dangerous occupa
tions are often th poorest paid and
those where the hours of work ara
longest; and In many cases those who
go into them are driven by necessity
so great that they have practically no
alternativa Decisions such as thoaa
alluded to above nullify the, legislative
affnr tn nmlM-t th w .. i. . . .
most need protection from those em
ployers who take advantage of their
grinding need. They halt, or hamper
the 'movement for securing better ann
rnnra Amiltahla fnrinlttnna n 1 mi--
talk about preserving to the misery,
hunted beings who make contracts for
such service their "llbertv" . , m.u
than. 4 m -IthM -n inuk I , . . ?
heartless icon or else to show an utter A
lack of knowledge Of th conditions i o V
(Continued oa Page Thirteen.)