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About Weekly Oregon statesman. (Salem, Or.) 1900-1924 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 8, 1905)
f , - PR ESI DENT'S MESSAGE 1U THE PRESENTED TO BOTH HOUSES SIMULTANEOUSLY YESTERDAY President Comments on Many Matters Now Under Gen eral Discussion. RAILWAY REGULATION This Is the Leading Theme of the Message Insurance, Monroe Doctrine and Panama Canal Considered, j ' WASHINGTON', Dee. President Roosevelt was notified at 11 o'clock today by a joint committee consisting Of Senator Allison and Morgan and Representatives McC'leary, Littauer ami Williams, that congress bad assem- bled and 'organized and was ready to - receive any message which he mignt desire" to deliver toll. The president eiprCMoJ his gratification at the con- veiling of congress, and requested the eommittea to oresent hi. comoliments to the two branches and to say that he would communicate with them at once in writing. Washington, Dec. 5. -i President al . ,. i - i read simultaneously in the senate and . M i . , rru house of representatives today. The doc- . : ii ument is r.s follows: .. u . t 4 To tne Bsnate and House of Represent- .. , . . , The people of tois country continue to enjoy great prosperity. Undoubtedly thre wjll be ebb and flow in such pros- perity. and this ebb and flow will b , telt tnore or less by all members of the C0mn.unity.both by the deserving and the undescTvTfcg. Against the wrath of the Xrffd the wisdom of man cannot avaiU in times of flood or drought hu man ingenuity can but partially repair m aisaster. A general failure oi crops would hurt all of us. Ox man mars tne gene then these who are innocent of the folly will hive to pay part of the pen alty incurred by j those who are guilty of, the fUy. - A -j panic brought on bv the spcu!otive folly of part of the tusi ress -community would hurt th.. whole bilalness community. But , such stop- page; of Welfare, though it might be sj- vwe, would not If lasting. In the long rntbe.pne vital factor in the perma wTnt proht erity. of tli; roijntry is the hfgh ifiitividiial' cbaraeter of the aver-. Awerlea,. worker ie ayeragv A'Ueru'ftn citizen, no matter whether bis work b mental or manual, whether . t .:. . " ' . . . , un. ?i.rinvr ur . w.m-wui.n, uu!,.nr., ,rtanner as will prevent tne common mtn pf pfofessionar man. r.-ealth abdicating the power it has al- . 7 tn qu'r , industrial and soeial system ways possesseil. not only in this coun- ipe interests or ail men are so closely Jtcirts f all nieni at; so elosely inter twltiesd that in the Immense majority (A ; casa v. a . straight-dealing mau who by. Ms efllieney, by his ingenuity and. industry, benefit himself, must asobnefi others. Normally the man of great produtive capacity who bc uOmcs rich by Kuiiiini; the labor of many, other men does so by enabling them to produce more than they could ively prohibited, and have in part in protlue? without his guidance; and both , (heir prohibitions confounded what lie and they share in the benefit, which ' should be allowed and what should not also comes to the public at large. The he allowed. It is generally useis t superficial fact that the sharing may be try to prohibit all restraint on eompe unequal must never blind us to tne sun- tition, whether this restraint b dtrlying fact that there is this sharing, ;easnable or unreasonable; and wher and thai -the benefit comes in someide- it is not nssless it is generally hurtful gree to each man concerned. Normally , Erect have shown that it is not possi tho; wage-worker, the man of sall ble adequately to secure the enforce nvfansr and the average consumer! as ' ment of any law of this kind by inces well at the average producer, a r4 all i sant appeal to the cohrts. The depart alike helped by making condition such j nient of justice has for the last four that tne man of exceptional business ' years devoted more attention to thi for' ills ability. Something ran be done by" legislation to help the general pros Ief!ty; but no such help of a perma nently beneficial character can be given tojhe less able and the less fortunate raijst of necessity ome even more to the more able and more fortunate. If , there fore, the less fortunate man is moved by envy of his more fortunate brother to strike at the conditions under which they have both, though unequally, pros pered, the result will assuredly be that while damage may come to the one struck at, it will visit with as even heavier load the one who strikes the ' blow, . Taken as a whole, we must all go ap or go down together. OoTTOrations. ' Yet, while not merely admitting, but insisting upon this, it Is also true that whers there " is no governmental re ' stralnt or supervision aomebf the ex . ceptionat men use their energies not in ways that are for the common good, but man", good. The fortunes amassed TsucV' overcapitalization often means an through corporate organization are now' inflation that invites business panic; it so targe, and vest such power in thosi always conceals the true relation of the that wjeld them, aa. to make it a mat- profit 'earned to th- capital actually in ter of necessity to give to the sover- vested, and it creates a burden ofln-ein-rba4 is,- the government, which , t crest - payments . which ia a fertile reprasents the people as a whole some ' cause xl improper reduction in or limi effective ; power of supervision over tation of wages; it damages tb-s sraal! theit corporate uso. In ord?i" to ia- Investor, discourages - thrift," and en sure bealthy social and industrial . courages gambling and speculation; life, every big corporation should be. while, perhapa' worst of all, is the triek htfl.l responsible by, and be accountable Incas and dishonesty which it implies " - - ic h(siiui vnis com i, , , m control -Its conduct. I am ia no sense . hrmtile to corporations. This is an aire of combination, and any effort to pre- vent IV combinations will be not only . useless, but in the end vicious, becaus of the contempt for law which the fail, nrj t0 enforce law inevitably produces, Y should, moreover, recognisj iB eor, dial and ample a"f immense . of 1 intelleet. enrrr - and fLlelitv devot-! ed to their service, and therefore nor-Hy m ally to the service of the publie, by their I officers ami director.' The cor poration has eooie to stay, just as the trades anion has come to stay. Each can to anl has done great good.' Each should be favored so long as it does good.; But each should be sharply cheeked where it acts against law and justice. - , . : ' So long as the finances of th nation are kept upon an honest basis no other I question of internal . .economy with l. ' w,'h r iifr H 1 iirr cvu(ii:ihi uv iuc rtJ w x: m . w j neai oegms to approacn in importance the matter of endeavoring to secure proper industri.it conditions under which the individuals and especially thegreat corporations doing an inter state business fcre to act. The makers of our national constitution provided especially, that tb regulation of inter state commerce sbou.d come within the f m m" . mi P'"'re 01 general government, ine arguments in favor of their taking this "t8"'1 woro 5ven then overwhelming. But they ore far stronger today, in view f "e enormous development of gr-at business agencies, usually corporate- in form - ' -xp-rienee has shown concl 1 1V,V lhat t unless to try to get nn7 adequate regulation and supervi reat corporations by tate action. Suca regulation and super- vision can oniy oe en- iiveiy eiere.snu by a. sovereign whose jurisdiction is co extensive with the field of work of the corporations, that is, by the national I government. I believe that this regu lation and supervision can be obtained gress. If this proves impossible, it will v 1 , , 'ertainlv be necessarv ultimately to , .- - , J .confer in fullest form such power upon 1 . , . . . . , 1 the national government by a proper . , lL t amendment of th? constitution. . It 'would obviously be unwise to endeavor to 8ecure such an 8lccndment until it is ex.ttn that the re8ult Cannot be ob- taini untler the constitution as it now ta. Xh- laws of the congress and of the eYCTai states hitherto, as passed upon ,,v th 4.OUrt3i haVe resuiteu more often in ghowing tnat the states have no toyver in the mattCr but that tne na- tional government has power; so that theie at rr?8ent exist9 a verv untortu- liate condition Again, if the folly these great corporations doing an ih eneral well-being, frstate business oecupv the position of ni rnin?a uniirr wnir:i subjects without a sovereign, neither any state government nor the national government haying effective control over' them.' Oar st ?ady aim should be by legislation, cautiously and carefully undertaken, but' resolutely persevered it. til n.srt tha aiirrficrn th nu- liona, gor ,rnnient by affirmative action. - This is on'v in form $ an innovation. ' -i snbta nee it is merely a restoration ; Tor' 'rrwu. the. earliest lime such regula- coeniz., rn- the action of he law- making bodies; and all that I propos; is to rncet a cnaogeu conditions in sucn Iry, but also in England before and since this country became a separate nation. It nas be!n a misfortune that th' n.itional laws on this subject have hith irto tnen of a negative or prohibitivF rather than an aflirmative kind, ani utill more that they hav in part sought to prohibit what could not be effect- enforcement of the antitrust legislation than to anything else. Much has been accomplished particularly markd haf leen the moral effect of the prpseeu tions; but "it is increasingly evident that there will be a very insufficient beneficial result in the way of econom ie change. ; The successful prosecution of ohe device to evade the law immedi ately develops another device' to accom plish the same purpose. What is needed is not sweeping prohibition of every arrangement, good or bad, which may tend to restrict competition, ut such adebuate supervision and regulation as will prevent any restriction of compe tition from being to the detriment of the publie as well aa such super-vision and' regulation as will prevent ' other abuses in no way connected with re striction of competition. Of ,,.tbese abuses, perhaps the -chief, although by no means the only one. is overcapitali sation generally itself the result of dishonest promotion because . of the myriad evils it brings in its train; for in uu uiuniis is worse, man anv posai ble harm to material interests, ami the debatwher-r nt tiiti. ..i Kn.;n by j great dishonest eorporations is far wors than any actual material evil they do the public ' Until the national government obtains, in some, .inanne which the wisdom f the congress may suggest, proper control over the big corporations engaged ia interstate com- WEEKLY OEEGOIT CONGRESS possible to deal adequately wjt'n, evils,- i- . - . I' am well aware of the difficulties of the legislation that I am suggesting, and ofj the neeif of temperate and cau tions - action in securing it. I should emphatically protest against improper- radical , or , nasty action The first thing to. do ia.to deal with tha. great eorporations'engaged in the business of interstate transportation. As I said in my message of December 6 last, tne im mediate and most pressing need, so fai as legislation is concerned, .is the en actment into law of some scheme to secure) to the agents of the government such-supervision and regulation of the rates charged by the railroads of the country eneaed in interstate traffic as Jshalt summarily an.l cffeetivelv prevent : ' the imposition of unjust 0r unreasonable . rates It must include putting a com-1 plete stop to rebates in every shape and form, Thia power to regulate rates like i all similar powers over the .business world, should be exercised witn mod?ra - tion, caution, and self restraint; but it should exist, so that it can be effect- ivelv exercised when the ned arises. I Th first consideration to be kept in mind is that the power should be affirm- t; m,l thmiLi . rivn tn or.ni a d- ministrative body created by the con- grcss. If given to'the present interstate commerce commissTon; or to a recog- OUR ' lizcd interstate commerce commission meh commission saould should be ma! ineqnivocally administrativj. I do not ffelieve in the government interfering ivith private business more than ia necessary. I do not b?liev in the gov ernment . undertaking any. work whi'li jn with propriety be K-ft in private hands. But neither do x bslieve in tn rovernment flinching from ov?rseeing- iny work when it becomes evident tnat .buses are siiTe to obtain therein unlesj (here is governmental suporvisioa. It if tot my province , to indicate the exact terms of the law which shoulu be enact ed; biil I call the attention of the coni qiress to crtaiu existing conditions wit& which it is desirable to deal. In my judgment tne most important provisien which such law should contain- is that onferring upon some cfmpeteut admin istrative body the power to decide, upon the case biing brought before it, wheth er a given rate prescribed by a railroad is reasonable ami just, and if it is found to be unreasonable , and unjust, then, after investigation of the complaint, to prescribe tne limit of rate beyond which it shall not be lawful togo the'max imum reasonable rate, .as it is com monly called this decision to goX into effect within a reasonable timeand to obtain from .thence onward, subject to review by the courts. It sometimes hap pens ot present,; not that a rate is too high, but that a ; favored shipper is given too low a rate.! In such case the commission would nave the right to fix this already, established minimum rate, " . "s iMJiiiiiiuiii; nu 11 wooia neea t . . . . i . - . , . . . - " OUL" ttci.,n oy vne comission to cure railroad companies of aproper -mini-; attention to. is not to give . n - - & J"" V . aua t mum rates. I call your the fact that my proposal tbe commission power , (to initiate or originate rates generally, but to.- regn-?-in s ine iiuj vicm or originate 1 1 Dy tne roads, upon complaint and after . investigation. A heavy-penalty should thess - - v " 'sit I Vt . ' - V' - be exacted from aav corporation whica 'that row Jeocdnet, inta the national aa for the big shipper. In the old is made a model city in all respects, fails to respect an order of the com-'banks by the bank examiners; few day the highway of commerce, wheth- both as regards parka, public pla mission. I regard this power to estab- , lirstclass accountants, if they had prop- r by water or by a road on land, waa I grounds, proper regulation of the svs hsh a maximum rate as being essential er direction and proper authority to open to aUf it belonged to the public, 1 tern of housing so as to do awav with to any scheme of rel reform in t.i-rpect books and papers, could aceom- and the traffic along it was free. At the vils of alley tenements a proper matter of . railways regulation. .The rl-h mneb in prevenUng willful viola- present the railway is this highway, ayatem of education a proper avsteni first necessity is to secure it; and unlesiMions of the law. It would not be neces- and we must do onr best to see that it of dealing with truancy and juvenile t i granted to the commias.on there w sary fqr them to examine intoTthe ac- is kept open-to all on equal terms. Un- offenders, a proper handlinir of the ehar Utf ",n tonehtPir-tte subject at all. counts of any railroad unless for good, the old highway it is . rery diffi- itable work of tL Districf. MoJeovir Illegal tnnaaciionrftea i occur unaer re-sons thH- were directed. H do so bv cult and complex thin? to manage; and there should be proper factory laws to the forms of law.. It has often oecnrred the interstate commerce eommissjon. lV U " r. better that it should be man- prevent all abuses in the employment PV.' J"" ?ea hy - .""""r . b- desired that me wayi b private iud.vidual. tha- bv of women and ehUdren in thDUtriet! traffic officer to, buy a large quantity of ,miarht be found hy which an agreemthe government. But it can only be These wUl be iJei ri ehiefly as oSeet some commodity, and then afte, it has .as to transportation within a state in- ao. mana-cd en condition that juatice. lessons, 7 thi-uSteT.SSt .STATESMAN", FRIDAY, DECEMBER twTUgni " " I - -. - in the, rate to take effect immediately the arrangement resulting to the pro of the one shipper and A&i one railroa and to i he damage of an their com pet t tors; for It must notbe--forg!tten tha the big shippers are at lest as maclr t blame as any, railroad ia the matter o rebates. The' law should make It clea so that nobody' can fai to understan that' any .kind of commission paid . freight shipments, whether n this forn orJn the form of fictitious damages, o of a concession" a fr.-e.pass, reduced pas senger rate, or payment of brokerage is illegal. ' It is worth , while consider ing whether it would not be : wise t confer on the ', government the righ of civil action against the b?nefieiar' of a rebate for at . least twice the value of the rebate; this would help stoj what is now really blackmail, tdevato allowances should be stopped, for the have now grown to such aa extent that they (are demoralizing and are used a rebates. The bestrpossible regulation of rates would, of course, be ihat regulation se nrwl bv an honest . agreement among the railroads themselves to carry out the law. ; Such a general agreement would, for instance, at once put a stoj to the efforts of any one Dig snipper o big railroad" to discriminate against o secure advantages over some rifal and such agreement would make ;th railroads themselves agents for enforc ing the law. The power vested in th government to put a stop fb agreement to the detriment of the public should, 11 my judgm-nt, lie accompanied ty powei to rermit. undfr snecified conditiom and careful supervision, agreement .clearly in the interest of the public. But, in my judgment, the necessity ios 1 TEDDY." giving this further power is by no means as great as the hceessity for giv "ng the commission or administrative body the otfier powers I have enumer ated above; and it may well be advisa-. ble to attempt to vest this particular ower in the commission or other ad ministrative body until it already pbs. 'esses and is exercising what I regard is bv far the most important of all the powers I recommend as indeVdrthe vi- tally important power that to- fix 2iveh maximum rate. '.which rate after th Japne of a reasonable time, goes into 'nil effect, subject to reveiw by the courts. ' All private car lines, industrial roads, refrigerator charges and the like, should !e expressly put under the supervision of.' the int-Tst'ate commerce commis sion or same similar body so far as rates, and agreements practically af fecting rates, are concerned. The pri vate '-ear owners and tie owners of (in dustrial railroads are entitled to a fair and reasonable compensation on their investent. but neither private cars nor industrial railroads 'nor spnr tracks should be utilized as devices for secur ing preferential rates. A rebate in icing charges, or in mileage, or in a division of the rate of refrigerating charges is just as pernicious as a rebate in any other way. No tower rate should apply on goods imported than actually obtains on domestic goods from the American seaboard lo-destination except in eases where wat?r competition is the .eontrol- ling influence. There -should be public- .. . . . . ty. oi tne accounts r conunoa carriers; . . ; .. : Eo common carriej- engagtxi in inter-; state Wmess should keep any books or memoranda other than those reported ( pursuant to law or regulation, and these books or memoranda shoald be open .to ... . ai-, lll'S Ul ill 1 the inspection of tbe government. Only this way can violations or evasions oi xne iaw t surety detect ?d. A sys- J tent of examination raiiroaa r ac- . .counts should : b provided similar t .8, 1005. -aded to operate as a fraud upon the Is done the public. It is b-canse. m ' , 1 , niv iudetneat. publie ownership f rail- clcral interstate commerce laws com JJJ 3 Jf?,? un,leilirabIe ,nd would brought under the jurisdiction of, htiug , disaster, that I wish to see He Federal authorities. 7 At present it such supervision and regulation ,of ccurs that large shipments of inter- them in the interest of th public as tate "traffic are eontrolled by eonces- wiil make it evident, tnat there is no .ions on purely state business, which of neHl for publie ownership. The oppo urse amounts to an evasion of the law neats of government regulation dwell he commission should have power to UjKn the difficulties to be encountered nforce fair treatment by the great flIlt th intricate and involved nature runk lines of lateral and branch lines. cf the problem. Their contention is true. ' I urg, upon the congress the need of It is a eomplieated and delicate prob roviding for expeditious action by the jem, and all kinds ' of difficulties are iterstate commerce commission in all sure to arise in connection with any hese matters, whether in regulating plan of solution, whi.e no plan wiil rates for transportation or for storing bring all the benefits hoped for by u r for handling property or eonimodi- more optimistic adherents. Moreover, ica in transit. The history of th cases " under' any healthy plan, the benefits itigated under the present commerce "will develop gradually, ml not rap et shows that its efficacy has been to f j.ity. Finally, we must clearly under- i gTeat degree destroyed by the wea- stand that the public servants who are cn of delay, almost the most f ormid- j to do this peculiarly responsible- and ble weapon in tha hands 01 those delicate work must themselves be of rhose purpose it is to violate the law. the Highest type both as regards integ Let me most earnestly say that ! rity and efficiency. They must be well hese recommendations are not made in paid, for otherwise able men cannot in ny: spirit of hostility to the railroads, the long run be secured j and they must )n ethical grounds, on grounds of right, possess a lofty probity which will re uch hostility woub be intolerable; but volt as quickly at the thought 01 pan ,n grounds of mre national self-inter- dering to any gust of popular prejudice at we must remember that such hos- against rich men as at the thought of ilitv would tell against the welfare not anything even remotely resembling sub nerely of some few rich men, but of a servieney to rich men. But while I multitude of smalr investors, a mult i- fully admit the difficulties in the way, ode of railway employes, . wage work- I do not for a moment admit that these rs; and most severely against the in- difficulties warrant us in stopping our erest of the puoiie as a whole. I be- effort to secure a wise and just system, ieve that on the whole our railroads They should have no other effect than .ave done wall and not ill; but the to spur us on to the exercise of the ailroad men who wis' to do well should resolution, the even handed justice, and ot bo exposed to competition with the fertility of resource, which we like hose who have no such desire, and tc. which will in the end achieve good re nly way to secure this end is to give suits in this as in other fields of activ o som9 government tribunal the power t ity. The task is a grtat on, and un o see . that justiee i$ done by' the un-, derlies the task of dealing with , the villing exattly as it is gladly done by ' whole industrial problem. ; But the fact by the willing, moreover, if some .that it is a great problem does not war jovernment body is given increased rant us in shrinking from the attempt 'owcr the effect wilLbe to furnish au- to solve it. At pres'nt we face such horitative answer obehalf of therail- utter lack of supervision, such free oad whenever irrational clamor against d-m from the restraints of law, that t is raised, or whenever charges made gainst it are disproved. 1 ask th:s eeislation not only in tn interest of he publie but in the interest of the lonest railroad man and the honest dripper alike, .for it is they . who are nieflv ieonarded bv the nractices of heir dishonest' competitors. This leg- station should be enacted in a spirit s remote as possible from hysteria and r. 1 . 1 . 1 ' 1 . ,olitie are true to the traditions : jwc lave inherited we shall alwavs scorn!. ny effort to make us hate any man ecause he is rich, just as much as we uould scorn any eno't to maae us iook town upon or treat contemptuously any an uccauw i js uan by his conduct mat is, oy .11s . baracter-and not uy ms weaitn or ntei.ect. ji ne maaes ms lorvuuc stiy, mere is no just caus. oi quarrei nth iiim. indeed, we nave notning put he kindliest feelings of admiration for he successful business man who fce isvts dccantly, whether he has made lis success by building or managing railroad or by shipping! goods over hat railroad. The big railroad men nd big; shippers are simply .Americans 1 the drdinary type who have develop ed to a'n extraordinary degree certain jreat business qualities. Tbey arc leitlier better nor worse than their fel bw citizens of smaller m?ans. They . at . rt ft ? xr nmrn o 111 A I n Q in 1 1 flPQ nd therefore expos-d to certain pecnl- ary string temptations. : These temp- btiona have not sprung n,w!y into b- ng; the exceptional y snccessfr.l 'imnr.V ..mankind hvn alwavs been ex- t.oied t them; but- they have - grown Tiuizingiy in power as a result of tne .xtr;iordinary ilevelopmeut. of indus trialism along new lines, and under these new conditions, which the liw- nak-s of old could not forsee and ther-hr could not provide ag.iinst, hev have Income so serious and men- icing asto demaud entirely new rem- .dies. It is in the ii.ter-st of the bAst tvpe of railroad man and the bet tvp4- of shipper no less than of the public, that there should be governmental su- pervision and regulation of these great business operations, for the same rea- son that it is in the interest? of the cor- l-oration which wishes to treat its em- in many cases subjected is also" a mat I loves' aright taat .there should be an ter which may well engage the serious effective employers liability act or an attention of the congress. The strain, effective system of factory laws to pre- both mental and physical, upon those rent the abuse of wom?n and children, who are engaged in the movement and All such' legislation free; the corpora- tionthat wishes to do well from being driven into doing ill, in order to com- pete with its rival, which prefers to do ill. We d?sire to set up a, moral stand- ard. There can be no delusion .more ployment, they certainly apply with pe fatal to the nation than tie delusion culier-force, to the employment 4" those that the standard ot profits, of business upon whose! vigilance and alertness' in prosperity, is sullicient in! judging anv business or political question from ' raie leg.wanon io nanwiiBl gov.m- , 1 : , a r . . I ment. Business success, whether for the individual or for the nation, is a good 1 thing only so far as it is - accompanied by and develops a high sianaara 01 ; . conduct honor, integrity, civic cour- rni t.:.i . M 1 : i . I I ki 1. V 1 .k that hlnnta tha ataniinril nf hnnnr that puts an inordinate value on more wealth .. . , that makes a man rutbtess an'd consci enceless in trade and weak and coward ly in citizenship, is not a good thing at all, out a very bad thing for the nation. This government stands for manhood first and business only as an adjunct of manhood, f M tm is . . . . . r a ne u"i question of iranspoiianon deral power. I hope that such a law lies at the root of al industrial sue- will be prepared and enacted as speed Cess, and the revolution in transports- jy BS possible, tion which has taken place during the 1 last half e?ntnry has been th$ moat j v Labor. important factor in th4 growth of the j The national government has as a wmuihwhb, , juvab eta- piratically we do not Wish to see the man of great talents refused the re- ward for his talents. Still less do we wish to ?e. him penalized; but we do desire to see the system oi railroad tansportation so handled that the strong man shall be given no advantage over ne weaa man, we wish to insure as fair treatment for the small town aa for the biir eitr: for the small shinner excellent men have often been literally forcd into doing what they deplored because they were left at the mercy of unscrupulous competitors. To rail at and assail the men wuo have done as tbey b-st ci.uUl ' under such conditions acCoinulislus little. What we need is to develop an ord rly system; and such a system can only come through the gradually increased exercisa of the - 1. a . tt' : . l .. -. 1 Safety! Appliances. t ; In my annual message to the Fifty- eighth congress, at its third session, 1 wx attention to the necessity for ieisiation requiring the use of block signals . upon railroads : engaged in m- terstate commerce. Th, number of seri- ous t.ol18;on8 ulHin nblocked roads that have eurre within the past year adds foree to the recommendation then 10i n-u hnl.l 'i.rnviile. bv appropriate legislation for the intro duction of block signals uou all rail roads ' engaged in interstate commerce at the earliest practicable date, as a measure of incnased safety to the traveling public. i ! Througti dcisionsf of the supreme vourt. of the I'uited 8tates and the lowr er Feb-ral courts in caws brought be fore them for adjudication the safety appliance law hns been materially strngtheneil, ami the government has . L.f.n n ' I . , .t ltd r t irn n ' 1 " ".u", 'o.ceme,;t .n :,lmot all . eaw-a. with the " t!'at 1h" 'UUn of railroad cquipm-nt throughout the country is improved and ra.Iroad employes I erf or 111 their duties-nndr safer ' rupu lions than heretofore. The govern ment's most e!Tectiv- aid in arriving at this result has ' been its insjK'ct'un HiTvie, and that -these improved con- ,,U,.B8 l -ore K. n.-r .. IU ? . I 1 . . tDe nsiuiicient nytnoer ,ot inspectors -Poyed. Tne inspection service has f,!,l-v -lemonstrated its usefulness, and in an-ropnatiag for its maintenance the congress should make provision for an "crease in the-number of ispeetors. Hours of Labor of Bailroad Employes. , . , .... ... The excessive hours of tabor to which railroad employes in train service are operation of railroad trains under mod- ern conditions is 'perhaps greater than that which exists in any other industry, and if there are any reasons for limit- ing by law the hours of labor in any em- the performance of their duties the safety of all who travel by rail depends. . T!mnAircn' i.dhllf. T onr ... ' In my annual message to the Fifty seventh congress, at its second session. recommended the passage of an em J . v' ploy era liability law for the District "of o,nmtia and in our navy yards. I ... . " . renewed that recommendation -in my message to the Fifty-eighth congress, at its second session, and further sugirest ed the appointment of a commission to make a comprehensive study of em ployers ' liability, with a view to the enactment of a wise and constitutional (aw covering the subject, applicable to I all indnatrimi within tiA .ixin. n Ik. . . t ruie out ui tie occasion to deal with the formidable group 'of problems connect- ed more or less drrecUwUh what is known as the labor question, for in the great majority of eas?s theses problems must b de.lt .ith k v J..- .,i municipal authorities, and not by the national government. The national governnn covernnient has control e tfiA T)itTiit f rlnmi; !,-... o. . i -i , i .v it tK. v,. r; tp..i: of usefulness Would be of rf.il n.it ior.il value. - , ' - , - There has been demand for depriving courts of the power to issue mjnnrtiou in labor .disputes. Such special limits lion of tb equity powers of our, courts would be most unwise. It is true that some judges have misused this M,-cr; but this does not justify a denial - of the power anv more than an" irriprir exercise of tb power o call a strike bv a lalor leader would justify th denial f the right to .call a strme. .The' rem edy, is t regulate tbe procedure liy r. quiring the judge to give due notice to Hie sil verse tiartiea lieiore irrnntin.. i. . - writ, the hearing to be e-x parte if the ' alverse party does not ap;ear at the ' timi an.l place ordered. What is ,iuc notice must depend ,ujon the f:u'ts t,f the case; it should 'not be us', as a pretext to permit violation t.f law, or the jeopardizing of life or propcrtv. Of course, this would not authorize th issuing of a restraining order or in junction in any case in which it is not already authorized by existing law. I renew the recommendation I made in my last annual message for an inves tigation by the department ot com merce and labor of general labor condi tions, especial attention to be paid to the conditions of child 'labor and child jabor legislation in the several states: Such an investigation should take into account the various problems with which the question of child labor is connected. It is true that these prtdf lems can be actually met in most cases only by the states-.'-themselves, but it would be well for the nation to endeav or to secure and publish comprehensive, information as to the conditions of tbe labor of children in the different states, so as to spur up those. that' are U'liind hand. and tn secure aporoximatelv uni form legislation of a high character among the several states. In sucn a republic as ours the one thinr that we cannot afford to neglect the problem of turning out decent citizens. The fu ture of the nation depends upon the itizenship of tlta generations to come; the children of today are thene who to morrow . will shape frreT destiny of our land, and we cannot afford to neglect them. Tha legislature uf Colorado hag recommended that th national gov ernment provide souse general measure for the protection from abuse of chil dreh and dumb animals throughout the United States. 1 lay tiie matter be fore you- for what I trust will be your favoralde1 consideration. The department of" commerce-and .a bor should also make-a thorough inves tigation of the conditions of women in industry. Over- five-- million American women are now engaged in gainful occujiations; yet J-t here is an almoNtcriin- plete dearth of i data upon- which to bass any trustW4rthy conclusions as re gards a subject as i:uH.rt.mt as it is vast and complicated. There, is need of full knowledge tn whii-h to base a tion . loking toward Estate ;md :n u ir i. i j u I leg islation for the protection of working ivonien. The introdtietion of women int i industry is" working changf ami li- . turbanc? in the donieyfie .nud ''ia! life af the nation. The decrease in niar- liagc, and csjiecially m t'..c birth rate, has lieen coincident wita it. We iim't1 face accomplished f.u-t, and the ad- ' justni"nt to fact i t conditior.s must be made; but surely it cu'i be ma le with less friction and less harmful effects on family life than is uowr tne ease. This whole matter in -reality forms one of t he gre:'t -st sociological -.phenomena if our time; it is . j social question of i the "first imiHirtance, .f far greater im- poitance than hny merely j.olitual or economic question cm-be; and to s dvo it we ne d 'ample ilata, gathercil in a sane and s-ientitic Hpirit in the cmirsa of an exhaustive investigation. In nnyjgrcat labor disturbance not , only are t-ui lover and employe inter est ed,. but also a third party - tbe gen eral public. Kvery -onsiderable lalnir difficulty in which interstate commerce is iiyoived siiotild be investigated by the governnient and- the facts officially reported to the, public. . The question of securing a healthy, self resjK'cting and mutually sympathetic-attitude as Irt-twecn employer and-. employe,' capitalist and., wage work er, is a difficult onej. All phases of tho labor problem prove difficult when ap proacueu. Hut the underlying princi ples, the root principles, in accordance with Which the problem must be solved, are entirely? simple. We can get-justice, and right dealing only if we put as of paramount importance the principle of treating a man on his worth as a man, rather than 'with reference to his special position, his occupation, or the class to which he belongs. There are selfish and brutal men in all ranks of life lf they are capitalists their selfishness and brutality may take the form of hard indifference to suffering, greedy disregard f every moral restraint which interferes with the accumulation of wealth, and cold blooded exploita tion of the weak; or, if they are labor ers, the form of laziness, of sullen envy of the mare fortiingte and of willing ness to perform deeds of murderous violence. Such conduct is just a repre hensible in one case as in the other, and . all honest and farseeinir men shouU join in warring against it wherever it beeomes manifest. Individual capita-; ist and individual wage worker, corir atioa and union, are alike entitled "to the protection of the law. and must ana obey the law. Moreover, in auc tion to mere obedience to the law, eactt man,' if he be really a good citizen, ; must show broad sympathy for n' . neighbor and genuine desire to look at any question arising .between them and. from the standpoint of that neigh bor no less than from his own; ana to this end it is essential that capital ist and wage worker should consult freely one with the other, should each strive to bring closer the day when both ahall realize that they are prop erly partners and not enemies. To ap proach the oruestion which Inevitawy arises between them solely from the standpoint which treats each side in the mass as the enemy or tbe otner siue i the mass ia both wiekedj and "foolish. In the past the most direful mong the influences which have brought about the downfall of republics has ever been the growth of the class spirit, th? growth of the spirit whieh tends to make a man subordinate the welfare of the publie as a whole to the welfare ot the particular class to which hj be-