The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1900-09-04
ON SAME PLATFORM.
tconilnued from - -

in combination. that o. through asso'ia-
lions. and here il rs that We see the great
good conferred bv labor organizations, hy
trade. unions or course. II managed nn-
wisely. the very power Of such union or
organization makes Il capable Of doing
much harm. but on che whole II would De
hard TO ovcrcstmate the Food these or
eanizs lions have done iu the past. and
etil harder % estimate the good they can
do Ia the future. u handled with resoia-
ton. forethought. honesty and sanity.
Legal Rights over Labor.
we have cxnctiy the same night 80
regulate the conditions OF life and work
~ factories and tenement houses that We
have 20 regulate frc-cscapes and the IKE
IN other houses. In certain communities
the existence OF thoroughly emcient
department Of factory inspection IS JUST
as essential as the establishing OF p
fire department How Tar We shall 50
IN regulating the hours Of labor. or the
liabilities OF employers. is a matter Of ex-
pesllency. and each case must be deter
mined on It's own merits. exactly as u o.
"a matter % oxpediency to determine what
so-cailod public utilities the community
itself shall own. and what ones Il shall
leave 10 private or corporate ownership.
securing 20 itself merely the right 20 res
uiate.
IN my own ttHAf hAtsNN tue AAnA N'AtN
years we have made number Of notable
strides IN labor legislation. and with
very few exceptions. the Saws have worked
well. In New York our action has been
along two lines In the first place We de-
termined that ar an employer Of labor
the state should set a good example 90
other employers. Accordingly. we have
adopted an cight-hour law for the state
employees. and for all contractors. who
"A
law requiring that a fair market rate
Of wages shall De given. I am glad 10
say that both measures have 60 FAR. on
the whole. worked well
what Has Been Done in New York.
''The other side of our tabor legislation
has been that affecting the wage workers
who do not work Tor the stute. Here
we have acted in three different ways
Through the bureau Of labor statistics.
through the board Of mediation and ar
duration. and through the department Of
factory inspection.
During the last two years the board OF
mediation and arbitration has been cs-
pecially successful Not only have they
succeeded IN settling many strikes after
they were started. but they succeeded IN
preventing much larger number OF
strikes before they got fairly under way.
The bureau Of labor statistics has done
more than merely gather the statictics
FOR by keeping Ca close touch with an the
leading labor interests Il has kept them
informed on countless matters that were
really Of vital concern 20 them. Incident
ally. one pleasing feature OF the work
OF this bureau has been the steady up
wand tendency shown during the last
four years. both in the amount OF
wages received and Ia the quaint
ity and stcadiuess o. employment No
other man mas benefited so much as the
wage worker by the growth IN prosperity
during these years.
THE factory inspection department
deals chiefly. Of course. with conditions in
great cities one very important phase Of
rs work during the last two years has
been tho enforcement Of the anil-sweat
shop law. which is primarily designed To
DO away with the tenement house fac
tory.
Problems of Importance.
before as loom industrial problems.
vast tn their importance aud in their
completely It IS not as yet possible 20
say what shall De the exact limit OF in
fiuencc allowed the state. or what limit
shall be ST 20 that right Of individual in-
itiafiye SO dear 20 the hearts OF the
American people. All We can say is that
the need has been shown on the one
hand FOR action by the people. IN their
collective capacity through the state. In
many matters: that in other matters much
can b. done by associations OF different
groups of individuals as in trade unions
and similar organizations: and that iu
other matters ~ remains now as. true az
ever that hnal success will be Tor the man
who trusts In the struggle only to his
cool hand b = brave heart ans his strong
right arm There are spheres in which the
nd Tsh a
which comparatively free field must be
given 10 individual initiative
Though the comb Ions Of life have
grown 80 puzzling IN their completely. yet
sve may remain absolutely sure OF one
thing: that now ~ ever ia the past. ana
as o. ever viii b. IN the future. there can
Be- 10 substitute for the elemental virtues,
for the elemental qualities to which We
aliude when We speak Of "a man ne nor
only as a good man. but as emphatically
q man
THE one fact which all OF us need 60
keep steadily before our eyes r. the ncccs-
sity that performance should square with
promise n good work r. 10 be done wheth-
cr IN the industrial or IN the political
world. Nothing docs more 20 prompt
mental dishonesty and moral insinccrity
than the habit. either OF promising the
impossible. Of falling 10 keep n promise
che slightest diHerence whether Il r.
promise made on the stump. or on the
stump. We can DO q great deal when we
undertake soberly 10 do the possible.
When we undertake the Impossible we
too often fail TO do anything az ali The
success Of the law Cor the taxation OF
franchises recently enacted IN New York
state q measure which has resulted ia
putting upon che assessment books nearly
one hundred million dollars worth
OF property. which had thereto
fore escaped taxation, is an illustration OF
how much can be accomplished when ef-
fort is mode along sane and sober lines
with care moi 90 promise the impossible
but 90 make performance square with
promise and with insistcnee on the fact
that honesty is never one-sldci. and that
81 dealing with corporations 81 b. neces-
sary both % do 20 them and 10 exact from
them full and complete Justice The sue
cess OF this cnori offers a striking con-
trast 20 the complete breakdown OF the
species OF crude and violent anti
trust legislation which has been so often
attempted and which has always failed.
because OF ice very crudeness and VIC
lencc. 20 make any impression upon tine
real and dangerous evils which have cx-
cited Just popular resentment
In tho long run each section OF the
community will rise or fan as the com.
nunity rises or falls. II hard times come
90 the nation. whether as the result OF
Natural causes. or because they are in
viicd by our own folly. all q Us will sur
fer Certain o. us viii suffer more and