The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-04-06

ACT
There are a number of very import
ant questions, such as that of good
roads, with which the states alone can
deal, and where all that the national
government can do is to cooperate
with them The same is true of the cd
ucation of the American farmer. A
number of the states have themselves
started to help in this work and the
department of agriculture does an i'm
mense amount which is in the proper
sense of the word educational, and ed
ucational in the most practical way.
1T IS therefore clearly true that a
great advance has been made in the
direction of finding ways by which the
government can help the farmer TO
help himself-the only kind of help
which a self-respecting man viii ac-
cept, or, 1 may add, which Will in the
end do him any good. Much has been
done in these ways, and farm life and
farm processes continually change for
the better The farmer himself still re-
tains, because of his surroundings and
the nature of his work, to a pre-eTninent
degree the qualities which we like to
think of as distinctly American in con
sidering our early history The man
who tills his own farm, whether on the
prairie or in the woodland, the man
who grows what we eat and the raw
material which is worked up into what
we wear. still exists more nearly under
the conditions which obtained when the
'ernbattled farmers of '76 made this
{
others of our people.
But the wage-workers in our cities,
like the capitalists in our cities, face
totally changed conditions The devel-
oprnent of machinery and the extraor-
| dinary change in business conditions
have rendered the employment of cap
ital and of persons in large aggrega-
tions not merely profitable but often
necessary for success, and have special
lied the labor of the Wage-Worker at
the same time that they have brought
great aggregations of wage-workeTs to-
i gether. More and more in our great
Industrial centers men have come TO
realize that they can not live as inde-
| pendently Of one another as in the old
days was the case everywhere, and as
is now the case in the country districts
MUCH GOOD IN ORGANIZATION
.Of course. fundamentally each man
will vet find that the chief factor IN
determining his success or failure in life
is the sum OF his own Individual quau-
ties He cannot afford to lose his in
dividual initiative, his individual VIII
and power; but he can best use that
power If for certain objects he unites
with his fellows Much can be done by
organizatio combination, union among
the wage workers; finally something
can be done by the direct action OF the
state It IS not possible emplrlcaliy 70 70
declare when the interference of the
state should be deemed legitimate and
when il1egitimate.
ssrhe line of demarcation between un-
lack of regulation is not always well
defined. and shifts with the change IN
our industrial needs. Most certainly we
should never invoke the interference of
the state or nation unless it is absolute
ly necessary; but 1t is equally true that
when confident of its necessity we
should not on academic grounds re-
fuse it. Wise factory laws; laws to for
bid the employment of child labor and
to safeguard the employees against the
effects Of culpable negligence by the
employer, are necessary, not merely in
the interest of the wage worker, but In
the interest Of the honest and humane
employer, who should not be penalized
for his honesty and humanity by being
exposed to Unchecked competition with
an INSCRIPTIONS rival. 1t is far more
difficult to deal with the greed that
works through cunning than with the
greed that works through violence. But
the effort to deal with it must be stead
lily made.
Very much of our effort in reference
to labor matters should be by every de-
vice and expedient to try to secure
constantly better understanding be-
tween employer and employe- Every
thing possible should be done to in
crease the sympathy and fellow feeling
between them, and every chance taken
to allow each to look at all questions,
especially a questions in dispute, some
what through the others eyes. If met
with a sincere desire TO act fairly by
one another, and if there is. further
more. power by each to appreciate the
others standpoint. the chance for trOu-
BILE is minimized. 1 suppose every
thinking man rejoices when by media
ton or arbitration it proves possible to
settle troubles in time to avert the suf-
feril1g and bitterness caused by strikes.
Moreover, a cOnciliation committee can
do best work when the trouble is in its
beginning. OF at least has not come to
a head When the break has actually
occurred. damage has been done, and
each side feels sore and angry. and it
difficult them n diff IL
cult to make either forget its own
wrongs and remember the rights of the
other. If possible the effort at concilia-
ton mediation or arbitration should
be made in the earlier stages, and
should be marked by the wish on the
part of both sides to try to come to a
common agreement which each shall
think IN the interests of the other as
well as Of itself
AN ADMIRABLE OBJECT LESSON.
when we deal with such subject we
are fortunate in having before us an ad-
Inirable object lesson in the work that has
lust been closed by the anthracite coal
strike commission. This was the commits
sion which was appointed last fan at the
] time when the coal strike in the anthra-
: disaster second to none which has befalisn
+ rs since the days Of the civil war. Their
report was made just before the senate
adjourned at the special session, and no
government document Of recent years
I -. - q 5iti13Si eaiit blTSS - W =
: better done, and there IS none which
teaches sounder social morality to our
people The commission consisted of seven
as gooo men as We're 10 be round IN Iae
country. representing the bench. the
church. the army. the professions, the en-
ployers and the employed They acted as
9 unit. and the report which they unani-
mously signed is masterpiece of sound
common sense and of sound doctrine on
5 the very questions with which our people
should most deeply concern themselves.
The immediate effect of this commission. 5
appointment and action of vast and
incasculabIe benefit to the nation. but the
ultimate effect will be even better. if cap
4 italist wage worker and lawmaker alike
: Will take to heart and act upon the les
sons set forth in the report they have
: made.
of course the national government hiss
but a small field in which It can work IL
e labor matters Something il Do. how
: ever. and that something ought to be done
4 Among other things should like TO see
/. the District OF Columbia. which IS com
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