New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-12-07
FOR SAFE RAILWAY TRAVEL.

roads is a matter or grave public concern, and
urgently calls for action by the Congress- In
the matter of speed and comfort of railway
travel our railroads give at least as good service
as those of any other nation. and there is no
reason why this service should not also be as
safe as human ingenuity can make It. Many OF
our leading roads have been foremost In the
| adoption of the most approved safeguards for
the protection of travellers and employees yet
the list of clearly avoidable accidents continues
| unduly large. The passage of a law requiring
the adoption of block signal system has been
proposed to the Congress. 1 earnestly concur IN
that recommendation. and would also point out
! to the Congress the urgent need OF legislation IN
| the interest Of the public safety limiting the
| hours of labor for railroad employees in train
/ service upon railroads engaged in interstate
commerce, and providing that only trained and
experienced persons be employed in positions OF
responsibility connected with the operation OF
trains OF course, nothing can ever prevent &C
cidents caused by human weakness or miscon-
duct and there should be drastic punishment FOR
any railroad employe. whether officer or man.
who by issuance of wrong orders or by disooedl-
ence of orders causes disaster The law of 1901
requiring interstate railroads to make monthly
reports of all accidents to passengers and en-
pIoyes on duty. should also be amended so as to
empower the government to make a personal in
vestigation. through proper officers. Of all acct
dents involving loss Of life which seem to re-
quire investigation. with requirement that the
results of such investigation be made public
The safety appliance law as amended by the
act of March ., 1903. has proved beneficial to
railway employees, and in order that its pro-
visions may be properly carried out the force OF
inspectors provided for by appropriation should
be largely increased. This service is analogous
to the Steamboat Inspection Service. and deals
interests.
passed the experimental stage and demonstrated
its utility, and should receive generous recog-
milton by the Congress.
There is objection to employees Of the gov
eminent forming or belonging to unions. but
the government can neither discriminate for nor
discriminate against nom
Unions of Govern union men who are in It's
ment Employees. employment or who seek to
be employed under It.
Moreover. it is very grave improperly
for government employees to band them
selves together for the purpose of extorting i'm
properly high salaries from the government,
Especially is this true Of those within the clas-
siied service. The letter carriers both munich
pal and rural, are as a whole an excellent body
of public servants. They should be amply paid.
But their payment must be obtained by arguing
their claims fairly and honorably before the
Congress, and not by banding together for the
defeat Of those Congressman who refuse to give
promises which they cannot in conscience give.
The administration has already taken steps to
prevent and punish abuses of this nature. but it
will be wise for the Congress to supplement this
action by legislation.
Much can be done by the government in labor
matters merely by giving publicity to certain
conditions. The Bureau of
Bureau of Labor. Labor has done excellent
work of this kind in many
different directions. I shall shortly lay before
you in special message the full report of the
investigation OF the Bureau Of Labor
into the Colorado mining strike, as this
is a strike in which certain very evil
forces which are more or less at work
everywhere under the conditions OF modern in
dustrialism. became startlingly prominent. It
is greatly TO be wished that the Department Of
Commerce and Labor, through the Labor Blu
reau. should compile and arrange for the Con-
gress a list Of the labor laws of the various
States, and should be given the means to in
vestigate and report to the Congress- upon the
labor conditions IN the manufacturing and min
ing regions throughout the country, both as TO
wages, to hours of labor to the labor Of
women and children and to the effect in the
various labor centres of immigration from
abroad. In this investigation special attention
should be paid to the conditions Of child labor
and child labor legislation In the several States
Such investigation must necessarily take into
account many of the problems with which this
question Of child labor is connected. These
problems can be actually met, in both cases, only
by the States themselves: but the lack of proper
legislation in one State in such matter child
labor often renders 1t excessively difficult TO
tabsh protective restriction upon the work IN
another State having the same industries so
that the worst tends to drag down the better.
For this reason it would be we'll for the nation
at least to endeaVor to secure comprehensive in
formation TO the conditions of labor of chill
dren in the different States Such investigation
and publication by the national government
would tend toward the securing OF approximate
ly uniform legislation of the proper character
among the several States.
DEALING WITH CORPORATIONS.
When we come to deal with great corporations
the need for the government to act directly is
far greater than IN the case of labor. because
great corporations can become such only by en-
gagng in interstate commerce. and interstate
commerce is peculiarly the field of the general
government. 1t is absurdity TO expect to
eliminate the abuses in great corporations by
State action It is difficult TO be patient with
an argument that such matters should be left
10 the States, because more than one State
pursues the policy of creating easy terms
corporations which never operated within
that State at all. but In other States, whose laws
they ignore. The national government alone
can deal adequately with these great corpora
tons. To try to deal with them in an intern
perate. destructive, or demagogic spirit would
in all probability mean that nothing whatever
would be accomplished. and. with absolute GER
tainty, that if anything were accomplished 1t
would be OF a harmful nature. The American
people need to continue to show the very quail
ties that they have shown-that is, moderation
good sense, the earnest desire to avoid doing