Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1904-12-09
The PRESIDENTS
ANNUAL MESSAGE
Usual Document Read in Both Houses
Of Congress :
HIS SUGGESTIONS ON LEGISLATION
The President Makes Strong Recon-
mendations Concerning Capital and
Labor, Foreign Affairs, Army and
Navy, Commerce and other Subjects
That Will Come Before Congress.

Following is the substance of the an
nual message of President Roosevelt
read in both Houses of Congress:
10 the Senate and House of Repre-
sentatiyes:
Inc Nation continues to enjoy note
worthy prosperity. Such prosperity is
2. course primarily due to the high in
-%Viuual average of our citizenship
-SAen together with our great natural
[. ., ssOI -es; but an important factor
therein is the working of our long
continued governmental policies. The
people have emphatically expressed
.neir approval of the principles under
.yins these policies, and their desire
aat these principles be kept substan-
10y unchanged, although of course
applied in progressive spirit to meet
changing conditions.
CAUTION AGAINST ExTRAvA.
CANOE.
Inc enlargement of scope of the
functions Of the National Government
required by our development as a ma
uon involves, of course, increase of
expense; and the period of prosperity
through which the country is passing
!ustineS expenditures for permanent
Improvementments far greater than
would be wise in hard times. Battle
SHIPS and forts, public buildings. and
improved waterways are investments
which should be made when we have
tEe money; but abundant revenues and
q large surplus always invite extrava-
sahce, and constant care should be
taken to guard against unnecessary in
crease OF the ordinary expenses of gov
eminent. The cost of doing Government
business should be regulated with the
same rigid scrutiny as the cost of
uolng a private business.
CAPITAL AND LABOR.
In the vast and complicated mechan-
Ism OF our modern civilized life the
dominant note is the note of Industrial
ism; and the relations of capital and
labor, and especially of organized capt.
Ual and organized labor, to each other
and to the public at large come second
IN Importance only to the intimate
questions of family life. Our peculiar
form OF government, with it's sharp
alVlslon of authority between the Ma
ton and the several States, has been
on the whole far more advantageous to
our development than a more strongly
centralized government. But it is un-
Goubtedly responsible for much of the
olnlculty of meeting with adequate
leglslatlon the new problems presented
by the total change in industrial condi-
tons on this. continent during the last
half century. In actua, practice it has
proved exceedingly difficult, and in
many cases impossible, to get unanimity
OF wise action among the various States
On these subjects. From the very nature
OF the case this is especially true of the
laws affecting the employment of capt.
tai in huge masses.
EMPLOYERS LIABILITY LAW.
The subject of liability of employ
ers comes in for a lengthy paragraph
OF the message. 1t is argued that
persons or corporations using labor
should use every means possible to
protect employees.
PREVENTION OF RAILROAD AccL
DENTS.
The ever-increasing casualty list
upon our railroads is matter of 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 SER
vice as those of any other nation, and
there is no reason why this service
should not also be as safe as human in
genuity can make it. Many of our lead
ing roads have been foremost in the
adoption OF the most approved safe
guards 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 a blocksignal system
has been proposed to the Congress.
earnestly concur in that recommended
ton, and would also point out to the
Congress the urgent need of legislation
in the interest of the public safety linn
iting the hours of labor for railroad
employees in train service upon rail-
roads engaged in interstate commerce,
and providing that only trained and
experienced persons be employed in po-
sitions of responsibility connected with
ing can ever prevent accidents caused
by human weakness or misconduct:
and there should be drastic punish
ment for any raliroaod employee,
whether officer or man, who by issu-
ance of wrong orders or by disobedi-
ence of orders causes disaster. The
law of 1901, requiring interstate rail-
roads to make. monthly reports of all
accidents to passengers and employees
Tn duty, should also be amended so as
to empower the Government to make
investigation, through proper
Of all accidents involving loss
of life which seem to require investiga-
ton, with requirement that the re-
public
UNIONS OF GOVERNMENT EN-.
PLOYEES.
On the subject of organized labor
the President declares that all people
nave a perfect right to organize for
their protection, but that the Govern
ment cannot discriminate against non
union laborers.
- BUREAU OF LABOR.
Much can be done by the Government
in labor matters merely by giving pub
Lefty to certain conditions. The Bureau
Of Labor has done excellent work OF
this kind in many different directions.
shall shortly lay before you in a spe-
cial message the full report of the in
vestigation of the Bureau of Labor into
the Colorado mining strike, as this
Is a a strike in which certain very evil
forces. which are more or less at work
everywhere under the conditions OF
modern industriaIism, became start
Engly prominent. 1t is greatly to be
wished that the Department of Com
merce and Labor, through the Labor
Bureau, should compile and arrange for
the Congress list of the labor laws of
the various States, and should be given
the means to investigate and report to
the Congress upon the labor conditions
In the manufacturing and mining re-
gions throughout the country, both as
to wages, as to hours of labor, as to
the labor of women and children, and
as to the effect in the various labor
centers of immigration from abroad In
this investigation especial attention
should be paid to he conditions of