The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-12-06
The Presidents Message.

The Presidents Message.
AS is the case with all the president 8
state papers, his message to congress
today is readable and interesting. The
president is clever writer. He can
say what he wants to say effectively
and forcibly, and his formal deliver
ances are more attractive to the gen
eral reader than documents of this
kind usually are.
This paper is distinguished by the
absence of any reference to the tariff.
There is a discussion Of corporations,
but what the president has to say about
them has reference, to corporations
taken singly as we'll as in combination
with other corporations, or consollda-
tions of corporations, which are the
institutions usually thought of as trusts.
At the outset he cautions congress
against extravaganza, and warns the
members lest the enlargement Of the
scope and the functions Of the national
q government lead to unwarranted ex-
pense. The word of warning is timely.
The relations of capital and labor
are taken up early in the message, and
the views which the president is we'll
understood to hold find fortunate and
satisfactory expression. The merits OF
labor organizations are fully recognized,
and as fully and completely are the sins
of labor organizations condemned. The
employment of all honorable means for
the accomplishment of the purposes OF
labor organization is approved, while,
on the other hand, it is unequivocally
asserted that "under no circumstances
have labor organizations the right to
commit violence upon those, whether
CAPITALISTS or wage workers, who refuse
to support their organizations or who
side with those with whom they are at
odds; for mob rule is intolerable in
any form
The attitude of the government, of
course, towards labor, whether organ
lied or unorganized, is that of impair
tiality The government can neither
discriminate for nor against non.unlon
men who are in it's employ, or seek
to be employed by it. The employees of
the government are also advised not
to band themselves together for the
purpose of extorting concessions of any
kind from the government. Reference
is made to attempts Of this kind III
the classified service which the gov
eminent cannot tolerate under any cir
cumstances. A report of the, inquiry
into labor conditions in Colorado is
labor.
In the same connection the president
contends that wage-earners are pecu
liarly entitled to the protection of the
law; they are entitled to be protected
against accidents, by the requirement
that all possible regulations and de
vices be employed to insure their safe
ty while theYSare at work. l.. &
The president has evidently beer
much impressed with the number ant
the serious nature of railroad accident
during the past year, for he calls upol
congress to take steps in the interes
of the public safety, among othe
things limiting the hours of labor TO
railroad employees and requiring tn
adoption of safety appliances approved
by: experience.
The passage of particular interest il
the message is that relating to corpo
rations. The president frankly declare
at the outset that ''when we come t.
deal with great corporations, the nee
for the government to act directly i
far greater than in the case Of labor
because great corporations can becom
such only by engaging in interstat
commerce, and interstate commerce
peculiarly the field Of the general gov
ernment.' He probably has in min
some recently discarded theories wit
regard to the control of corporation
engaged in interstate commerce whe
he says: cit is difficult to be patien
with an argument that such matter
should be left to the states, becaus
more than one state pursues the poll
cy of creating on easy terms corpora
tions which are never. operated within
that state at all, but in other states
whose laws they ignore.' He depre
Gates anything like an incorporate, de
structive or demagogic spirit whicl
would destroy and not build up, bu
insists that the great corporations mus
be managed with due regard for tn
interests of the public as whole
stWhere this can be done under tn
present laws it must be done. Wher
these laws come short, others shout
be enacted to supplement them. -
The president here introduces lon
extract from the address of a presiden
of one of our great railroad systems t
employees of his company in which tina
speaker discusses with great franknes
the obligation Of the corporation to it
employees and to the public. Anon
other. things that are, seldom heard fror
such source is the statement tina