The Holly chieftain., 1904-12-09


saHe Tie fun report Of the iuvjst.satlon
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 industrialism, be-
came startiirsly prominent.
Corporations.
When we come to deal with great cor
porations 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 engaging in in
terstate commerce. and Interstate COM
merce is peculiarly the field of the gen
eral government 1t is an absurdity to ex-
pect TO eliminate the abuses In great cor
porations by state action. 1t is difficult to
be patient with argument that such
matters should be left to the states, be-
cause more than one state pursues the
policy of creating on easy terms corpora
tions which are 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 corporations. To try to
deal with them in an Incorporate, de-
structive, or demagogic spirit would, in
all probability, mean that nothing what
ever would be accomplished, and with
absolute certainty. that If anything were
accomplished 1t would be OF harmful
continue to show the very qualities that
they have shown-that is. moderation.
good sense, the earnest desire to avoid
doing any damage. and yet the quiet de-
termination to proceed. step by step.
without halt and without hurry, In elm
mating or at least in minimizing what
ever of mischief of evil there is to in
terstate commerce in the conduct of
great corporations. They are acting In
no spirit of hostility to wealth. either in
dividual or corporate. They are not
against the rich man any more than
against the POOR man. On the contrary.
they are friendly alike toward rich man
and toward poor man, provided only that
each acts in a spirit of Justice and de-
cency toward his fellows Great corpora
tions are necessary, and only men of
great and singular mental power can
manage such corporations successfully.
and such man must have great rewards.
But these corporations should be man
aged with due regard to the interest of
the public as a whole Where this can
be done under the present laws it must
| be done. Where these laws come short
others should be enacted to supplement
them.
The bureau of corporations has made
careful preliminary investigation of many
important corporations. 1t will make
special report on the beef industry.
Rebates.
Above all else. We must strive to keep
the highways OF commerce open to all
on equal terms; and to do this it is nee
essary to put a complete stop to all re-
bates. Whether the shipper or the rail-
road is to blame makes no difference: the
rebate must be stopped. the abuses of
the private car and private terminal
track and side track systems must be
stopped. and the legislation OF the Fifty
| .l,tl .I.,,l
unlawful for any person or corporation to
| offer. grant. give, solicit, accept, or re-
ceive any rebate. concession, or Giscrim-
| ination in respect of the transportat ton of
| any property in interstate or foreign
| commerce whereby such property shall
| by any device whatever be transported
| at less rate than that named in the
| tariffs published by the carrier must be
| enforced. While ! am of the opinion that
| at present IT would be undesirable, If it
| were not impractlcahle, finally to cothe
| the Interstate Commerce Commission
| with general authority to fix railroad
| rates. l do not believe that, as n fair Sc
| curity to shippers. the Commission should
| be vested with the power, where n given
rate has been challenged and after full
| hearing found to be unreasonable. to de-
| eide, subject to judicial review, what
| shall be n reasonable rate to take its
| place; the ruling of the commission to
| take effect Immediately. and to obtain
| unless and until it is reversed by the
court OF review. In my judgment the
most important legislative act now need
| ed regards the regulation of corpora
| tions Is this act to confer on the Inter-
| state Commerce Commission the power
| to revise rates and regulations. the re-
vised rate to at once go into effect. and
| to stay in effect unless and until the
| court of review reverses it.
Much space is here devoted to a
consideration of the problem OF the
proper housing Of the poor in our
great cities, and the importance of a
proper solution OF the question shown.
On this subject the message says:
There should be severe child labor and
factory-inspection laws. 1t Is very desir-
| able that married women should not FORK
| in factories. The prime duty Of the man
| is to work, to be the breadwInner; the
| prime duty Of the woman is to be the
mother. the housewife. All questions of
tariff and finance sink into utter insig-
nifcance when compared with the tre-
mendous. the vital Importance of trying
| to shape conditions so that these two
| duties Of the man and Of the woman can
| be fulfilled under reasonably favorable
| circumstances.
| Agriculture.
The Department OF Agriculture has
| grown into an educational institution
with faculty OF two thousand special
| lists making research into all the sciences
| of production. The Congress appropria-
| ates. directly and indirectly. six millions
| Of dollars annually to carry on this work
| 1t reaches every state and territory in
| the Union and the islands OF the sea late
| ly come under our flag. CO. operation is
| had with the state experiment stations.
| and with many other institutions and in
, dividuals, The world is carefully search
| ed for new varieties OF grains, fruits,
| grasses. vegetables, trees. and shrubs,
suitable to various localities in our coun-
try; and marked benefit to our producers