Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1904-12-06
ROOSEVELT'S MESSAGE

and experienced persons be employed
in positions Of responsibility connected
with the operation of trains. OF cours
nothing can prevent accidents caused
by human weakness or misconduct, ant
there should be drastic punishment fol
any railroad employe, whether officer OF
man, who, by the issuance of wrong or
ders or by disobedience of orders
causes disaster. The law of 1901 re
quiring interstate railroads to make
monthly reports Of all accidents to pas
sengers and employees on duty should
also be amended 80 as to empower the
lgCvernment to make a personal inves-
litigation, through proper officers, of all
accidents involving loss Of life which
seem to require investigation, with a re-
quircment that the results of such in
vestigation be made public.
The safety y-appliance law, as amend
ed by act of March 2, 1908, has proved
beneficial to railway employees, and in
order that its provisions may be prop
erly 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 with even more i'm
portant interests. 1t has passed the ex-
perimental stage and demonstrated its
utility, and should receive generous
recognition by the congress.
Unions of Government Employees.
There is no objection to employees of
the government forming or belonging to
unions, but the government can neither
discriminate for nor discriminate
against non-union men who are in its
employment or who seek to be employed
under it. Moreover, it is a very grave
improperly for government employees
to band themselves together for the
purpose of extorting improperly high
salaries from the government Espe-
cially is this true Of those within the
classified service. The letter carriers,
both municipal and rural, are as a whole
an excellent body of public servants.
They should be amply paid, but their
must be obtained by arguing
their claims fairly and honorably be-
fore the congress, and not by banding
together for the defeat of those con-
gressmen 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.
Bureau of Labor.
Much can be done by the government
in labor matters merely by giving pub
licity TO certain conditions. The bu
reau of labor has done excellent work
of this kind in many different direc-
tions. shall shortly lay before you in
a special message the full report of the
investigation of the bureau of labor into
the Colorado mining strike, as this is
strike in which certain very evil forces,
which are more or less at work every
where under the conditions of modern
became startlingly prom
inent. 1t is greatly to be wished that
the department Of commerce and labor,
through the labor bureau, should com
pile and arrange for the congress list
of the labor laws of the various states,
and should be given the means to inves-
tigate and report to the congress upon
the labor conditions in the manufactur.
ing and mining regions throughout the
country both as to wages, as TO hours
Of labor, as to the labor of women and
and as to the effect in the
various labor eenters of immigration
from abroad. In this investigation es-
pecial attention should be paid to the
conditions of child labor and child Ia
Dor legislation in the several states.
Such an 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 most eases, only by the !
states themselves, but the lack of prop
or legislation in one state in such mat
ter as child labor often renders il ex
'essively difficult to establish protec-
live restriction upon the work in anoth.
pr state having the same industries, so
that the worst tends TO drag down the
better. For this reason it would be wen !
Tor the nation at least to endeavor TO
secure comprehensive information as to
he conditions Of labor of children in
he different states. Such an investiga-
ion and publication by the national
government would tend toward the Sc.
'uring Of approximately uniform legis-
alton of the proper character among
he several states