The Coeur d'Alene press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1892-1907, 1904-12-10

Payments within the scope OF federal
power.
Medals Of Honor.
The government has recognized herolsm
upon the water, and bestows medals Of
honor upon those persons who by ex-
IRENE and heroic daring have endangered
their lives in saving. or endeavoring to
save. lives from the perils Of the sea In
the waters over which the United States
has Jurisdiction. or upon an American
Tessel- This recognition should be ex-
tended to cover cases OF conspicuous
bravery and self sacrifice In the saving
of life in private employment under the
jurisdiction of the United States. and
particularly In the land commerce Of the
nation
Prevention of Railroad Accidents.
The ever increasing casualty list upon
our railroads IL a matter " grave public
concern. and urgently calls for action
oy the congress In the matter OF speed
and comfort of railway travel our rail-
roads 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 Il. Many OF our LEADING roads have
oeen foremost In the ADDICTION Of the
most approved safeguards for the pro-
'ection OF travellers and employees. yet the
list OF clearly avOidaole accidents Goa
tinues unduly large.
The passage OF a law requiring the
adoption OF a block signal system has
been proposed to the congress. I
earnestly concur In that rec
concentration. and would also point out
to the congress the urgent need OF lsgis-
latton in the interest OF the public safety
uniting the hours or laDoT tor raIroad
employees In train service upon railroads
N n ter a Fe FsaFTR mi
Sidlng that only trained and experienced
persons be employed IN positions Of re-
sponsibihty connected with the opera
ton of trains. OF course nothing can
ever prevent accidents caused BY human
weakness or misconduct and there
should De drastic punishment for any
railroad employe. whether officer or man.
who Sy Issuance OF wrong orders or by
dl5obedience OF orders causes disaster
The law Of lSOl, requiring Interstate rail-
roads TO make monthly reports OF all ac-
cidents to passengers and employees on
duty. should also be amended so as to
empower the government to maNe a per
sonAl investigation, through proper ofa-
GERS, Of all accidents involving loss u
life which seem 10 require investigation
with requirement that the results OF
such investigation be made public
The safety appliance law. as amended
by the act OF March 2. 1898. has proved
beneficial to railway employees. and in
order that Its provisions may be prop
erly carried out, the force OF inspec-
tors provided FOR BY appropriation
should be largely increased. This serv-
ice Is analogous to the steamboat m
spsctlon service, and deals with even
more important interests. II has passed
the experimental stage and demonstrate
ed its utility. and should receive gen.
erous recognition BY the congress.
Unions Of Government Employees.
There Is no objection 10 employees Of
the government forming or belonging
to unions. but the government can
neither discriminate for nor discriml-
nate against nonunlon men who are IN
its employ. or who seek 10 be en-
plOyed under It. Moreover. 1t Is yery
grave improperly for government era
ployss to band themselves together for
the purpose OF eXtorting Improperly
high salaries from the government. Is
pectally Is this true OF those within the
CLASSIFIED service. The letter carriers,
both municipal and rural. are as
whole an excellent body Of public sars. |
ants They should be amply paid. But |
thsIF payment must be obtained 6J ar
guing their claims fairly and honOra-
bly, before the congress. and not by |
banding together for the defeat Of |
those congressman who refuse to give |
promises which they can not In con-
science give. The standardization has
already taken steps to prevent and |
punish abuses OF this nature. but Il
will be wise for the congress to sup |
plement this action BY legislation
Bureau Of Labor.
Much can be done By the government
in labor matters merely by giving pub
liclty to certain conditions. The bureau
OF labor has done excellent work OF this
kind in many different jireCtio shall I
shortly lay before you in special mes |
sage the full report OF toe investigation I
Of the bureau OF labor into the Colorado
mining strike. as this Is a strike In which
certain very evil forces, which are mors
or less at work everywhere under the
conditions Of modern iuduAtrialism. ba- |
came startllngly prominent. II IL great |
ly to be wished that the department OF
commerce and labor. through the labor |
bureau. should compile and arrange for |
the congress a list Of the labor laws
OF the various states, and should be given /
the means to investigate and report 10 |
the congress upon the labor conditions In |
the manufacturing and mining regions
throughout the country. both as
labor. as to the labor of
women and children, and as to the effect |
In the various labor csnters OF immf- I,
grafton from abroad. In this inyestiza- |
tion especial attention should be I,aij 10
the conditions OF child labor and child /
labor legislation In the several states. /
Such an investigation must necessarily |
take into account many of the problems |
with which this question Of child labor I
IL connected. These problems can be
met, in most cases, only by the
states themselves. but the lack Of proper
legislation In one state In such a matter
a. child labor often renders II excessively
difii=ult to establish protective restriction I
upon the work In another state aaying l
the same industries. 50 that the worst /
tends 10 drag down the better. For this /
reason. Il would be well for the nation 4
at least to endeavoT TO secure compre-
Information as to the cOndi-
lions of labor of children In the different |
states. Such investigation and publiea-
ton by the national government would 1
tend toward the securing Of approx /
mately uniform Liquidation Of the proper 4
character among the several states.