The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1904-12-09
PRESIDENTS MESSAGE.

and experienced persons be employed In
positions of responsibility connected with
the operation of trains. OF course moth
Ing can ever prevent accidents caused
by human weakness or misconduct; and
there should be drastic punishment for
any railroad employee, whether officer
or man, who by issuance of wrong Or
ders or by dlsobdience of orders causes
disaster. The law of 1901. requiring In
ports of all accidents to passengers and
employees on duty, should also be
amended so as to empower the govern
ment TO make personal Investigation,
through proper officers. of all accidents
involving loss of life which seem to re-
quire Investigation, with requirement
that the results of such investigation
be made public
The safety-appliance law, as amended
by the act Of March ., 1903, 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 anal
ogous to the Steamboat-Inspection SER
vice. and deals with even more important
interests. 1t has passed the experiment
al stage and demonstrated Its utility,
ana should receive generous recognition
l.by the congress.
There is no objection to employees of
the government forming or belonging to
| unions; but the government can neither
discriminate for nor discriminate against
nonunion men who are In its employ
ment., or who seek to be employed un-
propriety for government employees to
band themselves together for the pur-
pose OF eNtorting improperly high sal
aries from the government. Especially
is this true of those within the classi-
fed service. The letter carriers. both
municipal and rural, are as whole an
excellent body of public servants. They
should be amply paid. But thoir pay
ment must be obtained by arguing their
claims fairly and honorably before the
congress and not by, banding together
nj m n
who refuse to give promises which they
can not In conscience give The adminis-
tration has already taken steps TO pre-
vent and punish abuses of this nature;
but It will be wise for the congress to
BUREAU OF LABOR.
Much can be done by the government
IN labor matters merely by giving pub.
of Labor has done excellent work of this
kind In many different directions.
shall shortly lay before you In a special
message the full report of the investlga-
ton of theBureau of Labor into the
strike in which certain very evil forces
which are more or less at work every
where under the conditions of modern
| industrlalism, became startling promi-
nent. II is greatly to be wished that
| the department Of commerce and labor,
through the labor bureau. should compile
the labor laws of the various states, and
| should be given the means to investigate
| and report to the congress upon the la.
| Dor conditions in the manufacturing and
| mining regions 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 the conditions OF
! child labor and child-labor Legislation
must necessarily take into account many
OF the problems with which this gues-
ton of child labor is connected These
problems can be actually met. most
cases, only by the states themselves;
but the lack of proper legislation in
one state in such matter as child Ia
| Dor often renders 1t excessively diff
| cult to establish protective restriction
upon tho work in another state having
the same industries, SO that the worst
tends to drag down the better. For
this reason, It would be well for the ma
! ton at least to endeavor to secure COM
prehensiye Information as to the eond!-
ent states. Such investigation and pub
lication by the national government
would tend toward the securing of ap-
proxlmately uniform legislation OF the
proper character among the several
CORPORATIONS.
When we come to deal with great cor
poratlons the need for the government
to act directly is far greater than in the
case of labor, because great corpora
tions can become such only by engag-
ing in Interstate commerce, and inter
state commerce is peculiarly the field of
the general government. II is an absur-
dity to expect to eliminate the abuses
in great corporations by state action
1t is difficult to be patient with an ar
gument that such matters should be
left to the states. because more than
one state pursues the policy of creating
on easy terms corporations which are
never operated within that state at all,
but in other states whose laws they, ig-
can dea: Adequately with these great
corporations. To try to deal with them
in an Incorporate, destructive. or dem
agogic spirit would, In all probability,
mean that nothing whatever would be
accomplished, and, with absolute Or
tainty, that II anything were. accom-
plished it would be of a harmful nature.
The American people need TO continue 10
show the very qualities that they have
shown-that Is, moderation, good sense,
damage. and yet the quiet determination
to proceed. step by step, without halt
and without hurry, in eliminating or
at least in minimizing whatever mis-
chief or of evil there Is to Interstate
commerce In the conduct of great cor
porations. They are acting In no spirit
of hostility TO wealth, either individual
or corporate. They are not against the
rich man any more than against the
poor man. on the contrary, they are
fri andly alike toward his fellows. Great
corporations are necessary and only men
of great and singular mental power can
manage such corporations successfully,
ana Sucn men must nave great IeWdTus'
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 II
must be done Where these laws come
short others should be enacted to sup
plement them.
Yet we must never forget the deter
mining factor in every kind of work, of
head or hand, must be the mans own
good sense, courage, and hndlineSs.
More important than any legislation is
the gradual growth of a feeling of re-
sponsibility and forbearance among cap
italists and wage-workers alike; a feel
ing of respect on the part of each man
for the rights of others; a feeling of
broad community interest, not merely
of capitalists among themselves, and OF
wage-workers among themselves, but Of
capitalists and wage-workerS in their
relations to each other, and OF both In
their relations to their fellows who with
them make up the body polite There
are many captains of industry. many
labor leaders, who realize this. A re-
cent speech by the president of one OF
our greet railroad systems to the em-
ployees of that system contains sound
common sense. 1t runs in part as fol-
lows:
ut Is my belief we can better serve
each other better understand the man
81 well as his buAineSS when meeting