Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1904-12-15
PRESIDENTS MESSAGE
READ TO CONGRESS
Document Deals Voluminousiy with
Questions of State---Tariff Left for
Future Communication---Po of
the Government Toward Organized
Labor---Dealing with Illegal Combi-
nations.

I cause more than one state pursues the
| policy Of creating on easy terms corpora
| tons 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 Ii would be of harmful
| nature. The American people need to
continue to show the very qualities that
| they have shown-that Is. modefat ton,
| 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 enm-
mating or at least in minimizing what
ever of mischief or 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
| lions 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 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 a
special report on the beef industry.
Bureau Of Corporations.
The policy Of the bureau is to accom-
plish the purposes Of it's creation by CO.
| operation. not antagonism; by making
constructive legislation. not destructive
| prosecution, the immediate object of it's
inquiries; by conservative investigation
| Of law and fact, and by refusal to issue
| incomplete and hence necessarily inaccu-
rate reports. Its policy being thus one
| Of open inquiry into. and not attack up
on, business, the bureau has been able to
| gain not only the confidence. but. better
STILL. the cooperation Of men engaged in
| legitimate business.
The bureau offers to the Congress the
| means Of getting at the cost of produc-
ton Of our various great staples Of COM
| merce.
| 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-t track systems must be
! stopped. and the legislation Of the Fifty
| eighth Congress which declares it to be
| unlawful for any person or corporation to
| offer, grant. give, solicit. accept, or re-
| ceive any rebate, concession or oiscrim-,
| ination in respect of the transportation 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 impracticable, finally to ciothe
4 the Interstate Commerce Commission
with general authority to fix railroad
| rates. do not believe that, as a fair Sc
| curity to shippers, the Commission should
| be vested with the power, where a given
| rate has been challenged and after full
! hearing found to be unreasonable to de-
| eide. subject to judicial review, what
shall be 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 as regards the regulation of corpora
| tons 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 1t.
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
proper solution of the question shown.
On this subject the message says:
There should be severe child-Iabo and
| factory inspection laws. 1t is very desir-
able that married women should not rork
in factories. The prime duty of the man
| is to work. to be the breadwjnner. the
| prime duty of the woman is to be the
| mother, the housewife. All questions of
tariff and finance sink into utter insig-
! nihcance when compared with the tre-
mendous. the vital Importance of trying
| to shape conditions so that these two
| duties of the man and of tire woman can
, be fulfilled under reasonably fsvorab le
| circumstances. If a race does not have
| plenty of children, or If the children do
| not grow up. or IL when they grow NJ,
| they are unhealthy in body and stunted
or vicious in mind, then Shat race is de-
| cadent and no heaping up of wealth. no
! splendor of momentary material prosper-
ity, can avail in any degree IS Offsets.
Agriculture.
| The Department of Agriculture has
| grown into an educational institution
| with faculty of two thousand speciaI
| 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.
| IL 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 S"ains fruits
| grasses. vegetables, trees, and shrubs,
suitable to various localities in our coun-
try; and marked benefit to our producers
has resulted.
| irrigation.
| During the two and half years that
| have elapsed since the passage of the
reclamation act rapid progress has been
| made in the surveys and ex2 IMITATION of
| the opportunities for reclamation in the
| thirteen states and three territories of
! the arid West. Construction has already
| been begun on the largest and most i'm
| portant of the Irrigation works, and plans
are being completed for works which will
utilize the funds now available The
| reclamation act has been found to be re-
markably complete and effective. and so
broad in its provisions that a wide range
of undertakings has been possible under
| It, AT the same time, economy is guar
anteed by the fact that the funds must
| ultimately be returned to be used over
| again.
Establishment Of game reserves
wherein may be preserved specimens