Condon globe. (Condon, Gilliam Co., Or.) 189?-1919, 1904-12-15
PRESIDENTS
MESSAGE
Text Of Paper Delivered to
SSth CONGRESS.
CAUTIONS AGAINST EXTRAVAGANZA
IRRIGATION. Forests. Public Lands, Alaska
and Our island Possessions Re-
ceiVe Due Consideration.
CAUTIONS AGAINST ExTRAVAGANCE

sage of President Roosevelt to the 6Sth
congress:
TO the Senate and House Of Representatives;
The Nation continues 10 enjoy noteworthy
prosperity. Such prosperity Is. Of course. psi
marily due to the high individual average o.
our citizenship. taken together with our grea'
natural resoureeSs but an important tactoi
therein Is the working OF our long-eontinued
governmental policies. The people have EN-
phatically expressed their approval Of the prin'
ctples underlying these policies, and thei1
desire that these principles be kept subStan'
sally unchanged. although, OF course, applied
In progressive spirit to meet changing con-
ditions,
The enlargement of scope OF the functions
OF the National Government required oy our
development as a nation involves. OF course
increase OF expense; AMI the period OF pros
perity through which the country Is passing
tusttnes expenditures for permanent improve
ments far greater than
cautto,, A.atns4 would be wise In
hard times. Battle.
EAtraFagAhcee ships and forts. public
buildings and improved
waterways are investments which should be
made when We have the money; but abundant
revenues and large surplus always invite
extravagance,' and constant care should be
taken to guard against unnecessary Increase OF
the ordinary expenses OF government The COS,
OF doing Government business should be regu-
lated with the same rigid scrutiny rs the cost
OF doing a private business.
In the vast and complicated mechanism OF
our modern civilized life. the dominant note
Is the note OF tndustrialism; and the relations
OF capital and labor.
Capital and Labor. and especially OF or
ganlzed capital and or
ganiEed labor. to each other and to the public
at large come second in Importance only 10
the intimate questions OF family life. our
peculiar form OF government with its sharp
division Of authority between the Nation and
the several states. has been on the whole
far more advantageous to our development
than q more strongly centralized govern
ment- But II is undoubtedly responsible for
much OF the difficulty of meeting with ade-
quate legislation the new problems presented
by the total change in Industrial conditions
on this continent during the last half CEN
tury. In actual practice II has proved ex-
eeedingly difficult, and in many cases i'm
possible, TO get undnimity of wise action
among the various states on these subjects.
From the very nature OF the case. this Is
especially true OF the laws affecting the
employment OF capital in huge masses.
with regard TO labor. the problem is no
less important, but 1t is simpler. As long
as the states retain the primary control of
the police power. the circumstances must be
altogether extreme which require interfer-
ence by the Federal authorities whether in
the way OF safeguarding the rights OF labor
or in the way OF seeing that wrong Is not
done by unruly persons who shield them
selves behind the name OF labor. II there
is resistance to the Federal courts interfer-
ence with the mails, or interstate commerce,
or molestation of Federal property. or II
the state authorities in some crisis which
they are unable to face call for help. then
the Federal Government may interfere: but
though such interference may be caused
by a condition of things arising out of trou-
BILE connected with some question Of labor
the interference itself simply takes the form
of restoring order without regard to the
questions which have caused the breach OF
orrder-for to keep order is a primary duty
and in a time of disorder and violence all
other questions sink into allegiance until
order has been restored.
There is no objection to employees OF the
Government forming or belonging to unions;
but the Government can neither diserim-
mate for nor discriminate against nonunion
men who are in its employment or who
seek to be employed under IL. Moreover, II
is a very grave improperly for Government
employees to band themselves together for
the purpose Of extorting improperly high sal
aries from the Government. Especially is
this true of those within the classified serv-
ice. The letter-carriers both municipal and
rural are a whole excellent body Of
public servants. They should be amply paid.
But their payment must be obtained by ar
guing their claims
UnIana Of fairly and honorabIy
oo-. before the Congress,
OOFefnneht and not by banding
Employees. together for the de-
feat Of those Con-
gressmen who refuse to give promises which
they cannot in conscience give. The Admin
istratIon has already taken steps to prevent
and punish abuses Of this nature; but 1t will
be wise for the Congress to supplement this
action by legislation.
When we come to deal with great corpo-
rations, 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 interstate com
merce and interstate
Corporations. commerce is peculiar
ly the field of the
General Government. 1t is an absurdity to
expect to eliminate the abuses in great cor
porations by state action. 1t Is difficult to
be patient with an argument that such mat
ters should be left to the states. because
more than one state Dursues the policy of
creating easy terms corporations which
are never operated within that state at all,
but in other states whose laws they ignore.
The National Government alone can deal ad-
equately with these great corporations. To
try to deal with them in an Incorporate,
destructive, or demagogic spirit would, in all
probability, mean that nothing whatever
would be accomplished. and. with absolute
certainty, that II anything were accomplished
It would be Of harmful nature The Amer
lean people need to continue to show the
very qualities that they have shown-that
is. moderation, good sense, the earnest de-
sire to avoid doing any damage, and yet the
quiet determination to proceed, step by step,
without halt and without hurry, in eliminat-
ing or at least in minimizing whatever Of
mischief or Of evil there is to interstate COM
merce in the conduct Of great corporations.
Iney are acting IN no BplrlL Oh hostility 10
wealth, either individual 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 decency toward
his fellows. Great corporations are neces-
gary, and only men Of great and singular
mental power can manage such corporations
successfully, and such men must have great
rewards. But these corporations should be
managed 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
Yet we must never forget the determining
factor in every kind OF work. Of head or
hand, must be the mans own good sense,
courage and kindliness. More important than
any legislation Is the gradual growth of
feeling Of responsibility and forbearance
among capitalists and wageworkers alike;
feeling Of respect on the part Of each man
for the rights of others; a feeling Of broad
community of interest, not merely Of capital
lists among themselves. and of wageworkers
among themselves, but OF capitalists and
wageworkers In their relations to each other,