The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1904-12-09
tdt A.loi6LL CAPITAL
FRIDAY, DECEMBER ., 1904,
The PRESIDENTS MESSAGE

Presidents messages as Il rule, in
years past. have been documents that
have not been read by the general
public. and after a cursory glance
have been laid aside with the intent
of giving them a more thorough read
ing, which time, however. eve
zane. The messages of President
Roosevelt 90 not receive this treat
ment at the hands of the people of
the country. They feel that he has
a message to send to his countrymen
and they are on the qui vive to see
what. he has to say and bow force
ably he will say it. The message
sent to congress on its opening day
was no disappointment to congress
MOI to the public at large.
AT the outset IN speaking of the
prosperity of the nation, which be
lays to the high individual average
of citizenship, he urges congress to
have a care in the matter of eNtrav-
agance. He believes that the cost OF
doing government business should be
regulated with the same rigid scru-
tiny as the cost of doing private bus
mess.
In touching on capital and labor
the president expressed the belief
that it is best to organize LABOR in
order to better secure the rights of
the individual wageworker, and all
encouragement should be given any
such organization, so long as it is
conducted with a due and decent re-
gard for the rights Of others. The
president declares, however, that
when any labor union seeks improp-
er ends, OF seeks to achieve proper
ends by improper means, all good
citizens and more especially all hon.
Orable public servants must oppose
the wrongdolng as resolutely as they
would the wrongdoing Of any great
corporation.
What is doubtless the most inter-
estlng part OF the message is the
Presidents reference to the trusts
and corporation, and the pith Of the
whole matter is told in the opening
sentences: "Wben we come to deal
with great corporations, the need Of
the government to act directly is far
greater than in..the case Of labor, be-
cause great corporations can become
such only by engaging in interstate
commerce, and interstate commerce
is peculiarly the field Of the govern
ment." In this discussion Of cor
porations the president injects into
his message a portion OF an address
delivered recently by the president
of n of the great railroads of the
country, which is quite..a departure
from the usual trend. The railroad
president holds that publicity, and
not secrecy, will win hereafter, and
laws will be construed by their in
tent and not by their letter, other
wise public utilities will be owned
and operated by the public which
created them. even though the serv-
ice be less enacient and the result
less satisfactory from a financial
standpoint"
The message discusses other i'm
portant propositions, that OF irriga-
ton, the preservation of forests, the
advancement Of agriculture through
the bureau of industry, enlarges up
on the needs Of the army and navy,
discusses the Philippine Islands and
touches interestingly upon the pro-
gress OF Cuba.
By reading the presidents message
one can get a great deal VI intorma-
tion about his own country and what
is best for the further advancement
Of the people.