The Kemper herald. (Scooba, Miss.) 1875-1908, 1904-12-08
The PRESIDENTS
ANNUAL MESSAGE
Usual Document Read in Both Houses
Of Congress
HIS SUGGESTIONS ON LEGISLATION
The President Makes Strong Recon-.
mendations Concerning Capital and
Labor, Foreign Affairs, Army and
Navy, Commerce and other Subjects
That viii Come Before Congress.

~ OStuuStS We 0ttd 0ttSt SoAJSeto
That VIII Come Before Congress.
Following is the substance of the an.
nual message of President Roosevelt,
read in both Houses of Congress:
To the Senate and House Of Repre-
sentatives:
The Nation continues to enjoy note
worthy prosperity. Such prosperity is
81 course primarily due to the high in
divldual average of our citizenship,
taken together with our great natural
resources; but an important factor
tnereln is the working of our long
continued governmental policies. The
people have emphatically expressed
thelr approval of the principles under
lying these policies, and their desire
taat these principles be kept substan-
TALLY unchanged, although of course
applied in progressive spirit to meet
changing conditions.
CAUTION AGAINST ExTRAVA-
CANOE.
The enlargement of scope of the
functions Of the National Government
required by our development as IA ma
tlon involves, Of course, increase of
expense; and the period of prosperity
through which the country is passing
Iustifies expenditures for permanent
improvementments far greater than
would be wise in hard times. Battle
shlps n forts, public buildings, and
improved waterways are investments
which should be made when we have
ire money; but abundant revenues and
a large surplus always invite extrava-
gance, and constant care should be
taken to guard against unnecessary in
crease OF the ordinary expenses of gov
eminent. The cost of doing Government
business should be regulated with the
same rigid scrutiny as the cost Of
doing a private business.
CAPITAL AND LABOR.
In the vast and complicated mechan-
ism of Il modern civilized life the
dominant note is the note of Industrial
ism; and the relations of capital and
labor, and especially of organized CAPT.
tal and organized labor, to each othe,
and to the public at large come second
IN Importance only to the intimate
questions of family life. Our peculiar
"" VI SOfCi IIECnL, WILL us SHAY
division of authority between the Ma
ton n the several States, has been
pn the whole far more advantageous to
our development than a nor strongly
centralized government. But it is I'M
Goubtedly responsible for much of the
difficulty of meeting with adequate
legislation the new problems presented
by the total change in industrial condi-
tons on this continent during the last
half century. In actuai practice it has
proved exceedingly difficult, and in
many cases impossible, to get unanimity
Of wise action among the various States
III these subjects. From the very narur
of the case this is especially true of the
laws affecting the employment of CAPT
tai in huge masses.
EMPLOYERS LIABILITY LAW.
The subject of liability of employ
ers comes in for a lengthy paragraph
of the message. 1t is argued that
persons or corporations using labor
should use every means possible to
protect employees.
PREVENTION OF RAILROAD ACcE.
DENTS.
The ever-increasing casualty list
upon our railroads is a matter, of grave
public concern, and urgently calls for
action by the Congress. In the matter
of speed and comfort of railway travel
olr railroads give at least as good ser
vice as those of any other nation, and
there is no reason why this service
should not also be as safe as human in
genuity can make it. Many of our lead
ing roads have been foremost in the
| QSnntiNn of tho mncf Qnnrnund CQfQ-
guards for the protection of travellers
and employees, yet the list of clearly
avoidable accidents continues unduly
large. The passage Of a law requiring
the adoption of a blocksignal system
has been proposed to the Congress. I
earnestly concur in that recommends
ton, and would also point out to the
Congress the urgent need of legislation
in the interest of the public safety lin
iting the hours of labor for railroad
employees in train service upon rail-
roads engaged in Interstate commerce,
and providing that only trained n
experienced persons be employed in po-
';tions of responsibility connected with
he operation OF trains. Of course moth
ing can ever prevent accidents caused
by human weakness or misconduct;
and there should be drastic punish
ment for any raliroaod employee,
whether officer or man, who by issu-
ance of wrong orders or by disobedi-
ence of orders causes disaster. The
law of 1901, requiring interstate rail-
roads to make monthly reports of all
accidents to passengers and employees
On duty, should also be amended so as
to empower the Government to make a
personal investigation, through proper
officers, of all accidents involving loss
of life which seem to require investiga-
ton, with a requirement that the re-
suit of such investigation be made
public.
UNIONS OF GOVERNMENT EN-
PLOYEES.
On the subject of organized labor
the President declares that all people
have a perfect right to organize for
their protection, but that the Govern
ment cannot discriminate against non
union laborers.
BUREAU OF LABOR.
Much can be done by the Government
in labor matters merely by giving pub
Lefty to certain conditions. The Bureau
of Labor has done excellent work of
this kind in many different directions.
/ shall shortly lay before you in a spe-
cial message the full report Of the in
vestigation of the Bureau of Labor into
the Colorado mining strike, as this
is a a strike in which certain very evil
forces, which are more or less at work