The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-12-06

its maintenance the Congress should make provision for an increase in the number of inspectors.
 Hours of Labor of Railroad Employees.
 The excessive hours of labor to which railroad employees in train service are in many cases subjected Is also a matter which may well engage the serious atten- ton of Congress- The strain. both mental and physical, upon those who are engageu in the movement and operation or rall- road trains under modern conditions IS perhaps greater than that which exists in any other industry, and if there are any reasons for limiting by law the hours of labor in any employment, they certainly apply with peculiar force to the employ ment of those upon whose vigilance ana alertness in the performance or their duties the safety of all who travel by rail depends.
 Employers Liability Law.
 In my annual message to the Fifty- seventh Congress, at It's second sessloh' I recommended the passage of an employ- CTS liability law for the District or Co- lumbia and in our navy yards. renewed that recommendation in my message to the Fifty-eighth Congress, at It's second session. and further suggested the ap- 
 comprehensive study of employers lia- bility with a view to the enactment or a wise and constitutional law covering the subject applicable to all industrles within the scope of the federai power. I hone that such a law will be prepared and enacted as speedily as possiole'
 Labor.
 The national government has as rule but little occasion to deal with the lor- mdable group of problems connected more or less directly with what is known as the labor question, for in the great majority of cases these problems must be deail with by the state and municipal author- ities and not by the national govern ment The national government has con trol of the District of Columbia, how ever. and it should see to 1t that the city of Washington is made modei GUY in All respects, both as regards parhs, public playgrounds, proper regulatloh oi the system of housing so as to do away with the evils of alley tenements proper system of education, proper system or dealing with truancy and juvenile offend CTS. a proper handling of the charitable work of the district. Moreover, there should be proper factory laws to prevent all abuses in the employment or Woiheii and children in the district. These Will he useful chiefly as object lessons, but even this limited amount or usefulness would be of real national value
 There has been demand Tor deprlVihs courts of the power to issue inJuncuons i'm Iahor disputes Such special limitation or the equity of powers of our courts would be most unwise. It IS true that some judges have misused thls power put this does not justify a denial or the mower any more than an improper eA- ercise of the power to call strihe py
 tttat of the right to strike. The remedy IS to reguIate the procedure by requiring the iudge to give due notice to the adverse nartiea hefore granting the Writ, the nearing to be ex parte il the adverse party does not appear at the tune anu place ordered. What Is due notice must denend upon the facts of the case It should not be used as a prelext to per mit violation of law, or the Jeopardizing of fife pr property. Of course, this would not authorize the Issuing of restraining order or injunction in any case In which ir is not already authorized by existing law. ,
 renew the recommendation l made n my last annual message Tor an 1nVeslSa- ton by the department of commerce ana labor of general labor conditions, especial attention to be paid to the conditions or child labor and child-labor legislation In the several states. Such an investigation should take into account the VaTlous problems with which the question of child labor is connected. It Is true that these problems can be actually met in most cases only by the states themselVes' put f. would be well for the nation to en- deavor to secure and publish comprehen- sive information as to the conditions or the labor of children In the diherehe states so as to spur up those tiial a,N behindhand. and to secure approxlnatey uniform legislation of hlgh cnarac,e' among the several states. In such r' public as ours the one thing that we car not afford to neglect Is the propleih os turning out decent citizens. The future or the nation depends upon the ei,iZenshp of the generations to come the chiiulsm ,, of today are those who tomorro" "i.i shape the destiny of our lahu, anu w cannot afford to neglect them. ine iesis. tnre of Colorado has recommended that .ao a t,onal government provide some genera1 measure for the protection rom
 h,.a of children and dumb anlinals thro,,ghout inc United States. l lay the ,natter before you for what l trust Will bo vour favorable consideration.
 The department of commerce ana ihpor should also make tnoroush 'nv1sts tion of inc conditions of women In indus tr,, over 500OO 600 American women are
 ou, engaged in gainful occupations; yet there is an almost complete dearth or data ,,,on which to base any trustworthy con ciuaions as regards subject as im- nortant as 1t Is vast and complicated. There is need of full knowledge on which to base action Joking toward state ana ,,rnicInal legislation for the protection of working women. The introduction of women into industry is working change and disturbance in the domestic and so- ciaI life of the nation. The decrease Tn marriage. and especially in the birth rate, has been coincident with 1t. We must race accomplished facts. and the aoJust,nent ,o factory conditions must be made. but surely 1t can be made with less friction and less harmful effects on family lire than Is now the case. This whole matter in reality forms one of the greatest so- oiological phenomena of our time; It IS social question of the first importance of far greater importance than an mere Nv nollticaly or economic question can be;