Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-12-05

| thought Of pandering TO any rust Of popu'
!er prejudice against rich men 80 81 IN
bling subservisncy 10 rich men. But whit
i ! fully admit the dffaeufties In the way,
/ DO not for moment admit that these
di diner warrant " In stopping r. ou'
They should have no other effect than tc
/ spur us on to the exercise Of the resolution
the even-handed Justice and the fertility
OF resource. which We like to think OF as
typically American, and which will In tne
| end achieve good results in this a. In othei
! fields OF activity. The task Is q great one
and underlies the task of dealing with the
whole industrial problem. But the fact thai
| 1t il great problem does not wsrran,
! US In Shrinking from the attempt to solve
1t. At present we face such utter lack OF
| supervision. such freedom from the re.
straints OF law, that excellent men have
| often been literally forced into doing what
they deplored because otherwise they were
!eft at the mercy Of INSCRIPTIONS competi-
tors. To rail and assan the men who have
done as they best could under such condi-
tions accomplishes little. What we need to
do Is to develop an orderly system; and such
a. system can only come through the gradu-
ally increased exercise Of the right OF EN-
Client government control.
Safety Appliances.
In my annual message to the Fifty-eighth
Congress, at its third session, I called at
tention to the necessity for legislation re-
curing the use of block signals upon rail-
roads engaged in interstate commerce. The
number Of serious collisions upon unlocked
roads that have occurred within the past
year adds force to the Recommendation then
made The Congress should provide, by ap-
propriate legislation, for the Introduction OF
block signals upon all railroads engaged
In Interstate commerce at the earliest prac-
ttcable date, as measure of Increased
safety to the travelling public.
through decisions of the Supreme Court
OF the United States and the lower federal
courts in cases brought before them for
adjudication the safety-appliance law has
been materially strengthened, and the gov
eminent has been enabled to secure Its eff
fct1ve enforcement in almost all cases, with
the result that the condition Of railroad
equipment throughout the country Is much
Improved and railroad employees perform
their duties under safer conditions than
heretofore. The governments most effec-
tive aid in arriving at this result has been
It's inspection service, and that these i'm
proved conditions are not more general is
due to the insufficient number of inspectors
employed. The inspection service has fully
demonstrated its usefulness, and in appro-
prlating for 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
AAiN@AJ SolscS SuDJcCteu Is diSp Iild lleI
which may we'll engage the serious atten-
ton of the Congress. The strain. both
mental and physical, upon those who are
engaged In the movement and operation Of
railroad 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
apply with peculiar force to the employ
ment of those upon whose vigilance and
alertness in the performance of their duties
the saefty Of all who travel by rail- de-
ponds.
In my annual message to the Ffty-sev-
enth Congress, at it's second session, rec
liability law for the District of Columbia
and In our navy yards. / renewed that
recommendation in my message to the
Fifty-eighth Congress, at Its second ses-
ment Of a commission to make compre-
hensive study OF employers liability. with
view to the enactment of wise and
cons tftutional law covering the subject. ap-
plicabte to all industries within the scope
OF the federal power. I hope that such a
law will be prepared and enacted as speed
lily as possible.
Labor.
The national government has as a rule
but little occasion to deal with the formi-
dable 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 dealt with
by the state and municipal authorities and
not by the national government The ma
tiona government has control of the Dis
trtct Of Columbia, however. and 1t should
see to 1t that the city Of Washington Is
made a model city in all respects. both as
regards parks, public Fairgrounds. proper
regulation Of the system Of housing so as
to do away with the evils OF alley tene-
ments. proper system Of education, q
nf Hoai fycr NTH
Juvenile Offenders, proper handling OF the
charitable work Of the District. Moreover,
there should be proper factory laws to
prevent all abuses in the employment OF
women and children in the District. These
will be useful chiefly as object lessons, but
even this limited amount of usefulness
would be Of real national value.
There has been demand for depriving
courts Of the power to issue tnJunctions in
labor disputes. Such special limitation Of
the equity powers of our courts would be
have misused this power: but this does not
Justify denial Of the power any more than
an improper exercise of the power to call
strike by labor leader would justify
edy is to regulate the procedure by re-
curing the judge to give due notice to
the adverse parties before granting the
writ. the hearing to be ex parte II the
and place ordered. What Is due notice
must depend upon the facts of the case; 1t
should not be used as q pretext to permit
violation of law, or the jeopardizing of life
or property. OF course, this would not au-
thorize the issuing of a restraining order
or injunction In any case IN which 1t Is not
already authorized by existing law.
I renew the recommendation / made In
my last annual message for an inyestiga-
ton by the Department Of Commerce and
Labor of general labor conditions, espe-
cal attention to be paid to the conditions
Of child labor and child-iabor legislation
in the several states. Such an investigation
should take into account the various prob
lens with which the question OF child labor
Is connected. It is true that these prob
lens can be actually met in most cases
only by the states themselves, but 1t would
be well for the nation to endeavor to Sc
cure and publish comprehensive informa-
ton as to the conditions of the labor of
children in the different states, so as to
spur up those that are behindhand and to
secure approximately uniform legislation
of high character among the several
states. In such republic as ours the one
thing that we cannot afford to neglect
Is the problem of turning out decent citi-
zens. The future Of the nation depends
upon the citizenship of the generations to
come; the children of today are those who
tomorrow will shape the destiny of our
land, and we cannot afford to neglect them.
The legislature OF Colorado has recon-
mended that the national government pro-
vide some general measure for the protec-
ton from abuse OF children and dumb AMI
mails throughout the United States lay