Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1905-12-07
PRESIDENTS MESSAGE,
tContinued from sth pnge.)

All order Of the commission. regard
this power to establish q maximum
rate as being essential to any scheme
Of real reform In the matter Of railway
regulation.
" Is worth while considering whether
II would not be wise to confer on the
government the right Of civil action
against the beneficiary Of rebate for
at least twice the value Of the rebate
This would help stop what IL really
blackmail. Elevator allowances should
he stopped. for they have now grown
70 such an extent that they are demon.
olizing and ore used as rebates.
Private Car Lines.
All private car lines. industrial roads,
refrigerator charges and the like
should be expressly put under the su-
pervisIon Of the interstate commerce
commission or some similar body 40
far as rites and agreements practical.
~ affecting rates are concerned. A re.
bate In icing charges or in mileage or In
a division Of the rate for refrigerating
charges is Just as pernicious as a re-
bate in any other way.
There should be publicity Of the &C.
counts Of common carriers. Only in
this way can violations or evasions Of
the law be surely detected. A system
of examination Of railroad accounts
should be provided similar to that now
conducted into the national banks by
the bank examiners. A few first class
railroad accountants. IL they had prop
or direction and proper authority to in
spect books and papers, could accom-
plish much in preventing willful viola.
tions Of the law
EmpIoycrs' Liability Inv.
In my annual message to the Fifty.
eighth congress at its second session
recommended the passag. of an EN-.
pIoyers liability law for the District Of
Columbia and in our navy yards. re-
newed that recommendation In my
message to the Fifty eighth congress at
its second session and further suggest
ed the appointme nt Of commission to
make a comprehensive study Of EN-.
ployers' liability With . view to the en-.
actment Of a wise and constitutional
all industries within the scope Of the
federal p1w.r. hsse that such a law
will b, prepared ar1 enacted as speed
twas p,syt).
pa c's beer demand for depriving
c.Urts Of t.. p*wer to issue injunctiors
In a>or disputes. Such special limita-
tion Of the equity powers OF our courts
hn t.
some judges have misused this power,
hut this does not justify denial of the
power any more than an improper ex-
ercise Of the power to call strik. by n
abor leader would justify the denial Of
the right to strike. The remedy is to
regulate the procedure by requiring the
Judge to g'Yt due notice to the adverse
parties h...'s granting the writ. the
hearing to he eX parte If the adverse
party does n7. appear ct the time and
place ordered. What is due notice must
depend upor. the facts Of the case. 1t
should not be used as a pretext to pr
NIT violation of law or the jeopardiz.
ing Of life or property. OF course this
would not autA .-'Es the issuing Of a
restraining order or injunction in any
case in which it Ia not already author
izcd bv exithn% law.
I renew the recommendation I made
IN mT last annual message for an in
vestigat,on by the department Of COM
merce and labor Of gencis, labor condi-
tons. especia; attention to he paid to
The conditions Of child labor and child
labor legislation IN tho several states.
Such an investigation should take into
account the various problems with
which the question Of child labor Is
connected. In such a republic as ours
the one thing that we cannot afford to
neglect is the problem OF turning out
decent citizens. The future Of tn. ma
fion depends upon the citizenship Of
the generation. to come. The child zen
of today are those who tom TOW will
shape the destiny Of our land, and We
cannot afford to neglect them. The leg
islature Of Colorado has recommended
that the national government provide
some general measure for the protec-
tion from abuse of children and dumb |
animals throughout the United States. |
I lay the matter before you for what I |
trust will he your favorable consider |
alton
A. 70 Women Who Work.
Tho department Of commerce and Ia.
hor should also make thorough inves.
fgation Of the conditions Of women in |
industry. Over 100000 American wo-
men are now enga ged in gainful occu.
pations, yet there is an almost complete |
dearth Of data upon which to base any |
trustworthy conclusions as regards q |
subject as important as it is vast and |
complicated. The introduction OF wo-
men into industry is working change
and disturbance in the domestic and |
social life of the nation. The decrease
IN marriage. and especially in the birth
rate. has been coincident with 1t. We
must face accomplished facts, and the
adjustment to factory conditions must
he made, but surely it can be made
with less friction and less harmful cf-
fects on family life than is now the
case. This whole matter In reality
forms one Of the greatest sociological
phenomena of our time. 1t is a social
question OF the first importance, Of far
greater importance than any merely po-
litical or economic question can be.
In any great labor disturbance not
only are employer and employee inter-
ested. but also third party-the gen.