The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-12-06

supervision, such freedom from the re- straints of law, that excellent men have have often been literally forced into doing what they deplored because oth- erwise they were left at the mercy of interruptions competitors. To rail at and assail the men who have done as they best could under such conditions accomplishes little. What we need to do is to develop an orderly system; and such system can only come through the gradually increased exer- else of tEe right of efficient Govern ment control
 Safety Appliances.
 In my annual message to the Fifty eighth Congress, at its third session, l called attention to the necessity for l legislation requiring the use of block signals upon railroads engaged in inter state commerce. The number of ser ious collisions upon unblocked roads that have occurred within the past year adds force to the recommendation then made The Congress should pro- ! vide, by approriate legislation, for the Introduction of block signals upon all railroads engaged in interstate com l nlerce at the earliest practicable date, as a measure of increased safety to the travelling public. .t4.
 Through decisions of the supreme Court of the United States and the low CT Federal courts in cases brought be l fore them for adjudication the safety 1 appliance law has been materially strengthened, and the Government has l 4a e offaaffu1 Yi- l forcement 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 con- | ditions than heretofore. The Govern ments most effective aid in arriving 1 at this result has been its inspection i service, and that these improved con l ditions are not more general is due to | the insufficient number of inspectors employed. The inspection service has 1 fully demonstrated it's usefulness, and
 in appropriating for it's 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 tofWnich railroad employees in train service are
 in many cases subjected is also mat
 ter which may well engage the serious attention 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 in-
 dustry, 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 employment of those upon whose vigilance and
 alertness in the performance of their
 duties the safety of all who travel by
 rail depends. s
 l Employers Liability Law.
 In my annuad message to the Fifty
 seventh Congress, at it's second session, I I recommended the passage of an Elm
 ployers' Liability Law for the District i of Columbia and in our navy yards. l
 renewed that recomme mendation in my
 message to the F'ifty-eighth Congress,
 at it's second sesion. and further sug-
 gested the appointment of a commis-
 sion to make a comprehensive study of
 employers liability, with a view to the enactment of wise and constitutional
 law covering the subject, applicable to
 all industries within the scope. of the
 federal power. I hope that such a law
 will be prepared and enacted as speed
 fly as possible. ... s+.. i Labor. ...s. The National Government has as a rule but little occasion to deal with the
 formidable group of problems connect
 ed 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 National
 Government has control of the District
 of Columbia, however, and it should
 see to it that the City of Washington
 is made model city in all respects
 both as regards parks, public play grounds, proper regulation of the sys.
 tenn of housing so as to do away with
 the evils of alley tenements, a proper
 system of education, a proper system ) of dealing with truancy and juvenile
 offenders, a proper handling of the
 charitable work of the District More
 over, there should be proper factory laws to prevent all abuses in the en. ployemnt 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 req 4 national value.
 There has been demand for depriv. ing courts of the power to issue in. functions in labor disputes. Such spec. ial limitation of the equity powers ot our courts would be most unWise. It iS
 true that some judges have n1isuset ) this power; but this does not justify denial of the power any more than ar
 improper exercise of the power to cal } strike by a labor leader would justify , the denial of the right to strike Int remedy is to regulate the procedure b5 ) recurring the writ, the hearing to be ey . parte if the adverse party does no } appear at the time and place ordered ; What is due notice must depend upor , the facts of the case; it shoould not bt used as pretext to permit violation O law, or the jeopardizing of life or prop erty. Of course, this would not autho rize the issuing of a restraining ordel : or injunction in any case in which i , is not already authorized by existing : law.