Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1905-09-06
FROM WASHINGTON.


~ Efficacy of law to amcliorate all
- or conditions under which the
oonle suffer has just had another
axempliication. | refer to his re-
Int announcement after confer
,;nc with officials of the Prudential
life and Mutual Life Insurance
Comnanics. that he proposes to
ol.ce the supervision of the life
;nsurance business in the hands of
1,o Bureau of Corporations of the
Donartment of Commerce and
Labor. by a new law.
Great Scott. Are there not
enough laws on the statute books
now that the Chief Executive does
rot take the trouble to enforced |
am not alone in thinking that be-
fore Mr.. Roosevelt asks for any
more authority he had better en-
force A few of the laws now on the
s,otnte books. Words are mighty
cood things as evidence of intent,
lint 2 little action wouldn't be
amiss. Words need to be backed
Nh by deeds before they are efec-
tive.
Inst now we are having evidence
Of the utter lack OF effectiveness of
Federal control of quarantine. In
many States that control has been
such an utter failure that the States
have taken the supervision of such
matters in their own hands. and
trust 10 State health officers rather
than United States. Farmers know
very we'll that Federal supervision
Of the cattle business has failed al
most completely to stamp out those
diseases the laws we're passed to
prevent. State officials have step
ped in and made State laws effec-
tive.
No better evidence of the utter
useleSsness of Federal law could be
cited than the accident to the
steamboat General Slocum' when
hundreds were killed in New York
harbor because of the neglect or
worse of the inspectors who passed
life preServerS that were life de-
stroyers instead of preServers. No
one has ever been sufficiently pun
ished for the criminal negligence
that resulted in those deaths. It's
one Of the most shameful scandals
in the history of this country.
Federal supervision did not super
wise at all in that case, and the
evidence that graft took its place
was overwhelming.
Federally supervised banks are
failing every month, almost every
week, vet you can count on your
fingers and toes all the officers and
directors of these institutions, who
robbed depositors, who are doing
time in prison where the whole
bunch of them, without exception,
rightfully belong. When State
bank officials do the wrong thing
and fleece depositors and stock
holders, some Democratic official
like District Attorney jerome of
New York gets after them and
sends bunch of them to Sing Sing.
Political pull don't save them, but
political pull seems to have been
effective in the case of the Federal
bank officers.
1t strikes me that before Teddy
asks for any more laws to control
insurance companies or railroads
or corporations, it would be a
mighty good thing for him to see
that the existing statutes, which
are ample to punish every offender
against any of our laws, are en-
forced.
Deeds count for much more than
talk no matter how goody-good OF
moral that talk may be. How does
it hit youl
II IS rather amusing to watch the
Republican booms and boomlets
Tor the next Republican Presiden-
lla' nomination. Nearly every one
oI the leading Republicans in tho
country has up his lightning roc
and Is out doing the Ajax act
Inc most active of all of ther
seems to be the elongated Vice
PRESIDENT, Mr.. Fairbanks. He ha.
oeen noted hitherto for his frozer
'front.' and altogether trapped man
ner' but he has thawed out wonder
lully this summer and has beer
cu'tlvatlng the genial handshake al
over the country. He thinks h,
mas a chance, but there is a mar
named Beveridge in Indiana VIII,
mas another thought, and tn,