Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1905-12-13
ADMIT ALIENS
ON THEIR MERITS
DECLARES THE PRESIDENT IN
HIS MESSAGE TO CONGRESS.
INSURANCE SUPERVISE
1t Should Be Done by the Federal
GoVernment-5etter Care of Wo-
men to Guard Against Race Suicide
Contribution to Political Parties
by Corporations Decred.

Washington, Dec. Sin mis- mes
sage to congress President Roosevelt
trayersed the whole gamut of national
affairs He urged the admission of
every foreigner, be he Jap, Chinaman,
dago or what not entirely on his own
merits; pleaded for better laws regu-
lating the employment of women that
race suicide might not continue;
damned the smoke nuisance at Wash
ington and suggested prison sentences
for violators of the anti,smoke law;
declared that the power of courts to
issue injunctiOns must not be weak
ened; believed that the notorious ex-
travagance in the government print
ing at Washington should be reduced
favored the close regulation of rail
ways and insurance companies; asked
for a federal pure food act; expressed
satisfaction with the rise of the navy,
spoke fer loyal support for the panama
canal and discussed a score of other
subjects
The fortunes amassed through cor
porate organization are now so large,
and vest such power in those that
WELD them, he said in opening, as to
make it matter of necessity to give
to the government, some effective
power of supervision over their cor
porate use. in order to insure
healthy social and industrial life,
every big corporation should be held
responsible by, and be accountable
to, some sovereign strong enough to
control its conduct. Experience has
shown that it is useless to try to get
any adequate regulation and super
vision of these great corporations by
state action. Such regulation and SUI
pervision can only be effectively exer
cised by a sovereign whose jurisdic
ton is coextensive with the field of
work CT the corporations-tha is, by
the national government. The presi-
dent believes that this regulation and
supervision can be obtained by the
enactment of law by congress. If this
proves impossible, it will certainly be
necessary ultimately to confer in full
est form such power upon the national
government by a proper amendment
of the constitution.
What is needed is not sweeping pro
hibition of every arrangement, good
or bad, which may tend to restrict
competition, but such adequate super
vision and regulation as will pre-
vent any restriction of competition
from being to the Letriment OF the
public-as wei as such supervision
and regulation as will prevent other
abuses in no wy connected with re-
striction of competition. OF these
abuses, perhaps the chief, although by
no means the only one, is overcapital-
ization generally itself the result of
dishcnest romotion-because of the
myriad evils it brings in its train; for
such overcaptalization often means an
initiation that invites business panic;
it always conceals the true relation of
the profit earned to the capital actual
~ invested, and it creates a burden
of interest pa ments which is a fertile
cause of in proper reduction in or
limitation of wages; it damages the
small investor. discourages thrift, and
encourages gambling and speculation:
while perhaps worst OF all is the
thickness and dishonesty which it
implies--for harm to morals is worse
than any possible harm to material in
terests, and the debauchery of politics
and business by great dishonest cor
polations is far worse than any actual
material evil they do the public. I'm
til the national government obtains,
in some manner which the wis dom of
the congress may suggest, proper con
troll over the big corporations engaged
in interstate commensurate is, over
the great majority of the big corpor
ations-it will be impossible to deal
adequately with these evils.
Rail Rates.
The immediate and most pressing
need is the enactment into law of
some scheme to secure to the agents
of the government such supervision
and regulation of the rates charged
by the railroads of the country en-
gagged in interstate traffic as shall
summarily and effectively prevent
the imposition of unjust or unreason-
able rates. 1t must include putting a
complete stop to rebates in every
shape and form The first considera-
ton to be kept in mind is that the
power should be affirmative and should
be given to some administrative body
created by the congress. If given to
the present interstate commerce COM
mission or to a recognized interstate
commerce commission, such commits
sion should be made unequivocally ad-
ministrative. In the presidents judg-
ment the most important provision
which such law shocld contain is that
comforting upon some competent adj
ministrattve body the power to decide,
upon the case being brought before 1t,
whether a given rate prescribed by a
railroad is reasonable and just, and if
II is found to be unreasonable and
unjust. then, after full investigation
to prescribe the limit of rate beyond
which it shall not be lawful to go
the maximum reasonable rate-this
decision to go into effect within
reasonable time and to obtain from
thence onward subject to review by
the courts. It sometimes happens at
present, not that a rate is too high
but that a favored shipper is given too