The Monmouth inquirer., 1905-12-07
PRESIDENT MESSAGE

President Roosevelt's annual message
has been delivered to congress. Open
ing with plea for the cooperation OF
all classes in continuing the country's
prosperity and in correcting existing
evils, for a square deal" for every
body, the message first takes up the
question of corporations and railroad
rate legislation. The president says:
Corporations.
am in no sense hostile to corpora
tons. This is an age of combinauon'
and any effort to prevent all combina-
ton will be not only useless, but in the
end vicious, because of the contempt
for law which the failure to enforce
law inevitably produces. The corpora
ton has come to stay, just as the
trades union has come to stay.
Experience has shown conclusively
that it is useless to try to get any ade-
ouate regulation and Supervision of
these great corporations by state ac-
ton. Such regulation and supervision
can only be effectively exercised by
sovereign whose Jurisdiction is cock
tensiye with the field work of the cor
porations-that is, by the national gov
eminent.
Railroad State Legislation.
As said in my message of Dec. o
last the immediate and most pressing
need so far as legislation is concerned
is the enactment into law of some
scheme to secure to the agents of the
government such supervision and regu-
lation of the rates charged by the rail
roads of the country engaged in inter-
state traffic as shall summarily and eff
fectively prevent the imposition of I'M
Just or unreasonable rates. 1t must in
clude putting a complete stop to re-
bates in every shape and form.
Injunctons In Labor Disputes.
There has been demand for depriving
courts of the power to issue injunctions
in labor disputes. Such special limita-
ton of the equity powers of our courts
would be most unwise 1t is true that
some judges have misused this power,
but this does not justify denial of the
power any more than an improper ex-
ercise of the power to call strike by a
labor leader would justify the denial of
the right to strike. The remedy is to
regulate the procedure by requiring the
Judge to give due notice to the adverse
parties before granting the writ.
| renew the recommendation l made
in my last annual message for an in
vestigation by the department of COM
merce and labor of general labor condi-
tons, especial attention to be paid to
the conditions of child labor and child
labor legislation in the several states.
AS to Women Who Work.
The department of commerce and Ia
Dor should also make a thorough inyes-
tigation of the conditions of women in
Industry. Over 100000 American wo-
men are now engaged in gainful occu-
! pations. The introduction of women
into industry is working change and
disturbance in the domestic and social
| life of the nation This whole matter
in reality forms one of the greatest So
Geological phenomena of our time. 1t is
| lance
Insurance.
| The great insurance companies afford
striking examples of corporations
whose business has extended so far be-
yond the jurisdiction of the states
which created them as TO preclude
strict enforcement of supervision and
regulation by the parent states. In my
last annual message l recommended
that the congress carefully consider
whether the power of the bureau of
corporations cannot constitutionally be
extended to cover interstate transac-
lions in insurance. Recent events
have emphasized the Importance of an
early and exhaustive consideration Of
this question.
The Revenues.
There is more need of stability than
of the attempt to attain an ideal per-
lection in the methods of raising reve-
nue., and the shock and strain to the
business world certain to attend any
serious change inadvisable unless for
grave reason. No change can be made
!
on lines beneficial to or desired by one
section or one state only. There must
be something like a general agreement
among the citizens of the several states
that the change is needed and desired
in the interest of the people as whole.
Last year there was a deficit Unless
our expenditures can be kept within
the revenues then our revenue laws
must be readjusted.
Economy In Expenditures.
l earnestly recommend to the con-
gress the need of economy and, to this
! end, of a rigid scrutiny of appropria-
tons. All unnecessary offices should
be abolished. In the public printing
also a large saving of money can be
made. Yet, in speaking of economy, l
| must in nowise be understood as advo-
eating the false economy which is in
the end the worst extravaganza.
Currency.
Every consideration of prudence de
mands the addition of the element OF
elasticity to our currency system. The
evil does not consist in an inadequate
volume of money, but in the rightly
of this volume, which does not respond