The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-12-04

Iure1 equally base but 20 DaSers y no IN
a spirit or greed, OF to accumulate OF
add to already huge fortune seeks
to exploit his fellow-Americans vita cal
I lous Disregard TO their welfare If soul
and body The man who d=bsBu si4cs etil-
ers In order 10 obtain high office stands
on an evil equality of corrsaptiDn with the
man who :leba.tches others fo- financial
profit; and wneu hatred il sovxn he crop
4 which springs UP can only he eviI.
TIE plain people who thfnk-the me-
chanfcs, farmers merchants, workers
with head or hand, the men to whom
American traditions are dear, who love
I their country and try to act decently by
/ their reighbor-s owe il to themselves to
remember that he most damaging blow
/ to elect an unworthy and Sinister agita-
tor on platform of violence and hypOc-
I risy- Whenever such an issue is raised
in this country nothing can be gained by
mocracy IS itself on trial. popular self
government under republican forms Is
itself on trial The triumph Of the mob
Is Just as evil a thing as the triumph Of
the plutocracy, and to have escaped one
succumo to the other In the end the
honest man, whether rich or poor, who
earns MS own IlNlnS and tries 10 deal
Justly by his fellows, has as much to
fear from the insincere and unworthy
demasoSue, promising much and perform
ING nothlng, or else performing nothing
but evil, who would set on the mob to
plunder the rich, as from the crafty cor
ruptiOnfst, who. for his own ends, would
permit the common people to be exploited
by the very wealthy II ever let this
government fall into the hands OF men
of either Of these two classes. we shall
show ourselves false to Americas past
Moreover. the dena gOgue and the cOrrlp-
ZIONIST often work hand in hand. There
are at this moment wealthy reactiOnaries
Of such obtuse morality that they regard
the public servant who prosecutes them
when they violate the law, or who seeks
to make them bear their proper share Of
the public burdens, as being even more
Objectionable than the violent agitator
who hounds on the mob to plumber the
rich There is nothing to choose between
suc1 a reacSionary ana s1ch an agltator;
Fundamentally they are alike in their self
and it is natural that they should join
in opposition to any movement of which
the aim is fearlessly to do exact and even
justice to all
Eight Hour Law.
I can your attention to the need of
passing the bin limiting the number of
hours Of employment of railroad EN-
ployes. The measure is a very moderate
one and / can conceive of no serious OBJ
lection to it. Indeed, so far as it is in
our power, it should be our aim steadily
TO reduce the number of hours of labor,
with as a goal the general Introduction
tries in which il is not possible that the
hours of labor should be reduced: just as
there are communities not far enough ad-
vanced for such a movement to be for
their good. or, If in the Tropics, so stu
ated that there Is no analogy between
their needs and ours IN this matter On
the lsthmus of Panama, for instance, the
conditions are in every way so different
from what they are here that an eight
hour day would be absurd; just as it is
absurd so far as the Isthmus is concern
TO bother as to whether the necessary
work is done BY alien black men or by
alien yellow men. But the WageWOrkers
Of the United States are Of so high a
grade that alike from the merely indus
trial standpoint and from the civic stand
point 1t should be our object to do what
can in the direction of securing the
general observance of an eight-hour day.
Until recently the eight-hOur law on our
federal statute books has been very scan
THY observed Now, however. largely
through the instrumentality of the bureau
of labor, 1t is being rigidly enforced. and
I shall speedily be able to say whether
or not there is need of further legisla-
ton in reference theretos for our pur-
pose is to see it observed in spirit no less
than in letter Half holidays during sum
mer should be established for government
employees; it is as desirable for wage
workers who toll with their hands as for
salaried officials whose labor is mental
that there should be a reasonable amount
Of holiday.
provided for a truant court for the Dis
trict of Columbia; a marked step in adj
vance on the path of properly caring for
the children Let me again urge that the
congress provide for q thorough fnveSti-
cation OF the conditions OF child labor
and OF the labor OF women IN the United
States. More and more our people are
growing to recognize the fact that the
qrestlons Wnlch are not merely OF indus
trial but Of social Importance outweigh
all others; and these two questions most
emphatically come IN the category of
those which affect in the most far-reach-
ing way the home life of the nation The
horrors Incident to the employment of
young children in factories or at work
anywhere are a blot on our civilization
It Is true that each state must ultimately
settle the question in its own way; but a
thorough official investigation of the mat
ter. with the results published broadcast
public conscience and securing unity of
state action in the matter There is
should be enacted Immediately. because
there is no need for an investigation in
reference thereto. and the failure to en-
act It is discreditable to the national gov
eminent. a drastic and thoroughgoing
child labor law should be enacted for the
District OF Columbia and the territories.
Among the excellent laws which the
congress passed at the last session was
marked step in advance to get the recog-
milton Of employers liability on the stat
ute books: but the law did not go far
enough In spite of all precautions ex-
ercised by employers there are unavoid-
able accidents and even deaths involved
in nearly every line of business connected
with the mechanic arts. This inevitable
sacrifice of life may be reduced to n
minimum. but It can not be completely
eliminated. It is a great social Injustice
to compel the enlploye, or rather the fam
bear the entire burden of such an newt
able sacrifice In other words. society
on the victim. whereas the injury comes
from what max. be CALLED the legitimate
cidents or deaths due in any line Of in
dustry to the actue1 conditions under
pc paid BY that portion of the commun-
ity for the benefit of which the Industry
is carried on-that is, by those who pro
1T by the industry If the entire trade
risk is placed upon the employer he will
promptly and properly add it to the legit-
innate cost of production and assess ii
prOportiOnately uDon the consumers of
his commodity. 1t is therefore clear to
my mind that the law should place this
entire risk of a trade upon the en-
ployer Neither the federal law nor as
far as I informed. the state laws deal
ing with the question of employers liza
bility are sufficiently thoroughgoing The
federal law should of course include en-
like.
Investigation of Disputes.
The commission appointed by the presi-
dent October 16. 1902. at, the request Of