The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1906-12-08

was an employers liability law. 1t
was q marked step In advance TO get
the recognition Of employers habn-
| ity on the statute books; but the law
did not go far enough. Meth
CT the federal law, nor, as far as am
informed, the state laws dealing with
the question of employers liability are
sufficiently thoroughgoing. The red
eral law should Of course include en-
pioyes in navy yards, arsenals and the
like.
The commission appointed by the
president Oct. 16, 1902, at the request
Of both the anthracite coal operators
and miners, to inquire into, consider
and pass upon the questions in contro-
yersy in connection with the strike IN
the anthracite regions OF Pennsylva
MIA and the causes out OF which the
controversy arose, in their report, nnd-
| ings and award expressed the DeHel
| chat the state and federal govern
ments should provide the machinery
for what may be called a compulsory
Investigation of controversies between
employers and employees when tney
arise This expression of belief is de-
serving of the favorable consideration
| of the congress and the enactment
| of it's provisions into law. A bill mas
already been introduced to this END.
| Coal Lands.
# is not wise that the nation should
ALLEVIATE it's remaining coal LANDS. l
have temporarily withdrawn from SET
Element all the lands which the geo.
logical survey has indicated as con
tanning. or in all probability contain
ing. coal The question, however, can
be properly settled only by legislation
which in my judgment should provide
for the withdrawal of these lands from
sale or from entry, save in certain es-
pecial circumstances. The ownership
would then remain in the United
States, which would not, however, at
tempt to work them, but permit them
| to be worked by private individuals
under a royalty system, the govern
nent keeping such control as to per-
nit it to see that no excessive price
was charged consumers.
Corporations.
! The present congress has taken long
| strides in the direction of securing
proper supervision and control by the
rational government over corporations
engaged in interstate business. The
passage of the railway rate bill, and
only to a less degree the pure food
bill, and the provision for increasing
and rendering more effective national
control over the beef packing indus
try, mark an important advance in the
proper direction. In the short session
it will perhaps be difficult to do much
further along this line; and it may be
best to wait until the laws have been
| in operation for number of months
before endeavoring to increase their
scope, because only operation will
show with exactness their merits and
their shortcomings and thus give op-
portunity to define what further RENE
dial legislation is needed. Yet in my
| Judgment it will in the end be advis-
house inspection law to provide for
putting a date on the label and for
charging the cost of inspection to the
Justified their enactment. The inter-
state commerce law, for instance, has
rather amusingly falsifled the predic-
ton, both of those who asserted that
it would ruin the railroads and OF
/ LuOS0 WIZ dS5OIICu tudt IL ulU AOt 81
far enough and would accomplish moth
ing. During the last five months the
railroads have shown increased earn
ings and some of them unusual divi-
dends; while during the same period
the mere taking effect of the law has
produced an unprecedented. hitherto
unheard of, number OF voluntary re-
auctions in freights and fares by the
1 <>4 "a
commission there has never been a
time of equal length in which anything
like so many reduced tariffs have been
put into effect. On Aug. ~, for In
stance, two days before the new law
went into effect, the commission re-
ceived notices of over five thousand
separate tariffs which represented re-
auctions from previous rates.
l. In some method, whether
.by national license law or in other
fashion, we must exercise, and that
at an early date, far more complete
control than at present over these
great corporations-ac control that will
among other things prevent the evils
of excessive overcapitalization, and
that will compel the disclosure by each
big corporation of its stockholders and
of its properties and business, whether
owned directly or through subsidiary
or affiliated corporations.
The best way to avert the very unde-
sirable move for the governmental
Ownership of railroads is to secure by
the government on behalf of the peo.
pie as whole such adequate control
and regulation Of the great interstate
common carriers as will do away with
the evils which give rise to the agita-
ton against them. So the proper anti
dcte to the dangerous and wicked agi-
tation against the men OF wealth as
| such is to secure by proper legisla-
ton and executive action the abolition
of the grave abuses which actually do
obtain In connection with the bust
ness use Of wealth under our present
system-or rather no system-of fail
ure to exercise any adequate control
at all.
Inheritance Tax.
The national government
has long derived ifc otioe ..--