davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1906-12-05
Put Risk on Employer

Among the excellent laws which the
Congress past at the last session was
an employers liability law. 1t was a
marked step in advance to get the
recognition of employers liability on
the statute books; but the law did not
go far enough. In spite of all precau-
tions exercised by employers there are
unavoidable accidents and even. deaths
involved in nearly every line OF busi-
ness connected with the mechanic arts.
This inevitable sacrifice of life may be
reduced to a minimum, but 1T cannot be
completely eliminated. 1t Is a great
social injustice to compel the employee,
or rather the family of the killed or
disabled victim, to bear the entire bur-
den of such an Inevitable sacrifice. In
other words, socNfY shirks its duty by
whereas the injury comes from what
may be called the legitimate risks of
the trade. Compensation for accidents
or deaths due in any line of industry
to the actual conditions under which
that industry is carried on, should be
paid by that portion of the community
for the benefit of which the Industry
is carried on-that is, BY those who
profit by the industry. If the entire
he will promptly and properly add it
to the legitimate cost of production
and assess it proportionately upon the
consumers of his commodity. 1t is
therefore clear to my r,ind that the
law should place this entire risk of
a trade" upon the employer. Neither
the Federal law, nor, as far as am in
formed, the State laws dealing with the
question of employers liability are
sufficiently thorogoing. The Federal
law should of course include employees
in navy yards, arsenals and the like.
The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1906-12-05
Demagogue Enemy
Of Capital and Labor

In dealing with both labor and CAPT.
tai, with the questions affecting both
corporations and trades unions, there is
one matter more important to remem-
Der than aught else, and that is the IN
finite harm done by preachers or mere
discomfort These are the men who
seek to excite a violent class hatred
against all men of wealth. They seek
to turn wise and proper movements Tor
the better control of corporations and
for doing away with the abuses con-
nected with wealth into a campaign OF
hysterical excitement and falsehood in
which the aim is to inflame to madness
the brutal passions of mankind. The
sinister demagogs and foolish vision
aries who are always eager to under
take such campaign of destruction
sometimes seek to associate themselves
with those working for genuine re-
form in governmental and social meth
ods and sometimes masquerade as such
reformers. In reality they are the
worst enemies of the cause they profess
to advocate, just as the purveyors or
sensational SANDER in newspaper or
magazine are the worst enemies of all
men who are engaged in an honest eff
fort to better what is bad in our social
and governmental conditions. To preach
hatred of the rich man as such, to carry
on q campaign of SANDER and inVective
against him, to seek to mislead and in
flame to madness honest men whose
lives are hard and who have not the
kind of mental training which will per-
nit them to- appreciate the danger In
the doctrines preached-all this is to
commit crime against the body poll
tic and to be false to every worthy
principle and tradition Of American ma
tional life.
The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1906-12-05
Make Packers Stand
Cost of Inspection

The present Congress has taken long
strides in the direction of securing
proper supervision and control by the
National Government over corporations
engaged in interstate business-and the
enormous majority of corporations of
any size are engaged in interstate
business. The passage of the railway
rate bill, and only to a less degree the
passage of the pure food bill, and the
provision for increasing and rendering
more effective national control over the
beef-packing industry, mark an i'm
portant advance in the proper direc-
ton. In the short session 1T will per-
haps be difficult to do much further
along this line; and 1t may be best to
wait until the laws have been in opera
ton for a number of months before
endeavoring to increase their scope be-
cause only operation will show with
exactness their merits and their short
comings and thus give opportunity to
define what further remedial legisla-
ton is needed. Yet in my judgment it
will in the end be advisable in connec-
ton with the packing-house inspection
law to provide for putting date on
the label and for charging the cost Of
inspection to the packers All these
laws have already justified their enact
ment- The interstate commerce law,
for instance. has rather amusingly fall
sifed the predictions, both of those
who asserted that 1t would ruin the
railroads and of those who asserted
that 1t did not go far enough and would
accomplish nothing.
During the last five months the rail-
roads have shown Increased earnings
and some of them unusual dividends,
while during the same period the mere
taking effect of the law has produced
an unprecedented. hitherto unheard
of, number of voluntary reductions in
freishts and fares by the railroads.
Since the founding Of the commission
there has never been a time Of equal
length in which anything like so many
reduced tariffs have been put into eff
feet On August 81, for instance, two
days before the new law went into eff
feet, the commission received notices OF
over 5000 separate tariffs which repre-
scented reductions from previous rates
The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1906-12-05
Regulate, Not Operate

In enacting and enforcing such legis~
lation as this Congress already has 10
.its credit, we are working on CO.
'herent plan, with the steady endeavor
to secure the needed reform by the
Joint action of the moderate men, the
plain men who do not wish anything
hysterical or dangerous, but who do
intend to deal in reSolute common
sense fashion with the real and great
evils of the present system The re-
dictionaries and the violent extremists
show symptoms Of joining hands
against US Both assert. for instance.
that if logical. we should go to gov
eminent ownership Of railroads and the
like: the reactionaries. because on such
an issue they think the people would
stand with them. while the extremists
care rather to preach discomfort and
agitation than to achieve solid results
AS a matter of fact. our position IS
as remote from that OF the Bourbon
reactionary as from that of the i'm
practicable or sinister visionary. We
hold that the Government should no.
conduct the business OF the nation. but
that it should exercise such supervision
as will insure it's being conducted in
the interest of the nation Our aim
is, so far as may be. to secure. for all
decent, hard working men, equality OF
opportunity and equality of burden
The actual working OF our laws has
shown that the effort to prohibit all
combination, good or bad. is noxious
where 1t is not ineffective. Combfna-
ton of capital, like combination of Ia
Dor. is a necessary element OF our pres
emit industrial system. II Is not posi-
BILE completely to prevent 1t: and IL
IL were possible, such complete pre-
vention would do damage to the body
polite. What we need is not vainly
to try to prevent all combination, but
to secure such rigorous and adequate
control and supervision of the COM
binations as to prevent their tnJur-
ing the public, or existing in such form
as inevitably threaten injury-for the
mere fact that a combination has Sc
cured practically complete control OF a
necessary OF life would under any cir
cumstances show that such combination
was presumed to be adverse to public
interest 1t is unfortunate that our
present laws should forbid all cornbi
nations. instead Of sharply discrimin-
ating between those combinations
which do good and those combinations
which do evil.
The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1906-12-05
Death Fit Punishment

Moreover, in my judgment, the crime
of rape should always be punished
with death, as is the case with murder;
assault with intent to commit rape
should be made a capital crime. at
least in the discretion of the court;
and provision should be made by which
the punishment may follow immedi-
ately upon the heels of the offense;
while the trial should be so conducted
that the victim need not be wantonly
shamed while giving testimony, and
that the least possible publicity shall
be given to the details.
The members of the white race on
the other hand should understand that
every lynching represents by just so
much loosening of the bands of CIV
ilization; that the spirit of lynching
inevitably throws into prominence in
the community all the foul and evil
creatures who dwell therein. No man
can take part in the torture of a
human being without having his own
moral nature permanently lowered.
Every lynching means just so much
moral deterioration in all the children
who have any knowledge of it, and
/ therefore just so much additional
trouble for the next generation of
Americans.
Let justice be both sure and swift:
but let 1t be justice under the law, and
not the wild and crooked savagery of a
mob.
There is another matter which has a
direct bearing upon this matter of
lynching and of the brutal crime
which sometimes calls it forth and at
other times merely furnishes the ex-
cuse for its existence. It is out of the
question for our people as whole
permanently to rise by treading down
any of their own number. Even those
who themselves for the moment profit
by such maItreatment of their fellows
will in the long run also suffer
The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1906-12-05
Public Has Rights

Many of these strikes and lockOuts
would not have occurred had the par
lies to the dispute been required 10
appear before an appropriated body
representing the nation and face to
face, state the reasons for their con-
tention. In most instances the dispute
would doubtless be found to be due to
misunderstanding by each Of the 9TH
er's rights, aggravated by an unwil-
lingness of either party TO accept as
true the statements of the other as to
the justice or injustice of the matters in
dispute. The exercise of a judicial
spirit by a disinterested body repre-
senting the Federal Government, such
as would be provided by commission
on Cancellation and arbitration would
tend to create an atmosphere of friend
illness and Cancellation between con-
tending parties; and the giving each
side an equal opportunity to present
fully it's case in the presence of the
other would prevent many disputes
from developing into serious strikes or
lockouts, and, in other cases, would
enable the commission to persuade the
opposing parties to come TO terms.
In this age of great corporate and
labor combinations, neither employers
nor employees should be left complete
ly at the mercy of the stronger party
to a dispute, regardless Of the right
eousneSS OF tnelr respective claims. The
proposed measure would be in the line
of securing recognition of the fact that
in many strikes the public has itself
an interest which can not wisely be
disregarded; an interest not merely Of
general convenience, for the question
of just and prop er public policy must
also be considered. In all legislation
of this kind it is well to advance eau
tiously, testing each step by the actual
70 a al
be safely taken, for the decisions OF
the commission would not bind the
parties in legal fashion. and yet would
give a chance for public opinion TO
crystalline and thus to exert it's full
force for the right.
The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1906-12-05
Trusts Force Rebates

Rebates. for instance are often due To
the pressure Of big shippers Gas was
shown in the Investigation OF the
Standard Oil Company and as has been
shown since by the Investigation OF
the tobacco and sugar trusts) as to thea
initiative OF big railroads. Often rail-
roads would like to combine for the
purpose of preventing a big shipper
from maintaining improper advantages
at the expense OF small shippers and
of the general public. Such a cornbi-
nation. instead of being forbidden bv
law. should be favored. In other words.
il should be permitted to railroads 10
make agreements. provided these
agreements were sanctioned by the
Interstate Commerce Commission and
were published. With these two con-
ditions complied with il is Impossible
to see what harm such a combination
could do TO the public at large. 1t In
public evil to have on the statr,fa
books law incapable OF full enforce
ment because both judges and turie.
realize that it's full enforcement wonls
destroy the business of the countr,r-.
for the result is to make decent rail.
road men violators of the law aeatnsf
their Will, and to put a premium or
the behavior OF wflful wron rdoa~-t-
SUCH result In turn tends to throw
the decent man and the wiIftal wrong
doer INTO close association. and In the,
end 10 drag down the former to the
The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1906-12-05
Encourage Individual

One of the most efficient methods OF
averting the consequences of danger
GUS agitation, which is so per cent
wrong. is to remedy the 20 per cent OF
evil as to which the agitation is wen
founded. The best way to avert the
very undesirable move for the govern
mental, ownership of railways is to Sc
cure by the Government on behalf OF
the people as a whole such adequate
control and regulation OF the great IN
terstate common carriers as VIII do
away WITH the evils when give rise to
the agitation against them so the
proper antidote to the dangerous and
wicked agitation against the men OF
wealth. as such, is to secure by proper
legislation and executive action the
abolition of the grave abuses which
actually do obtain in connection with
the business use of wealth under our
present system-or rather no system
of failure TO exercise any adequats
control at all Some persons speak as
IL the exercise of such governmental
control would do away with the free
dom OF Individual initiative and dwarf
individual effort. This is not a fact. It
would be a veritabIe calamity. to fail
to put a premium upon individual mi
tiative, individual capacity and effort:
upon the energy, character and fore
sight which it is so important to en-
courage in the individual But. as
matter of fact. the deadening and de-
grading effect of pure socialism, and
especially Of it's extreme form. COM
munism, and the destruction OF tndi-
vidual character which they would
bring about. are in part achieved by
the wholly unregulated competition
which results in a single individual or
corporation rising at the expense Of. all
others until his or its rise erectually
checks all competition and reduces
former competitors TO position OF ut
ter inferiOrity and subordination-
The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1906-12-05
Educate the Negro

No more short-sighted policy can be
imagined than, in the fancied interest
of one class. to prevent the education
of another class. The free public
school, the chance for each boy or girl
to get a good elementary education, lies
at the foundation of our whole political
situation. In every community the
poorest citizens, those who need the
schools most would be deprived of
them If they only received school faci-
lities proportioned to the taxes they
paid. This is as true of one portion of
our country as of another. 1t is as true
for the negro as for the white man.
The white man, if he is wise, will
decline to allow the negroes in a mass
to grow to manhood and womanhood
without education. Unquestionably ed
ucation such as is obtained in our pub
lie schools does not do everything to-
ward making a man q good citizen
but it does much. The lowest and
most brutal criminals, those for in
stance who commit the crime of rape,
are in the great majority men who
have had either no education or very
little; just as they are almost invari-
ably men who own no property; for
the man who puts money by out of his
earnings, like the man who acquires
education, is usually lifted above mere
brutal criminality. OF course, the best
type of education for the colored man,
taken as whole, is such education as
is conferred in schools like Hampton
and Tuskegee; where the boys and
girls, the young men and young wo-
men, are trained industrially as we'll
as in the ordinary public school
branches. The graduates of these
schools turn out we'll in the great
majority of cases. and hardly any of
them become criminals, while what lit
tie criminality there is never takes the
form of that brutal violence which in
yiteS lynch law
The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1906-12-05
Disregard Sentiment

II may be the highest duty Of a Judge
IL any given moment 10 disregard nor
merely the wishes of individuals OF
great political or financial power, but
the overwhelming tide Of public SEN
timent: and the judge who does thus
disregard public sentiment when it is
wrong, who brushes aside, the plea of
any special interest when the pleading
is not founded on righteousness, per-
forms the highest service to the coun-
try. Such a judge is deserving of all
honor, and all honor cannot be paid to
this wise and fearless judge if we
permik the growth Of an absurd con-
ventioS which would forbid any criti-
cism Of the Judge of another type, who
shows himself timid in the presence Of
arrogant disorder or who on INSULT
Gent grounds grants an injunction that
does grave injustice, or who in his
capacity Of a construer and therefore
in part a maker of the law, in fla
grant fashion thWarts the cause of de-
cent government The judge has a
power over which no review can be
exercised; he himself sits in review
upon the acts of both the executive and
legislative branches Of the Govern
nent: save in the most extraordinary
cases he is amenabIe only at the bar
of public opinion. and it is unwise to
maintain that public opinion in refer
ence to a man with such power shall
neither be exprest nor led
The best judges have ever been fore
most to disclaim any immunity from
critics.. This has been true since the
DAYS OF great English Lord Chan
cellor PARKER. who said: Let all peo-
ple be al rty to know what I found
my judgment upon; that. so when
have given il in any cause, others may
be at liberty 10 judge Of me-" The pro-
pristies Of the case were set forth with
singular clearness and good temper by
The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1906-12-05
Injunction Should
Not Be Abolished

In my last message suggested the
enactment Of a law in connection with
the issuance Of injunctions. attention
having been sharply drawn to the
matter by the demand that the right Of
applying injunctions in labor cases
should be wholly abolished. It is at
least doubtful whether law abolish
ing altogether the use of injUnctions
in such cases would stand the test Of
the courts; in which case Of course the
legislation would be Ineffective. More
over, I believe it would be wrong al
together to prohibit the use of injunc-
tions. It is criminal to permit sym
patty for criminals to weaken our
hands in UNFOLDING the law; and II men
seek to destroy life or property by
mob violence there should be no i'm
pairment Of the power of the courts to
deal with them in the most summary
and effective way possible But so
far as possible the abuse Of the power
should be provided against by some
such law as I advocated last year.
In this matter Of injunctions there is
lodged in the hands of the judiciary
a necessary power which is
nevertheless subject to the pos
sibility Of grave abuse It is
a power that should be exercised with
extreme care and should be subject to
the Jealous scrutiny OF all men, and
condemnation should be melted out as
much TO the Judge who fails to use
it boldly when necessary as to the
judge who uses it wantonIy or OPP
pressively. OF course a judge strong
enough TO be fit for his Office will
enJoin any resort TO violence or in
timidation, especially by conspiracy,
no matter what his opinion may be Of
the rights Of the original quarrel.
There must be no hesitation in deal
ing with disorder.
The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1906-12-05

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 vio-
lent agitator who hounds on the mob
to plumber the rich. There is nothing
to choose between such a reactionary
and such an agitator; fundamentally
they are alike in their selfish disre-
gard of the rights of others; and it
is natural they should join in opposi-
ton to any movement of which the aim
is fearlessly to do exact and even jus
tice to all.
The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1906-12-05

nearly 10000 establishments, thriving
over 100000 people out Off en-
ployment. These strikes and lock
outs involved an estimated lossA 70
ployers of $143,OoO.0 600, a total of S410,-
100000. The public suffered directly
and indirectly probably as great an
additional loss. But the money loss,
great as it was. did not measure thu
anguish and suffering endured by the
wives and children of employees whose
pay stopt when their work stopt,
or the disastrous effect of the strike
or lockout upon the business Of en-
ployers. or the increase in the cost
of products and the Inconvenience AMI
loss to the public.
The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1906-12-05
Nation Is Benefited

Every graduate of these schools
and for the matter of that every col
ored man or woman-who leads life
so useful and honorable as to win the
good Will and respect of those whites
whose neighbor he or she is, thereby
helps the whole colored race as 1t can
be helped in no other way; for next to
the negro himself. the man who can
The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1906-12-05
Need Enlarged Power

1t must not be supposed, however.
that with the passage of these laws IT
will be possible to stop progress along
the line OF increasing the nowero of the
National Government over the use Of
capital in interstate commerce. For
example, there will ultimately be need
of charging the powers of the Inter-
state Commerce Commission along sew
The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1906-12-05
Eight Hour Work Day mpracdcable In Panama (

sEVERY lynching represents by just SO much
IL oosening of the bands of civilization; the spirit
of ynching throws into prominence IN the commun-
ity all the foul and evil creatures who dwell therein
The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1906-12-05

The traffic manager in this case presum-
ably. acted without any advantage 10
himself and without any interest IN the
transaction, either by the direct author-
itv or in accordance with what he un-
derstood TO be the policy or the wishes
Of his employer.
The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1906-12-05

GI EFT individuals contribute they desire; but let
l. us prohibit in effective fashion all corporations
from making contributions for any political purpose,
directly or indirectly"
The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1906-12-05

ssM OREOVER, | believe it would be wrong
w altogether to prohibit the of injunctions.
1t is criminal to permit sympathy for criminals to
weaken our hands in UNFOLDING the law
The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1906-12-05

Judge W. II. Taft when a United States
Circuit Court Judge eleven years ago,
in 1895: