The La Jara chronicle., 1906-12-07


conditions are so different from what
they are here that the Introduction OF an
absurd. and continues. Just about as alb
surd 1t is. far the isthInus is
employed. to bother to whether the
work is done by allen black men or allen
yellow men"
Investigation of Disputes.
He urges the enactment OF drastic
child labor law for the District OF Co
lumbia and the territories. and federal
Investigation of the subject OF child and
female labor throughout the country
He reviews The work OF the coumissior
appointed to investigate labor conditions
IN tine coal fields OF Pennsylvania in 1902,
and refers to the wish of the commission
that the state and federal governments
should provide the machinery for what
ton OF controversies between employers
and employees when they arise After
referring to the fact that bill has al
ready been introduced TO this end he
SAYS.
would not have occurred had the parties
TO the dispute been required to appear
before an unprejudiced body representing
the nation and, face to face. state the
reasons for their contention. In most
Instances the dispute would doubtless be
found 10 be due TO a MISUNDERSTANDING
by each of the others rights. aggravated
by an unwillingness of either party to ac-
rept as true the statements of the other
to the justice or injustice OF the mat
ters in dispute. The exercise OF ju-
dicial spirit by dislpterested Nody
such as would be provided by a commits
sion on conciliation and arbitration
friendllness and Cancellation between con-
tending parties. and the giving each side
an equal opportunity TO present fully its
prevent many disputes from developing
into serious strikes or lockouts. and in
other cases, would enable the commits
sion to persuade the opposing parties to
come TO terms
I'm this age q reat corporate and la
combinations. employers
employees should be left completely at
the mercy OF the stronger party to a dis
pute. regardless Of the Righteousness of
their respective claims. The proposed
measure would be In the line OF securing
strikes the public has itself an interest
which cannot wisely be disregarded. an
Iruce, for the question OF Just and
proper public policy must also be con; con,
II is well to advance cautiously, testing
each step by the actual results; the step
proposed can surely 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 opin-
ion to exert its full force for the right"
Control of Corporations.
a considerable portion OF the message
troll OF corporations in what he refers to
the passage at the last session of the
rate. meat Inspection and fo9d laws; anu
says that all of these have already jusu-
He'd their enactment. but recommends
the amendment OF the meat inspection
law SO as to put dates on the labels OF
meat products. and also to place the
cost OF inspection on the packers rather
than on the government Continuing on
this subject OF the control Of corporations
by the federal government he says;
1T cannot too often be repeated that ex-
pcricnCe has ConCluSiyely shown the i'm
possibility OF securing by the actions OF
noarly half a hundred different state
chaos Ia the way Of dealing with the
great corporations which do not operate
exclusively within the limits pf any one
state l9 some method. whether by
nltlonal license law or In other fashion
~" must exercise, and that az an early
At present over these great corpora
yions-a control that VIII among other
things preventSthe evils OF excessive
ovcrcapltalization, and that Will compel
the disclosures by each big corporation
N it's stockholders and OF Its properties
md business. whether owned directly or
thru subsidiary affiliated corporations.
This will tend to put a stop to the secur-
Ing Of inordinate profits by favored
individuals at the expense whether of
the general public. the stoekholders;; or
not so much to prevent consolidation as
such. but so to supervise and control II
the people. The reactionary or ultracon,
servative apologists for the misuse OF
wealth assail the effort to secure such
matter Of fact 1t is these reacuonarles
ind ultruconservatives who are them
selves most potent in increasing snSlahs.
lie feeling. One of the most efficient
methods OF averting the consequences OF
a dangerous agitation. which is 50 per
cent wrong is to remedy the 20 per cent:
OF evil as to which the agitation is well
founded. The best way to avert the very
ownership of railways is to secure by
the government on behalf of the people
regulation OF the great interstate COM
mon carriers will do away with the
against them So the proper antldote
to the dangerous and wicked agitation
against the men OF wealth as such is to
tive action the abolition OF the grave
abuses which actually do obtain In con
Hectlon with the business use OF wealth.
under our present system-or rather no
system-of failure TO exercise any ade-
quate control at all. Some persons speak
control would do away with the freedom
Of individual initiative and dwarf indI.
vidual effort. This is not a fact II
would be veritable calamity to fail to
put premium upon individual Initiative,
energy. character and foresight which
i is so Important TO encourage In the
leadening and degrading effect OF pure
socialism, and especially OF its extreme
form communism. and the destruction Of
bring about, are in part achieved by the
wholly unregulated competition which
results in n single individual or corpor-
alton rising ut the expense OF all others
until his or its rise effectunlly checks all
competition and reduces former compoti-
tors to position of utter inferlorlty and
subordinaton.
In enacting and enforcing such legis-
latIon as this congress already has to its
credit. we are working on coherent
plan with the steady endeavor to secure
the needed reform by the joint action of
the moderate men. the plain men who
10 not wish anything hysterical or
dangerous but who do intend to deal
IN resolute commonsense fashion with
the real and great evils OF the present
system. The reactionaries and the vio-
lent extremists show symptoms Of join
ing hands against US Both assert, for
Instance, that II logical. we should go
TO government ownership OF railroads
and the like; the reactiouaries, because
on such an issue they think the people
Il NH