The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1906-12-07

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minimum, but It cannot be completely
eliminated. u IS y great social insns-
famtI 10 s Of 1Sa 5 NI6s snp oS ySj;so op sash y,r, the
20 bear. the entire huraea of such an
inevitable, sacrifice. In other words. So
cost on the victim. Whereas the injury
comes from What may be called the .aEi-
innate risks of the trade. Compensation
Of industry to the actual conditions I'M
der which that Industry is carried on.
should be gaid by that portion Of The
industry Is carried on-that is. by those
who profit by the industry. If the en-
tire trade risk is placed upon the en-
ployer he will promptly and properly add
it to the legitimate cost of production and
assess it proportionately upon the con-
eIenr to OF mn his m eGmmq fbat th 1t Is she shaoIS
place this entire risk of a trade" upon
the employer. Neither the federal law.
laws tSs d dealing air As WITH hhn the aa'o QUESTION 1ne Of se ems
s saEhg0i Ias,,,a The sm dsssral i, law nash should I'd Is e
arsenals and the like.
Labor Disputes.
The commission appointed by the presi-
dent October 16, 1902, at the request of
both the anthracite coal operators and
miners, to INQUIRE into. consider and pass
nection with the strike in the anthracite
regions of Pennsylvania and the causes
out of which the controversy arose. in
pressed the belief that the state and
federal governments should provide the
machinery for r. What "a I'm, may be sailed the
they arise" This expression Of belief is
provisions into law. A bill has already
been introduced to this end.
Records show that during the twenty
wears from January L. 1SS TO Darprnhor
81. 1900. there We're strikes affecting H.
500 establishments, and S,105,69t employees
the same period there We're 1.o05 lockouts,
involving nearly 10000 establishments,
throwing over 100000 people out of en-
Many of these strikes and lockouts
would not have occurred had the parties
to the dispute been required to appear be-
the nation, face to face, state the reasons
for their contention. In most instances
the dispute would doubtless be found to
be due to a misunderstanding by each
of the others rights, aggravated by an
unwillingness of either party to accept as
true the statements of the other as to the
justice or injustice of the matters in dis
pute.
The exercise of a judicial spirit by a dis
interested body representing the federal
government, such as would be provided
tration would tend to create an atmos-
phere of friendliness and concilation be-
tween contending parties: and the giving
eaeh side an equal opportunity to present
fully Its case in the presence of the other
would prevent many disputes from de-
Neloping into serious strikes or lockouts,
and, in other cases. would enable the COM
mission to persuade the opposing parties
to come to terms.
In this age of great corporate and labor
combinations, neither employers nor en-
mercy of the stronger party to a dispute,
regardless of the righteousness of their
respective claims. The proposed measure
t;oa d. be E IN the line of securing recogni-
public has itself an interest which can
not wisely be disregarded: an interest not
merely OF general convenience, for tho
of a just and proper public policy
must also be considered.
Coal Land Withdrawal.
1t is not wise that the nation should
ALLEVIATE it's remaining coal lands. 1 nave
temporarily withdrawn from settlement
all the lands which the geological survey
has indicated as containing, or in all prob
containing, coal. The question,
however, can be properly settled only by
legislation, which in my judgment should
from sale or from entry, save in certain
especial circumstances. The ownership
would then remain in the United States,
work them, but permit them to be worked
by private individuals under a royalty
system, the government keeping such con-
tIOI us TO permit II 10 see mat no excess 7
sive price was charged consumers. Z
1t would, of course, be as necessary to
supervise the rates charged by the com-
carriers to transport the product as
the rates charged by those who mine it:
and the supervision must extend to the
conduct of the common carriers, so that
they, shall in no way favor one competitor
at the expense of another. The with
drawal of these coal lands would consti-
tute a policy analogous to that which has
followed in Withdrawing the forest
like the forest, should be treated as the
property Of the public and its disposal
be under conditions which would
lnure to the benefit O. the public as a
whole.
Corporations.
The present congress has taken long
strides in the direction of securing proper
supervision and control by the national
government oyer corporations engaged in
majority of corporations of any size are
Engaged in interstate business.
The passage of the railway rate bill, and
food bill. and the provision for in
,reasing and rendering more effective ma
ional control over the beef-packing in
iustry. mark an important advance in
t will perhaps be difficult to do much
along this line: and it may be
pest to wait until the laws have been in
operation for a number of months before
.endeavoring to increase their scope.
During the last five months the rail-
a shown increased earnings and
of them unusual dividends; while
Turing the same period the mere taking
Effect of the law has produced an unprc-
,edented, a hitherto unheard of, number
# voluntary reductions in freights and
ares by the railroads. Since the founding J
If the commission there has never been
! time of equal length in which anything
ike 50 many reduced tariffs nave been
nut into effect. On August q, for instance,
days before the new law went into
fleet, the commission received notices Of
,ver 5000 separate tariffs which represent
ID reductions from previous rates.
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 power of the national gov
,rnnent ever the use of capital in inter-
tate For example, there will
Ultimately be need of charging the DOW
rs of the interstate commits
ion along several different lines, so as to
Five it a larger and more efficient control
'Ver the railroads.
1t can not too often be repeated that
Experience has conclusively shown the i'm
of securing by the actions of
learly half a hundred different state legis-
atures anything but ineffective chaos in
he way of dealing with the great corpor-
lions which do not operate exclusively
within the limits of any one state.
In some method, whether by a national
license law or in otbar ia clio, NO -.