Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1906-12-13

tney are mere that the introduction of an
elght-hour day on the canal would be
absurd, and continues, lust about as alb
surd as ii is, so far as the isthmus is
concerned, where white labor cannot be
employed, to bother as to whether the
work is done by alien black men or alien
yellow men"
Investigation of Disputes.
He urges the enactment OF "a drastic
child labor law for the District of CO.
lumbia and the territories, and q federal
investigation of the subject of child and
female labor throughout the country
He reviews the work of the commission
appointed to investigate labor conditions
in the 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
may be called the compulsory investiga-
ton of controversies between employers
and employees when they arise" After
referring to the fact that a bill has al
ready been introduced to this end he
says:
Many of these strikes and lockouts
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
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 ac-
cept as true the statements of the other
as to the justice or injustice of the mat
ters In dispute. The exercise of a ju-
representing the federal government,
such would be provided by commits
sion on Cancellation and arbitration
would tend to create an atmosphere of
friendliness and conciliation 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 of great corporate and la
bor combinations, a neither employers nor
the mercy of the stronger party to dis
pute. regardless of the Righteousness of
measure. would be in the line Of securing
recognition of the fact that in many
strikes the public has itself an interest
which cannot wisely be disregarded; an
ience, for the question of a just and
proper, public policy must also be con-
it 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
is devoted to the subject of federal con-
troll of corporations in what he refers to
rate. meat inspection and food laws, and
says that all of these have already justi-
fed 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-
perience has. conclusively shown the i'm
possibility of securing by the actions of
nearly half a hundred different state
sbe anything dsSrg but wfs Se
great corporations which do not operate
exclusively within the limits of any one
state. 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
things prevent the evils of excessive
overcapitalization, and that will compel
of its stockholders and of its properties
and business, whether owned directly or
thru subsidiary or affiliated corporations.
This will tend to put a stop to the secur,,
individuals at the expense whether of
the general public. the stockholders; or
not so much to prevent consolidation as
such, but SO to supervise and control 1t
as to see that it results in no harm to
the people. The reactionary or ultracon-
serVative apologists for the misuse or
wealth assail the effort to secure such
control as a step toward socialism. AS a
matter of fact 1t is these reactionaries
and ultraconserVatives who are them
selves most potent in increasing soeialis-
tic feeling. One of the most efficient
a dangerous agitation, which is so per
cent. wrong, ia to remedy the 20 per cent:
of evil as to which the agitation is well
founded. The best way to avert the very
undesirable move for the governmental
ownership of railways is to secure by
whole such adequate control and
regulation of the great interstate COM
mon carriers as will do away with the
evils which 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
tive action the abolition of the grave
abuses which actually do obtain in con
nection 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
as if the exercise of such governmental
of individual initiative and dwarf indi-
vidual effort. This Is not fact. 1t
would be a veritable calamity to fan to
put a premium upon individual initiative.
Individual capacity and effort; upon the
energy. character and foresight which
it is so important to encourage In the
deadening and degrading effect of pure
socialism, and especially of it's extreme
form communism, ana tne ueSlTuCllol oI
individual character which they would
bring about are in part achieved by the
wholly unregulated competition which
results in single individual or corpor-
alton rising at the expense of all others
until his or it's rise effectually checks all
competition and reduces former competi-
tors to position of utter inferiority and
subordination
''In enacting and enforcing such legls-
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
do 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 U.S. Both assert, for
instance, that, If logical, we should go
10 government ownership of railroads
and the like; the reactionaries. because
on such an issue they think the people
would stand with them, while the ex-
tremists care rather to preach discoptent
and agitation than to achieve solid re-
suits AS n matter of fact, our position
is as remote from that of the bourbon