Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1906-12-07

" laufi win aS goal the general in-
PRODUCTION OF an eight-hour day, but in
! sists that on the Isthmus of Panama the
conditions are so different from what
they are here that the Introduction OF an
eignt-hour DAY on the canal would be
absurd, and continues, 'just about as alb
! surd as It is, so far as the isthmus is
concerned. where white labor cannot be
employed, TO bother as 10 whether the
work is done. by alien black men or alien
yellow men,"
81. Investigation Of Disputes.
He urges the enactment OF a drastic
child labor law for the District of CO.
lumbia and the territories. and a 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-
uon OF controversies between employers
and employees when they arise" After
referring TO the fact that a bill has al
ready been introduced 70 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 unprecedented body representing
the nation and, 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 10 ac-
eept as true the statements Of the other
a. to the justice or injustice Of the mat
ters In dispute. The exercise Of O ju-
dicial spirit by disinterested body
representing the federal government,
such as would be provided By commits
sion on Cancellation and arbitration
would tend to create an atmosphere of
frisndliness and Cancellation between con-
tending parties; and the giving each side
an equal opportunity to present fully its
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 commits
sion to persuade the opposing parties to
come to terms.
In this age Of great corporate and Ia
DOT combinations, neither employers nor
employees should be left completely at
the mercy Of the stronger party to dis
pute, regardless OF the Righteousness of
their 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 cannot wisely be disregarded; an
interest not merely of general conven-
lence, for the question Of Just and
proper public policy must also be CEN
sldered. In all legislation of this kind
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 chance for public opin-
lon 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
the passage at the last session Of the
rate. meat inspection and food laws, and
says that all OF these have already tusti
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:
at cannot too often be repeated that ex-
pertence has conclusively shown the i'm
possibility of securing by the actions Of
hCdiiy ullCECnL obdkO
legislatures anything but ineffective
chaos in the way Of dealing with the
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
at present over these great corpora
tions-a 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
thru subsidiary or affiliated corporations.
This will tend to put q stop to the secur-
| Ing Of inordnate profits by favored
Individuals at the expense whether OF
the general public, the stockholders, or
the wageworkers. Our effort should be
not so much to prevent consolidation. as
such, but so TO supervise and control II
as TO see that 1t results in no harm to
the people. The reactionary or ultracon-
serVative apologists for the misuse Of
wealth assail the effort to secure such
control as a step toward socialism. As
matter Of fact Il is these reactionaries
| and ultraconservatives who are them
selves most potent in increasing socialis-
tic feeling. One of the most efficient
AClhOuS VI eNcillub tllC SOLloCQuohSCo VI
/ a dangerous agitation, which Is 50 per
| cent wrong. rs 10 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 ia to secure by
the government on behalf Of the people
| as a whole such adequate control and
regulation Of the great interstate com
/ mon carriers as will do away with the
aVtlS Whiah rive risA RI 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 execu-
! 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
I as II the exercise Of such governmental
control would do away with the freedom
| of individual initiative and dwarf indi-
vidual effort. This is not fact. It
would be veritable calamity to fail 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
! individual. But as matter Of fact the
deadening and degrading effect Of pure
socialism, and especially Of its extreme
form communism, and the destruction Of
Individual character which they would
bring about, are In part achieved by the
wholly unregulated competition which
results in q single individual or eorpor-
alton rising at the expense of all others
until his or Its rise effectnaily checks al
competition and reduces former competi-
tore to q position Of utter inferiority and
subordination.
TN enacting and enforcing such iegis-
lation as this congress already has 10 its
credit, we are working on q 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 hysterfc4l or
dangerous, but who do intend to deal
in resoluts 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 60
to 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 discomfort
and agitation than to achieve solid re-
suits. As matter Of fact, our position
n a. remote from that Of the bourbon