New-York tribune., 1907-12-04

1 of negligence
The employer is the agent of the public ana
! on his own responsibility and for his own profit
he serves the public When he starts IN mo'iol
/ agencies which create risks for others he should
take ell the ordinary and extraordinary risks
involved. and the risk ne thus AT the moment
assumes will ultimately be assumed. as il ought
to be- by the general public Only IN TINS way
can the shock OF the accident be diffused; IN
stead of falling upon the man or woman iedsI
able bear il. as is now the case me COM
/ rn11nitv at large should share the burdens as
/ well as the benefits of industry by the pio-
posed law employers would gain desirable
certainty of obligation and get rlu OF Huea 't
TO determine it. while the workman ana -liS
family would be relieved from crushlne @ loau-
With such policy would come increased caae
and accidents would be reduced in NUMBER; ihe
national laws providing for employers habllltE
on "a airoadS engaged in interstate commerce anc
for safety appliances. as well as Tor ulihliSii-
ing the hours any employe OF a railroad Siioul9
be permitted TO work. should all be sirehgtheIieu
wherever in actual practice theE nave . snow
weakness: they should be kept on the statute
books in thorOughgoing form. ~,
The constitutionaty OF the employers iid-
bility act passed by the preceding congress io'
been carried before the courts IN TWO Jurlsuc-
tons the law has been declared uhconsti.u-
tioa3l. and in three jurisdictions It's cohStltu-
tionaiity has been affirmed. The question mas
been carried TO the Supreme Court the case mas
been heard by that tribunal, and d declSloi -
expected at an early date. In the event IHdt
the court should affirm the ConstItutlonallty OF
the act. I urge further legislation along the llneS
advocated in my message to the preceding Coh-
gress. The practice Of putting me entire oui
den of loss to life limb upon the victim OF
the victims family is form of social injustice
in which the United states stands IN unehNlaole
prominence. In both our federal and our state
legislation have. with few exceptions, scarce
" gone further than the repeal OF the 1eIio"-
servant principle of the old law of liability, and
in some Of our states even this slight modlhca-
ton of q completely outgrown principle has not
yet been secured. The legislation of the rest OF
the industrial world stands out IN striking con-
trast to our backwardness in this respect since
1895 practically every country IN Europe, To-
gether with Great Britain. New Zealand. Aus
tralia British Columbia. and the Cane Of Good
HOPE has enacted legislation embodying in one
form or another the complete recognition OF the
principle which places upon the employer the en-
tire trade risk in the various lines OF industry
urge upon Congress the enactment OF a law
which will at the same time bring federal leg1s-
lation up to the standard already established by
all the European countries. and which will serve
a stimulus to the various states 70 perfect
/ their legislation in this regard
The Congress should consider the extension Of
/ the eight-hour law. The consttutlonality OF the
present law has recently been called into CUES
tion and the Supreme Court
EIGHT Hour Law. has decided that the existing
legislation is unquestonably
/ within the powers Of the Congress. The prin
I cipie of the eighi-hour day should as rapidly
and as far as practicab bic be extended to the en-
tire work carried on by the government, and the
present law should be amended TO embrace con-
tracts those public works which the present
wording of the act has been construed 70 eN-
cIude. The general Introduction OF the eight
hour day should be the goal toward which We, we
: should steadily tend. and the government should
; set the example in this respect
Strikes and iockouts with their attendant loss
and suffering. continue to increase. For the five
years ended December 81. 1905, the number of
strikes greater than
Compulsory those in any previous ten
investigation of years and was double the
Industrial DISPUTES. number in the preceding five
years. These figures ndi
cate the increasing need OF providing some ma
chinery to deal with this class of disturbances
in the interest alike OF the employer. the en-
pOye and the general public. renew my pre-
vious recommendation that the Congress favor
ably consider the matter of creating the ma
Thip
industrial controversies are Of sufficient mag
nitude ana Of sufficient concern 10 the people Of
the country as whole TO warrant the ieoerai
government in taking action.
The need for some provision for such investi-
CATION VAS forcibly illustrated during the last
summer. \ strike OF telegraph operators serl-
ously interfered with Geographic coTnmunlca-
ton. causing great damage to business interests
and serious Inconvenience to the general public
Appeals We're made 10 me from many parts OF
the country, from city councils, from boards or
trade, from chambers OF commerce ana from
labor organizations, urging that steps be taken
TO terminate the strike. Everything that could
with any Droprety be done by a representative
! of the government done without avail. and
for weeks the public stood by and suffered With
ont recourse Of any kind. Had the machinery
existed and had there been authority for com
I puisorv Investigation of the dispute, the public
would have been placed in possession of the
merits OF the controversy, and public opinion
would probably have brought about Il prompt
adjustment.
the enlistment of labor difficulties must be
taken with caution, but We should endedVor 10
! make progress in this direction
The provisions of the act Of 1898 creating the
/ chairman Of the Interstate Commerce Commis-
| sion and the Commissioner Of Labor a board of
/ mediation in controversies between interstate
railroads and their einpoyes has for the first
time. been subjected to serious tests within the
last year, and the wisdom OF the experiment has
/ been fully demonstrated. The creation of a
! board for compulsory Investigation in cases
where mediation fails and arbitration Is re-
/ jected is the next logical step in progressive
| programme.
! It is certain that for some time to come there
/ will be q constant increase absolutely, and per
haps relatively, of those among our citizens VINO 30
! CapitaI and some size and who work for
/ Labor wages. This means that there
/ will be eVer-increasnE
/ need to consider the problems inseparable from
a great industrial civilization. Where an i'm
! nense and complex business. especially In those
/ branches relating to manufacture and transport
| tatfon is transacted by Il large number OF capt.
! talfsts who employ a very much larger number
/ of wage earners. the former tend more and more
! to combine into corporations and the latter into
unions The relations OF the capitalist and wage
worker to another, and of each to the gen
| erai public, are not always easy to adjust; and
| TO put them and keep them on a satisfactory
! basis is one of the most important and one OF
the most delicate tasks before our Whoie civil
| zation. Much of the work for the accomplish
| mant of this end must be done by the indi-
| viduals concerned themselves. whether singly or
| in combination: and the one Fundamental fact
| that must never be lost track Of is that the
! character of the average man. whether ne ne
| man of means a man VINO WORKS with ms
hands is the most important factor in solving
the problem Alright. But it is almost equally
important TO remember that without good laws
it is also impossible to reach the proper solution
| II is idle hold that without good laws evils
| such as child labor. the overworking OF
women. as the failure to protect elnpioyeS from
loss of life or limb. can be effectively reacheG
anv more than the evils of rebates and stock
| watering can be reached without good laws To
fail to stop these practices by legislation means
to force honest into them. because other
| wise the dishonest, who surely will take advan-
| tage of them, will have everything their own