The news-democrat. (Providence, R.I.) 1906-1909, 1907-12-03

1 "oih iOf 0dStS. lnlS nsdhS tndt
there will he an ever increasing need
to consider the problems inseparable
from great industrial civilization.
Where an immense and complex busi-
ness. especially in those branches re-
lating to manufacture and transporta-
tion, is transacted by large number
Of capitalists who employ very
much larger number of wage earners
the former tend more and more to
combine into corporations and the lat
ter into unions. The relations of the
capitalist and wageworker to one an
other and of each to the general public
are not always easy TO adjust, and to
put them and keep them Oh a satisfac-
tory basis Is one OF the most important
and one Of the most delicate tasks be-
fore our whole civilization. Much Of
the work for the accomplishment OF
this end must be done by the individ-
uals 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 he be a man
of means or man who works with
his hands. Is the most important fac
tor in solving the problem Alright. But
1t is almost equally important to re-
member that without good laws Ii Is
also impossible to reach the proper So
luton. 1t Is idle to hold that without
good laws evils such as child labor, as
the overworking of women, as the fail
ure to protect employees from loss Of
life or limb can be effectively reached
any more than the evils of rebates and
stock watering can be reached without
good laws. To fail to stop these prac-
tices by legislation means to force hon
est men into them, because otherwise
the dishonest who surely will take ad-
vantage of them will have everything
their own way If the states will cor
rect these evils, well and good, but the
nation must stand ready to aid them.
| No question growing out OF our rapid
and complex industrial development is
more important than that of the en-
ployment of women and children. The
presence Of women In industry reacts
with extreme directness upon the char
acter Of the home and upon family
lllc, anu TIC tOuuitlOho thC
employment Of children bear vital re-
lation to our future citizenship. Our
legislation In those areas under the
control of the congress is very much
behind the legislation Of our more pro-
gressive states. A thorough and COM
prehensive measure should be adopted
at this session of the congress relating
to the employment Of women and chill
dren in the District Of Columbia and
the territories. The investigation into
the condition of women and children
wage earners recently authorized and
directed by the congress is now being
carried on in the various states, and
l recommend that the appropriation
made last year for beginning this work
be renewed in order that we may have
the thorough and comprehensive inves-
tigation which the subject demands.
The national government has as an ul-
innate resort for control of child labor
the use of the interstate commerce
clause to prevent the products of child
labor from entering into interstate COM
merce, but before using this 1t ought
certainly to enact model laws on the
subject for the territories under its
own immediate control.
There is one fundamental proposition
which can be laid down as regards all
these matters-namely, while honesty
by itself will not solve the problem. yet
the insistence upon honesty--not mere
ly technical honesty, but honesty i'm
purpose and Spirits an essential ele-
ment i'm arriving at right conclusion.
Vice in its cruder and more archaic
forms shocks everybody, but there is
very urgent need that public opinion
should be just as severe i'm condemna-
ton of the vice which hides itself be-
hind class or professional loyalty or
which denies that II is vice IL il can es-
cape conviction in the courts. The pub
lie and the representatives Of the pub
lie, the high officials, whether on the
bench or in executive or legislative po-
sitions, need TO remember that often
the most dangerous criminals so far as
the life of the nation is concerned. are
not those who commit the crimes
known to and condemned by the popu-
lar conscience for centuries, but those
who commit crimes only rendered pos
sible by the complex conditions Of our
modern industrial life. 1t makes not a
particle of difference whether these
crimes are committed by a capitalist or
by laborer, by leading banker or
manufactures or railroad man or by a
leading representative OF a labor union.
Swindllng in stocks, corrupting legis-
latures, making fortunes by the infla-
ton Of securities, by wrecking railroads,
by destroying competitors through re-
bates-these forms of wrongdoing In
the capitalist are far more Infamous
than any other form OF embezzlement or
forgery yet II is a matter Of extreme
difficulty to secure the punishment Of
the men most guilty of them. most re-
sponsible for them. The business man
who condones such conduct stands on