The Dakota chief. (Gann Valley, Buffalo County, S.D.) 18??-1913, 1907-12-12

portant for the purpose of having tho for
tunes of the country bear in proportion TO
| their increase in size corresponding in
| crease and burden OF taxation. The gov
| ernment has the absolute right to decide
| as to the terms upon which a man shall re-
| ceive a bequest or devise from another,
| and this point in the deyoluton of proper
| ty is especially appropriate for the imposi-
| tion Of tax.
| Enforcement of the Law.
I A few years ago there was loud COM
plaint that the law could not be invoked
] against wealthy offenders. There is no
| such complaint now. The course of the de-.
partment of justice during the last few
years has been such as TO make 1t evident
that no man stands above the law, that
no corporation is so wealthy that 1t can
| not be held to account. The two great evils
| In the execution Of our criminal laws to-
day are sentimentality and technicality.
| Both OF these evils must be removed or
public discomfort with the criminal law
| will continue!
InjunctiOns.
| Instances Of abuse in the granting of in
functions in labor disputes continue to oc-
| cur, and the resentment in the minds of
| those who feel that their rights are being
| invaded and their liberty of action and of
| speech unwarrantably restrained continues
| likewise to grow. Much of the attack on
| the use of the process OF injunction is Who'll
| ly without warrant; but | am constrained
| to express the belief that for some of IL
| there is warrant This question is becoming
| more and more one of prime Importance,
and unless the courts Will themselves deal
| with it in effective manner, it Is certain
| ultimately to demand some form of legis
| lative action. l refrain from discussion of
this question as | am informed that 1t Will
| soon receive the consideration Of the su-
J preme court
EmplOyers' Liability.
| The national government should be
model employer. 1t should demand the
| highest quality of service from each of Its
| employees and 1t should care for all of them
properly in return. Congress should adopt
| legislation providing limited but definite
compensation for accidents to all workmen
within the scope of the federal power, in
| cluding employees Of navy yards and ar
| senals. In other words a model employ
| ers' liability act, farreaehing and thor
| oughgong, should be enacted which should
apply TO all positions, public and private,
| over which the national government has
| Industrial Disantes.
| Strikes and lockouts, with their attend
ant loss and suffering, continue to increase.
| For the five years ending December 81,
1905. the number of strikes was greater
| than those In any previous ten years and
was double the number In the preceding
| five years. These figures indicate the in
| creasing need Of providing some machinery
| to deal with this class Of disturbances in
the interest alike of the employer, the en-
ploye, and the general public. l renew my
previous recommendation that the Con
|
| ating the machinery for compulsory inves-
tgation of such industrial controversies as
| are Of sufficient magnitude and of sufficient
| concern to the people of the country ks a
whole to warrant the federal government
| in taking action.
| Capital and Labor.
| 1t Is certain that for some time to come
| there will be a constant increase absolutely
| and perhaps relatively, of those among our
| citizens who dwell in cities or towns of
some size and who work for wages. This
means that there will be an ever-increasipg
| need to consider the problems inseparable
| from great industrial civilization. Where
| an immense and complex business, especial
ly in those branches relating to manufac-
| ture and transportation, Is transacted by q
| large number of capitalists who employ
| very much larger number of wage earners
| the former tend more and more to COM
bine into corporations and the latter into
unions. The relations of the capitalist and
wageworker, to one another, and of each to
| the general public, are not always easy to
| adjust and to put them and keep them a;.
| a satisfactory basis is one Of the most i'm
portant and one Of the most delicate tasks
| before our whole civilization. 1t Is idle to
hold that without good laws evils such as
child labor, as the Over-working of women
| as the failure 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 practices by
| legislation means to force honest men into
| them, because otherwise the dishonest who
surely will take advantage of them will
have everything their own way. IL the
| States will correct these evils, we'll and
| good but the nation must stand ready to
| aid them.
Farmers and Wage Workers.
The two citizens whose welfare Is in the
| aggregate most vital TO the welfare of the
| nation, and therefore to the welfare of all
| other citizens, are the wage-worker who
| does manual labor and the tilier Of the soil,
the farmer. The calling of the skilled
| tilIer Of the soil, the calling Of the skilled
| mechanic, should alike be recognized as pro-
fessons, just as emphatlcally as the call
| ings Of lawyer, doctor. merchant, or clerk
The schools should recognize this fact and
it should equally be recognized in popular
| opinion. 1t should be one OF our prime
| objects to put both the farmer and the me
chanic on higher plane of efficiency and
in the economic world, and therefore the
dignity. the remuneration, and the power
of their positions in the social world.
| No growth Of cities, no growth OF wealth
can make up for any loss in either the
number or the character of the farming
| population. We of the United States should
realize this above almost all other peoples
We began our existence as nation of
| farmers. and in every great crisis of the
past a peculiar dependence has had to be
| placed upon the farming population and
| this dependence has hitherto been justified
But it can not be justified in the future If
|
as compared with other employments. We
| can not AFFORD to lose that pre-eminenty
| typical, American, the farmer who owns his
| own medium-sized farm. To have his place
taken by either a class of small peasant
| proprietors or by class of great land
| lords with tenant-farmed estates would be
a veritabe calamity. The growth OF our
| cities Is a good thing but only In so far
| as 1t does not mean a growth at the
| pense of the country farmer. We must
welcome the rise of physical sciences in
their application to agricultural practices.
| and we must do all We can to render coun-
| try conditions more easy and pleasant.
| Inland Waterways.
| For the last few years, through several
| agencies, the government has been endeav-
| oring to get our people to look ahead and
| to substitute a planned and orderly devei-
| opment OF our resources in place of hap
hazard striving for immediate profit. Our