The star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1908-1909, 1908-12-08
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT'S
MESSAGE TO CONGRESS

tributory schemes, or through the
agency of savings banks. as under the
recent Massachusetts plan.
T strengthen these practical meas
ures should be our immediate duty;
1t is not at present necessary to con-
slider the larger and more general
governmental schemes that most Euro
pean governments have found them
selves obliged to adopt,
Our present system, or rather no
system, works dreadful wrong, ana Is
of benefit to only one class OF people
the lawyers. When a workman IS m
jured what he needs is not an exIen-
sive and doubtful lawsuit, but the Ger
tainty of relief through immediate adj
ministrative action.
The Courts.
Il most earnestly urge upon the Con
gross the duty of increasing the totahy
Inadequate salaries now given 10 our
judges. On the whole there is no oody
of public servants who do as valuable
work, nor whose moneyed reward is so
Inadequate compared to their WORK.
Beginning with the Supreme Court the
judges should have their salaries
doubled. It is not betting the dignity
of the nation that its most honofea
public servants should be paid sums
SO small compared to what they Wouih
earn in private life that the PERFORM
ance of public service by them iInphes
an exceedingly heavy %pecuniary sacri-
flee.
Injunctions
"The power of injunction Is a great
equitable remedy. which should on no
account be destroyed. But safeguards
should be erected against it's abuse
believe that some such provisions as
those | advocated a year 8 tor
checking the abuse of the issuance oil
temporary injunctions should De
adopted.
I'm substance, provision should DE
made that no injunction or temporary
restraining order issue otherwise than
on notice, except where irreparable IN
jury would otherwise result, and IN
such case a hearing on the merits OF
the order should be had within a short
fixed period, and, If not then continued
after hearing, it should forthwith
lapse.
Decisions should be rendered imme-
diately, and the chance of delay mini
mixed in every way. Moreover, be-
liove that the procedure should be
sharply defined, and the judge required
infinitely to state the particulars both
of his action and Of his reasons there
for, so that the Congress can If 1t de-
sires examine and investigate the same.
The Law.
THE courts held a place Of peculiar
and deserved ~sanctity under our form
of government. Respect for the law
Is essential to the ~permanence OF our
Institutions; and respect for the law
is largely conditioned upon respect for
the courts. 1t is an offense against the
republic to say anything which can
weaken this respect, save for the
grayest reason and in the most carefully
guarded ann
Our judges should be held in peculiar
honor. and the duty of respectful and
truthful comment n criticism, which
should be binding when we speak of
anybody, should be especially binding
when we speak of them. On an average
they stand above any other servants of
the community, and the greatest judges
have reached the high level held by
those few greatest patriots whom the
whole country delights to honor. But
We must face the fact that there are
wise and unwise judges, just as there
are wise and unwise executives and
legislators.
Forests.
IF there Is any one duty which more
than another we owe it to our children
and our children's children to perform
at once, it Is to save the forests of this
country for they constitute the hrst
and most important element in the
conservation Of the natural resources
of the country. There are, Of course,
two kinds of natural One Is
the kind which can only be used as
part of a process of exhaustion; this is
true of mines, natural oil and gas wells,
and the like.
THE other, and, of course, ultimately
by far the most important. includes the
resources which can be improved in the
process of wise use; the soil, the rivers
and the forests come under this head.
Any really civilized nation will so use
all of these three great national assets
thai the nation will have their benefit
in the future.
Inland waterways.
action should be begun forthwith,
during tNo present ScSSion VI thC Soh-
gress, for the improvement of our in
land waterways-action which will re-
suit in giving us not only navigable
but navigated rivers. We have spent
hundreds of millions of dollars upon
these waterways, yet the traffic on
nearly all of them is steadily declining.
This condition is the direct result Of
the absence of n comprehensive and
far-seeing plan of waterway improve
ment. Obviously we can not continue
thus to expend the revenues of the gov
eminent without return. 1t Is poor
business to spend money for inland
navigation unless we get 1t.
"Such shortsightcd, vacillatins, and
futile methods are accompanied by de-
creasing water-borne M and
increasing ranfc congestion ON land, by
increasing floods, and by the waste of
public money. The remedy lies in
abandoning the methods which have so
sisnaIIy failed and adopting new ones
in keeping with the needs aud demand
of our people.
Until the work of river improvement
is undertaken in a modern way 1t can
not have results that will meet the
needs of this modern nation. These
needs should be met without further
dilly-dallying or delay. The plan which
promises the best and quickest results