Mower County transcript., 1908-12-09

troll to the one sovereignty capable OF ex-
ercisin1 such pOWer-the national govern
ment. To abandon the effort for national
control means to abandon the effort for
alladequate control and yet to render like
" continual bursts Of action BY state leg
1slatures. which cannot achieve the pur-
pose sought for, but which can do a
great deal Of damage to the corporation
without conferring any real benefit on
the public. -. rs &. ~.
There should be regulation by the ma
tional government Of the great interstate
corporations, including q, simple method
Of account keeping, publicity. supervision
of the issue of securities, abolition Of
rebates and Of special privileges. There
should be short time franchises for all
corporations engaged in public business;
including the corporations which get
power from water rights S. There should
be national ~ well ~ state guardianship
q Of mines and forests. The labor +legisla-
ton hereinafter referred: to should con-
currently be enacted into law. s'+ =.
TO accomplish this means . certain, in
creAss In the use mot the creation OF
Fewer, blythe central government, The
power; already exists: IT. does not have
to- b. creAted: = the only question il
whether II shall :be used or left idle.
ind rneanwhile the corporations over
which the power ought to be j. exercised
sAVS. SAsseSAs AOAgs - u0 sVSu0SE 10 amor
7td4n n sg1pcraey lies not tn the least in tho
eoncSnffAtion OF administrative power In
feSpon1ihle and accountable hands, It
~ an4 having the powSr insufaciently
! cSRcsntf9t<d, 20 that no ehe can be held
rSsponsible to the people for its use.
-Cotcsnttatedt power is palpable, visible,
rssssptSsassPie, e Easily resehsd; quickly held
Wherever tho administration * po-
Nhcal power IL scattered among
ts5 variety r OF men Whe3 y work lii
secret. whose very names are un-
!: known; to- the common people. fItfis not
II peril from any man who derives au-
tho!fty from the people, who exercises
1t In sight OF the people. and who Is
- from 'time1rtot time compelled to- give an
account of its exercise to the people.
.~..5Leolslatlon for w aoeworker.
There are many matters affecting labor
and the status of the wageworker to
which Il should like to draw your atten-
ton, but an exhaustive discussion OF the
problem in all its aspects is not now nee
essary. believe in steady ef-
fort, or perhaps it would be more
accurate to say in j; steady ! efforts
in many different directions, to bring
about condition Of affairs under which
the men who work with hand or with
brain, the laborers, the superintendent,
the men who produce the market and the
men who find aAmarket for the articles
produced, shall own a far greater share
than at present of the wealth thew, pro-
duce, and be enabled to invest it in the
tools and Instruments by which all work
Is carried on. AS far as possible hope
to see q frank recognition Of the advan-
tages conferred by machinery, organiza-
ton and division of labor, accompanied
by an effort to bring about a larger share
in the ownership by wage-worker of rail-
way mill ndafactory.
Postal Savings banks Will make it
easy for the; poorest to keep their saw
1ngs In absolute safety. The regulation
OF the national highways must be such
that they shall serve all people with
equal justice. Corporate finances must
be SUPERVISED so as to make 1t far safer
than at present for the man of small
means to invest his money in stocks.
There must he prohibition Of child la
Dor, eAminutton OF f;wOmen labor, short
enfng of hours Of all mechanical labor;
stock watering should he prohibited,
and stock gambling SO far as is possi-
ble discouraged There should be a
progressive Inheritance tax on large
fortunes. Industrial education should
be encouraged. AS far as possible we
should Tighten the burden Of taxation
on the small man. We should put q
premium upon thrift, hard work, and
business energy; but these qualities
cease to be the main factors in accu-
mulating fortune long before that
fortune reaches point where it would
be seriously affected by any inheri-
tance tax such as I propose. It is emf
nently right that the nation should fix
the terms upon which the great for
tunes are inherited. They rarely do
good and they often do harm to those
who inherit them in their entirety.
There should no longer be any palter-
Ing with the question of taking care Of
the wageworkers who, under our pres
ent industrial system, become killed,
crippled, or worn out as part Of the
regular incidents of given busi-
ness. As far as concerns those
who have been worn out, I call your
attention to the fact that definite
steps toward providing old-age pen
sions have: been taken in many Of our
private industries. These may be in
definitely extended through voluntary
or through the agency Of savings
banks, as under the Massac chusetts
plan. f. Aaa a 4 t55.%5 -|fl
Urgent Need Of Reform. ".
Our present system, or rather no svs,
i tenn, works dreadful wrong, and is OF
f benefit to only one class Of people-tne
lawyers. When a workman is injured
what he needs is not an expensive and
doubtful lawsuit, but the certainty of
relief through Immediate administra-
tive n action. No academic theory
about freedom OF contract" or .'consti-
tutional liberty to contractn should be
permitted to interfere with 81 this 81 and
similar movements. # 1g5If n II slE
Pending . thoroughgoing investiRa-
tion and action there is certain legis-
nlations whichsshoulds be enacted at once.
The law, passed at the last session Of
the congress granting compensation to
certain classes 6fs am ployes OF the kov-
5ernment t=,,sho ho,llld be * extended to- Include
AL employees 81 the government and
{ ternss.. There is no good ground for
/ the distinction made tn the Is law Be-
tween those engaged IN hazardous oc-
scupations and M those not 4 20 ss en-
RACED. ss The FL terms of the S act nr,,