Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1908-12-10

stance. be reduced in such fashion as
TO necessltate a cut in wages or the
abolition Of the proper and legitimate
profits Of honest shareholders.
Telegraph and telephone COM
panies engaged in interstate business
should be put under the jurisdiction
of the interstate commerce commits
sion"
&c traIizatior.
The proposal to make the national
government supreme over, and there
fore to give it complete control over,
the railroads and other instruments o.
interstate commerce is merely pro-
posal to carry out to the letter one OF
the prime purposes, if not the prime
purpose, for which the constitution
was founded, says the president. 1t
does not represent Capitalization. II
represents merely the acknowledgment
of the patent fact that Capitalization
has already come in business. If this
irresponsible outside business power is
to be controlled in the interest OF the.
N one. way; by giving adequate power
Of control to the one sovereignty cap
able Of exercising such poWer-the ma,
tional government. Forty or fifty sepa
rate state governments can not eXer-
else that power over corporations doing
business in most or all of them.
The president says he believes that
The more farsighted corporations are
themselves coming to recognize the
unwisdom of the violent hostility they
have displayed to regulation and con.
troll. Concentrated power is palpable
visible, responsible, easily reached,
quickly held to account
Labor.
AS far as possible the president
hopes to see a frank recognition OF the
advantages conferred by machinery,
organization, and division of labor, ac-
|companied by an effort to bring about
Ia larger share in the ownership by
wageworker Of railway, mill, and fac
tory. In farming, this simply means
that we wish to see the farmer own
his own land; we do not wish
to see the farms so large that
hey become the property Of alb
Isentee landlords who farm them by
tenants, nor yet so small that the
farmer becomes like a European peas
ant. Every increase in the number o.
small stockholders in corporations is
good thing, for the same reasons
and where the employees are the stock.
holders the result is particularly good
outs de of anything that can be accom-
plished by legislation. Postal saw
ings banks viii make it easy for the
poorest to keep their savings III
sa. ETY.. 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 it far safer than at
present for the man of small means to
invest his money in stocks. There
must be prohibit on of child labor
d;minutiOn of woman labor, shortening
Of hours o. all mechanical labor; stock
watering should be prohibited, and
stock gambling so far as is possible
discouraged. There should be a pro
gressive inheritance tax on large for
tunes. Industrial education should be
encouraged. AS far as possible we
should tighten the burden Of taxat on
On the small man. We should put a
premium upon thrift, hard work. ana
business energy; but these qualities
cease to be the main factors in accum-
ulating a fortune long before that
fortune reaches a point where it would
be seriously affected by any inheri-
lance tax. It is right that the nation
should fix the terms upon which great
fortunes are inherited. They rarely
do good and they often do harm to
those who inherit them in their en-.
ti"etr.
There should be no paltering with
'tde question OF taking care OF the wage
workers VINO get killed, crippled, o.,
worn out. The majority of wage,
workers must have their rights Sc
cured for them by state action; but
Une national government should legis-
late not only Tor all employees OIL
the national government but for all
persons engaged in interstate com
merce. The object sought for could be
achieved to a measurable degree, as
far as those killed or crippled are con-
Cerned, by proper employers liability
laws. AS far as concerns those who
have been worn out, attention is called
to the fact that steps toward providing
old-age pensions have been taken in
many private industries. These may
be Indefinitely extended through volun
tary association and contributory
schemes or through the agency Of say
ings banks, as under the Massachusetts
plan. The president says to congress
to pass a model employers liability
law for the District OF Columbia; and
81 renew my recommendation made in
a previous message that half1helidays
be granted during summer to all wage
workers in government employ" adds
the president, who also advocates the
S-hour day on all federal work.
judges Salaries.
Il most earnestly urge upon the
congress the duty of increasing the
totally inadequate salaries now given
to our judges. On the whole there
is no body of public servants who do
as valuable work, nor whose moneyed
reward iS so ipadaoua+a comnared IN