Elk City mining news. (Elk City, Idaho) 1903-1913, 1908-02-15
OUR PRESIDENT TELLS CON-
RESS HIS VIEWS.
Sums Used by the Rich to Beat the
Courts-Urges Legislation to Help
the EmpIoye-Goes After the Rail-
roads Methods.

federal judges, demanded recompense
of employees unavoidably injured
while in the service of corporations
and denounced attacks by predatory
wealth upon law enforcement in a
message to congress Friday. Few pub
lie utterances have attracted atten-
ton or earned appreciation of con-
gressmen more than this one. One of
his most significant utterances fol-
lows:
Under no circumstances would we
countenance attacks upon law-abiding
property or do aught but condemn
those who hold up rich men as being
evil men because of their riches. On
the other hand, our whole effort is
to insist upon conduct, and not
wealth nor property nor any other
class distinction, as being the proper
standard by which to Judge the ac-
tons of men. For the honest men of
great wealth we have hearty regard,
just as we have a hearty regard for
the honest politician and honest news
| paper. But part of the movement to
uphold honesty must be a movement
to frown on dishonesty. We attack
only the corrupt men of wealth, who
find in the purchased politician the
most efficient instrument of corrup-
ton and in the purchased newspaper
the most efficient defender of corrup-
ton. Our main quarrel is not with
these agents and representatives of
interests. They derive their chief
power from the sinister offenders who
stand behind them. They are but
public puppets which move as the
strings are pulled.
1T is not the puppets, but the strong,
the cunning men and the mighty
forces working for evil behind and
through the puppets, with whom we
have to deal. We seek to control law
defying wealth in the first place to
prevent its doing dire evil to the re-
public and in the next place to avoid
the vindicIlve and dreadful radicalism
which, if left uncontrolled, is certain
in the end to arouse sweeping at
lacks upon all property and all men
of means without regard to whether
any do well or i'll. This would sound
the death knell of the republic; and
such attacks become inevitable if de.
cent citizens permit those rich men
whose lives are corrupt and evil to
domineer in swollen pride, unchecked
> and unhindered, over the destinies OF
this country.
, I'VE act in no vindictive spirit and
we are no respecter of persons. If a
. labor union does wrong we oppose il
;, as firmly as we oppose a corporation
which does wrong; we stand stoutly
for the rights of men of wealth and
for the rights of wageworkers. We
, seek to protect the property of every
man who acts honestly, of every cor
: poration that represents wealth hon
: estly accumulated and honestly used
We seek to stop wrongdoing, and we
desire to punish the wrongdorers only
, so far as is necessary to achieve this
:, end"
The president demands that employ
ers have due regard for the safety O.
their workmen, and strong emphasis
is laid upon the need of Legislation
;. that will recompense the MANNED anC
the helpless families of those slain
Following is a pertinent paragraph O
q his address:
q ut is hypocritical baseness to speal
/ of girl who works in factory where
o the dangerous machinery is unpro
q tected as having the right freely tt
s contract to expose herself to the dan
e gers of life and limb. She has no al
q tentative but to suffer wont or else tt
: expose herself to such dangers, ant
e when she loses hand or is otherwis,
o MANNED or disfgured for life it is
t moral wrong that the whole burden o
t the risk necessarily incidental to tn,
f business should be placed with crush
ing weight upon her weak shoulders
and all who profit by her work es
cape Scot free. This is what oppo
: nents of Just employers liability Law
! advocate, and it is consistent that the,
9 should usually also advocate immunit,
!. for those most dangerous member
: of the criminal class-the criminals o
o great wealth"
4 In Wake of the Message.
0 House applauds remarkable docu
ment; senate receives it coldly.
President Ripley of the Santa Fl
railroad denies that he was a part,
p to the secret rate on oil in California
Charge by a railroad official tina
8 damaging letter given publicity wa!
, stolen from the Santa Fe offices.
S Rumor of Extra Session.
There is an impression, based on ex
cellent foundation, that Presiden
o Roosevelt is considering calling con
gress in extraordinary session this