davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Omaha daily bee., 1908-12-09

their salaries doubled. 1t is not befitting
the dignity of the nation that its most
honored public servants snOui1 De paid
sums so small compared to what they would
earn in private life that the performance
Of public service by them implies an ex-
c~eedingly heavy pecuniary sacrifice.
1t is earnestly TO be desired that some
method should be devised for doing away
with the long delays which now obtain in
the administration OF justice. and which
operate with peculiar severity against per-
sons Of small means. and favor only the
very criminals whom It Is most desirable
to punish. These long delays In the final
decisions OF cases mak IN the aggregate
a crying evil; and a remedy should be de-
vised. Much of this intolerable delay Is
due 10 improper regard paid TO technieali-
ties which are a mere hindrance to justice.
In some noted recent cases this over-regard
for technicalities has resulted In a striking
denial OF justice. and fragrant wrong to the
body polite.
l Al the last election certain leaders of or
Omaha daily bee., 1908-12-09

ears. that the agitation. for its passage
proved to be without substantial basis
The courts are jeoparded primarily by the
action OF these federal and state judges
v no show inability or unwillingness TO put
a stop to the wrongdoing OF very rich men
under modern Industrial conditions. and
inability or u~nwillingness 10 give relief to
men Of small means OF wageworkers who
are crushed down by these modern indus
trial conditions; who, in other words, fail
to understand and apply the needed reme-
dies for the new wrongs produced by the
new and highly complex social and indus
trial civilization which has grown up in
the last half century.
Progress and Liberty.
The rapid changes in our social and In
dustrial life which have attended this rapid
growth nave made It necessary that, in APP
plying to concrete cases the great rule OF
right laid down in our constitution. there
should be a full understanding and appre-
citation Of the new conditions to which the
rules are to be applied. would have
been an infringement upon liberty half a
Omaha daily bee., 1908-12-09
CONTROL OF THE CORPORATIONS
National Government Should Have
Full Control.

As regards the great corporations en-
gagged in Interstate business, and especially
the railroads, l can only repeat what 1
have already again and again said in my
messages to the congress. l believe that
under the interstate clause Of the constitu-
ton the United States has complete and
paramount right to control all agencies OF
Interstate commerce, and l believe hat the
national government alone can exercise this
right with wisdom and effectiveness 30 as
both to secure justice from, and to do jus
tice to, the great corporations which are
the most important factors In modern bust
ness. believe that Il Is worse than folly
to attempt to prohibit all combinations as
is done by the Sherman ANTITRUST law, be-
cause such a law can be enforced only I'M
perfectly and u~nequally, and its enforce
ment works almost as much hardship as
good. / strongly advocate that instead of
an unwise effort to prohibit all combine
Omaha daily bee., 1908-12-09

outside the domain OF all government.
Some must lie outside the domain OF the
federal government. But there Is leglsla-
ton which the federal government alone
can enact and which Is absolutely vital In
order 20 secure the attainment of our pur-
pose. Many laws are needed. There should
be regulation by the national government
OF the great Interstate corporations, in
Guiding a simple method Of account keep
ing, publicity, supervision Of the issue Of
securities, abolition Of rebates and Of spe-
cial privileges. There should BIO short
time franchises for all corporations en-
gagged in public business; including the cor
porations which get power from water
rights. There should be national as well
as state guardianship of mines and forests.
The labor legislation hereinafter referred
to should concurrently be enacted into law.
Omaha daily bee., 1908-12-09
CORPORATION t

sherman antitrust law should be
amended to permit OF combinations
that are In the interest OF the public,
but With provisions for government
control.
Railroads should be put under con-
troll of the Interstate Commerce COM
mission n removed from h opera
tions Of h antitrust law, Power
TO pool should be given the railroads,
under control Of h commission
Telegraph and telephone companies
should be placed under the control OF
the Interstate Commerce commission.
Central governmental control Of
giant corporations the only remedy
for existing evils; state Legislation
powerlsss to meet h case.
National, as well az state, guardian
ship OF mines ana forests.
Omaha daily bee., 1908-12-09
WHAT PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT RECOMMENDS TO THE CONGRESS.

More intelligent and general action
BY the nation in the matter OF pre-
serving public health is required.
The government printing office
should be placed under the juriadic-
tion Of the Department Of Commerce
and Labor.
Soldiers homes should be placed
under control OF the war department.
All independent bureaus should be
attached TO the appropriate executive
department.
New Mexico and Arizona should be
admitted ~ separate states.
The problem OF ihland fisheries
needs attention. The federal statute
regulating traffic in game should be
extended TO fish.
The ocean mail act of 1891 should
be extended to cover South America,
Asia, the Philippines and Australasia.
American citizenship should be con
ferred upon the people OF Porto Rico.
Promotion In the army should be by
merit and not by seniority. Officers
who have not attained to field rank
by as should be retired.
Tne CHValEy arm bnOulu Dc an
lied on modern lines and kept up to
its full strength and efficiency. The
infantry and artillery are too few for
our needs. Attention should be given
to the machine gun.
The National Guard should receive
more assistance.
Action should be taken to promote
rifle practice among the general body
in order that h volunteer soldier
may become familiar with the use OF
weapons.
-Four more vessels Of the big gun
type to be added to h navy.
The naval bureaus to be abolished
n the general board TO be turned
int a general staff.
Two hospital ships TO be provided.
Naval cadets to be commissioned as
ensigns immediately IN being gradu-
ated from the academy at Annapolis.
Omaha daily bee., 1908-12-09

just as It would unfit any executive or
legislative officer.
About the Injunction.
There is also. I think. ground for the
belief that substantial injustice is often
suffered by employees In consequence Of
the custom of court issuing temporary in
junction without notice to them, and
Furnishing them for contempt OF court in
instances where, as a matter of fact. they
have no knowledge of any proceedings.
Outside OF organized labor there is a wide
spread feeling that this system often works
great injustice to -wageworkers when their
efforts to better their working condition
result in Industrial disputes. A temporary
injunction procured ex parte may as a
matter OF fact have all the effect OF a
permanent injunction In causing disaster
to the Wageworkers' side in such a dispute
Organized labor Is chatting under the I'M
just restraint which comes from repeated
resort 20 this plan of procedure. Its dis
content has been unwisely expressed and
often improperly expressed, but there Is
a sound basis for It. and the orderly and
Omaha daily bee., 1908-12-09

which all work is carried on. AS far
as possible l hope to see a frank recogni-
ton OF the advantages conferred by ma
cl.inery, organization and division of labor,
accompanied by an effort to bring about
a larger share in the ownership by wage
workers OF railway, mill and factory. 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 they become the property of absentee
landlords who farm them by tenants, nor
yet so small that the farmer becomes like
a European peasant. Again, tie depositors
In our savings banks now number over
one-tenth of our entire population These
are all capitalists, who through the savings
banks loan their money to the workers;
that is, In many cases to themselves, to
carry on their various industries. The more
we increase their number. the more we
introduce the principles of cooperation into
our industry. Every increase in the num-
Der of small stockholders in corporations
is a good thing, for the same reasons, and
where the employees are the stockholders
the result is particularly good. Very much
Of this movement must be outside of any
thing that can be accomplished by legisla-
ton, but legislation can do Il good deal.
Postal savings banks will make It easy for
the poorest TO keep their savings in abso-
lutte safety. The regulation of the national
highways must be such that they shall
----
Omaha daily bee., 1908-12-09
CONCERNING LABOR.

Labor should be encouraged TO the
extent that the wage earnsrs may
become more and more owners of
and sharers In h products Of labor.
Postal savings banks will help;
stock issues should be made safe for
men of small means ana q progress
Hive inheritance tax should be laid
on large fortunes.
Industrial education should be en-
eouraged.
An efficient employers liability
law should be enacted to protect men
engaged In dangerous occupations,
especially in interstate commerce.
All government employees should be
compensated for injuries received
while in service.
Half-hohdays should be granted
Omaha daily bee., 1908-12-09

lily would only receive as CONDENSATION the
equivalent of one or two months earnings.
In this respect the generosity of the United
States toward It's employees compares most
unfavorably with that Of every country In
Europe-even the poorest.
A comprehensive employers liability law
should be passed for the District Of Column
bia.
1 renew my recommendation made in a
previous message that half-holidays be
granted during summer to all wage-workers
in government employ.
I also renew my recommendation that the
principle of the eight-hour day should as
rapidly and as far as practicable be extended
to the entire work being carried on by the
government; the present law should be
amended to embrace contracts on those
public works which the present working
Of the act seems to exclude.
Omaha daily bee., 1908-12-09
GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS

Forest preservation must be pur-
sued as q duty. hi national parks
adjacent TO forest reserves should be
placed under control of the Agricul-
tural department.
Inland waterways should be Inn
proved without delay. The time for
playing with the waterways is past.
The secret service should be I'M
hampered by restrictive laws.
Postal savings banks are COM
mended.
The parcels post on rural routes
should be established.
More attention should be given to
education In a broad sense.
Proper provisions must be made for
taking the census OF 1910.
Omaha daily bee., 1908-12-09

century a9b may be the necessary safeguard
of liberty today. What would have been an
injury to property then may be necessary
to the enjoyment of property now. Every
judicial decision involves two terms-one,
an Interpretation of the law; the other, the
understanding OF the facts to which It is to
be applied. The great mass of our judicial
officers are l believe alive to these changes
of condition which so materially affect the
performance of their judicial duties. Our
judicial system is sound and effective at
core, and it remains, and must ever be
maintained. as the safeguard of those prIn-
ciples of liberty and Justice which stand at
the foundation of American institutions; for,
as Burke finely said, when liberty and
Justice are separated, neither is safe. There
are. however, some member of the judicial
body who have Jagged behind In their I'M
Outstanding of these great and vital changes
in the body polite, whose minds have never
been opened to the new application of the
old principles made necessary by the new
conditions. Judges of this stamp do last
ing harm by their decisions, because they
convince poor men in need Of protection
that the courts of the land are profoundly
ignorant of and out of sympathy with their
needs, and profoundly indifferent or hostile
to any proposed remedy. To such mel 1t
seems a cruel mockery to have any court
decide against them on the ground that 1t
desires to preserve liberty" in a purely
technical form by Withholding liberty in
any real and constructive sense. 1t is de-
sirable that the legislative body should pos
sess, and wherever necessary exercise, the
power to determine whether in a given case
Employers and employees are not on an
eoual footing. so that the necessities of the
latter compel them to submit to such ex-
actions as TO hours and conditions of labor
as unduly to tax their strength; and only
Omaha daily bee., 1908-12-09
THE COURTS.

Salaries of judges should be
doubled.
Some method should be devised TO
do away with the delays in the ad-
ministration OF Justice, and technical
titles ought not to defeat the ends Of
justice.
Safeguards against the abuse OF In
junction should be adopted.
Judges should be abreast OF modern
thought, and should not rule in ao-
cordance with presidents established
when society was young. The legis-
lators should exercise more care In
framing laws, 30 that the work will
better stand the test Of the courts.
Reform in the courts must come
from within, and the judges should
not hesitate TO exercise their great
power honestly and bravely, and for
the good of all.
Omaha daily bee., 1908-12-09
RECOMMENDATIONs IN GENERAL
Matters Suggested as Being Of I'm
mediate Importance.

II there Is any one duty which moro
than another We owe Il TO our children
and our children's children to perform at
once, it is to save the forests OF this ooun-
try. for they constitute the first and most
important element in the conservation or
the natural resources OF the country.
Action should be begun forthwith. during
the present session OF congress, for the
Improvement of our inland waterway
action which will result in giving up 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 any comprehensive and far
seeing plan Of waterway improvement.
Obviously we can not continue thus to ex-
pend the revenues of the government with
out return. 1t is poor business to spend
money for inland navigation unless we
get it.
Inquiry into the condition of the Missls-
sippi and its principal tributaries reveals
very many instances of the utter waste
caused by the methods which have hitherto
obtained for the so-called Improvement
OF navigation. A striking instance is sup
piled by the Improvement" OF the Ohio,
which. begun in 1924, was continued under
a single plan for half a century. In 1875 a
new plan was adopted and followed for a
quarter of a century. In 1902 still a diff
ferent plan was adopted and has since
been pursued at a rate when only promises
a navigable river in from twenty to 100
years longer.
New Policy Demanded.
Such shortsighted, vacillating, and futile
methods are accompanied by decreasing
water-borne commerce and increasing traf-
fic congestion on land. by increasing floods,
and by the waste Of public money. The
remedy lies in abandoning the methods
which have so signally failed and adopting
new ones in keeping with the needs and de-
Omaha daily bee., 1908-12-09

mental to the rights of wageworkers. This
is true of all the decisions that decide that
men and women are. by the constitution,
guaranteed their liberty to contract to
enter a dangerous occupation, or to work
an undesirable or improper number of
hours, or to work in unhealthy surround
ings, and therefore cannot recover damages
when MANNED in that occupation, and
cannot be forbidden TO work what the
legislature decides is an excessive number
OF hours, or to carry on the work under
conditions which the legislature decides to
be unhealthy. The most dangerous occupa-
lions are often the poorest paid and those
where the hours of work are longest, and
I'm many cases those who go into them
are driven by necessity so great that they
have practically no alternative. Decisions
such as those alluded to above nullify the
Legislative effort TO protect the wage
workers who most need protection from
those employers who take advantage OF
their grinding need. They halt or hamper
the movement for securing better and more
equitable conditions of labor. The talk
about preserving to the misery-hunted
Omaha daily bee., 1908-12-09
BIG PROBLEMS AFFECTING LABOR
Many Matters to Which Attention
Should Be Given.

There are many matters affecting labor
and the status of the -wageworker to which
I should like to draw your attention, but
an exhaustive discussion of the problem
I'm all its aspects is not now necessary.
This administration Is nearing its End, and,
moreover, under our form of government
the solution Of the problem depends upon
the action of the states as much as upon
the action of the nation. Nevertheless,
there are certain considerations which /
wish TO set before you, because L hope
that our people will more and more keep
them in mine A blind anG ignorant re-
slstance TO every effort for the reform Of
abuses and for the REIMBURSEMENT of society
to modern industrial conditions represents
rot true conservatism but an Indictment
to the widest radicalism; for wise radical
ism and wise conservatism go hand in
hand, one bent on progress, the other bent
on seeing that nc charge is made unless
in the right direction. 1 believe in a steady
effort, or perhaps 1t would be more accu-
rate to say in steady efforts in many diff
ferent directions. to bring about a condi-
ton Of affairs under which the men who
Omaha daily bee., 1908-12-09

chanical labor; stock watering should be
prohibited and stock gambling so far
as is possible discouraged. There shoulo
be a progressive inheritance tax on
ali large fortunes. Industrial education
should be encouraged. AS far as
is possible we should tighten the
burden of taxation on the small man. we
should put a premium upon thrift, hard
work and business energy; but these quail
ties cease to be the main factors in ac-
cumuiating a fortune long before that for
tune reaches a point where II would be
seriously affected by any Inheritance tax
such as l propose. 1t is eminently right
that the nation should fix the terms upon
which the great fortunes are inherited.
They rarely d. good and they often do
harm to those who inherit them in their
entirety.
Employer Liability.
The above is the merest sketch. hardly
ever a sketch in outline, of the reforms
for which we should work. But there
Is one matter with which the congress
should deal at This session. There should
no longer be any paltering with the Ques-
ton of taking care of the wag work
ers, who under our present Industrial
system become killed, crippled or worn
out as part of the regular incidents OF
a given business. The majority of wage
workers must have their rights secured
for them by state action; but the ma
tional government should legislate In
acknowledging and far-reaehing fashion
not only for all employees Of the national
government, but for all persons engaged
In interstate commerce. The object
sought for could be achieved to a meas
urable degree. as far as those killed or
crippled are concerned, by proper en-
ployers' liability laws. As far as con-
Germs those who have been worn out.
call your attention to the fact that defi-
mite steps toward providing old age PEN
siOns have been taken In man OF ouI
private industries. These may be in
definitely extended through voluntary as
ISOLATION and contribptory schemes, Of
through the agency of savings banks, al
under the recent Massachusetts plan. Tt
strengthen these practical measures
should be our immediate duty; 1t is no
at present necessary TO consider tn
larger and more general governments
sch emes thai most European govern
ments nave found themselves obliged q
adopt.
Our present system. or rather no system
works dreadful wrong. and Is Of benefit {
only one class OF people-the lawyer,
When a workman is injured what he need
is not an expensive and doubtful lawsuit
but the certainty OF relief through imme
diate administrative action. The numbe
OF accidents which result In the death G
gripping OF wagewoEkers in the union q
large Is simply appalling; in a very fe'
years il runs up a total far in excess c
Omaha daily bee., 1908-12-09

THE courts are jsopardsd primarily
i by the action OF these federal
and state judges who show Inability
or unwillingnesa to put a stop to the
Wrongdotng OF very rtch men under
modern Industrial conditions, and in
ABILITY or unwtllingness to give relief
to men Of small near or w~agework-
ers who are crushed Town BY these
modern industrial conditiongi who,
and apply the needed remedies for
the new wrongs produced by the
new and highly complex social and
Industrial civilization which has
grown up in the last half century.
Omaha daily bee., 1908-12-09

erward enforced. Our great clusters of cor
porations, huge trusts and fabulously
wealthy multimillionaires. employ the very
best lawyers they can obtain to pick flaws
in these statutes after their passage; but
they also employ a class of secret agents
who seek, under the advice of experts, to
render hostile legislation innocuous by MAX
ing 1t unconstitutional, often through the
insertion of what appear on their face to
be drastic and sweeping provisions against
the interests of the parties inspiring them;
willie the d~emagogues, the corrupt creatures
who Introduce Matchmaking schemes to
strike" corporations, and all who demand
extreme and undesirably radical measures,
show themselves to be the worst enemies
OF the very public whose loud-mouthed
champions they profess to be. A very
striking illustration OF the consequences Of
carelessness In the preparation of a statute
was the employers liability law Of 1906.
In the cases arising under that law four
out OF six courts of first instance held It
unconstitutional; six out OF nine justices
OF the supreme court held that its subject
matter was within the province of congress
sional action, and four of the nine justices
held 1t valid. It was, however, adjudged
unconstitutional by a bare majority OF the
court-ffve to four. 1t was surely a very
Omaha daily bee., 1908-12-09

the aggregate Of the dead and wounded In
any modern war. No academic theory
about freedom of contract" or "consutu-
tional liberty to contract" should be per-
mitted to interfere with this and similar
Progress in civilization has
everywhere meant a limitation and regula-
ton of contract. 1 call your especial at
tention to the bulletin OF the bureau or
labor which gives a statement OF the meth
DDS Of treating the unemployed in European
countries, as this is a subject which IN
Germany, for instance, is treated In con-
nection with making provision for worn
out and crippled workmen.
government Employees.
Pending a th~oroughgoing investigation
and action there is certain legislation which
should be enacted at once. The law, passed
at the last session of the congress granting
compensation to certain classes OF employees
of the government should be extended to
include all employees of the government and
should be made more liberal in its terms.
There is no good ground for the distinction
made in the law between those engaged
in hazardous occupations and those not so
engaged. If a man is injured or killed in
any line of work 1t was hazardous In his
case. Whether / per cent or 10 per cent Of
those following a given occupation actually
suffer INJURY or death ought not to have
any bearing on the question OF their receiv-
ing compensation. 1t is a grim logic which
says to an injured employe or to the de-
pendents of one killed that he or they are
entitled to no compensation because very
few people other than he have been in
jured or killed in that occupation. Perhaps
one Of the most striking omissions in the
law is that it does not embrace peace Off
GERS and others whose lives may be sacri-
feed in enforcing the laws of the United
States. The terms of the act providing
compen Iation should be made more liberal