The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1908-04-28
PRESIDENT
SENDS MESSAGE
Special Document TO Congress
Urges Enactment of Ger
tain Measures.
aCLASS CONSCIOUSNESS" EVIL.
Government. Not States. Should
Control LARGE Corporations.
POSTAL BANKS ADVOCATED,

Contempt For Honesty While Seeking
Profit Is Scored-Limit Should Be
Placed on Labor lniunctions - The
STRENGTHENING of Antitrust Law De-
nnanded-States Cannot Control Ma
tional ommerce-Leeitimate Com
binatons Should Be Permitted-ln-
terest of Both Decent Corporations
and Lawabiding Labor Unions at
Heart-Exemptions of Unions From
Operations of Incorporation Law
Declared Unconstitutional - The
"Boston Agreement"
Washington, April 27-The president
sent the following message to congress
today:
To the Senate and House of Repre-
sentatives;
In my message to the congress OF
March 25, 1908, ! outlined certain
measures which | believe the MAORI
fy of our countrymen desire to have
enacted into law at this time. These
measures do not represent by any
means all that would like to see
done If | thought it possible, but they
do represent what | believe can now
be done if an earnest effort toward
this end is made.
Employers Liability Act.
Since | wrote this message an EN-
In hoe tod
which, it is true, comes short OF
what ought to have been done, bui
which does represent a real advance
Apparently there is good ground to
hope that there win be further legis
lation providing for accomplishing all
employees who suffer injury while en-
gagged in the public service; that there
will be Il child labor law enacted fol
the District of Columbia; that the wa
terways commission will be continued
with sufficient financial support to in
crease the effectiveness of its prepare
tory work; that steps will be taken tc
provide for such investigation into tar
iff conditions by the appropriate com
mittee of the house of Representatives
and by government experts in the ex
ecutive service as will secure the full
information necessary for immediate
action in revising the tariff at the
hands of the congress elected next fall
and, finally, that financial legislation
will be enacted providing for TEN
pOrary measures for meeting any trou
bic that may arise in the next year OF
two and for a commission of experts
who shall thoroughly investigate the
whole matter, both here and in the
great commercial countries abroad, SC
as to be able to recommend legislation
which will put our financial system
on an efficient and permanent basis
1t is much to be wished that one fea
ture of the financial legislation of this
session should be the establishment OF
postal savings banks. Ample appro
priations should be made to enable the
interstate commerce commission ia
carry out the very important feature
of the Hepburn law which gives to the
commission supervision and control
over the accounting systems of the rail
ways.
Benefit to Corrupt Railways.
Failure to provide means which will
enable the commission to examine the
books of the railways would amount tc
an attack on the law at its most vital
point, and would benefit, as nothing else
could benefit, those railways which are
corruptly or incompetently managed
Forest reserves should be established
throughout the Appalachian mountain
region wherever it can be shown that
they viii have direct and real connec
ton with the conservation and i'm
proyement of navlgable rivers.
There seems, however much doubt
about two of the measures have rec
commended: The measure to do away
with abuse of the power of injunction
and the measure or group of measures
to strengthen and render both more
efficient and more wise the control by
the national government over the great
corporations doing an interstate bust.
ness.
First, as to the power of injunction
and of punishment for contempt. In
contempt cases. save where immediate
action is imperative, the trial should
be before another judge. As regards
inJunctions, some such legislation as
that / have previously recommended
should be enacted They are blind who
fail to realize the extreme bitterness
caused among large bodies of worthy
citizens by the use that has been re-
peatedly made of the power of lnjunc-
ton in labor disputes
Limiting Labor lnjunctiens.
Those in whose judgment we have
most right to trust are of the opinion
that while much of the complaint
against the use of the injunction is I'M
warranted, yet that it is unquestion-
ably true that in number of cases
this power has been used to the grave
injury of the rights of laboring men.
ask that it be limited in some such way
as that have already pointed out in
my previous messages, for the very
reason that do not wish to see an EN-
FILTERED effort made to destroy il 1t
is unwise stubbornly to refuse to pro.
vide against repetition of the abuses
which have caused the present unrest
In democracy like ours it is idle Il
expect permanently to thwart the de
termination Of the great body of our cit
liens. 1t may be and often is the highest
duty Of court, legislature or an ex