The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-03-26
President Sends Message De- cIaing Action Must Be
 Taken On Bills
THE TIME HAS COME
 FOR TARIFF ACTION
Democrats Freely Applaud That Part Of Message Which Recommends Removing Tariff From Wood
 Pulp and From Paper.

Washington, March 25.-A special
 message from the President was read in
 both houses of Congress soon after con- yenlng today and in both it was closely followed. In the House the declaration that the time had come for a revision of the tariff, elicited handclappng on the
 part of the democratic members. Demo- i cratic approval also was given by way
 of pounding desks to the suggestion that
 Congress could With advantage forth with remove the tariff on wood pulp with
 (, corresponding reduction upon paper made from wood pulp.
 The republicans waited and confined 1 their applause to the message as q whole. In the Senate the message was received
 with no comment of any kind.
 The Presidents message follows:
 To the Senate and House of Representa- l tives:
 1 call your attention to certain meas- | ures as to which l think there should be | action by the Congress before the close of
 the present session. There is ample time | for their consideration. As regards most. | of not all of the matters, bills have l been introduced into one or the other of | the two houses, and it is not too much 
 1 to hope that action will be taken one way | or the other on these bills at the present l session. In my message at the opening | ol the present session, and, indeed, n various messages to previous Congresses, i l, have repeatedly suggested action on
 most of these measures.
 | Child labor should be prohibited through | cut the nation. At least a model child
 labor bill should be passed for the Dis ] tsct of Columbia 1t is unfortunate that
 
 g.ess for it's legislation there should
 be no law whatever to protect children l by forbldding or regulating their labor.
 1 renew my recommendation for the | Immediate re-enactnent of an employers
 ability law. drawn to conform to the
 recent decision Of the supreme court.
 Within the limits indicated by the court
 the law should be made ,norough and | comprehensive and the protection 1t af-
 lords should embrace every class of | employe to which the power of the Con- | gress can extend
 In addition to a liability law protect ing the employees of common carriers, the | government should show it's good faith 1 by enactng a furlner law giving ccm- 1 pensation to it's own employees for injury 1 or death incurred in it's service. It is a | leproach to us as nation that in both l federal and state legislation we have
 afforded less protection to public and 1 private employees than any other indus l trial country of the worid.
 l Injunction Matters. 1 1 also urge that action be taken along l the lines of the recommendations l have 1 already made concerning injunctions in | labor disputes No temporary restrain l ing order should e issued by any cour- | without notice; and the petition for per | nanent injunction upon which such tenn l porary restraining order has been issued | should be held by the court issuing the | same within 8 reasonable ume-say, not l to exceed week whereabouts frous | tre date when the order issued. It | is worth considering whether 1t would noe give greater popular confidence In the lni- | partialty of sentences for contempt IF it was required that the issue should be decided by another judge than the one | issuing the injunction, except where tue | contempt Is committed in the presence of
 the court, or in other case of urgency.
 Traffic Agreements.
 I again call attention to the urgent need of amending the interstate com | merce law and especially the antitrust | law along the lines indicated h my last | message. The interstate commerce law
 should be amended so as to glve railroads the right to make traffic agreements, | subject to these agreements being a2- | proved by the interstate commerce cont | mission and published in all of their de- | tails. The commission should also be l given the power to make public and to
 rass upon the issuance of all securities 1 hereafter issued by railroads doing an
 interstate commerce business.
 l A law should be passed providing in | effect that when a federal court de- 1 termined to place a common cerrier or l other public utility concern under the 1 control of receivership. the Attorney l General sh ould have the right to nom:- l nate at least one of the receivers or l else in some other way the interests l of the stockholders should be con 1 suited, so that the management may | not be wholly redelivered to the man | or men the failure of whose policy may l have necessitated the creation of ths l receivership. Receiverships should be used, not to operate roads. but as speedily as possible to pay their deots | and return them to the proper own CTS.
 Labor Unions.
 in addition to the reasons I have | already urged on your attention, it has l now become important that there l sh ould be an amendmeht of the anti ] trust law, because of the uncertainty as to how this law affects combina l tions among labor men and farmers, if the combination has any tendency 10 restrict interstate commerce. All of | these combinations, if and while ex- l isting for and enga ged in the promo | ton of innocent and proper purposes. 1 should be recognized as legal. As have repeatedly pointed out, this anti 1 trust law was a most unwisely drawn 1 statute. It was perhaps inevitable that l in feeling after the right remedy the | first attempts to provide such should l he crude; and 1t was absolutely i'm | perative that some legislation should | be passed to control, in the interest l of the public. the business use of the l enormous aggregations of corporata l wealth that are marked a feature l of the modern industrial world. But l the present antitrust law. in its con- | struction and working. has exemplifed | only too we'll the kind of legislation