Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1908-06-25

ditions. disclose the need of a more elastic
SIeH q system must meet the require
HentS OF agriculturists, manufacturers,
merchants and business generally. must be
| automatic in operation, minimizing the fuc-
Iuat1ons in interest rates. and, above all,
must be in harmony with that Republican
doctrine which insists that every dollar shall
De based upon and as good as gold.
Postal savings Banks.
/ We favor the establishment OF a postal
| savings bank system for the convenience
| OF tie people and the encouragement of
| thrift.
| Trust Regulation.
The Republican party passed the Sher-
| man antitrust law over Democratic oppoSi-
| tion, and enforced it after Democratic dere-
| lIctf0n. 1t has been a wholesome instru-
| ment for good in the hands of wise and
| fearless administration. But experience has
| shown that its effectiveness can be strength
| ened and its real objects better attained by
such amendments will give to the Fed
| efal Government greater supervision and
control over, and secure greater publicity
| In. the management of that class of
| 2ora1iOns engaged in interstate commerce
haT!hs power and opportunity TO effect mon
| opoies.
Railroad Regulation.
| We approve the enactment of the railroad
rate law and the vigorous enforcement oy
the present administration of the statutes
| against rebates and determinations,
| RESULT of which the advantages formerly
| possessed by the large shipper over the small
| shipper have substantially disappeared and
| III this connection we commend the appro-
prlation by the present Congress to enable
| the Interstate Commerce Commission to in
! vestigate thoroughly. and give publicity to
| the accounts of interstate railroads.
| We believe, however, that the interstate
| commerce law should be further amended
| so as 20 give railroads the right to make and
publish traffic agreements subject to the
nSf hn hut into in
| ing always the principle of competition be-
| tween naturally competing lines and avoid
F, ing the common control of such lines by any
| means whatever.
| Relief for Employees.
The enactment in constitutional form at
| the present session of Congress of the en-
| plOyers' liability law; the passage and en-
| forcen~1t OF the safety appliance statutes,
as well as the additional protection secured
| fCf engineers and firemen the reduction In
| the hours of labor of trainmen and rail
| road telegraphers; the successful exercise
| of the powers of mediation and arbitration
between interstate railroads and their an
| Ployes, and the law making a beginning in
| the policy of compensation for injured en-
| plOyeS of the government, among the
most commendable accomplishments of the
| present administl ation. But there is further
| work in this direction yet to be done. and
| the Republican party pledges its continued
| devotion to every cause that makes for safe
= " and the betterment of conditions among
| those whose labor contributes much to
| the progress and welfare of the country.
Wage-Earners Generally.
The same wise policy which has induced
| the Republican party to maintain protection
| TO American labor; to establish an eight
| hour day on the construction of all public
| works; to increase the list of employees who
| shall have preferred claims for wages I'M
| der the bankruptcy laws; to adopt child
| labor statute for the District of Columbia
| to direct an investigation into the condition
1 OF working and children and laTar.
| OF employees of telephone and telegraph COM
| panies engaged in interstate business; 10
| appropriate S150,UOO at the recent session
| of Congress in order to secure a thorough
| inquiry into the causes of catastropheS and
| loss Of life in the mines, and to amend and
| strengthen the law prohibiting the impo--
tation of contract labor, will be pursued in
| every legitimate direction within Federal
| authority to tighten the burdens and in
crease the opportunity for happiness and al
| vancement of all who toll. The Republican
| workers generally, for their well-being means
| the well-being of all. But more important
| than all other considerations is that of good
| citizenship, and we especially stand for the
| needs of every American, whatever his occu-
patton, in his capacity as a sef-respecting
| citizen
| Court Procedure.
The Republican party will uphold at all
| times the authority and integrity of the
| courts. State and Federal, and will ever in
| esseS and to protect life, liberty and prop
| erty shall be preserved inviolate. We be-
! lieve, however, that the rules of procedure
| in the Federal courts with respect to the
| Issuance of the writ of injunction should DE
| more accurately defined by statute, and that
! no injunction, temporary restraining or
der, should be issued without notice, except
| where irreparable injury would result from
| delay, in which case a speedy hearing there
| after should be granted.
| The American Farmer.
| Among those whose welfare is as vital
| TO the welfare of the whole country as is
that of the wage-earner is the American
| farmer. The prosperity of the country rests
| peculiarly upon the prosperity of agrlchl-
| tuTe. The Republican party during the last
| twelve years mas accomplished eXtraordln-
| AIRY work in bringing the resources of the
national government to the aid of the farm
| er. not only in advancing agriculture Itself,
but in increasing, the convenieaces of rural
| life.
| Free rural mail delivery has been estab-
! lished: it now reaches millions of our clti-
zens, and favor its extension until every
| community in the land receives the full ben
| etts of the postal service.
| We recognize the social and economic ad-
| vantages of good country roads, maintained
| more and more largely at public expense,
| and less and less at the expense of the abut-
| ting owner. In this work we commend the
| growing practice of State aid, and we APP
| prove the efforts of the national Agricul-
| tural Department by experiments and other
| wise to make clear to the public the best
methods of road construction.
| Rights of the Negro.
The Republican party has been for more
the American negro 1t gave him freedom
and citizenship. 1t wrote into the organic
| law the declarations that proclaim his civil
and political rights, and it believes to-day
| that his noteworthy progress in fntelli-
gence, industry and good citizenship has
| earned the respect and encouragement of the
nation. We demand equal justice for all
| men, without regard to race or color; we
| declare once more, and without reservation,
] for the enforcement in letter and spirit of
| the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth
| amendments to the Constitution, which were
| designed for the protection and advancement
| of the negro, and we condemn all devices
| that have for their real aim his disfran-
| chisement for reasons of color alone, as I'M
| fair, un-American and repugnant to the SUI
| preme law of the land
Resources and Waterways.
We indorse the movement inaugurated by
| the administration for the conservation of
| natural resources; We approve all measures
| to prevent the waste of timber: we commend
| the work now going on for the reclamation
| of arid lands, and reafflrm the Republican
| policy of the free distribution of the avail
| able areas of the public domain to the land
| less settler. No obligation of the future Is
| more insistent and none will result in great
| err blessings to posterity. In line with this
| splendid undertaking Is the further duty,
! equally imperative, to enter upon sys-
| tematic improvement upon a large and com
! prehensive plan, just to all portions of the
! country of the water ways, harbors and
| great lakes whose natural adaptability to
| the increasing traffic of the land is one of
| the greatest gifts of a benign Providence.
Army and Navy.
| The sixtieth Congress passed many com
| mendable acts increasing the efficiency of
| the army and navy: making the militia of
the states an integral part of the national
| establishment ; authorizing joint maneuvers
of army and militia, fortifying new naval
bases and completing the construction of
| coaling stations instituting female nurse
| corps for naval hospitals and ships. and
| adding two new battle ships, ten torpedo
WITH THE SAGES.
The unspoken word never does harm