Weekly journal-miner., 1908-12-16
PAGE THREE

CTS family in the event of his death by accident in the course of his em- ploymeDt. And n the event of death occurring, say, ten or eleven months after the accident, the family would only receive as compensation the equivalent of one or two months earn. ings In this respect the generosity of the United States towards it's em. ployes compares most unfavorably with that of every country in Europe
 even the poorest.
 The terms OI inc act are also a hard. ship in prohibiting payment in cases where the accident is in any way due to the negligence of the cmploye It is inevitable that daily familiarity with danger will lead men to take chances that can toe construed into negligence. So well is this recognized that in practically all countries in tho civilized world, except the United States, only a great degree of negli. gcncc acts AS a bar to securing com pensation.
 The Congress should without further delay pass model employers liabili. ~ law for the District of Columbia. The employers liability net recently declared unconstitutionsl. on account of apparently including in it's provi. ''ons employees engaged in intraststc commerce as well as those engaged in interstate commerce. has been held by the local courts to be still in effect so far as it's provisions apply to the Dis. trict of Columbia. There should be no ambiguity on this point. If there is any doubt on the subject. the law should be reenacted with special re
 Terence to the District of Columbia. This net, however. applies only to em. | pIoyes of common carriers. In all oth- or occupations the liability law of the District is the old common law. Tho severity and injustice of the common ! law in this matter has been in some degree or another modified in the ms pority of our States, and the only fur isdictiOn under the exclusive control of the Congress should be ahead and
 not behind the States of the Union in ! this respect. A comprehensive em- | ployer's liability law should be passed
 for inc District of Columbia.
 renew my recommendation made
 in previous message that half.holi. days he granted during summer to all
 wage workers in Government employ. also renew my recommendation
 that the principle of the eight hour ! day should as rapidly and as far as practicable be extended Co the entire
 work being carried on by the Gov crnmcnt; the present law should loo amended Co embrace contracts on those public works which inc present
 wording of the act seems to exclude.
 The Courts.
 most earnestly urge upon the Con.
 gress the duty of increasing the total
 ly inadequate sniarics now given t.
 our judges. On the whole there is m
 body of public servants who do as
 valuable work, nor whose m0ncyed re-
 ward is SO inadequate compared to
 their work. Beginning with the Sn- preme Court the judges should have their salaries doubled. It is not be- fitting the dignity of the Nation that it's most honorcd public servants should be paid sums so small compared to Q what they would earn in private life that the performance of public service
 by them implies an exceedingly heavy pecuniary sacrifice.
 Ii is earnestly to he desired that
 some method should he devised for do-
 ing away with the long delays which
 now obtain in the administration of . justice, and which operate with pc. cullaf hfNtFltN hRtlnri VttHonr VI v small means, and favor only the very . criminals whom it is most desirable !, to punish. These long delays in the n final decisions of eases make In the ~ aggregate q crying evil; and a remedy " should be devised Much of this In tolerable delay Is duo to improper re :, gard paid to technicalities which arr i a mere hindrance to justice. In some ,s noted recent eases this over-regard fo = tcchnicalities has resulted In n strik ., ing denial of justice, and hagrsn ,s wrong to the body polite.
 V, At the last election certain leader !, of organized labor made violent an m sweeping attack upon the entire Jnd os eiary of the country, an attack couca
 ed in such terms as to include the mos
 upright. honest and broad.minde no judges, no less than those of nsrrov is CT mind and more restricted outlool ie It was the kind of attack admirabi !" fitted to prevent any successful s .s' tempt to reform abuses of tho judic ne ary, beeause it gave the champions c te the unjust judge their eagerly desire 'er opportunity to shift their ground isi tn a championship of just judges VI ne were unjustly assailed. Last year. D g fore the House Committee on the J lak A&