The Monticellonian., 1908-12-10

l ness As far aS coDTerns tEass l Who nave been worn out I call your i attention to the fact that definite steps toward providing old-age pen | sons nave been taken in many Of our 1 Prl9ate Industries These may be in- definitely extended through voluntary association and conrributory schemes 1 or through the agency of sayinps i banks, as under the Massachusetts i plan.
 Urgent Need of Reform. Our present system. or rather no svs. tenn, works dreadful wrong. and is ot benefit to only one class of peopIe-the lawyers. When a workman is injured what he needs Is not an expensive and doubtful lawsuit but the certainty of relief through immediate administers tive action. No academic theory about freed dom of contract or "consti- tutional liberty to contract" should he permitted to interfere with this and similar movements
 renew my recommendation that the principle of the eight-hour day should as rapidly and IS far as practi- cable 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 wording of the act seems to exclude.
 Judges Too Poorly Paid.
 Coupled with a eulogy of the iu. diciary of the nation the president urges that. beginning with the SUI preme court. the judges should have their salaries doubled.
 As was to be expected, the attitude assumed by certain labor leaders dur in0 tho alnatiar ;,, e bitter criticism. The president as- serts that demands made on congress for legislation were unjust and i'm practical and could but work harm to the cause of labor. While declaring that our judicial system is sound and effective at core, the president says:
 There are certain decisions by various courts which have been exceedingly det- rimental 10 the rights of wage-workers This is true of all decisions that decide that men are by the constitution guar anteed tIeir liberty to contract to enter dangerous occupation, or to work an undesirable or improper number of hours, or to work in unhealthy surroundings; and therefore cannot recover damages when maimed in that occupation and cannot be forbidden to work what the legislature decides is an excessive num- Der of hours. or to carry on the work under conditions which the legislature decides to be unhealthy
 There is also. I think. ground for the belief that substantial injustice is often suffered by employees In consequence of the custom of courts issuing temporary injunctions without notice to them, and punishing them for contempt of court in instances where, as a matter of fact. they have TO knowledge of any proceed ings. Organized labor is chafing under the unjust restraint which comes from repeated resort to this plan of procedure.
 Injunction Must Remain.
 The power of injunction is great equitable remedy, which should on no account be destroyed But safeguards should be erected against it's abuse. In substance. provision should be made that no injunction temporary re- straining order issue otherwise than on notice, except where irreparable injury would otherwise result; and in such case A hearing the merits of the order should be had within short fixed pe- riod and. if not then continued after hearing, it should forthwith lapse. De- cisions should be rendered immediately and the chance of delay minimized in every way Moreover, I believe that the procedure should be sharply defined. and the judge required minutely to state the particulars both of his action and of his reasons therefor so that the congress can if 1t desires examine and investigate the same.
 Harm Worked by Law.
 Discussing measures necessary for the proper control of giant corpora- tions operating in defiance of law, the president says:
 Real damage has been done by the manifold and conflicting interpretations ol the interstate commerce law. Con- trol over the great corporations doing interstate business can be effective only if it Is vested with ful power in an administrative department. a branch of the federal executive. carrying out a federal law; it can never be effective if a divided responsibility is left ia both the states and the nation: it can never be effective if left in the hands of the courts to be decided by lawsuits
 The courts hold a place of peculiar and deserved sanctity under our form of gov ernment. Respect for the law is essen tial to the permanence of our institu- tions: and respect for the law is largely conditioned upon respect for the courts. It is an offense against the republic to say anything which can weaken this re- spect save for the gravest reason and in the most cdTe1uilN Suurueu HdflHtI. III no other nation in the world do the courts wield such vast and far-reaching power as in the United States. All that is nee essary is that the courts as whole should exercise this power with the far sighted wisdom already shown by those judges who scan the future while they act in the present.
 Forest Preservation.
 The manifest necessity for forest preservation is pointed out as a duty the present generation owes to its de- scendants. and the president cites the case of China, where reckless de-for- estation has resulted in creating des- erts, as an object lesson.
 Inland Waterways.
 Immediate action by the present session of congress for the improve ment of our inland waterways the president declares to be imperative. He recommends the creation of per manent commission authorized to CO., ordinate the work of all the govern meat departments relating to water ways. and to frame and supervise the execution of comprehensive plan. Postal Savings Banks. Urging the immediate institution of postal savings banks. the message 1 says;
 I ac-ain renew my recommendation 1 for postal savings banks. for deposit | ing savings with the security of the government behind them. The object 1 is to encourage thrift and economy in | the wage -earner and person Of mod l 4a h.fi raI in | aggrerate vast sums of money Would be | brought into, circulation through the in- l strumentality Of the postal savings banks.